Any large collection of writing that is focused on a certain “type” (in this case humor/mirth) can suffer from continued reading. That is, to read piece after piece of the same type can cause your immune systems to kick in and render the effect neutralized. (Okay, genre fictions may be the exception. Goodness knows I have read volume after volume of science fiction and have never, partway through, thought to myself, “My, a nice touch of Proust would be wonderful right now.”) But it is a risk, and I have had it happen in reading collections that are not varied enough.

This collection is not necessarily varied. That is not to say that there aren’t different writing styles, but it is a non-stop onslaught of humorous writing. And, with 140 different pieces (plus extras – not unlike the DVD version) and over 600 pages, it would be quite easy to find yourself staring at the pages blankly wondering, “When was the last time I laughed?”

All that as preface to the fact that this is a very nice collection that does not wear thin through the reading. I believe someone could sit, read it cover to cover, and not become inured to the effect. (An aside – I did not do that. About halfway through, I just had an urge to read something else to break up flow. As an interesting choice, I went to J. D. Salinger short stories, which probably had some weird effect on what I was seeing in those stories. But the fact that after 300 pages I was still enjoying the humor speaks to the editor’s ability to meet the challenge of being humorous and providing variety.)

And so, to the content. If you were reading closely in the prior paragraphs (and why wouldn’t you be [don’t answer that]) you may have noted that I continue to use the word humorous rather than funny. It may be telling that title of the book uses the word “Mirth”. There were a few laugh-out-loud moments in this collection, but the majority were just humorously (that word again) entertaining. On the other hand, there were probably only two or three that I began to read, began skimming, realized there was nothing worth reading, and I moved on. Not bad out of 140. The only other caveat is that humor does not always age well. The references to Clinton, etc. are humorous, but are definitely loosing their punch over time. An entertaining collection that brings together a number of the country’s premier comedic writers (amazing how many Late Night writers show up), you can make your own decision whether you want to plow through the entire thing or sample it with Chablis in the evening. But you should probably make the decision to try it out. ( )

Humourous contemporary essays, lists, short stories and other short pieces. Many were very hilarious, but a few were not my type of humor. Readers might find a couple of the topics offensive. ( )