note: i apologize if you’re getting this post twice. 1st attempt was FAIL. thanks for your patience.

If you’re looking for something to make that special someone* laugh this Christmas and you trust my sense of humor, then by golly this post is for you.

*that special someone could be yourself, because you ARE special.

Here’s 8 books that made me laugh this year (or will make me laugh next year). I’ve included some info about the books below.

(and in the interest of full disclosure, my blog is a part of the Amazon Affiliates program, which means if you use these links to buy I can put a few pennies in a jar that might eventually help me write for a living, so we’ll all be winners here. My buddy Tyler Stanton is doing the same thing on his blog today, because both of us have logged a ton of hours on our blogs and we’d love to start making some lunch money with them.)

Here’s a little bit about the books

1. Ant Farmand 2.Free-Range Chickens
both by Simon Rich – possibly the funniest books I’ve ever read. Simon, who writes for SNL, has a way of finding a unique angle on everyday situations. His style is simple and to the point, and doesn’t lose any humor value with multiple readings…trust me, I know. (Simon occasionally cusses and occasionally pokes fun at religion and our concepts of God, so if that sort of thing really upsets you, you can skip these)

3. Seinlanguage
– If you love the show but you’ve never read the book, this is a MUST read. It contains many of the bits that Jerry has used in his act through the years and more you’ve never heard.

4. And Here’s the Kicker
– If you’ve ever dreamed of writing for TV or Movies, this book will instantly become a favorite. Interviews with the people behind the Simpsons, Borat, SNL, and David Letterman, just to name a few.

5. Stuff Christians Like
– Releasing in April 2010, this will be THE book you want to pass around to friends next year. Plus Jon’s a good friend, and I want you to buy his book so he feels special.

6. Angry Conversations with God: A Snarky but Authentic Spiritual Memoir
– Susan writes with more candor and humor than the law should allow. You can read my review here.

7. Churched
– A hilarious memoir that was great to read and has been an inspiration as I’ve written my own. You can read my review here.

8. The End Is Now
– The only fiction on this list, you can read my review here.

If any of these sound interesting to you as a gift for a loved one or a friend, go for it. They all have my stamp of approval.

This post has moved here.

Thanks for your patience.

As some of you (and now all of you) know, I’ve been working on a book for over two years now. It has been a long, exhausting, and amazing process…and I am still right in the middle of it.

The book has changed and changed and changed again since I started working on it. Everything from the title to the subtitle to the format to the writing voice is different from when I began writing it in September 2007, and it is still a work in progress.

The good news is, I really feel like I’m getting closer. I feel like I’ve got the right title, subtitle, and format now. (and folks whose opinion I trust seem to agree). And I feel like my writing voice for this book is finally emerging. There’s still a ton of writing and rewriting left to do, but I’ve got my second wind and I’m focused on the finish.

What’s next, you ask? My goal is to get my polished proposal and sample chapters to the agent I’ve been speaking to before the end of the year (hopefully by the end of the month). If they are deemed ready and potentially salable , then we’ll move forward and try to get a book deal. If not, then I’ll either need to find a new agent, a new book idea, or a new reason to get up at 5:30am.

So yeah, that’s what’s going on with that. Now you know, whether you wanted to or not.

While we’re here I also have a favor to ask of you. I’ll be spending a majority of this weekend at a friend’s guest house just down the road, doing nothing but writing. By Saturday evening I’m going to be mentally exhausted and questioning my own sanity, and it would be nice to get some encouragement or something to make me laugh.

So here’s the deal. I’m not going to read ANY comments to this post until Saturday evening. Give me some encouragement, make me laugh, belittle me with soul-crushing insults, tell me I look great with Joel Osteen’s hair…whatever you like. I won’t read a thing until I’m on the verge of jabbing a quill into my temple.

If you’re game for it, leave me a comment now.

I don’t care what angle you take, just help me clear my mind for a few minutes.

PS…I know some folks have been having trouble leaving comments recently. Email me if your comments are being deleted automatically and I’ll do what I can to fix it.

It’s been 6 months since I posted Books I Didn’t Write Volume 1 and Volume 2. I’ve been meaning to do this again…and I probably will in the next week or two. In the meantime, here’s a few of the best from the past.

(all I did for these was load a random flickr image and then come up with a book title and cover design. unfortunately i didn’t save photo credits to the photographers from volume 1.)

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World renowned makeup artist Bryan Allain walks you through the dos and don’ts of the art of makeup. Using everyday objects like sidewalk chalk and charcoal briquettes, Bryan paints on the palette of the female face with the grace of Van Gogh and the edginess of an angry Alec Baldwin.

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photo credit

Journalist Bryan Allain makes a compelling case for the silver lining to the nuclear war mushroom cloud.

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A collection of Bryan Allain’s shortest stories. Some are only 40 syllables long. Others are wordless.

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The harrowing tale of a young man raised by russian con artists in an ethyl alcohol distillery.

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What’s in that girl’s belly? Is it an 8-month old fetus or a whole lot of Amstel Light? In this visually stunning masterpiece, author/photographer Bryan Allain provides 125 pictures of round female guts for which you must answer the question: Is she pregnant…or is that a beer belly? Great as a party game! (answer key provided in the back of the book!)

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photo credit

With the passion and determination of John Stossel, investigative reporter Bryan Allain rips the wings off of the bird obesity epidemic to find the truth. Are oversized birdfeeders creating a culture of gluttony in the bird kingdom? Are birdfeed manufacturers spiking their product with addictive substances? Are owls really just fat and lazy? Deadly Buffet chirps relvancy from cover to cover as the truth flies off every page and poops on your brain.

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Are spoons getting smaller these days, or are our liquids just taking up more volume? In the spirit of Malcolm Gladwell, Eric Carle, and Henry David Thoreau, author Bryan Allain takes an in-depth look into the curved eating implement named after a form of snuggling.

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