September 20, 2006

There are a lot of funny books out there–or books that purport to be funny. That try it. And fail. (Fail, at least, to tickle my funny bone.)

Things that don’t work for me in humorous books:

1. Keystone Kops/Three Stooges routines. It just doesn’t work in books. They aren’t visual. Don’t try it.
2. Too many lists or “notes to self” that are supposed to be humorous. I don’t mind two or three in a book, but when there gets to be too many, it grates on my nerves because it’s as if the author is trying too hard. (Diana Peterfreund’s Secret Society Girl, however, succeeds very nicely with its lists.)
3. Trying too hard. Sometimes this falls under #1 or #2; sometimes it’s just obvious that the author is trying for a laugh by giving outrageous descriptions or setting up outrageous situations.

There are many books that make me laugh once or twice throughout–JD Robb’s always do, either in her interactions between Eve and Roarke, or Eve and her female friends. In this case, it’s all character-driven. Eve is not a frou-frou female, and her friends are…which leads to many humorous exchanges.

But I don’t consider the Robb books “humorous.”

Jennie Crusie, Susan Elizbeth Phillips, and Elizabeth Peters write what I consider humorous books. They make me laugh throughout; not just in one or two places. Again, in these cases, it’s humor driven by the character and his or her unique perspective–not by putting the character in absurd situations.

So I’ve finally figured out that what makes me laugh out loud is character reactions based on his or her unique perspective–whether it be their thoughts, dialogue, or, sometimes, actions. But mostly the first two.

When I find a book that makes me laugh out loud consistently, I am delighted. Humor is much, much harder than drama. I know I can’t pull it off.

So…a year or so ago, I was on a weekend getaway with two of my girlfriends. I’d brought a friend’s unpublished manuscript to read and was really enjoying it, laughing out loud as I lay by the pool…so much so that my girlfriends kept asking, “What are you reading? Where can I get this book?” (They know what a terribly picky reader I am.)

Well, now they can…or at least, in about ten days. My dear friend and hilarious writer Jana DeLeon’s Rumble on the Bayou hits the stores.

I’m going to be giving away a few copies of this book here on the blog, because I love it so much…so today, if you post a comment (anything!) on this post, I’ll put you in a drawing for a free copy of the book, signed by Jana and with an extra little goody.

Stay tuned for more about Rumble. I think we might even get an exclusive excerpt from Jana…!

So….which authors tickle your funny bone? Make you laugh out loud throughout the book?

September 18, 2006

I loved Saturday mornings in the late ’70s and early ’80s. We kids would get up and turn on the TV for an hour or two of uninterrupted watching of Looney Toons, Scooby-Doo, and what I think were the predecessors to the info-mercial: Schoolhouse Rock.

In honor of the talented David McCall, who came up with the idea of using modern music to help teach kids math, science, grammar, and history, today’s Retro Tuesday Lyrics quiz is all about Schoolhouse Rock.

So, here we go….give me the name of the song (and the missing words!):

1. “I got three favorite cars that get most of my job done.”

2. “We hiked along without a care,
then we ran into a bear.
He was a _____ bear.
He was a _____ bear.”

3. “Take your powder, take your gun,
Report to _______ _______.”

4. “A man and a woman had a little baby, yes they did….”

5. “It’s a bird, it’s a plane! It must be a UFO, but it was _____ ______! She’s a _____ girl.”

BONUS POINTS: name the six subjects covered by the Schoolhouse Rock songs.

Does anyone else own the CD released in 1996 with all the cover tunes done by artists of the ’90s: Schoolhouse Rock! Rocks? It’s a great album, and has original songs covered by The Lemonheads, Blind Melon, and others. Great disc. We love it!

And…what’s your favorite Schoolhouse Rock song?

September 18, 2006

My daughter turned 10 yesterday, and of course, we had to have the requisite birthday party. (I’m thinking of making a moratorium on birthday parties now that she’s in double digits…)

She had it in her head that she wanted to replicate the scene in The Princess Diaries where Mia and her mother throw darts at paint-filled balloons to create a piece of modern art. My Music Man and I tried to explain to her that what you see in the movies isn’t always…well, accurate…especially if it looks as simple as that did.

However, wonderful mother that I am, I agree to help her get it set up.

The problem was….how to get the paint into the balloons. And then, since I didn’t want to fill the balloons up completely (too much paint), and if they weren’t expanded enough, they wouldn’t pop, I figured we had to put air in as well.

After much consideration, we decided to use a cut-off straw to pour the paint into the balloons (which were very small). We filled the balloons only about one-fifth with paint, and then took the straw out, and after wiping the paint off the edges, I blew up the balloons.

It worked perfectly until one of them popped in my face.

Not only did it get on my face, my lashes, in my hair, and on my teeth…but also all over my “I’m blogging this” t-shirt (which was, of course, accurate)…and it was at that moment that one of my daughter’s friends (and her mother) showed up and walked around the corner.

(After she stopped laughing, she took the picture for me.)

And so I was a lot more careful after that, and only one other balloon popped in my face.

Things I learned from this experience:

1. Paint doesn’t come out of t-shirts
2. Acrylic paint doesn’t taste very good
3. You can’t wash acrylic paint off your soft contact lenses
4. Pink acrylic paint works great as mascara…if you can get it on without getting in on your contacts
5. Kids are fun.

September 16, 2006

Grab the Scavenger Hunt code. Photo Theme. Join the blogroll. Visit participants.

The theme for today’s Photo Scavenger Hunt is “looking up.”

Audrey ~ January 2005

September 14, 2006

Here’s the unveiling of the book trailer for The Rest Falls Away. Let me know what you think. I’m very excited about it.

(Please feel free to share, copy, forward, link to, etc. this little video. That’s what it’s for. Like, make it viral, baby!)

(And if you’d like the code to embed it in your blog or site, email me and I’ll send it to you. author at colleengleason.com)