I’m Lynn Boitano of Edmond, OK, ready for the 2025 Spring Read – Humor Me! Much of the literature we’ve read in past series as part of the HPPR Radio Readers Book Club weighs in as heavy. Some of us love to do serious reading, but this spring, those readers seeking something lighter have the floor! Philosopher Sir Francis Bacon said that “Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he is not; a sense of humor to console him for what he is.”
Be consoled! And we hope that you’ll laugh along with us as we embark on our reading journey.
Of course, literary humor is not necessarily comprised of page after page of jokes but is often used as a way to give readers a respite from dark stories and times. Sometimes fiction that makes us laugh can provide profound insight. It can allow us to address controversial or uncomfortable subjects – and it can certainly release tension both in the story and in the reader.
Likewise , there is no one-size-fits-all humor. Humor covers a wide range of content, style and topic. So, whether it is satire, a good joke, a prank or the surprise of something unexpected, join us and get ready to laugh through time.
Our first book is The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell, published in 2008, We’ll travel back in time to explore the Puritans journey to America welcoming a new book leader Charles Forrest Jones who lives with his wife and dogs in Lawrence, Kansas, and Creede, Colorado, as we explore what claiming to be a Puritan nation means in today’s world.
We’ll read The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America by Bill Bryson as he searches for America’s perfect small town while crafting humorous observations about the people and places along the way. the 1950s. Julie Sellers, raised in the Flint Hills and currently of Atchison, KS, is our Book Leader. She is at Benedictine College and when she’s not there, enjoys walks with her husband, PJ and dog Mozzie.
Next up is What's So Funny?: A Cartoonist's Memoir by David Sipress published in 2022, and according to author Roz Chast, “illuminating, and hilarious memoir that will perhaps clarify what dark forces are at work when it comes to becoming a cartoonist rather than an a podiatrist, a billionaire tech mogul, or someone who is deeply into collecting owl figurines.” Tito Aznar, originally from Argentina. is currently a resident of the Oklahoma Panhandle. He’s been at Panhandle State University (OPSU) almost 20 years where he teaches English and Spanish when he’s not directing theatre productions.
And then there’s the graphic novel Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh published in 2013 and described by the author as a book with pictures, words and stories as well as the secret to eternal happiness. Our book leader is Matt Kliewer. Now a Texan, Matt, originally from Cimarron, Kansas, is a professor of humanities at Austin Community College.
So, we invite you to listen, starting Monday for Radio Reader BookBytes which will air each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday during All Things Considered and Morning Edition here, on High Plains Public Radio.
A native of California, Lynn Boitano has lived on the High Plains since 1988. She first came to High Plains Public Radio to work as News & Public Affairs Director. During her tenure at the station, she also served as Program Director and host of High Plains Morning and co-facilitator of One Small Step.
Lynn’s love of public radio began in college and has taken her to different places including Bosnia, where she helped set up a radio station modeled on the principles of High Plains Public Radio.
