As usual Celia Rivenbark leaves me teary-eyed from laughter ( )

Bless Your Heart Tramp: And Other Southern Endearments by Celia Rivenbark is a quick, fun read that will have you laughing out loud. It isn’t really a novel; it’s a collection of 3 and 4 page humorous observations about life, told from the female perspective. At first, I thought you’d have to have some familiarity with the Deep South to understand it, but quickly discovered I was wrong. (There are some passages that may be lost on non-Southerners, though.) I found myself laughing out loud and reading passages to other people as I read this book. This will give you an idea of what the book’s like:

"Men, for instance, will never understand Basic Women’s Economics. I cannot tell you how often I have tried to explain to my husband how it possible to actually SAVE money by spending it.

Instead of seeing that I spent $200 on $300 worth of clothes that were on sale and applauding my shopping savvy, my husband thinks we’re still out $200.

He’s so crazy."

I must explain that the title of this book comes from the Southern practice of tempering even the mildest insult with “Bless his/her heart.” Bless her heart sounds so sweet, but it really signifies disapproval. I have to confess that I am guilty of peppering my every day speech with this term, so when I saw this book, I knew it was for me. I really enjoyed it and recommend it to anyone who needs a light, funny read. ( )

Not as good as We're Just Like You, Only Prettier ( )