May Links Roundup

Including breaks, books, and funny tv

Hello and welcome to the May edition of Humor Me’s monthly links roundup where I share links of interest.

This month has been busy with the end of the school year but I am looking forward to summer, which I will be kicking off with a European trip where I plan to not bring my laptop and try to take more of a true work break.

So it will kind of be like the traveling I did in Europe in my 20s before smartphones. Except I will have my smartphone (which honestly would have been helpful for avoiding some of the hostels I stayed in and missed connections with friends I had back then). Still, I’m hoping to be a bit more disconnected.

I hope you are planning some breaks in the coming months as well, and I’ve got just the things to keep you occupied…

• Short humor: What Your Favorite ‘90s Band Says About The Kind of Bored Suburban Mom You Are Today by

  Jared Bilski
  and Talia Argondezzi made me laugh. I think Pearl Jam was my actual favorite ‘90s band (one of the first things I remember searching for when I first got internet access was “Eddie Vedder”), but the Neutral Milk Hotel entry in the list really speaks to me.

• TV: I am late to the party on this one but I recently binged the first season of Hacks and really liked it. It’s funny and has some interesting insights into women in comedy and the comedy writing world. I also enjoyed the Steve Martin documentary on Apple TV and appreciated the look at his (long) career and the work that he put in. My kids and I also watched Unfrosted on Netflix and thought it was a fun campy watch.

• Books: This month I spent most of my time reading a lot of student final papers but I have also enjoyed listening to Emily Henry’s new book on audio and reading writer friend

  Andrew Knott
  ’s new romantic comedy Love’s a Disaster. (Spoiler alert: I’ve also got an interview with Andrew coming up next month).

• Summer product: I am not really a person who is big on make-up, but one summer face sunblock I have been liking is the Supergoop Glow Screen, which you might like too.

• I enjoyed this comic by

  Kelcey Ervick
  about taking yourself on artist dates and am going to try to fit more in this summer.

• Spotted this submission opportunity on Notes that may be of interest.

• I’ve been interested in micro lately and saw that Split Lip put a call out for micro-fiction and in looking at their submission guidelines they are also doing micro-reviews, which is intriguing.

This month’s funny guest rec comes from Eli Burnstein, humor writer and author of the new book Dictionary of Fine Distinctions, which I think would make a nice gift for the word nerd in your life (even if that is you).

Here is the synopsis: “What’s the difference between mazes and labyrinths? Proverbs and adages? Clementines and tangerines? Join author Eli Burnstein on a hairsplitter’s odyssey into the world of the ultra-subtle with Dictionary of Fine Distinctions. Illustrated by New Yorker cartoonist Liana Finck, this quirky reference book takes a neurotic, brain-tickling plunge into the infinite (and infinitesimal) nuances that make up our everyday world. “

Now onto Eli’s recommendation:

“I've really been enjoying the interview series Very Important People, in which comedians are given makeovers that they only get to see moments before going on stage.

The interviews, hosted by the excellent Vic Michaelis, are entirely improvised, and result in hilariously absurd exchanges like this one or this one.”

Learn more about Eli on his website and follow him on Twitter and Instagram.

• Humor Judging: I enjoyed being one of the judges for the Corporate Humor Awards that

  (an)drew tarvin
  hosted. You can check out the awards ceremony here.

• Humor Market List: Several years ago, I created some humor writing market lists on Medium, and for a variety of reasons, I decided one consolidated and updated list that lives on Substack might be useful. So I created one that you can find here.

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That’s it for this month, bonus comments discussion question: What was your favorite 90s band?

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Need a gift book for the new or expecting parent in your life? I’ve got just the one.

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