// author archive

simon

simon has written 630 posts for readersvoice.com

Leo Rosten p1

READERSVOICE.COM aims to give a few samples from interesting out of the way books. These are secondhand books that you might find in charity stores, opshops, thift shops and the like. These shops are good for interesting and cheap random finds that you might not hear about anywhere else. This issue features Leo Rosten’s Giant […]

Leo Rosten p2

Some more samples from Leo Rosten’s Giant Book of Laughter… An anecdote about Groucho Marx: He was driving back from a casual trip to Tijuana, Mexico. On the California side of the border, the U.S. immigration officials asked each driver a few questions.  When Groucho’s car stopped, the Fed touched the brim of his hat […]

Leo Rosten p3

More samples from Leo Rosten’s Giant Book of Laughter. These are from a section called How’s that Again? Lovingly collected from newspapers, magazines, talk shows… Reverend Hammond was congratulated on being able to get his parish plastered. These premises will shortly be opened as a cafeteria, with courteous and efficient self-service. The jury’s verdict showed […]

Egermeier’s Bible Story Book p1

READERSVOICE.COM aims to give a few samples from interesting secondhand books. The best chance of finding books like these is to visit charity stores. You mightn’t even find them there. But there are a wide range of books donated by the public to thrift shops and opshops. There are some real gems to be found […]

Egermeier’s Bible Story Book p2

The temptations of Jesus… When the forty days were ended, Jesus grew very faint and hungry, for he had eaten nothing since he came into this lonely place. And Satan remembered how he had tempted Eve to eat pleasant food, and how this temptation had caused her to listen to his words. He thought he […]

Egermeier’s Bible Story Book p3

Another temptation of Jesus… The third time Satan brought his greatest temptation. He took Jesus to the top of a high mountain and caused him to see all the kingdoms of the world. “These great kingdoms are mine,” said the tempter, “and I can give them to any one I choose. Now I will give […]

Humor books, Leopold Fechtner p1

READERSVOICE.COM aims to give a few samples from interesting secondhand books.  Here are a few humor books, gleaned from the recent Lifeline Bookfest, which is an enormous sale of secondhand books run by the charity Lifeline, in Brisbane. They should have events like this all around the world. You never know what you’ll find. Leopold […]

Dom Joly p2

Another interesting humor book from the recent Lifeline Bookfest was Here Comes the Clown by comedian and travel writer Dom Joly. It’s a 2015 memoir recounting his life in showbiz. Among many other tv appearances and shows, he had a candid camera-style show in Britain, called Trigger Happy TV. He would prank people by pretending […]

Ruth R. Wisse on Jewish humor p3

The Lifeline Bookfest also yielded a very good book on the history of Jewish humor called No Joke, Making Jewish Humor, by Ruth R. Wisse, published 2013. It’s an in-depth history covering hundreds of years of Jewish humor. Along the way the book features a few jokes and puts them in historic context. Here are […]

Dodgy Used Car Yards of Sydney p1

READERSVOICE.COM aims to give a few samples from old and out of print books. These books are well worth tracking down. And op shops are good places to see what random books turn up. One book described some of the dodgy ploys used by a handful of shady car vendors on the Parramatta Road in […]