Barbara Venkataraman Leaves You Smiling

“A Trip to the Hardware Store & Other Calamities”
 By Barbara Venkataraman

Genre: Humor

ASIN: B00IO94GAY
Author's blog: www.barbaravenkataraman.blogspot.com
Published on Amazon
Reviewed with five stars

Reviewed by Brad Teare originally for Amazon

This review is from: A Trip to the Hardware Store & Other Calamities: Quirky Essays for Quirky People (Audible Audio Edition)

This is a collection of humorous stories akin to Erma Bombeck to which the author will be oft compared. Some of the stories were laugh-out-loud funny. I especially enjoyed Lazybones and Gadget. Writing comedy is really hard and I take my hat off to any author who can do it well. I listened to the Audible book audio and I really liked the narrator. Her voice is similar to Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars). Her voice has a young, perky timbre that is easy to listen to and apropos for humorous writing.

The only reason I deduct a star is I didn't think the first two stories were the best and I felt the collection was marred by them being first. It's a slight gripe I know but if I were editor I would have started with Lazybones which was very insightful as well as funny. But that bit about being a waitress and the customer wanting the omelet pie (I don't want to spoil anything) was hilarious. I think I will add a star just for that episode alone. So five stars it is!

 

 

ABOUT THE BOOK

 

Winner of the "Indie Book of the Day" award and Honorable Mention for nonfiction humor in the "Readers' Favorite" Contest. At 8,000 words, this collection of humorous essays explores such quirky topics as: disastrous home repairs, ("A Trip to the Hardware Store"), an unfortunate dinner party ("Dinner is Served"), the truth about lazy people ("Lazy Bones"), the weird life of a debt collector ("Your Account is Past Due") and obsessions with gadgets ("Gadget Girl"). Other essays examine how surreal the aging process is ("Where Did the Time Go?"), why you shouldn't judge a person by their job ("Beyond Belief"), and how to complicate simple transactions ("High Finance"). Like the author's first work, "I'm Not Talking About You, Of Course...," these essays will give your spirit a lift and leave you smiling.

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