Jason Roeder

I find myself smack in the middle of the scale of introvert and extrovert. Probably a bit easier for me to identify with introverts so this book was instantly funny. It was the type of humor that is written seriously, you are reading along, reading along and then something totally outrageous is slipped in. It totally catches you off guard in the best way!

There are some hilarious illustrations throughout the book and I would have loved to have seen more. At times the chapters got a bit long show more but for the most part everything was overall humorous.

One of my favorite chapters was one about nonverbal communication, specifically a section on shaking hands and what not to do. It's laugh out loud funny! The next chapter about cross-cultural communication is hilarious because according to the author he didn't have enough text to fill out the chapter so instead decided to insert random pictures of oversized dolphins in different environments including Easter Island and a gun show. It's all about the random, which I love! I also really like the final chapter where the author tries to convince you to be friends with him! show less

“This may sound silly, but I want you to shake hands with yourself. Yes, I'm serious. Introductions are in order: Meet the new you!”
Yes, it does sound silly, but not really much more silly than the vast majority of self help books out there, does it? And that is what “Oh, the Humanity” is, a humorous send up of all the quick fix books that seem to flood the market these days. If you could just pick the right one for your particular issues, read it very quickly (because you really show more can't be expected to devote to much effort to this self improvement thing, are you), your live would be a bed of roses.
Mr. Roeder has latched on to just enough truth to make his spin amusing. Speaking of spin, Dale Carnegie must be spinning in his.

To quote Mr. Roeder “'Oh, the Humanity' is available pretty much everywhere slender novelty books are sold...” yes, of course, including Amazon.

for the full review, which is way more amusing check out my blog review here, 9/19 show less

A snarky spin on self-help books -- a bit seamier than Dave Barry, and likely to amuse Dr. Phil detractors. (In other words, I enjoyed it.)

I picked this book up because I found Mr. Roeder's column in Writer's Digest to be entertaining. The tongue in cheek approach of a self-help book was entertaining at first, but after a bit it starts to wear thin. Each chapter is entertaining in it's own right, but by the end I was glad to be done with it. I would say this is an entertaining read in small doses. Pick it up, read a couple of chapters and put it aside until you need another chuckle.