Stick to Drawing Comics, Monkey Brain! (Scott Adams) - Penguin Group - 2007 (356 pages)

I should have read this book two years ago.  Scott Adams is a genius and the creator of the Dilbert comic strip.  This book is apparently a collection of Scott's best blogs from his website that I have not read lately.  Most of the "chapters" are one or two pages long and generally disconnected from each other.  As the author states: "There's a fine line between creative and goofy, and believe me, you wouldn't want to spend time in my head."

Adams is generally apolitical but provides several comments about politics, voting machines and conspiracies.  His main philosophy seems to be: leave the decisions to the majority and hope for the best.  He does not vote.  He seems to prefer spending his time mocking popular culture and business techniques.  Along the way, he found time to express opinions about robots, wolverines and female real estate agent hairdos.  Many of the short chapters are devoted to his recent challenges with spasmodic dysphonia and a late-life marriage.

Two significant features of the book are the ten pages of Adams quotes in the back and, the printing of and comments about Dilbert comic strips that were too controversial for the newspaper editors. 

To illustrate how the brain of Scott Adams works, consider his comment about literature and music: "I'm certain that the fans of Shakespeare will tell me I would enjoy his work if only I took the time to understand it.  But that's like saying I would love polka music if I took the time to translate it in my head into the sound of a band I like."

This is the perfect bedside book for those of us who nod off after five pages.  You do not need to remember what you read the previous night.  I loved this book. [JAM 5/25/2009]