Who, Me? Paranoid? Humor, Humor Everywhere

Erica Stux
Wheatmark (2007)
ISBN 9781587366765
Reviewed by William Phenn for Reader Views (12/07)


Erica Stux is a housewife with a large sense of humor. She has not written a book before and there is nothing on the internet to the contrary. But that does not mean Erica can not write a funny and entertaining book; we all have to start somewhere.

Starting with “Household hang-ups” and ending with “It’s a weird world out there,” this book kept a smile on my face. It did not make me roll in the aisles on every page; but did make me chuckle.  Having a husband that not only can make his own TV dinners but will do the grocery shopping too, should be a blessing? Think again. What this man does in the kitchen and grocery store will amaze (maybe not) you. He remembers numbers by relating them to famous people’s birth or death dates but has a problem with names.

From the house to the car, the humor continues. Her husband has a habit of leaving the A/C on full blast when he turns off the car. So when she gets in it she is hit with a fierce blast of cold A/C and the radio blasting; it seems that he also leaves the radio on.

This comedy continues with stories of the author’s rental property. She relates some very funny stories about winterizing and her dilemma with storm windows. Plumbing and electrical problems add more fodder to the hysterical mix. From electrical outlets that blow up to red tagging stoves because of leaking gas lines, the hilarity doesn’t stop.

Erica has covered just about every aspect of human life in such comical form. She dedicates one whole page to new bird species, like the “Morning-after egret” or “Red-faced Bribetaker.” But I think she stretches it a bit in the chapter called “The agony and the Ecstasy.” The page filler “What happens to”...is corny but cute.

I must admit, I had mixed emotions all through this book. Mixed because it was hilariously funny in certain areas and boring in others. I genuinely understand what point the author was trying to make in this cute compilation of life. But putting in some of the bland page fillers as I call them did not help. I gave it a B simply because it is funny and that was the whole idea. I would recommend “Who, Me? Paranoid?” to anyone on a cross-country plane trip.

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