Laughing Out Loud

I keep a few books made up of short things that can be read quickly. I take those with me to doctors' offices and other places where I expect to wait because I won't have to put them down in the middle of an interesting section when I'm called in for my appointment.

Recently, while waiting for a blood test, I was reading Richard Lederer's book, The Revenge of Anguished English. And I was silently laughing so much tears were running down my face and the receptionist asked if I was okay.

I was more than okay, I was having a wonderful time!

If you like slapstick or risque humor, Lederer's books probably won't strike you as funny as they do me, but I love language jokes and puns, so Lederer's books are my favorite kind of humor. The bun may be the lowest form of wheat, but I consider the pun to be the highest form of wit.

I'd read this book before, but pull it out to re-read every few years and it always makes me laugh.

And, since laughter is good medicine, maybe all doctors should keep copies of it in their waiting rooms.

The Clue of the Linoleum Lederhosen

I couldn't resist sharing about this book for middle grade kids by M. T. Anderson. It's a take-off on the traditional mystery series for kids written long ago and had me giggling. While some young readers might not get those references, the story is still a lot of fun and the mystery is hard to figure out.

The kids in the book are all heroes and heroines of (fictitious) series of their own, and stay true to character. The situations they get into would be terrifying, if they weren't so funny. The plot is tangled and the book is definitely a page turner.

The Clue of the Linoleum Lederhosen was published in 2006 but reading it might encourage kids to check their local libraries for mysteries published decades ago. This book is a fun read for all ages.