LIZ: BOOK #38

Assholes Finish First by Tucker Max

416 pages

Completed 10/11/10

The follow-up to Max's successfully hilarious, yet completely chauvinistic, "I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell," "Assholes Finish First" provides more amusing escapades of Max. One of the rare female fans of Max, I was really looking forward to this book; IHTSBIH literally had me laughing out loud, crying it hurt so badly because the stories were THAT good.

I was curious to see how Max's adventures would change with fame - the answer is that there was less of a chase, and more skanky girls just offering themselves up to him, leading to less amusing endings. Two arrests, and the inevitable lack of amusement about being a man in his thirties chasing barely-legal girls just wasn't as hysterical this time around.

This was a quick read, and somewhat disappointing. Don't get me wrong, there were some laugh-out-loud moments, but not the side-splitting humor I had come to love from Max. I was pleasantly surprised at the end, however, as he revealed another book - perhaps two - will follow next year. Hopeful some more of the hysterical anecdotes will step it up.

LIZ: BOOK #33

Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang by Chelsea Handler

256 pages

Completed 8/15/10

Let's preface this by saying I adore Chelsea Handler. I think she's hysterical; yes, she's crude and not very classy, and that is exactly what I love about her. I have read all of her books, and while this one was not the funniest, I was still laughing out loud so hard at some points that I had to stop reading.

That being said, I sped through this book; 6 hours and done. Disappointing when a book is that good and you get to that last page. Clearly, this is not a work of literary genius, but nonetheless beyond enjoyable.

LIZ: BOOK #28

Hell Is Other Parents: And Other Tales of Maternal Combustion by Deborah Copaken Kogan

224 pages

Completed 6/27/10

A cute summer read, this combination reflection and motherhood drama memoir read easily. A former war photographer, Kogan is now the mother of 3 young children; an actor son, a middle daughter struggling to find her place, and a late-in-life toddler. Throughout the book, Kogan entertains with heartfelt stories of her everyday life, and occasionally we get a glimpse into her past (my favorite part).

I currently have on order Kogan's first book; not because her writing so impressed me, but because I am intrigued by this woman's life - a life I would give my left arm to lead.

Dotted with both humor and sadness, this book is a good beach read for those of us who don't go for murder mysteries or romances.

LIZ: BOOK #26

Air Babylon by Imogen Edwards-Jones & Anonymous

386 pages

Completed 6/3/10

A few years ago I read Hotel Babylon and immediately put myself on the waiting list at paperbackswap.com for the other two similar books; Air Babylon and Fashion Babylon. This book follows the same format of Hotel Babylon; a period of 24 hours, written as if one character is experiencing everything but actually is the result of composing the stories from dozens of airline employees.

Surprises, debauchery, and annoying customers that could only be found on an airline, are all requisetely present, but with limited humor. The main character, who was probably meant to be dryly sarcastic, instead read as annoyingly depressing. No situation was so shocking, though, so I was kind of bored throughout.

Fashion Babylon is on it's way, so hopefully that will read a bit more humorous as Hotel Babylon than Air Babylon was.