Rating: 
Summary: Oh, How You Will Laugh!
Review: Al Franken has made a nice career out of biting social commentary, and this may be one of his crowning jewels. The "advice" he gives in this book is priceless...but not because it's all true (although, much of it certainly struck a chord with me), but because it's just so funny the way Franken explains it. Some of the chapters exhibit just why Franken has had a long career as a comedian and wry social critic. I especially enjoyed his chapters "Oh, The Mistakes You'll Keep Repeating", "Oh, The Politicians Who Will Disappoint You!", "Oh, the Houses You Will Covet and the Homeowners You'll Envy!" and "Oh, The Giving Back to the Community You Ought To Be Doing Instead of Reading This!". There is guaranteed to be a chapter in this book that will appeal to just about everybody. Mainly because Al Franken knows what makes us laugh, and what makes us human, and often they are one and the same thing. Highly Recommended!
Rating: 
Summary: Tongue-in-cheek advice for just about anybody
Review: Read Al Franken's OH, THE THINGS I KNOW! . . . it contains
tongue-in-cheek advice for just about anybody, ranging from
those about to start work ("Oh, Are You Going to Hate Your
First Job!") to the golden years of senior citizenship ("Oh,
the Nursing Home You'll Wind Up In!"). Franken tries to be helpful, but sometimes he can't help
telling it like it REALLY is . . . for instance, he notes, "Someone once said it is just as easy to fall in love with a rich person as with a poor one. Actually that's not true. It's easier to fall in love with a rich person. But to get them to love you back, that's harder." My only regret is that he just wrote the book . . . had he
written it earlier, I could have avoided the oh-so-many mistakes that I've made in my life. Some of Franken's wit and wisdom falls flat, but overall, I laughed at several passages . . . among them: [on investing] Follow your gut! If you find yourself using a product, invest in it. You see, I wasn't using Enron, but I was using Bounty towels. Had I made an equivalent investment in Bounty's manufacturer, Procter & Gamble, I would have reaped a
disappointing, but respectable, 3 percent return rather than
suffering a 99.8 percent loss. [on dieting] Do you really need that pork chop? No. Especially
since you didn't even order it, and it's on the plate of the person next to you. Resist the urge to take food off the plates of other people in restaurants. Or, if you must, at least ask, "Are you going to finish that?" [on getting along with his wife] Another secret to our long
and successful accommodation is a little trick we have for
smoothing over the many rough patches. It's very simple but
very effective. We don't go to bed angry. We stay up and fight!
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely freaking hilarious
Review: I thought Why Not Me was pretty tired, but this book is great. It's truly hilarious! By the way, he is not pandering to Oprah, he is making fun of her! It's satire..get it! SATIRE!!! p.s. Al, you can get the number for my bank account from Amazon if you like.
Rating:
Summary: Oh, satirist Al Franken gets BETTER AND BETTER!
Review: If Dr. Suess could order from Amazon.com from where he is now, he would be rolling -- with laughter -- in his grave. Al Franken spoofs the title of The Doctor's hit book and sticks it to the many self-help and inspirational books along the way. Franken is the early 21st century's perfect satirist, mixing late 20th century irony with HUGE vaudevillian, television and comedy club-style belly laughs. I liked this book better than his most popular book, Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot. Franken's genius is that he never overexposes himself so each book is a deliciously fresh comedy morsel -- and he keeps getting better, more perceptive and FUNNIER.
The laughs start early, when he talks about his pipe-smoking, good-humored father and how "this quantity time spent with my father, laughing and coughing phlegm...inspired me in choosing my life's work: making people laugh and raising money for the American Lung Association." Chapter titles are hilarious. Among the many: "OH! The People You Must Trample to Get Ahead!" "Oh! The Weight You Will Gain," etc. He throws in heaping helping of advice on such wide-ranging matters as sex, home ownership, religion, idiot bosses,
marriage, politicians, international long distance phone calls (complete with area code list)-- and Northern Canada.
He constantly lampoons tiresome exercises many self-help books have at the end of chapters. At the end of his chapter on advice he tells readers to make a list each night of all advice
given and gotten and at the end of a year "take a day to go through your 365 advice lists."He offers observations, such as how people don't change: "The person you marry will be the same person you will want to murder five, ten or twenty years hence.." And it's worth the price of the book to read his MANY (many more than can be quoted here!)running-gag references to people such as Oprah, fired Enron CEO Kenneth Lay ("If an investment sounds too good to be true, Kenneth Lay is probably involved.") and Maria Shriver ("If I wanted something to read that didn't make any sense, I'd just read Maria Shriver's book."). And what about conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh, who provided him with considerable material (and a title) for a best-selling book? In an extensive section Franken offers this (limited) olive branch: "When I wrote a book calling him a big fat idiot, he lost weight and became slightly more accurate."
Rating: 
Summary: Better than some others
Review: This book is a shade better than some of these other "humor" books that have been getting on best seller lists recently, the "stupid" book, the "silly putty" book, and a couple of others that purport to be joke books. In one place he actually manages to be warm, when he speaks of his wife and children (but maybe he's kidding there too). In another chapter he rates the major religions. His own is number 1. The one this reviewer practices is in the middle (not too bad) and then things get worse. The trouble with funnyness is that it's a good diversion, but it's never profound.
Rating: 
Summary: Literary bay at the moon
Review: My mother, God love her, purchased this book for me (not having read it herself). I can only imagine that she came upon Al Franken (or ALF, as I will forever refer to him from this day forward) pitching his latest offering on an episode of Oprah while flipping through channels, and decided I might enjoy it. Out of respect for mom, I read the book. ALF may bode well on a talk show, but in this case please save a tree. I could not, in good conscience, pass this book to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Oh so so
Review: This book is fun in the same way as watching someone slip on ice. You laugh for a few seconds as the person flops around and then spend the rest of your time in shared agony. I did have a few hee hee moments, but not the Prozac induced belly laughs as the other reviewers on this page. Amusing yes... hilarious, oh I don't think so.
Rating: 
Summary: Some good laughs and mixed messages.
Review: Al Franken can be a funny guy. But, more often than not, his arrogant tone has gotten him in trouble. A couple years back he trumpeted his pessimistic political views and the result was an extremely divisive audience, those who love him and those who hate him. Now, with this book he doesn't pander to either side, he blasts every side. (He flat out apologizes to "Big Fat" Rush Limbaugh) So, even those who will read it because they share his political views may be frustrated. Still, his core group of followers will find this material appropriatly rebellious. It is a very simple and clever book but proper categorization is essential. The cover features Franken wearing graduation garb and the title suggests a book for "graduation guidance". Parents that would buy this for their grad would very likely be shocked to find advice such as take drugs and participate in bestiality. (I am not making that up.) Franken knew he was writing that kind of book, proudly reiterating he would offer as much bad advice as good. The chapters are brief so it can be easily picked up and put back down. But, there is no payoff to the compilation, just a string of chronological vignettes. With his constant pandering to Oprah Winfrey (one of the only people of which he speaks nicely), he must have been crushed when she cancelled her book club... before including his...
Rating:
Summary: This book is really, really funny
Review: This book is really funny. I've read a lot of humorists' books, and the jokes mostly sit there and die. But this made me laugh out loud, a lot of times. To put it in Gene Siskel terms, this thin book is fat with laughs. Parents, this is about a good a graduation gift as you can find. And everyone else should buy it too--they won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Great, Fun Book
Review: Al Franken creates an enjoyable read once again. Not politically focussed, Franken shows that he is more than just a political comedian. His latest book gives his take on life's lessons and truisms. The book reads in no time, and is sure to bring a smile to your face throughout. Absolutely would make an excellent gift. My only wish was that there was more material from this brilliant, funny mind. Here's hoping Al gets a forum which allows more regular exposure for us.
| 
