Customer Reviews

But Then Again I Could Be Wrong: The Book of Rants (humorous tales from Scranton Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania writer for The Weekender)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A triumph of the little man. Rising takes those little daily annoyances we all wish we could gripe about and gives them the smack down they deserve. Like rude people, dumb people, the officious and the rediculous-they all get the drubbing they deserve in this all-too-brief little book. Rising's style is down-home and comfortable-reminscent of Garrison Keeler without the recurring characters, unless you count the long suffering wife. Rising is like the big brother you wish you had to point out these little life lessons to you. Great Work!!

"Head on -- apply directly to your forehead"--this is one of the of most annoying commercials of all time, but the again, I might be wrong. Or then again I could be wrong. Why the author ended almost every little rant or fraustration with those words is just as annoying as the commercial. As I read this book I started to skip the last sentence.

The cover of this book leads a persons curiosity to open the book and start reading. This book had me laughing out loud in parts. Then when the author wrote about the obituary of the baby girl and the priest it truely touches your heart. Also in parts it is almost poetic when he describes the sounds of the wind blowing. Or how he loves to watch storms. The love he feels for NE Pennsylvania and the way he describes it; I know it is one place I would love to visit.

I am sure his long suffering wife (of whom he never mentions her name) will agree with me when I say "Jim, get off of your lawn mower before you kill yourself!" Swallow your pride and let your wife call her brother. This poor man is definately not Mr. Fix It. Oh, sorry the politically correct word would be he is "Honey-Doo" challenged.

In honesty he does put into words what so many of us have felt at one time or another. Well except the shower thing. I do have an answer for Jim when he speaks about deers crossing the road. My oldest son Troy swears that car dealers spray cars and trucks with deer scent. That is why so many deer committe suicide on our roads each year. So everyone be warned, wash all those cars and trucks at least three times before you venture into deer country.

I found this book to be an amusing read. Not bad for a first time author. I hope you can raise the monies needed for your library. I hope to visit there someday.

Sandra Heptinstall
Whispering Winds Book Reviews

Length:: 2:00 Mins

Jim has a realy unique take on life that makes you wonder if he was taping your thoughts as you screamed at the car in front of you or muttered some rude thing about the couple at the other table. It is great that he is saying all the things we usually just think about! A absolute must read. Keep a copy at work and cheer yourself up the next time some one makes you mad.

Rising's book is a compilation of articles from his PA newpaper articles and radio shows. He rants about everything from man breasts to toilets, stupid drivers to fist fights, cell phone and email addictions, weather..lots of it..., saving another person with the "Heineken" maneuver, Christmas shopping, stinking garbage, root canals and toilets, and a variety of other topics--some humorous, others not so much. I think I covered most of his rants but then again, I could be wrong!

I received this book as a Member Giveaway book on a library website. Its really exactly as the cover says, a book of rants. Nothing spectacular, but not boring either. This book makes a great bathroom reader as it pretty much all 1-2 page rants about anything and everything that most of us can relate to. Very light reading.

The author is a long-time radio personality, his voice having emanated from many different broadcast towers. In this book, he puts forward a series of short diatribes about the many annoyances he encounters in the world. It is unfortunate that he feels it necessary to repeat two phrases so many times. Most of the "rants" end with "Or then again, I could be wrong." Furthermore, nearly every mention of his wife is prefaced by "long suffering."
This reuse of these phrases is unfortunate, because the author has enough humor and writing in his genes to make it work if he were to simply explain his frustrations. Some of them are very humorous and nearly all of them are based on experiences that we all have had. Battles for parking spots, being ignored at restaurants, stopping at hotels that are so dirty the flies refuse to enter, attending estate and yard sales and loud conversations on cell phones are some of the situations that have moved Rising to rant. However, the appearance of his standard closing, which was almost always out of context, was not an improvement. After about the tenth time I read, "long suffering wife" I started wondering what she suffered from.