Check it out
If you’re bogged down by ballot measures and confused by candidates, it
may be time for a little levity, with social satire from Newport
libraries.
You can read about the dramatic rise and dizzying fall of Al Franken,
author of “I’m Good Enough, I’m Smart Enough, and Doggone It, People Like
Me,” in “Why Not Me,” a riotous sendup of presidential politics in which
the 44th presidential wannabe makes his way to the nation’s highest
office by focusing relentlessly on ATM fees. Not much in the ritual of
American campaigning goes unscathed in this farcical account of our
election process.
Equally unsparing in its political skewering is “If the Gods Had Meant Us
to Vote They’d Have Given Us Candidates,” by equal opportunity muckraker
Jim Hightower. Based on the premise that Washington’s worst nightmare is
an informed citizenry, this laugh-out-loud political commentary
ultimately urges us to reclaim the reins of our democratic destiny.
In her “Greetings from the Lincoln Bedroom,” syndicated columnist Arianna
Huffington gives readers a sidesplitting account of a fictional stay at
the Clinton White House, during which she gets her soundest advice from
Socks, the First Cat. While she again pokes fun at the American political
scene in her newest diatribe, subversively titled “How to Overthrow the
Government,” she also provides a list of serious self-help remedies --
from family volunteerism to writing letters to Congress.
“Stick with your friends” is the simple message of “Stickin’: The Case
for Loyalty,” by political strategist Jim Carville. In addition to an
amusing take on Washington turncoats, the colorful Ragin’ Cajun offers
thoughts on loyalty toward family, friends, religion, political parties
and even brands in this treatise about a principle he finds sadly lacking
in contemporary times.
You can look at the last 100 years like you’ve never seen them before in
“Our Dumb Century,” a collection of faux journalism from “The Onion,” the
Madison, Wis.-based newspaper that prides itself on misinforming half a
million readers a week with hilarious social spoofs.
For a sure-fire antidote to stuffed-shirt reporting, don’t miss this
National Lampoon-style perspective on the march of history from 1900 to
the present.
If your whole existence is just too serious and you’d like to revisit
simpler times, check out “How to Live a Sitcom Life,” a tongue-in-cheek
guidebook to achieving your desired lifestyle using television
personalities as role models. Filled with helpful hints for such domestic
issues as choosing a car, buying clothes and caring for a pet, this new
volume is served up with razor sharp wit by self-professed TV junkie Mark
Bennett, who manages to find savvy solutions for dozens of everyday
dilemmas in classic sitcom scenarios.
* CHECK IT OUT is written by the staff of the Newport Beach Public
Library. This week’s column is by Melissa Adams, in collaboration with
June Pilsitz.
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