If Life Is a Bowl of Cherries, What Am I Doing in the Pits? [Mass Market Paperback]

Erma Bombeck (Author)

Book Description

Release date: March 12, 1985

"See if you can read a paragraph without laughing out loud."
Art Buchwald
The enchanting lady of laughter has done it again--this time taking a hilarious swipe at husbands, honeymoons, tennis elbow, marriage, lettuce, the national anthem, and a host of other domestic dilemmas.
"It's fun from cover to cover."
THE HARTFORD COURANT

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

This book hits home in the passage about The Mother Mystique. The one passage I'd love to share is my mother's metamorphosis with her physical appearance through the years. Of course, she had her role models, and by judging from her fashion tastes and family photos, my mother was carbon copy of the following women:

1959

Betty Crocker (apron and waffle iron included).

1963

Doris Day. This phase included a beehive do, box suits and pillbox hats. Que sera, sera

son.

1970

It's a story of a lady who looks like Carol Brady.

1978

Schlemiel, schlamazel look at me I'm dressing like Penny Marshall.

1986

Nancy Regan reds. Alternating with Barbara Bush blues. (Hairstyles not included).

1998

Golden Girl wanna be. Mom's outfits include Bea Arthur gray hair and designer seat suits.


-- Louis Mendez, editorial

From the Inside Flap

"See if you can read a paragraph without laughing out loud."
Art Buchwald
The enchanting lady of laughter has done it again--this time taking a hilarious swipe at husbands, honeymoons, tennis elbow, marriage, lettuce, the national anthem, and a host of other domestic dilemmas.
"It's fun from cover to cover."
THE HARTFORD COURANT

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Fawcett (March 12, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449208397
• ISBN-13: 978-0449208397
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.7 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #77,536 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #55 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Humor > Political

More About the Author

Beloved for her wry yet warm look at family life, Erma Bombeck was America's favorite humorist at the time of her death in 1996. Ten of her 13 books, including Forever, Erma, appeared on the New York Times best-seller list. She claimed her first fiction writing was the weather forecast in the Dayton Herald. Her favorite food was pasta, and her hobby was dust.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Life is still life... December 22, 2002

By Patricia R. Andersen VINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback

This book shows a little of the effects of the changing world since the time it was written. But it is still well written and it's still funny.

That's because though we have other things to worry about, some basic things stay the same. And maybe it's not stated in the current trend of the week, but life is still life and family is still family.

So buy this book, read a bit and see if you don't laugh out loud over it. I'm betting you will.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny, warm and true! May 15, 2006

By Busy Mom VINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I am on an Erma Bombeck kick ~~ and to be honest, this one is my favorite. I have rated all the others a five but if I could rate this one a ten, I would. It's funny, it's warm and it's loving as well as full of statire. I love statire. It's not the mushy warmth you'd think you're getting. Even if it is a bit dated (I grew up in the 70s & 80s) ~~ the insights are still true today.

This book made me laugh and made me cry. I think my absolute favorite chapter would be: I am Laughing So Hard that I Can't Stop Crying. I think I cried and laughed throughout that whole chapter. There's one where the father grumbles about the grass being torn up because of the wading pool, the sledding parties and beach parties. Then there's the one where it says, I love you enough to say no .... truths that my parents have always said to me and truths that I plan to pass onto my kids.

This book is heartfelt and witty. I wish there are more writers like Erma still out there. Sometimes, it seems like not everyone has a sense of humor anymore about life ~~ and even though life was hard, Erma made it all worthwhile. It still rings true today.

5-15-06

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Clean Laughs February 21, 2011

By Dottie Randazzo

Format:Hardcover

Length: 0:25 Mins

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Hobo Philosopher March 12, 2010

By Richard E. Noble VINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback

My wife and I had stopped at her sister's home in Fort Lauderdale on one of our winter breaks from our "Hobo-ing America" adventure some time back in the 70s. Whenever I am in anybody's home, I pick up whatever books they have laying around and scan them. My sister-in-law had several books by Erma Bombeck laying here and there. I wasn't really interested but I picked one up out of shear nervousness.

I am not sure which was the first of Erma's that I read. But I do remember that I couldn't put it down and that I was constantly laughing out loud. I read this book about the Cheeries, "the Grass is always Greener over the Septic Tank" and at least 5 or 6 more on that visit.

Erma was just a funny lady. Her sense of humor and her style on putting that humor down on paper is a study in the art of writing humorously.

From that time on I read her newspaper columns and listened to her commentaries when she was on TV. Her style and her attitude have become a part of the female culture of the American housewife. She made a bigger impact culturally than she even accomplished in the literary field.

Any "funny" female writer that you pick up today will contain shades of Erma. She is now a part of Americana and deservingly so. We often hear the phrase "So and so is/was an American treasure." Well, Erma was without any doubt an American treasure. I love Erma!

If you can read any of her books without spiting up laughing at some point, then you do not have a sense of humor. Sorry, but that the way it is. I love Erma.

Richard Noble - The Hobo Philosopher - Author of:

"The Eastpointer" Selections from award winning column.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Maybe a good introduction, though not one of her best books March 3, 2010

By Privacy, Please

Format:Mass Market Paperback

I remember when this book came out because my mother and I had all of her previous books and by this time were big fans of Erma. I was pretty excited to see a new book hit the stands, but when I read this one I was a little disappointed. At the time the book came out Erma was at, or maybe just past, the peak of her professional renown and was involved with a lot of different projects besides just columns and books. This book seems to have suffered a little as a result, or maybe Erma's publisher felt that people in the 80s had shorter attention spans and less time to read. The result is a shorter book with much bigger type and some of the jokes and storylines seemingly rehashed from past books.

Because this book is both more modern (by about 20 years) and less dense than Erma's first book, "At Wit's End", this book might be the one to read if you just want a quick introduction to Erma and her zany post-Phyllis-Diller sense of housewife-humor before you delve into one of her earlier, longer works. And if you're a die-hard fan you'll like it because hey, it's more of Erma. I like the book, but I think her previous books, including "At Wit's End" and "I Lost Everything in the Post-Natal Depression" have much more meat and are more developed and funnier. This one is more like something a busy author would dash off and go on a talk show with, or something to read in one sitting on an airplane ride.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars warm, witty and full of insight! February 18, 2006

By D. Pawl VINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback

For those of you unfamiliar with Erma Bombeck, I suggest that you check this book out, as part of your introduction to her wonderful, unique brand of comedy. Most of her insights in this book (like many of her books) are family-centered observations, that relate to the part that exists in all of us--yes, that tension between us and the fear that we are indeed a product of our environment, and that we also may be turning into our parents!!!!

Bombeck takes on the topics like housecleaning, childrearing and the day-to-day sagas of the American housewife. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, that job, in and of itself, is just as full time and demanding as any out-of-the-house kind of work. Bombeck depicts her experiences, as a housewife, with a combination of wit and sensitivity that also makes her exceptionally engaging as a wonderful storyteller. A fast and entertaining read!!