Earth (the Book)

This came out sometime last year and I meant to snag it then, but as luck would have it they were giving away free copies of it at the comedy awards, so I grabbed one there!  On a laugh-per-page count this book ranks pretty damn high in being one of the funniest things I've ever read.  Written as a guide to our planet for alien visitors to find after we destroy our race, it's a pretty nasty look at ourselves as a race and tackles pretty much every subject associated with us.  I was tempted to throw some of the better comments in my review here, but they often rely so heavily with the photos associated with them.  If you're a fan of Jon Stewart and his people this is absolutely a must-own, or if you just like to take a cynical look at our species it's hard to go wrong with this.  A perfect coffee table book and a great gift.  I would pay for this had I not gotten it for free!!! 

I Found This Funny

Although Apatow's name is slathered all over the cover, I think it's mostly just clever marketing - I'm not sure how one "edits" a collection... outside of selection... regardless the proceeds for this book go to a good 'cause and not his wallet, so it's all well and good! 
I have a love and hate relationship with short fiction.  When it's good it's absolutely phenomenal, but I'm also a person who likes to be told a story, and there are many a short fiction writer who just likes to play around with tangential material in short fiction, and I find myself skimming that stuff.  This collection was a little from column A and a little from column B in that regard.  I won't go into details on them, but below are the ones that really stood out for me in the collection:

Judd Apatow - How I Got Kicked Out of High School: a Freaks and Geeks Diary

Raymond Carver - Elephant

Dave Eggers - Your Mother and I

Paul Feig - And Now a Word from the Booth

Jonathon Franzen - Two Ponies

Ian Frazier - Coyote v. Acme

Jack Handey - My First Day in Hell

Simon Rich - Six Selected Pieces

Rodney Rothman - Vivian

Paul Simms - For Immediate Release

Robert Smigel - & Conan O'Brien - Lockwell: a TV Pilot

Jon Stewart - Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Sitcom

The collection is a nice mix bag of different styles as well.  In addition to the above there are some pretty fantastic cartoons in there as well.

If you like to laugh, or read intelligent funny writing, I'm sure that there's something in here for you.