Form-T Books

The jokes are fast, furious, and really funny. The price of the book is worth it just for one particular comic strip... it's been years since I first read it, but I still get a hearty laugh every time I read the "St. Francis" gag.

"Possibly the most informitive comic book ever written" -Me

"Five stars, three thumbs up" -Me

"Tells historical information, left out of text books, in a funny way (may not be true)" -Me

"...

This was pretty funny; it illustrates and mocks all the "perks" of the office life.

Garfield tells everythig (bad) that you can about work. It is even better than Garfield's Insults, put-downs & SLAMS!

because this book is a SCREAM! Private Beetle Bailey and the cast of hilarious characters at Camp Swampy report to the forefront of the funnies once again! Sarge and his bull dog shadow, Otto really run Camp Swampy. Gen. Half-Track is too busy eyeing his office staff, playing golf and in general delegating duty to others. Lt. Fuzz is the company apple polisher and Lt. Flap is as unflappable as his name suggests.

The enlisted men are a delightful mix of very funny personalities. Killer Diller, with his romantic schemes, Rocky with his surly rebellion, Zero, the bunny-toothed rube and of course, Private Beetle Bailey leading the troops into laughter! You will learn the finer points in Sarge baiting, work dodging and AWOL without getting caught. You will also learn how to sit quickly as you move throughout this book because you will laugh so hard you will topple over!

This is a fine collection of Beetle Bailey strips that is sure to please any fan.

A mass market point of purchase book, this is a reasonable collection for what it is. Good for trips and such, I'd expect it to do well at airports, bus stations, etc. Use it as an inexpensive gift item as well. This is designed for the casual purchaser and does a satisfactory job in that role. Larger and better compilations are available for the more serious collector.
James Buffington, author
Politically Incorrect Liberal Obama Jokes: Funny Liberal Bashing Done in Good Humor; Barack Obama Jokes, Congress, Rev. Wright, & Democrats

Although "PC" wouldn't describe it, this book is riotously funny. Anyone who likes joke books won't be disappointed--it's well worth the price!

Michael Gilbert has captured the essence of the comics of old! The work of pure genious Michael is the next Frank Miller, the next Stan Lee! He is a comic book GOD! I highly recommend all his works for you will not be dissapointed by this master of ink and paper!

The art was fun to look at. The stories were simple, fun, and silly. Nothing classic here, but still I found it to be quite entertaining. I will read more of Mr. Monster in the future.

Good job Mr. Gilbert on reviving a very obscure character who only appeared in one story many decades ago.

This is an excellent book on Classical form. It covers, in detail, open and closed forms including Da Capo Aria, Minuet & Trio, Episodical, Rondo, Sonata, Abridged Sonata, Sonata-Rondo, The Concerto, Variations, and Contrapuntal forms (Fugue and Canon). Most of these are covered in detail I haven't seen in other books (though the writing on canon is very thin--if you want a book on canon, I recommend The Technique of Canon by Hugo Norden.) MSAD is dry at times, though a better read than most books on the subject. There are analyses of 25 Classical and early Romantic era works by composers including Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Brahms, and others. If you're looking for modern forms, look to other books. But the wisdom here would serve any new composer seeking to learn about musical form. As a composer myself, I consider this my 'form bible.' Highly recommended! Invaluable.

Davie's little volume is a very concise and well-done book which serves as an excellent indroduction to this important aspect of music theory. I was very rusty on the subject, and needed a quick read to get me back up to speed. Davie's book succeeds very well, without a lot of extra detail and great technical difficulty. Davie peppers the text with lots of examples illustrating the different principles, and as a practicing composer himself, Davie knows whereof he speaks. Overall, an excellent little book to read and learn from. After reading this book, you'll have the background to tackle the weightier tomes on this subject, if you're so inclined.

My only complaint is the writing style is a little dry, and Davie is certainly not alone in this for technical books on music theory, so that's why the four stars in my rating. But I would give it four and a half stars if I could, since it really is a great little primer, and I haven't seen anything else that does as good a job in such a concise format.

This collection of stories was great to read: very enjoyable if you can enjoy parodies of Judeo-Christian stories (it was written by a member of the cloth, you know) and like to see how rediculous political correctness can be.

The book has two principal weaknesses, which are closely related: once you've read a few, you've kind of read them all, especially if you're familiar with the stories. Second, the writing style isn't varied enough, especially his choices of words. "Non-viable" was funny in the "Garden of Eden" story, and cute in "Cain and Able," but it got old quickly.

Still, it's a fun read, and great for kids.

A delightful recounting of favorite bible stories through the filter of modern politically correctness makes you think, and laugh.

I have a huge family. We have a special recipe in our family. I bought several dozon, last year, copied some of our fav's in and gave them to the family. They all loved them!

This item was great. I move a lot and didn't want to get a card recipe box. The book was great. The only thing I don't like about this book is that is doesn't have enough sapce for sweets. I bake a lot and need a few more pages just for cookies, and cakes.

Jan Eliot's second Stone Soup collection is funny and wry, with very realistic characters and a sense of humor *and* plot. Stone Soup is a family-based comic strip that fans of Foxtrot should enjoy; some elements of the two strips are similar.

Val Stone is a widowed, working mother of teenaged Holly and preteen Alix - and they share their house with Val's sister, Joan, Joan's two-year-old son, Max, and Joan and Val's mother. Also, in this collection, they add Biscuit, who deserves not only a special mention but a special prize - Most Realistic Pet in Comic Strip Land. Val and Joan have too much to do, too little time, and too little money...a common story. But Eliot makes it fresh and fun.

My only complaints about this collection come from the Sunday strips. As in the first Stone Soup book, the Sundays aren't in color. Also, for some reason, some of the Sunday strips in the second book are repeats from the first book - strange, because nothing else seems to be.

All in all, though, a good collection, well worth any comic strip lover's time - as is Eliot's explanation of the title in her preface.

The publisher's blurb has it right: anyone who's ever been in afamily or known a family seems to like Stone Soup. You'll appreciatethis strip for mirroring the ways in which your family makes you nuts, the ways in which your family makes you smile, and the ways in which your family and other people's families really make you wonder.

The specifics of the characters' bios matter less than their wit. For instance: There's a toddler boy here named Max -- but his humor is for everyone, not just toddlers and parents. We all have our inner toddler, and we all know people who act like toddlers, and these strips are just plain funny, no matter where you're coming from. That holds for the other Stone Soup characters too.

This is a strip that winds up passed around among friends, pasted on the fridge, and re-read many times. If you need some empathy OR a good laugh, do yourself a favor and check out Stone Soup! END

I love listening to David Sedaris on "This American Life" and think he's very funny, smart and clever. This is the first book of his I've read, and I was not disappointed. Most of the stories are side-splittingly funny, but there are a few that are almost too emotional or raw for my taste. Not too crude or unpleasant, just too personal, I think. I don't think I've ever read a book that was more aptly titled. Some of the stories (and all of them are great and well-written) just made me feel like he was baring himself (emotionally or psychologically) in a way I had not anticipated, and it was just a bit more than I bargained for. It won't stop me from reading some of his other books, though.

Read this book as soon as I received it. Love this writers witt in his writings....very good book

Anyone who has read David Sedaris' work or listened to him on NPR knows he has a style all his own. The book Naked brings the reader along on a journey through short essays that describe, in detail, aspects of his life that the common man may never experience. The final essay, which shares the title of the book, describes his experience at a nudist colony. He embraces the awkwardness of the situation and bravely details his insecurities. A tool he skillfully uses through his entire collection of essays is humor. If the humor aspect were stripped away from his writing, his work most certainly would take a darker and more depressing tone. I believe this is what makes his writing unique: his honesty, his bravery, and not to mention his phenomenal skill as a writer and a storyteller. The topics he deals with are very real which give the reader a strong sense of connection to him and his experiences. I can't help but admire him for his ability to rise above difficult situations, particularly in his childhood.

Sedaris' work can almost be described as having layers like an onion. On one level he is funny, on another he is honest and open, on yet another he is sarcastic, and at the core is a message about life. He tells a story without dominating the reader's experience; to get the core message one must look a little deeper, one must think! Any level of reader can appreciate his essays because no matter how deep one chooses to explore, he or she will find something to connect with, even if it's just for a laugh. I read his books when I'm having a bad day and need a little pick-me-up. I read his books when I want to be challenged as a reader. I read his books when I need inspiration. I recommend this book to anyone who wishes to be entertained and learn something new through another's life stories.

Just to add, Me Talk Pretty One Day is another excellent book by David!

The short stories were nicely written, drawing on the presumed real life experiences of the author. As an author of humour, I found the style too self-consciously witty and trying to hard to be hilarious. In short, I found it tedious and barely raised a smile, let alone a chuckle and certainly not a belly laugh through the whole production. I put this down to the cultural differences between USA and Australia. It appears that readers in the USA have to be belted over the head and told when to laugh before they can appreciate humour. I prefer something more subtle. I am sure the author is a nice person, but there you go....

The seventeen short stories in this book are entertaining and make for a fun read, but they mostly revolve around the humiliation and embarassment of the author. On more than one occasion the author ends up hiding in a ditch while others are searching to beat him up. It pains me to think that these tales actually occurred.

Most of these stories do not have plots nor any closure, since they're simply the retelling of past events, and as a result I was bored with many of them. My favourite, by far, was "Something For Everyone," which had well-developed characters, revealed the author's deepest impression of himself, and (unfortunately) ended in a humiliating tragedy.

In summary, this book is recommended but requires a fair amount of wincing.