The Humor Shelf

Business Fables Adopted From Aesop For Humans Who Work for a Living
Erika Schelby
Lava Gate Press
9780989121644, $9.99 Paper/$2.99 ebook

https://www.amazon.com/Business-Fables-Adopted-Humans-Living/dp/098912164X

Business Fables Adopted From Aesop For Humans Who Work for a Living is a sp= oof on American corporate culture that adopts a tongue-in-cheek countenance=
as Erika Schelby explores the world of work in a satirical Aesop-style col= lection of fables that includes an indirect critical eye on business profit= -centric focuses. Consumers traditionally suspicious of big business intere= sts will find not only statistics but information here supporting this view= point. Irony and social inspection come alive from the start: "Originally, = kites had beautiful singing voices. But one day they heard the horses neigh= ing, became envious, and decided to acquire that same skill with the greate=
st speed.

The desire to learn the neighing of horses became known and spread as quick=
ly as a prairie fire. The kites happened to live in a country inhabited by = many creatures of great ingenuity in matters of need recognition and wish f= ulfillment. Before one could count to three a whole neighing industry had s= prung up, with neighing consultants doing a brisk business throughout the l= and."

Whether analyzing office outings and assertiveness training or considering = the ineffectiveness of megatrends and a fox who becomes involved in financi= ng, each story holds a link to the business world that points out its ironi= es, inconsistencies, and underlying mirth that accompanies downfalls, mispe= rceptions, and business strategies. The idea is to elicit the rare laugh fr=
om the business-oriented mentality while adding a touch of thought-provokin=
g inspection into that reader's mindset that injects doubt and questions in=
to the process of modern business operations, pursuits, and methodology.

The result is a rollicking good read that tempers humor with real-world ins= pections and invites all readers to consider the roots of decision-making a=
nd analytical process.

Wildlife for Idiots: And Other Animal Cartoons
Adrian Raeside
Harbour Publishing
www.harbourpublishing.com
9781550179323, $16.99, PB, 128pp

https://www.amazon.com/Safaris-Idiots-Herd-Animal-Cartoons/dp/1550179322

Synopsis: With the publication of "Wildlife for Idiots: And Other Animal Ca= rtoons", Candian cartoonist Adrian Raeside offers a new collection of wildl=
y funny animal-themed cartoons.

Readers should be prepared to walk on the wild side with 340 full-color Rae= side cartoons, now collected for the first time into a single volume. Here =
is a menagerie of garbage-rummaging bears, squabbling eagles, philosophizin=
g wolves, pre-handbag alligators, artistic elephants, shedding mammoths and=
many more from the animal kingdom.

Critique: Laugh out loud funny from cover to cover, "Wildlife for Idiots: A=
nd Other Animal Cartoons" if a fun (and occasionally thought-provoking) rea=
d and unreservedly recommended for personal reading lists and community lib= rary Contemporary Humor/Cartoon collections.

Editorial Note: Adrian Raeside (https://raesidecartoon.com/adrian-raeside) =
is the creator of the popular The Other Coast comic strip, which appears in=
over two hundred newspapers. Besides being an editorial cartoonist for fou=
r decades, Raeside is also the author of over twenty books, including The R= ainbow Bridge: A Visit to Pet Paradise, Tails Don't Lie 1 & 2 and The World=
According to Dogs, An Owner's Manual. He currently resides on Vancouver Is= land, BC, Canada.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

The Midwest Book Review is an organization of volunteers committed to promo= ting literacy, library usage, and small press publishing. We accept no fund=
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The Midwest Book Review publishes the monthly book review magazines "Califo= rnia Bookwatch", "Internet Bookwatch", "Children's Bookwatch", "MBR Bookwat= ch", "Reviewer's Bookwatch", and "Small Press Bookwatch". All are available=
for free on the Midwest Book Review website at www (dot) midwestbookreview=
(dot) com

Anyone wanting to submit books for review consideration can send them to:

James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive
Oregon, WI 53575-1129

To submit reviews of any fiction or non-fiction books, email them to Frugal= muse (at) aol (dot) com (Be sure to include the book title, author, publish= er, publisher address, publisher website/phone number, 13-digit ISBN number=
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James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review

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