Ha Ha

Everyone in town has been in a pretty good mood lately, what with the beautiful warm weather and the fleeting promise of a lovely summer. But sometimes you still need a good laugh to get you going. Just a short one, not too big of a commitment. A short story, perhaps....
Disquiet, please! more humor writing from The New Yorker is a new collection of some of the wittiest writers from the last 80 years. Editors David Remnick and Henry Finder have included some of the legends of that venerable magazine - James Thurber, Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley - as well as some more modern satirists.
Jon Stewart has a funny piece about hosting the Emmy awards which illustrates perfectly the tired banter and predictable jokes that you associate with awards telecasts ("The envelope, please"). What makes it even funnier is that it was written before he hosted the 2008 Academy Awards (did he dust this manuscript off when he was preparing for the Oscars?).
Christopher Buckley wrote a short article in 2006 where the inimitable Jeeves is valeting for George W. Bush ("Jeeves and W."). Any comparisons between our former president and Bertie Wooster are purely intentional.
There is a sprinkling of David Sedaris, Andy Borowitz, Woody Allen, Steve Martin and Garrison Keillor, and the stories are both intelligent and funny. This book is wonderful reading for a short stint sitting in the sun. Super!