Vintage Books {Erma Bombeck}

I have always loved reading humourists. I actually want to be a humourist when I grow up. Since this is suburban month, I thought I would write a little something about Erma Bombeck, who is the first humourist I ever read, mostly because I could reach her books on the self.

Mrs. Bombeck wrote over 4000 columns twice weekly between 1965 and her death in 1996 and at one time they were read by thirty million readers in 900 newspapers just in the States alone. Remember when there used to be over 900 newspapers?

Mrs. Bombeck wrote about raising kids (particularly teenagers in the Sixties and Seventies) in the suburban midwest. Or in other words, what the majority of those thirty million readers were doing. So, why was she so popular? Well, her writing is very funny. Even more funny when you see that she is just writing about real life and what happens every day. What she does not attempt to do is to pretend that Leave It To Beaver is a reality show about the average suburban family. Her columns are about the average American suburban family (I would assume). And what made her readable is that she had talent. Most of her writing is very wry and amusing, some of it is laugh out loud funny and sometimes her words are tinged with sadness as she realizes that someday her kids wont be around to fight with everyday.

But if you want to read about what life was like for a housewife in the Sixties and Seventies, do please read Mrs. Bombeck.

She also wrote fifteen books, most of which were instant best sellers. Here is a small list of her best books:

At Wit's End (1967)

Just Wait Until You Have Children of Your Own (1971)

The Grass is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank (1974)

If Life is a Bowl of Cherries, What Am I Doing in the Pits? (1978)

Motherhood: The Second Oldest Profession (1983)

Here is a short documentary I found: