The Women's Daily Irony Supplement [Paperback]

Judy Gruen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 4, 2007

Ever fall for the lure of expensive, exotic moisturizers promising impossible anti-aging miracles? Ever receive one of those happy, sappy New Year's letters from someone you barely remember from fourth grade? Can't decide whether to stay friends with a size two woman who won't eat a carrot because of its high-carb content?

If so, you're in good company. Award-winning humorist and Bikram yoga dropout Judy Gruen copes with all this and more in The Women's Daily Irony Supplement. Her riffs on female obsessions, motherhood, men, and why a woman's home is her hassle are candid, fresh, and surprisingly intimate. Reading these comic gems is guaranteed to improve the health of every woman, because laughter releases endorphins!

You'll find hilarious takes on life in such terrific chapters as:

When Bad Contractors Happen to Good People (A Tragedy in Three Parts)
A Plant Murderer Turns Over a New Leaf
Clutched by Purse Fever
A Crime of Passion, Featuring Chocolate Truffles
The Motherboard Has Blown

Plus, touching family moments like "My Two Papas" and "Old Spice Remembered."

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I absolutely loved it.... Ms. Gruen is a writer's Writer." -- PMA Award Judge

Any book that can make me laugh at EVERY story deserves a 5-star rating from me. -- Armchair Reviews

Judy Gruen is a genius at finding new and utterly hilarious ways to skewer some of our silliest excesses. -- Celia Rivenbark, author, Stop Dressing Your Six Year Old Like a Skank

Judy Gruen is the only writer who reminds me that marriage is funny! -- Mark Schiff, author, I Killed: True Stories of the Road from America's Top Comics

Judy Gruen is the only writer who reminds me that marriage is funny! -- Mark Schiff, author, I Killed: True Stories of the Road from America's Top Comics

Judy's wonderful new book had me howling with deep belly laughs. -- Susan Reinhardt, author, Not Tonight Honey Wait `Til I'm a Size 6

Men should read The Women's Daily Irony Supplement carefully to better understand what their ladies think of them and why! -- Heartland Reviews

The Women's Daily Irony Supplement is funny, engaging, and the perfect light entertainment when you're feeling blue. -- Curled Up With a Good Book

[The Women's Daily Irony Supplement] turns the hum-drum into the hilarious -- Reader Views

From the Publisher

Finalist in the PMA Benjamin Franklin Awards (humor).

Finalist in the ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year (humor).

A comedic gem from the book was featured on 5 million Starbucks cups.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 251 pages
• Publisher: Creative Minds Press (May 4, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0974961043
• ISBN-13: 978-0974961040
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #171,215 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Judy Gruen has crafted a career of writing sophisticated, relatable, clean humor that has earned her an international following.

Her most recent book, Till We Eat Again: A Second Helping (May 2012), infuses the funny into the otherwise frustrating topic of trying to lose weight and get in shape, and is earning rave reviews from readers and reviewers. (It is a thoroughly revised, updated, and redesigned version of an earlier title, Till We Eat Again: Confessions of a Diet Dropout.) In 2011, Judy also co-authored her first business book, MBA Admission for Smarties: The No-Nonsense Guide to Acceptance at Top Business Schools, with Linda Abraham, founder and president of Accepted.com. Judy's previous humor books include The Women's Daily Irony Supplement, which earned multiple awards for humor, including ForeWord Magazine's Humor Book of the Year (2007) and Carpool Tunnel Syndrome: Motherhood as Shuttle Diplomacy.

Judy's essays -- both humorous and serious -- appear regularly on Aish.com, MommaSaid.net, MetroImma.com, TheJewishWoman.org, and many other media outlets. Her work has been featured in more than 10 anthologies as well as in The Saturday Evening Post, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Christian Science Monitor, Family Circle, Ladies' Home Journal, the Los Angeles Times, AmericanThinker,com, Beliefnet.com,and many other media outlets. In 2009, she was recognized for excellence with an award from the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. Judy is a member of the American Association for Therapeutic Humor and the Authors Guild.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "Literally" laughing at life April 29, 2007

By William Gross

Format:Paperback

I found myself reading this book and laughing out loud.....constantly! As Judy took me through each chapter talking not only about life through her eyes but also through the eyes of her husband and children, her discriptive writing made it easy to visualize each experience. I kept wanting to know what amusing scenario was coming next and it was hard to put down...in fact I didn't and read it in a single day!

I love the way Judy writes and you will, too!

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A MAN'S PERSPECTIVE: THIS BOOK IS HYSTERICAL! REAL OUT LOUD LAUGHS! July 22, 2007

By ROSS

Format:Paperback

I thought a man's point of view might be in order amongst all of these reviews by women since this book may be mistaken for being merely a "chick book". Believe me - it isn't. As a man with an undisputed record of decades of staunch heterosexuality I can tell you that this book is hysterical even for us guys! Some of the chapters like, "Forward This Email Or I'll Break Your Kneecaps" had me laughing out loud in a way I had not since first reading Woody Allen's "Getting Even" in high school. It's that good! It definitely lends itself to "watercooler discussion" at work with friends who have also read it. Buy this book. You can enjoy reading it alone or for real fun - read it aloud with your wife or girlfriend. It's a guarenteed good time!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great fun... October 23, 2007

By Jim from Palo Alto

Format:Paperback

Maybe Judy Gruen's homespun humor can be bucketed broadly with Erma Bombeck's. Those looking for a contemporary mom's clever take on Tupperware® parties, home contractors and teenage angst will find it here. "Singing the Dodger Blues", a tale of a mother and son's baseball outing with total strangers (his chatroom friends) is great fun. The most distinctive stories, though, recall the stressful days leading up to a child's Bar Mitzvah, memories of contrasting grandfathers (one irreverently secular, the other a solemn rabbi), and a failing parent's suggestions for naming a new granddaughter. These and some other stories from this great collection start with Jewish raw material, but this is not "Jewish humor". It's a context, a canvas, for painting widely accessible, very laughable scenes of America's domestic quirkiness, frailty and excess. Judy Gruen is terrific; a first-rate writer and humorist.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny, Clever, and I Totally Related! April 30, 2007

By Rivkah Myers

Format:Paperback

Judy Gruen has come up with another (her third!) very funny and clever book on the humor of everyday life, that had me laughing out loud in the carpool line! Her essays are little gems that sparkle with wit and recognition. Judy is not only a humorous writer, she is smart and can even tug a little at your heart when writing about family relationships.

I really enjoyed this latest book and basically read it straight through over a couple of days. I look forward to what she has in store for us next!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Even Guys Can Enjoy This Spiritual Memoir Drawn from Everyday Chaos June 25, 2008

By David Crumm TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback

Judy Gruen is the only author I can recall reviewing who identifies herself as a member of the Association for Applied and Theraputic Humor -- and that's a telling detail in her biography.

She's a gifted spiritual memoirist, telling tales from ordinary life with a confident bite that sparks laughter with pure truth.

While her title and cover appear to be aimed at women -- I'm clearly a guy and enjoyed her book as well. Of course, for male readers there's the curiosity of listening in on Judy's version of woman-to-woman straight talk. I'm not talking about voyeurism here. I'm talking about hearing some women's voices that more guys should hear. For instance, the world might be a better place if more guys read Judy's chapter on how to truly celebrate St. Valentine's Day.

You won't agree with everything she advises in these 250 pages -- just as you wouldn't agree with everything a friend tells you over coffee. But the conversation is fun -- and you'll walk away smiling.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Judy's Done it again! May 4, 2007

By Laura

Format:Paperback

Life is comical and Judy knows how to find humor in our everyday life. Even the mundane is hysterical! I especially loved "Big Bill's Birthday Bash". Fact or fiction,whoever would have thought to hold a party in a shooting range? I laughed so hard!--This is one of Judy Gruen's funniest books!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Loads of Fun February 2, 2008

By Patti Chadwick VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

In this book, author Judy Gruen shares humorous stories based on everyday life. I've heard she is the next Erma Bombeck, and while her style is a bit different, she is every bit as funny. The Women's Daily Irony Supplement is nothing but hilarious. You might ask yourself how someone can write anything funny about such mundane topics as dieting, taxes, dog, and Tupperware, but believe me, Gruen does it!

This book will not only make you smile, but I guarantee that you will find yourself laughing out loud. You will want to get a copy and pass it on to friend.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Literary Treat: a veritable Box of Truffels May 25, 2007

By Sharon

Format:Paperback

I found this book to be a veritable box of delictable literary Truffles, much like Judy describes in one of her hilarious chapters, in which she mentally wrestles with a box of truffles (the truffles win).

I read the book as I would eat a box of truffles. It is worth savoring the rich enjoyment of each chapter. Sometimes one chapter wouldn't be enough and I would keep going for four or five more, until I stopped to let the humor sink in, and I would leave the book for another day, prolonging the enjoyment.

As with all good boxes of truffles, I was sorry to finish it. I look forward to Judy's next collection of Life captured in her inimitable outlook.