Review of "Bumper Snickers," by Bill Hoest

Review of

Bumper Snickers, by Bill Hoest 

Four out of five stars

 This collection of cartoons are about the trials and tribulations of driving a car in the United States. Although there is some poetic license and exaggeration in the situations, there is a lot of fundamental background truth. All drivers can relate to most of the cartoons, for traffic jams, car trouble and obnoxious drivers are events we all experience.

 My favorite is the mechanic writing up a bill for a customer and saying, “You avoided an expensive repair job later on by having it done now.” This is a situation all of us with cars find frightful. If you like simple, understandable cartoons, this collection will make you grin or grimace based on your experience.

Review of "Hocus-Focus #2," by Hal Kaufman and Bob Schroeter

Review of

Hocus-Focus #2, by Hal Kaufman and Bob Schroeter ISBN 0451115279

Five out of stars

 This is a book that will challenge your abilities to spot differences between two images, which sharpens the mind. There are 100 puzzles, each of which is composed of two captions on the same page. The goal is to spot at least six ways in which the two images differ. Some of the differences are fairly easy to spot, but others can take some time to identify. The answers are listed at the bottom of the page in inverted small print.

 As long as the reader can see well, the puzzles can be solved by people from elementary school through the retirement years. It has been well documented that people that keep mentally active are better able to avoid mental decline in their later years. Therefore, one can convincingly argue that this book has medicinal value.

Review of "Grin & Beer It," by Ed McMahon

Review of

Grin & Beer It, by Ed McMahon 

Two out of five stars

 This is a book of very bad puns based on the concept of beer. It seems clear that it was written by someone else and Ed McMahon agreed to let his name be used in order to boost sales. Of course, an integral part of McMahon’s entertainment persona was that of a man that loved drinking alcohol.

 Some examples of the bad puns in the book are:

“What did the beer demand of his lawyer? That he be judged by a jury of his beers.”

“Why do pretzels go with beer? Because it is good for what ales them.”

“What beer can be found in the forest? Smokey the beer.”

 While there will be some people that will be amused by the puns in this book, most will groan their way through it.