Humour Books > M Humour Books > Steve Martin

Advantages: Quick and Quirky Reading
Disadvantages: Difficult to put down

...for movie appearances such as the man with the massive nose in ‘Roxanne’, the father with the crazy family in ‘Parenthood’ and more recently the unsuspecting pen-pal/confidante of a parole prisoner (played by the larger than life Queen Latifah) in ‘Bringing Down The House’. This man has not only been blessed with astounding acting, directing and producing skills, he is also a talented fiction writer. His previous literary works, ‘Picasso at the ...
...the world. Steve Martin possesses his own inimitable style on-screen and on the page. The complex word-play and nutty characterisations of his movie and TV works translate into the written form with astounding effect, making Martins writing vivid yet understated, simple yet amusing. A world that appears fearfully mundane becomes curiously fascinating through the eyes of this author. ‘The Pleasure of My Company’ is Steve Martins most recent book, ... Read review

Advantages: Very funny
Disadvantages: But not to some

Pure drivel is a book that Steve Martin himself calls 'After-dinner mints to the big meal of literature'. Which basically means its a book filled with short passages about Steve's observations, general ramblings, funny thoughts and as the cover suggests pure drivel. It's peculiar and also very funny. I don't think it's the sort of book you read through in one sitting though, I like to drop into it at various points for a quick burst of chuckleness. ... Read review

Advantages: Compact - some sensible advice to pick the bones out of
Disadvantages: Avoiding alien abduction?

When the original Worst Case Scenario Survival handbook was published, it covered emergencies many of which were only the kind experienced by Ray Mears and that ilk. The issue of a Travel version or sub-section makes all kind of sense, since most of the scrapes that the Man On The Clapham Omnibus will get into are more likely to occur whilst travelling to, or actually being in , foreign climes. I think someone gave me this book as a stocking ...
...such it's lain around in the bed-side table just waiting to come to the top of the pile as a bit of 'loo-time' reading. Any book thus designated must know that if found wanting, its pages may get used for something else. In fact, since this is the Travel edition of the "W-C S S H*", it even suggests doing this in the section on lavatorial emergencies. *(If you think I'm going to type out 'Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook' every time, think ... Read review

Advantages: Brilliant read!
Disadvantages: None!

...really does include everything that IS shit and takes the mickey out of it until you're blue in the face laughing. I absolutely love this book and the second edition - Is It Just Me or Is Everything Shit, Vol II. for which I waited in anticipation until the day of its release. I received this book for Christmas, from my mum who thought it was right up my street. It was and within days I'd read it cover to cover, laughing so hard that it became annoying ...
...reading material. The humour is sophisticated, with obvious signs that these guys are pros...this isn't just a book written by two blokes who've just come back from the pub. This is satire, wit, a little sarcasm and a lot of intelligence, even the arrangement and formation of sentences and language used becomes funny. It's just funny through and through. It's not that easy to make me laugh out loud with books, especially the kind of books released ... Read review

Advantages: It attracted a cult following and inspired an immensely popular tv show
Disadvantages: Trying to make a column into a book, and failing

...designed to be a novel, Sex and the City was Candace Bushnell's newspaper column, and unfortunately I got a very clear sense of this when reading it. The premise of the book was a good one, and when it was originally written, it seemed to represent a whole generation of young, single and attractive girls-about-town, but, unlike with the series, I felt little or no connection to the characters and the stories left me feeling cold. In fact this was ...
...I have seriously considered not bothering to finish a book. However, I powered on, the idea that a book had defeated me was too much to bear, but I have to admit that the only feeling I had on turning the final page was not one of pleasure or joy, but relief at finally being able to put it down for good. Perhaps my expectations were too high. Maybe the series' genius mix of amusing storylines combined with realistic characters with whom one could ... Read review