"An Atheist's Guide to Christmas" edited by Robin Harvie and Stephanie Meyers

Publisher:New York : Harper Perennial, 2010.
Edition:First U.S. edition.
ISBN: 9780061997976
Characteristics: xi, 307 pages :,illustrations

"An Atheist's Guide to Christmas" is a collection of essays from noted skeptics, atheists, and others that give the reader an interesting, and refreshingly different outlook on the subject of christmas.

It is likely that many people when they consider christmas and atheism that the first thing that's comes to mind is Charles Dickens' short novel "A Christmas Carol" in which Ebenezer Scrooge is portrayed as an atheist, even though it is not stated as such. Many feel, or at least seem to feel that atheism automatically makes you a bad person, and therefore a threat to them somehow. I'm not sure exactly how they come by this rather odd deduction, but it exists.

These essays however show that the exact opposite is true, and that even if you do not subscribe to the christian version of christmas you can still celebrate the season with your friends and family as it was intended.

Some of the twenty plus authors included in this book are Richard Dawkins, Phil Plait (who runs bad astronomy.com), Neal Pollack, Simon Le Bon (of the band Duran Duran), Simon Singh to name but a few. All of the essays, and stories are insightful, and informative, and some quite humorous as well.

A great read, and highly recommended especially to those people who are unsure as to exactly where they sit on the religious vs. non-religious fence.

"My Planet: Finding Humour in the Oddest Places" by Mary Roach

Publisher: Reader's Digest

Copyright: 2013

ISBN: 9781621450719

Mary Roach is to say the least of very interesting writer. The topics she chooses are some would say off-the-wall, but all are extremely informative and very well written. Her other books all focus on a specific topic, and all are well worth a read for both the style of writing, the humour, as well as the wonderful and in-depth research that she does.

"My Planet" is a collection of Mary Roach's essays and looks at 62 facets of normal life (albeit from an American viewpoint) with uncanny wit and wisdom. The jacket blurb states:

"These essays, which found a well-deserved home within the pages of Reader's Digest as the column 'My Planet' detail the inner workings of hypochondriacs, hoarders, and compulsive cheapskates."

This Book would make a wonderful addition to anybody who is looking for a light read, but one that gives you insight into human interaction, and life in general - especially one where you want to look at the funny side of life.