Product Description

A Grammy?? nominee. The bestselling author and Emmy??-winning television star guides graduates across the uncertain seas of post-academic life. Inspired, inspiring, and laugh-out-loud funny. He's taken on political satire and skewered self-help. Now Al Franken turns the world of earnest, inspirational self-help books on its head. More advanced than Robert Fulghum, more fit than Maria Shriver's husband, Oh, the Things I Know! is Franken's commencement address for the 21st century. A cradle-to-grave guide for living, it takes young grads from their first job ("Oh, Are You Going to Hate Your First Job!") through their twenties and thirties ("Oh, the person of Your Dreams vs. the Person You Can Actually Attract!"), into marriage and parenthood ("Oh, Just Looking at Your Spouse Will Make Your Skin Crawl!"), and all the way up to senior citizenship ("Oh, the Nursing Home You'll Wind Up In!"). What does a mega success like Al Franken have to say to ordinary people? "There's no point in getting advice from hopeless failures." Filled with wit, wisdom, observations, and practical tips, this is an easy-to-follow user's manual for human existence. Why travel life's highway all by your lonesome when you can bring Al Franken along?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1872361 in Books
• Published on: 2002-01-25
• Format: Audiobook
• Original language: English
• Binding: Audio CD

From Library Journal
Fans of Franken's brilliant political satire (Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot) will be disappointed with his latest book. Oh, the Things I Know, while humorous in places, does not live up to the biting acerbity of Franken's political wit. It also pales in comparison with his earlier "self-help" persona, Stuart Smalley of Saturday Night Live fame. In this audio the author offers guidance, of a sort, through many of life's travails. Throughout, Franken appears to put aside what he is best at, humor, and tries to turn out a chapter or two of what Oprah is best at, concern and helpful advice for daily living. Those of us who have laughed out loud while reading his earlier books will be dissatisfied with this slim attempt at humor. Most libraries would be better served with any of Franken's other works.
Theresa Connors, Arkansas Tech Univ., Russellville
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
For this reviewer, the funniest things about middlebrow comic Al Franken are his face and his lisping, nerdy voice. I liked the title of his first book, RUSH LIMBAUGH IS A BIG FAT IDIOT AND OTHER OBSERVATIONS, far more than its contents. Here, the inside lives up to the outside. It's partly self-parody and partly a send-up of personal advice books by self-appointed gurus. Over this salad, he sprinkles sarcasm at the expense of politicians and others on the public radar. All in all, very tasty. Y.R. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
With a nod to Dr. Seuss and his popular tome for graduates of all ages, Franken offers his own advice guide, which covers pretty much anything anyone wants to understand about life. The aptly named chapters include "Oh, the Mistakes You'll Keep Repeating," "Oh, the Weight You Will Gain," and "Oh, the Orgasms You'll Fake (For the Ladies)." Franken tries to be nurturing, yet he can't avoid being blunt: "Someone once said it is just as easy to fall in love with a rich person as with a poor one. Actually that's not true. It's easier to fall in love with a rich person. But to get them to love you back, that's harder." And when remarking on Babe Paley's comment, "You can't be too thin or too rich," Franken adds, "Nobody loves a fat, poor person." Nor does he shy away from debunking myths. What doesn't kill you will make you stronger? Franken had a friend who went in for back surgery, which made him stronger for a while, until the blood clot that formed in his leg during surgery collapsed his lung, making him weaker. This laugh-aloud take on advice books--it is dedicated simply "For Oprah"--is Stuart Smiley with an edge. Reviewer's advice: don't read it while sitting alone on a bus. Ilene Cooper
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