101 Damnations: The Humorists' Tour of Personal Hells
Dear flappable reader: Do you bristle at a handshake that resembles a limp fish? Do oblivious pedestrians bring you to the brink? What about museum gift shops, superfluous courtesy (do we need a gas pump to show us gratitude?), behemoth SUVS, or inexplicable operating manuals? Have you had it with screeching leaf blowers, beseeching telemarketers, escalating movie-ticket prices, or proliferating celebrity magazines? Is it children's choirs or karaoke singers, waiters bearing pepper grinders or dinner guests blathering on about salt, that drives you to distraction? For anyone who has recognized that this peaceful kingdom of ours has more than a few potholes, 101 Damnations is the perfect companion. It's your ticket to the nine circles of personal hell. Armed with wit, bewilderment, and words to the wise ass, today's leading humorists conduct a brief tour of the trivial and often universal exasperations we all must endure. Among the damning, Henry Alford reveals our wanton desire to affect Britishisms. Sandra Tsing Loh has it in for people who forward "funny" e-mails. Once and for all, Merrill Markoe sets forth cell phone etiquette. And there are many, many others. Ninety-eight to be exact. Make yourself comfortable. Misery loves company.
Format:Hardcover
Language:English
ISBN:0312284802
ISBN13:9780312284800
Release Date:August 2002
Publisher:Thomas Dunne Books
Length:345 Pages
Weight:1.25 lbs.
Dimensions:1.3" x 5.3" x 7.8"
Customer Reviews
2 ratings
YOUR gripes and grousings...but elevated by humor
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 22 years ago
In the hands of humorists, all those things that really get under your skin suddenly take on a new life--an amusing one, that doesn't sound like whining! I found most of my personal pet peeves: the cashier that puts the receipt in your palm, then the bills, and then the change, so that there's no way you can put any of that in your pocket or purse before the groceries or the change spills. The dreary terror of little league baseball. Children's choirs. Leaf blowers. You name it, it's here. ... Is this an important book? Well, it's important to laugh at these little things so the really big things you can't do anything about don't get the best of you! It's 101 examples of smart thinking about our dumbest things.
If you hate it, it's in here
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 22 years ago
With an all-star lineup of funny folk, you'd expect something hilarious, and that's often what you get with 101 Damnations. Grouped into 9 circles of hell, everyone from Calvin Trillin to writers for the Letterman Show take off on golf, Tuscany, customer service, going bald -- you hate it, they cover it.The essays are all very short - some hardly worthy of "essay" status - and most are thought provoking, and will definitely get a rise out of you. Some of the pieces, however, are truly hilarious, such as Kevin Shay's take on people who mime being on the phone by using their thumb and pinky, Camuso and Seely's movie trailers, and Andrew Marlatt's "My Left Hair," which describes the true feelings of the haired vs. the un-haired.Overall, you will absolutely not be dissapointed with this book, and at times you will laugh out loud. Ideal for any bathroom reading library.
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