Customer Reviews

Richard's Poor Almanac: 12 Months of Misinformation in Handy Cartoon Form

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

Richard Thompson's Richard's Poor Almanac appears weekly in the Washington Post, but you don't have to live inside the Beltway to larf out loud at this collection, which includes entries like the Smithsonian's Dillinger Wing (now featuring the Splendors of Ypsilanti) or the lists of local restaurant closings - "Eurodonut" being shut down for finding Marmite in the jelly donuts, and the frequent tragic travails of "P.J. Piehole's Family Place". One learns, at last, the Equine Statue Code for Civil War monuments; some obscure and faintly disturbing constellations in the monthly Skywatch - and don't miss the touching "Remembering Elvis". But that's not all! There's also a page of commemorative Richard Thompson stamps. If you need a laugh, you need this book.

It is true I copyedited this book (and Mr. Thompson illustrated mine), so perhaps I have a conflict of interest (oh, heck, let's admit it -- I do!), but I laughed the whole time I was wielding my red pen. And imagine how much funnier the book will be to someone who isn't forced to think about semicolons while they're reading it!

Obvious answer: this amazingly beautiful book that's printed in two colors and manages to capture this entire noisy, giddy, wayward world in its lines. It's a hilarious and smart compendium of nearly every living, breathing, pontificating thing on the planet. If you're a birdwatcher, you'll want to add Thompson's rare birds to your life list: the Eastern Pottymouthed Snark; the Unmitigated Gull; the Commonplace Dullard; and, hardly least of all, the Flightless Grouse who "plods up and down the Eastern U.S. whining the whole damn time." There are guides to weeds, clouds, cookies, county fairs, catalogues, constellations, Halloween costumes, and "local bogeymen." Basically, Richard Thompson covers the waterfront, dipping his pen into everything from politics and other pollutants, to surburbia and other relicts. It's a blissful romp that should carry you through the seasons, year after year.

At last! A great collection of masterpieces! Richard is a true genius and the artwork shines. A treasured book!

This book is wonderful. After buying it as a gift for my husband for Christmas, I subsequently bought 3 more as gifts for others! Richard Thompson is hilarious!

Thompson's art style has such a fun and spontaneous look, you just can't help but be tickled by it. Combined with his smart and whimsical sense of humor, this book packed full of his cartoons is a real gem. I'd be hard pressed to categorize "Richard's Poor Almanac", but that's what's so great about it. It's such a marvelously idiosyncratic creation, that it's in a class all by itself.

I highly recommend this book.

The perfect combination of brilliant drawing and a great sense of humor.
This one surpassed my expectations and will be severely thumbed through on a regular basis.

Richard Thompson's collection of cartoons from the Washington Post are great! It's really first rate cartooning and writing... please check it out.

This has to be Richard Thompson's WORST ALBUM! For one thing, there's no singing! Maybe it's someone else trying to cash in on Thompson's fame, but at least he should sing something, even "It's a Small World" or "Hava Na-Gilah", at least...