Book Review: "Seriously...I'm Kidding"

I'll admit; after the last Ellen book I read (which has the prior review on this blog), I was more than a little hesitant to read this one. But I plowed on, and I'm happy that I did, as this book was much more well-written than its predecessor. It's still written as a collection of short stories -- some seemingly stream of consciousness -- but unlike the last book, it doesn't feel so A.D.D. that it almost seems like you're reading the ramblings of a cocaine addict. (I mean no disrespect whatsoever to Miss Ellen.) This has a much smoother pace, and for it, I was able to appreciate the humor much more and just all around enjoyed the book a lot more, and for that, it wins a 4 star rating!

Book Review: "The Funny Thing Is..."

I love Ellen. I really, really do. So it was my assumption that I would also adore anything she wrote. Well..... her humor doesn't really carry over to the written word quite as well, let me tell you, unless you prime yourself for it. If you base this on writing style alone, it's very A.D.D. and jumps all over the place. Now, if you sit and imagine it in her voice, it regains some of the funny and some of her style, but just on its own, it seemed a bit lackluster to me. Which was a disappointment, as I've been waiting for over two years (!!!) for my local library to finally have this book on its shelf. It's ALWAYS checked out, so I'd falsely assumed it must be one of the greatest books ever written. (Or something.) And while indeed, it's not terrible, it just... I don't know, it feels like it's missing something. I can't put my finger on exactly what that something is, though.

I'm rating this book 3 out of 5 stars.