For those who prefer their humorists funny

Reader Duane Oyen points out that, contrary to what the title of my blog about Garrison Keillor’s new novel may have implied, Lileks novels are already available. Mr. Oyen writes: “‘Falling Up the Stairs’ is at least 10 years old, and an hilarious sendup of wacky enviros and PETA types, about ‘AIL’, the Alimentary Information League, which kills people who eat ‘dangerous food,’ of course, to protect them from the chemicals and pesticides they might otherwise ingest (Bruce Ames, call AIL!). ‘Mr. Obvious’ was a bit over-the-top for me. But the Lileks wordsmithing is still worth reading, almost as good as certain passages of PG Wodehouse’s ‘America I Like You,’ and the ‘Bonanza town’ section of Max Shulman’s ‘The Zebra Derby’ (‘You must be anodder wun of dem crazies….’ says Olaf Qvistbergholm, launching into a priceless soliloquy on the commune behavior of late ’40’s idealistic leftists students). . . .”