Friday, August 30, 2013

Books to share with your friends who have an unusual sense of humor, or, my friend told me I had to write about this book


This photo of a Halloween decoration is a picture from Kevin Cotter's book, 101 Uses for my Ex-Wife's Wedding Dress.  When his wife left him, one of the things she left behind was her wedding dress.  When he asked her what to do with it, the response was along the lines of "whatever you want". Following the many and varied suggestions of family and friends, that is exactly what he did.  While it may have started out as a cathartic activity with the goal of finding 101 uses for the discarded dress, the quest became a hilarious blog which then segued into an extremely funny book.  Not only has the author reached his goal of over one hundred uses for the dress, he continues to take suggestions from his blog readers.
Doesn't that look comfy?
Although one may surmise that the book is going to be bitter and nasty, the author has managed to take a painful, life-changing event and create something incredibly funny.  His attempts to use the dress for a multitude of activities may be interpreted as his own method of (cheap) divorce therapy.  This "therapy book" comes with photographs and provides plenty of laughs for the reader.
The author was also left with all of the candles and accoutrements from the wedding.  Use # 75, Puppet Show Curtain, is not to be missed.  It contains a sock monkey, the dress, a doll wearing a replica of the wedding dress, and a Darth Vader mask.  The format of the book allows you to browse topics and uses randomly so that the reader can pick their favorites to share with friends.  The author's blog appears to still be going strong even as he moves forward with his life.  The list of suggested dress uses continues and readers submit their own divorce and wedding dress horror stories.  On the happily-ever-after side of things, the blog also contains a list of charitable organizations that use or resell wedding dresses for a variety of good causes.
There are other blogs that have become books for our perpetual enjoyment. STFU, Parents by Blair Koenig is a book created from the author's blog which speaks out against atrocities that occur every day on social networking sites.  A few of the categories she addresses are "MommyJacking" (the art of telling someone who is proud of their accomplished goal that they haven't accomplished anything until they've been a parent), "Bathroom Behavior" (posting awful photos and graphic descriptions of your child's bodily functions), and "Bun in the Oven" (featuring photos of pregnant bellies that should only be shared with close family and friends).
Another humorous blog that has made the transition to book format is Please fire me:  posts from the revolting workplace by Adam Chromy.  The blog is a list of reader-submitted posts by people who cannot leave their job and are dealing with awful bosses, co-workers, or working conditions.  Some of the posts will make you laugh out loud, others will send you searching for your hand sanitizer.  On the lighter side of things, there are also comic blogs such as The Oatmeal whose author has had a number of his comics turned into books.  Even a non cat-lover can find something to laugh about in How to tell if your cat is plotting to kill you.  In fact, Matthew Inman's book may hold more appeal for those people who are instinctively cautious around cats and their secretive ways. If your neighbor's cat is acting suspicious, this is the survival manual you are seeking.
Don't live in a state of perpetual feline fear.  Find the information you require at the library.  (No cats allowed.)

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