Nuns Having Fun

by Maureen Kelly, Jeffrey Stone

Hallelujah, it's a book! After proving itself to be the "funniest calendar of the year" (according to Gene Shalit), "irresistible" (USA Weekend), and "habit-forming" (Maxim magazine), the Nuns Having Fun calendar has inspired "Nuns Having Fun," a book of endearing nuttiness.

Catholic kitsch doesn't get any funnier. Written by Maureen Kelly and Jeffrey Stone, pitch-perfect co-authors of the nuns calendar and the "New York Times" bestseller "Growing Up Catholic," "Nuns Having Fun" features hundreds of sisters in full habit, cutting loose and having a hoot.

Here are nuns in the surf ("This is even more fun than walking on water"), nuns in bumper cars ("We brake for Jesus"), nuns in a beer hall ("Ale Marys"), and nuns in the museum, huddled in front of a study of nudes ("It's okay to open your eyes. Sister Wendy says it's art"). There are nuns on skates, at bat, at the theater, skeet shooting (nuns with guns!), even hitting the slots (you know it's for a good cause).

The 125 images are from the 1950s and '60s, black-and-white and possessing a pure retro charm; the written material is all-new. Drawing on their years as parochial school students, the authors explore the lore and legends surrounding nuns, including Favorite Punishments from Nuns, Nuns Say the Darndest Things, How to Recognize a Nun After Vatican II, a Wimple Watch, and List of People Who Could Have Been Nuns.

As Sister says, "To err is human. To laugh is divine."

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction, Religion, Christian, Catholic

256 pages, Paperback

First published May 28, 2008

Reviews

[Kelly (Maybedog) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I expected irreverent pictures of nuns in compromising situations. What I got was a book that showed nuns having fun in ways not usually associated with nuns. The captions were humorous, often plays on words, but nothing that I think would be offensive except to the most conservative Catholics. I think this made nuns more accessible, showing them to be real people who like to try new things like roller-skating, playing ball with kids, and joining carnival games. The book had pictures of nuns having fun at conferences or other gatherings with nuns from other monastics; you can tell by the different habits they wore. I had no idea how many different types of habits and how diverse and elaborate they can be. There was an diagram explaining he different parts of the habit and illustrations depicting a few unusual ones complete with the order that wears each. The photos were interspersed with humorous asides but again nothing I found sacrilegious. For example there was a list (with photos) of famous nuns in film and TV; a list of famous powerful women who would make good nuns for their stalwart attitudes and factoids and statistics about things such as numbers of nuns now compared with a few decades ago and how that compares to the number of Catholics, and the order of nuns that has grown exponentially. All in all I was pleasantly surprised, especially since I learned something!

[Dáithí's · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute little book that any survivor of Our Lady of Torture and Guilt will enjoy. Granted, one may find themselves in the fetal position screaming about penguins after reading, but a couple of Hail Marys should fix that.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

funny! Nuns are human too!

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Collection of jokes and photos which showcase the fun-loving, whimsical women beneath the habit.

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

Found this book in our church library and checked it out. It is mostly pictures, so I was able to look through it in about 30 minutes.

I LOVED seeing photos of joyful nuns. But the accompanying text was downright disrespectful in parts. The author treats joyful nuns as an anomaly. She also states (among other things) the nuns pray fervently for a female pope and secretly want to wear Jimmy Choo shoes. She holds up modern feminist icons as people who "could have been nuns". I know this book is suppose to be funny but it just seemed disrespectful to me.

Beautiful old photos. But the text was "cultural Catholicism" strikingly void of actual faith or spirituality. Kind of offensive to people actually trying to live their Catholic faith; our faith is treated like a kitsch amusement.

[Ivy · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a hoot! Not serious literature by any means, but a rollicking fun hour or so.

[Michelle Coy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A funny little read that reminded me of my school days.

[Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Glorious and divine!

[Lois Clarke · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked this book up at a little library. I was expecting a more humorous book; it was rather boring.

[Loisclarke · Rating 1 out of 5]

I will give this book a one generous star. I picked the book up at a local little library thinking that it would be a humorous read, however, I was wrong. This book was rather boring.

[Kent Whitaker · Rating 4 out of 5]

What can I say, this is a pretty funny little gift book. It can be read in a few minutes but I ended up flipping through it about ten times. My wife is Catholic and she laughed out loud many times... and then went to confession. I must admit that during mass the following Sunday that I felt as if they knew... the nuns knew. Too be honest. I made that up, we don't have nuns but we did toss a few extra dollars in the basket. A fun adult picture book that makes a great gift.

[Norkett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A light-hearted look at Nuns, some great fun! It also had tidbits of history and more I didn't know despite working for Nuns for nearly two years. One of the Nuns I work with actually borrowed the book to me for which I am grateful.

[Duane · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short and funny gift book about Catholic nuns. Some facts are interspersed throughout the pictures adding some information to the chuckles. Nothing irreverent here, just fun and some great puns. :)

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up at a thrift store thinking it would be just a picture-and-cute-caption book I could chuckle over and pass along. It had a little more meat than that, all in the humorous vein, but interesting as well.

[Carmela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Can't really say that I "read" this book since it really is an adult picture book. It is full of funny pictures and captions. Great gag gift for Catholic friends!

[Bryan Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of pictures of nuns with funny comments around each. Some are funny, some are amusing, but others are a bit forced. Fun, but not hilarious. The pictures are often better than the comments.

[Karen Floyd · Rating 3 out of 5]

And I had fun reading it. It was a much-needed laugh after a trying day at work.

[Musicdoodle · Rating 3 out of 5]

very cute, witty and educational. open to any random page for a good giggle.