“Not for Babies – They Can’t Read”

Initially, we figured the comedy book The Will to Whatevs: A Guide to Modern Life wouldn’t pass the laugh-out-loud test, because few books do, and this wasn’t by The Onion staff or Simon Rich (look him up). And there’s the problem with the title, which sucks, and the theme, which also sucks, being too easy and predictable, an invitation to be boring. But after the second preface and third introduction of Eugene Mirman’s book, we were sitting up straighter, and by the quote opening chapter one, in which he quoted himself, we’d gone audible: “My book is very funny, but disorganized. I think in the end people will compare me quite negatively to a retarded Mark Twain.” The Will to Whatevs is primarily a Mirman brain dump: raw, scattered, prone to digression and absurdity. Here are a few lines, totally without context, which is okay — the book scoffs at context: “You have not tasted deliciousness until you try a lobster that has watched The War.” “Trust me — a mule on acid is twice as effective.” “Just text FARMERS IN DANGER to Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello. He’ll do the rest.” “Even though dieticians don’t recommend eating right before bed, most Fucketicians do. (I am both sorry and not sorry that I wrote Fucketician.)”
Fri., Feb. 20, 7:30 p.m., 2009