A collection of hilarious little gems, ranging from what children imagine grownups are saying, to the failed dating attempts of an endangered species. ( )

Hilarious little tidbits, stories, and just general all-around funny excerpts. He makes you laugh in one page. That's saying something. The only other writer who can do so much w/ so little is Etgar Keret. Brilliant. ( )

A collection of very short humorous scenes and sketches, featuring such topics as the kids' idea of what people are talking about at the grown-ups' table, what the criminal justice system would look like if real life were like middle school, what that "may contain peanuts" note on food labels really means, and (my personal favorite) the canine version of The X-Files. ("Yesterday I fell asleep, and when I woke up, my testicles were missing.") These are generally more sort of modestly amusing than laugh-out-loud funny, but there's a certain kind of cleverness in its skewed-yet-strangely-rational perspectives that's appealing. ( )

I was halfway through the book before I actually laughed out loud, but there were three more instances after that. Still a pretty low percentage, but I don't think it's quite my sense of humor. My boyfriend is more the target demographic and he laughed pretty much at everything. It became much more impressive when I read at the end that he wrote all this during his four years of undergrad (not only as a senior). That explains why almost everything is from a kid's perspective and how the few pieces in adult voice didn't ring quite true. Many gags are familiar and he doesn't put a new twist on them. But they're the first time for someone. The piece with the hockey players was the most ambitious and thus almost the most impressive (but definitely sad rather than funny, at least to me), but he made some assumptions that just couldn't hold up. The ones I actually laughed at were Medieval England, Stadium Proposal, Sultan of Brunei, and Life in the U.S. Army. ( )

In a series of brief yet highly imaginative sketches, Simon Rich creates clever fantasies based on questions and topics that most of us would never consider. What happens when elementary school children discover the true intent of the Politeness Game? Are those love coupons your girlfriend gave you still valid after you've been apart for years? And just how awkward is it when murderers run into their victims in heaven? These are only a few of many hilarious tales that Rich offers up in this fast-paced read.

Ant Farm is the perfect book for those in need of a quick dose of humor to brighten their day; simply open to any page, start reading, and laugh out loud. Each situation has a unique twist that makes you look at ordinary life in an entirely new way. This is the kind of book that you could read all the way through within the hour or dip back into from time to time - either way, it never loses it's spontaneity and intelligent wit. ( )