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Now in Paperback!
Jim Mullen has been writing "The Village Idiot," a weekly column syndicated in 600 newspapers around the country for the past ten years. "Now in Paperback!" is a selected collection of those columns including fan favorites, "The First Thanksgiving Family Feud" and his take on the James Bond myth in "Learner's Permit to Kill." Mr. Mullen's book "It Takes A Village Idiot" was the runner-up for the 2001 Thurber Prize for American Humor and his spoof of baby memory books, "Baby's First Tattoo," is in its 15th printing.
- GenresHumor
194 pages, Paperback
First published May 22, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 11, 2023
Mashed potatoes and gravy on your Kindle.
I have never been in greater need of a laugh or two. As funny as some comics are about politics and politicians, I don't want to hear one more word about that particular subject. This book is the humor equivalent of comfort food. The author has the same problems I do and he makes fun of them (like I do.) Best of all, it's problems that both of us know we can do nothing about. So we don't need to feel guilty while we gnash our teeth, because we didn't do anything wrong.
I tried to find out something about the man. He's published a number of books, so you'd think there would be SOME information available. I learned that he's written humor columns for various newspapers. Also that he lived in New York City for many years until his wife dragged him to a small town in Up-state New York. His wife's name is Sue (he mentions her frequently.) This book is a compilation of his columns and was published in 2011.
That's it. In an age when you can go on-line and find out how many teeth the guy who sat next to you in Freshman English still has, this lack of personal information is almost scary. I suspect this man is in the Federal Witness Protection Program and we all know most of them are worse than the people they testified against.
No matter. He's funny and that's all I care about. I loved "Naked Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner" which discusses the gut-wrenching (pun intended) problem of guys with huge beer bellies who proudly display them by going shirtless. I once had an elderly neighbor who mowed his lawn wearing only a Speed-O. I have never fully recovered.
The list of aggrevations is endless. The moronic "celebrities" who got famous for being famous. The strange trends in education that account for the fact that your children can't read and don't know basic math. The bizarre Christmas newsletters, filled with "news" that most of us would pay good money to suppress. The new system for getting medical care. (Two hours in the waiting room, five minutes with the doctor, pay your bill and leave.)
I have one caveat. I don't know how old this author is (see "Federal Witness Protection Program" cited above) but I suspect he's getting on up in the paint chips. His befuddlement with modern technology and his grouchiness about spoiled children sounds like a grumpy old man. A FUNNY grumpy old man, but still.
Would this book be entertaining to someone under 30? Is there anyone under 30 who could READ this book? I don't know the answer to those questions and I don't want to. I know I laughed my way through it and enjoyed every section. I hope that the death of newspapers isn't going to mean the death of humor columnists. Erma Bombeck and others like her kept us sane (sort of) and we need these light-hearted curmudgeons more than ever today.
And they WERE curmudgeons, not "ranters." A curmudgeon is a long-suffering soul who calls attention to all the things in life that drive us crazy, not least because they make no sense at all. A ranter is a middle-aged brat who isn't getting what he believes he deserves and demands that the rest of us "validate" his pain. There's a difference, believe me.
At three bucks, this book is a steal. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm on to his next book.
I have never been in greater need of a laugh or two. As funny as some comics are about politics and politicians, I don't want to hear one more word about that particular subject. This book is the humor equivalent of comfort food. The author has the same problems I do and he makes fun of them (like I do.) Best of all, it's problems that both of us know we can do nothing about. So we don't need to feel guilty while we gnash our teeth, because we didn't do anything wrong.
I tried to find out something about the man. He's published a number of books, so you'd think there would be SOME information available. I learned that he's written humor columns for various newspapers. Also that he lived in New York City for many years until his wife dragged him to a small town in Up-state New York. His wife's name is Sue (he mentions her frequently.) This book is a compilation of his columns and was published in 2011.
That's it. In an age when you can go on-line and find out how many teeth the guy who sat next to you in Freshman English still has, this lack of personal information is almost scary. I suspect this man is in the Federal Witness Protection Program and we all know most of them are worse than the people they testified against.
No matter. He's funny and that's all I care about. I loved "Naked Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner" which discusses the gut-wrenching (pun intended) problem of guys with huge beer bellies who proudly display them by going shirtless. I once had an elderly neighbor who mowed his lawn wearing only a Speed-O. I have never fully recovered.
The list of aggrevations is endless. The moronic "celebrities" who got famous for being famous. The strange trends in education that account for the fact that your children can't read and don't know basic math. The bizarre Christmas newsletters, filled with "news" that most of us would pay good money to suppress. The new system for getting medical care. (Two hours in the waiting room, five minutes with the doctor, pay your bill and leave.)
I have one caveat. I don't know how old this author is (see "Federal Witness Protection Program" cited above) but I suspect he's getting on up in the paint chips. His befuddlement with modern technology and his grouchiness about spoiled children sounds like a grumpy old man. A FUNNY grumpy old man, but still.
Would this book be entertaining to someone under 30? Is there anyone under 30 who could READ this book? I don't know the answer to those questions and I don't want to. I know I laughed my way through it and enjoyed every section. I hope that the death of newspapers isn't going to mean the death of humor columnists. Erma Bombeck and others like her kept us sane (sort of) and we need these light-hearted curmudgeons more than ever today.
And they WERE curmudgeons, not "ranters." A curmudgeon is a long-suffering soul who calls attention to all the things in life that drive us crazy, not least because they make no sense at all. A ranter is a middle-aged brat who isn't getting what he believes he deserves and demands that the rest of us "validate" his pain. There's a difference, believe me.
At three bucks, this book is a steal. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm on to his next book.
February 12, 2018
Lots of funny quick reads. A quick pick-me-up.
October 30, 2013
This was a free download from Amazon to my Kindle. It was a quick read for me. I found myself laughing out loud and read some of the shorter, funnier columns to my husband. I did not know who Jim Mullen was since any newspaper I have taken has never run his column. 'Now in Paperback' is a compilation of some of his newspaper columns. Very enjoyable, well-written, just plain fun to read. It seems all Mr. Mullen has to do is keep up with the daily news and use his vivid imagination to write his next column. Great job and highly recommended!
August 18, 2013
This is a funny book. a
A compilation of newspaper articles. If you like satire and need a chuckle this is for you.
A compilation of newspaper articles. If you like satire and need a chuckle this is for you.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews