What’s the difference between an author and a blogger?

An author is one who can ponder at length about deep and complex issues and then apply the requisite tools of disciplined research, thoughtful examination and inspired imagination to create a rich and varied world wherein the reader feels compelled to linger in a state of heightened awareness, engagement and suspended disbelief.

A blogger is one who may ponder in spurts about pedestrian and banal issues and then apply the requisite tools of search engine dexterity, and borrowed content to create a disposable and easily forgotten world wherein the reader becomes tempted in the blink of an eye to wander off and pursue links to other more promising sites in order to satisfy the need for random trivia, gossip and dubious information.

All of which is just a verbose way of saying: Who needs serious when you can be having fun. And for those of us in the “copy” trade, fun is spelled p-u-n.



AND SINCE A GOOD BOOK IS HARD TO FIND…

... I thought I would offer a new service here by which I could help other pun junkies to narrow the search for their next literary fix.


A SNEAK PEAK AT THE HOTTEST NEW BOOKS COMING IN 2013

(Warning: The following is useless, sophomoric and a very accurate reflection of what happens to the mind during 10 straight hours of editing footage of TV stars talking about their "commitment to the truth" and their "dedication to excellence." It is also not appropriate reading for the pun averse)


Move over racism and sexism …the greatest threat to society today is Tallism. Yes, the tall are taking over, and they’re growing. From the Corporate Board Room to The Halls of Congress, the long and the short of it is--size matters. Learn how luck and heredity are threatening our institutions and our future in: The Height Report. By I.B. Longfellow


He knew the darkest secrets, but couldn’t reveal them. He had access to the most powerful people in the world--but there was no way to make them listen. He held the key to life and death but remained locked within a prison of silence. He was…
The Hoarse Whisperer. By A.A. Cumagan.

Truck driver and budding entrepreneur Hops Martin thought he could open a small micro-brewery and be his own boss—until he ran headfirst into the power of big beer. The Brew Barons had all the weapons, but they didn’t know that they were dealing with a man who would rather taste his own blood than a bland Pilsner. Read In Cold Bud. By Suds Terkel

In a world where religious and tribal loyalty divides families as well as entire nations—it’s little wonder that even the most informed westerner finds it virtually impossible to unravel the tangled web that is the Muslim World. Now the curious layman can better understand this complex and volatile world in…. Everything you ever wanted to know about Sects.*
* But were afraid to ask. By Piah Allah Mohd.

The ancient Egyptians prized it for it’s many uses from embalming to aroma therapy. To some it was a symbol of courage, to others it was nature's cure for nightmares and insomnia. Take an eye-opening (and nose-stimulating) tour of one of the worlds most potent plants in …A Brief History of Thyme. By Herb A. List

Think chasing big game on Safari is a daring adventure? Then just try living in Uganda as a male department store window designer with a limp handshake and a Judy Garland record collection—in Out in Africa. By Ubangi Nbacki

He wears a stiff tall hat, walks his beat with pride and needs no gun to keep the peace. He represents tradition, order, honor, rectitude and civil propriety. He is the British constable and his role in British History has come to symbolize much of what is still great in a once grand and glorious empire.
Our Bobbies, Ourselves by Riva Tembs

A Probing exploration into the world of Fertility medicine and a personal account of one woman’s path to motherhood in a world where greater options do not always make for easier choices.
A Womb of One’s Own. By. M.T. Hatchin

Healthy eating is smart, but when health concerns turn into chronic obsession and irrational fear, you have a recipe for disaster. In this controversial and daring new book, you will learn how the health food industry profits from consumer anxiety and ignorance. You will learn about the chemistry of cooking and how great traditions are being abandoned in the name of good health. Fear of Frying. Dr. Frank N. Bacon.

For over forty years, he was a beloved member of dozens of communities from Boston to Boise. He was like a father to some, and a father confessor to thousands. He was a man of the faith in whom many placed their own—but only briefly. His secret and uncontrollable passion for those who were not yet men themselves was the demon that forced him to live the life of a fugitive--but with the complete and total support of his powerful employers (who had mastered the arts of concealment and deceit over thousands of years) he was able to live a long and discreetly protected life filled with serial seductions of the young, the innocent and the ignorant. A Moveable Priest. By I.M. Knowangell.