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Tuesday, May 4, 2010

I could use a laugh.

Ever had one of those days? ...or weeks?

Adult life can be serious business, full of responsibilities and deadlines, checklists and consequences. But woven among the worries and the burdens we carry are shining moments of glee -- chuckles and giggles, snorts and guffaws to lighten the load and remind us why we work so hard.

Like my mother before me, I find comic relief in my children. America's Funniest Home Videos has twenty seasons of recorded evidence to support the position that, most times, there is nothing so hilarious as family.

Sometimes, though, baby escape artists and fashion model five-year-olds fail to tickle my funny bone. When I've got a lot on my plate and life seems to get a bit more complicated at every turn, I can lose my sense of humor.

Where do I turn when I could use a laugh?

When I take a look around, here at the library, side-splitting opportunities abound.

Choose the format you prefer. For example, my husband laughed all the way to work, and home again, listening to the audiobook of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy on CD, but it can also be found in the DVD section and among the books. Absurdistan is another humorous selection available in multiple formats.

Among the audiobooks, I came across offerings like English Majors with NPR legend Garrison Keillor, and Old Time Radio Comedy Favorites -- including greats like Jack Benny and Eddie Cantor. I took home Abbot & Costello on a digital playaway so I could chuckle while I sat in a hospital waiting room.

Into funny fiction? Try Wild Ride by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer or The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove by Christopher Moore.

Memoirs like Sarah Silverman's The Bedwetter and Howie Mandel's Here's the Deal Don't Touch Me can show insight into the lives of comedians.

Check out the Comedy section in the CDs on the third floor. You can find recordings of performances like Chris Rock's Cheese and Crackers and Tailgate Party by Larry the Cable Guy.

If the funny pages make you grin, head upstairs to the fourth floor to reminisce over Calvin and Hobbes or The Far Side. We've got Doonesbury, too.

Right here on this very website, One-Click DVD Searches under the heading Read/Watch/Listen will take you right to our latest selection of Comedy DVDs, like Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Men Who Stare at Goats, and The Great Buck Howard, just to name a few.

Milton Berle said that "laughter is an instant vacation," so take a moment to think about it -- what makes you laugh?

Now go ahead and treat yourself, check out a free laugh from the library!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

During one of those dratted stressful grownup periods a few weeks ago, I checked all three seasons of 30 Rock and laughed myself silly for many nights.

Karen said...

One of my favorite LOL writers is Bill Bryson, with the added bonus that he is also intelligent and interesting. A lot of David Sedaris' work cracks me up, too. And I totally agree with Anonymous, 30 Rock is a hoot!

Laura Adler said...

The geeks on The Big Bang Theory, particularly Sheldon, make me laugh out loud almost every show.

The gleeks on Glee are a very close second. Both are great take-away-your-worries kind of shows with endearing characters.

Linda K. said...

Get Fuzzy is one of my favorite comic strip books and of course, Calvin and Hobbs. So when I need a laugh - daily - I often turn to one of them. I'm currently reading Bedwetter by Sarah Silverman. It's a hilariously, raunchy ride!

Anonymous said...

Yikes, how did I miss this one?! Big bang Theory and Get Fuzzy, both make me laugh too. Some current cartoons can make me gasp for breath too- Family Guy, Futurama, The Venture Brothers. But I am a man of varied tastes, and some of my favorite written giggles come from James Thurber. I have an ancient, tattered copy of "The Thurber Carnival", a collection of his books and short stories, that I love dearly and can quote from, I've read it so many times. I had to buy another copy in better shape so I could keep reading and not destroy my original.

Bill Cosby's old material, such as his albums "Why Is There Air?" and "Himself", still make me ache with laughter. Pretty sure I have the former on an LP somewhere.

-G

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