A
collection of posts from a humor blog, written by an economics writer with a
subversive streak.
Ake
has operated the blog Ake’s Pains since 2011, and here he offers his favorite
entries from it, along with tales of their creation and reception. The chapters
are loosely categorized by topic, with each featuring several blog posts. The
first shares Ake’s takes on male-female relationships, including a “running
joke” about why women should make sandwiches for men on demand. The second
tackles celebrity-related news, such as nude-photo leaks and the rapper
Pitbull’s fashion choices.
Other chapters cover such topics as sports,
including an analysis of some very bad team names; Ake’s home life, as in a
story about how his wife conquered a very obnoxious woodpecker; and economics,
such as an explanation of the subprime mortgage crisis involving a beautiful
but deceptive character named Becky Housing. He devotes one sweet chapter to
his daughter’s marriage, featuring a series of wedding-oriented posts that
cover love, stubbornness, and the insane financial obligations required of the
father of the bride. Ake’s humor is often coarse; busty women, for instance, show
up in several posts. He also demonstrates a love of wordplay, especially in an
impressively scatological piece about using
toilet paper sales as an economic indicator.
However,
such Everyman humor risks being derivative, and Ake’s writing is no exception.
One of his favorite topics, for example, is the battle of the sexes, but his
tales of sex-obsessed men struggling to understand irrational women don’t put a
new spin on it, and some jokes feel sexist and resentful, rather than
lighthearted. Ake is better when he discards such clichés and embraces
absurdity, such as when he tells of his attempt to write a song for Taylor
Swift that kept resulting in verbatim Bruno Mars lyrics. Also, his writing on
economic issues effectively addresses serious national issues with unserious
fables.
An
uneven collection that may please some fans of raunchy dad-humor. (Kirkus Reviews)
Author's note: I've never been called "raunchy" before and I suspect the reviewer may be flat-chested (not that there's anything wrong with that)
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