I started both of these books a while ago, and have been slowly making my way through the essays. And I’ve come to two conclusions while reading these. The first is that what’s funny to one person may fall completely flat on another. That’s why recommending humor books is so hit-and-miss. The second, is that I think Southern humor is a class by itself, which is why I enjoy it.

Mama Makes Up Her Mind, by Bailey White, is one of those larger-than-life books; I didn’t know whether to believe her stories half the time, but I loved reading them anyway. It wasn’t laugh-out-loud funny, but rather the smile-funny type. Bailey’s a single woman, a first-grade teacher, and someone who still lives with her mom. I loved her mom; she was a real spitfire. (I’ve really liked old ladies in stories lately… hmmm… does this say something?) Some of my favorite stories are the ones that feature Bailey’s mom prominently. Like the time when Bailey and her sister insisted they clean the house because someone was getting married and wanted to have a dinner at their house. Their mom said, “They need to get to know us on our own ground,” which included a bowl of night crawlers hanging from the ceiling and massive piles of stuff around the house. Or the time when her mother decided to teach their neighbor how to cook. Quite amusing.

The other side of Southern humor is Celia Rivenbark’s Stop Dressing Your Six-Year-Old Like a Skank. While this one didn’t have the staying power that Mama did — after several essays I had to put it down and read something else for a while — it actually made me laugh out loud. Snort, actually. Guffaw, too. Which always got Hubby to ask, “Now what’s she saying?”

Lots, actually. Nothing is sacred to Rivenbark (thankfully); she’ll poke fun at everyone from Celebrities (Something Stinks: And I’m Pretty Sure its Tonya Harding), to herself (This Blonde isn’t as Dumb as You Think), to Southerners in general (Want to “Talk Southern”?), to super moms (Slacker Moms Unite!: Say Adios! to All That Guilt) to… well, just about everything. I should have book-darted my favorite bits, so I could quote them here, but I didn’t (too busy laughing). Instead, go get the book and read it for yourself.

Perhaps you’ll find it funny, too.