"Humor is mankind's greatest blessing." - Mark Twain
Did you know that besides being National Poetry Month and some other unique "holidays" such as National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day (April 2nd) and National High Five Day (April 18th), that April is also National Humor Month?
Well, it must be true, I read it on the Internet! ; P
Here's a "Friday Five" of humorous books available at Free Library, from smart and sarcastic to side-splitting slapstick, that have put a wry smile on my face and made me LOL.
Some of the most bizarre, out-there, laugh-out-loud non sequiturs and essays I have ever read. These are the writings of one of America's greatest humorists or the ramblings of a madman. Or both.
Presented by "America's Finest News Source", prepare to read some of the most absurd, ridiculous, silly, and of course completely fabricated stories and headlines from satirical news publication The Onion. A collection of some of the sharpest satire currently around and the quintessential parody paper of record.
Master of the monologue and the turn of a phrase, George Carlin was a philosopher in comedian's clothing. A smart, provocative, and wildly hilarious collection of essays, monologues, observations, and jokes that you'll read, re-read, and try to quote to make your friend's think you are smart and funny.
Scathing, satirical commentary from the humorist heir apparent to Mark Twain. Vonnegut's 1963 subversive science fiction novel takes jabs at the cold war, the atom bomb, technology, and theology with a crazy cast of characters. Dark humor at its finest.
Jean Shepherd's voice of midwestern Americana and nostalgia are the perfect narration for some of the funniest childhood stories you'll ever read. Some of the passages in this book were the basis for the holiday movie classic "A Christmas Story".
Search our catalog to find more items under the subject "humor" or "comedy".
Leave a comment and let us know what books you've checked out from the Free Library that have made you laugh!
"The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once." - Albert Einstein
When Albert Einstein gave us his general relativity equation, E = mc2 he opened the possibility that time travel could be real. He theorized that time was simply a variable, and time could slow down and speed up, depending on your gravitational field or when you're traveling at high speeds. We all know you can't travel faster than the speed of light (299,792,458 meters per second), but if you could travel near the speed of light, time would begin to slow for you in relation to things around you – and voila! you're in the future!
So if you like to daydream about a world where time travel is a common occurrence (like me), here are some films you might enjoy:
Teenager Marty McFly helps his scientist friend test his time machine, and finds himself in the past where he must unite his parents or his future doesn't exits.
Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as the robot assassin who travels to the past to kill a woman whose future son will be humanity's last hope in a war against the machines in the future.
This action comedy is about a little boy who's imagination takes him on a wild trip where he travels to various times in history meeting historical characters and trying to find tresure.
In this psychological thriller, a young man has the ability to travel time and relive his life. WIth this power, can he change his life for the better?
In this romantic drama, a man has the strange genetic disorder which allows him to travel time at random moments. His genetic disorder causes major complications in his marriage.
In this science-fiction thriller, a man must travel back in time to save his present world from a devasting disease, by stopping the man who releases the virus which will wipe out humanity.
Search our catalog to find more items with the subject "time travel" or do you have a time travel film recommendation? Leave a comment!
Did you know? April 2nd is Hans Christian Andersen’s birthday -- he would have been 208 years old this year. Happy Birthday, Hans!
It is also International Children’s Book Day, a day dedicated to the love of reading and to children’s books from all over the world. This year USBBY (United States Board on Books for Young People) has been awarded the sponsorship of the 2013 International Children’s Book Day. The Free Library of Philadelphia joins the celebration by highlighting outstanding international books selected from USBBY’s current and past booklists marking this day. All these exceptional books were originally published outside of the United States and bring a new perspective and flavor to children’s book collections everywhere.
Shel Silverstein was a very interesting and creative man. He is best known for his popular children’s books, such as The Giving Tree, Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic. His works are often compared toDr. Seuss and A.A. Milne (creater of Winnie the Pooh). Even though his poems are at times very silly and dare I say crude, but that’s why they were loved by children around the world (his books have been translated more than 30 languages).
But Uncle Shelby (which he often called himself in his children’s books) created some great works for adults, in particular his songwriting. I recently stumbled across the 1972 song Sylvia’s Mother by the band Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show. The song is about a man calling up his ex-girlfriend desperate to speak with her one more time before she moves away, but her mother refuses to put Sylvia on the phone. It’s terribly sad song and I was impressed to find out it was written by Silverstein.
I later found out Silverstein penned many country-western hits:
If you want to explore the musical side of Shel Silverstein you can download his album The Best of Shel Silverstein for FREE from Freegal. All you need is your library card number and pin, but keep in mind, you are limited to 3 (DRM-Free) downloads a week.
Maisy is a much beloved character of the PreK crowd – what’s not to love about sweet Maisy Mouse? In Lucy Cousins' new book, Create with Maisy, the author shares17 easy craft projects for creative little hands. Parents, teachers and librarians will have fun helping kids work through any of these projects: all you need are easy to find supplies and imagination -- follow the easy instructions or make changes of your own. All artwork created can be used to play, as decorations or gifts. And everyone loves a homemade gift, right?
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