Humor: Your Sun Sign's Favorite Read

© 2014 by Joyce Mason

All Rights Reserved

Before we get more serious with books and reading lists this Book Month on the Radical Virgo, I wanted to honor the fact that this month starts with April Fool’s Day. It’s also National Humor Month. Tipping my hat to both, I got together with my wiseacre alter ego, Auntie Joyce, and we envisioned the favorite books of each zodiac sign. Feel free to disagree—or add to your sign’s fave—in the Comments. Who can have just one favorite book?

ARIES: The Indiana Jones series by various authors, including James Rollins, Steve Perry and Max McCoy. Indy’s the ultimate adventurer and predicament pioneer. He flies by the seat of his pants and has no time but the present to crack his whip and solve his latest life-or-death dilemma. These books will fire up any Aries to make the best of those natal qualities of loving and charging through danger.

TAURUS: The Sensuous Woman by “J” (1982) and The Sensuous Man by “M.” (1971) They’re oldies, but if you read the comments on Amazon, they’re still goodies. Examples from The Sensuous Woman: “Laughingly dated but surprisingly solid.” What earthy sign doesn’t like a good laugh while boning up on how to make more senses of life?

GEMINI: The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare. With twins at the heart of this light-and-dark comedy, any Gem is likely to resonate with his or her inner twin to the wit, mistaken identities, slapstick and verbal humor.

CANCER: Mickey’s Gourmet Cookbook: Most Popular Recipes from Disney World and Disneyland by Disney Book Group.  It’s vintage and All in the US Family, as Mickey has been a part of Americana since 1928. It’s about food, and it makes kids happy—and the kid within us all. Cancer will read it like a novel and feed you from it, if you’re lucky.

LEO: The Aspiring Actor's Handbook: What Seasoned Actors Wished They Had Known by Molly Cheek and Debbie Zipp. All your world is a stage. Know how to work it!

VIRGO: Any Miss Manners book, pen name of journalist Judith Martin. As you’ll see from this link and her bio, Miss Priss is a bona fide Virgo. (Big surprise.) If you’re old enough, you might just have had Etiquette as a subject in school like I did. My favorite title is Miss Manners’ Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior. For fiction, Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot mysteries or Lee Goldberg’s Monk books. Caution: The latter might possibly bring so many of your annoying Virgo traits to your attention; you might set yourself up for a reactive slob streak.

LIBRA: Men Are from Mars and Women Are from Venus by John Gray. Whether you’re a Venus guy or gal, this classic on how communication differs between the sexes will help you deal best with what you care about most—love. Recommended especially during the current Mars in Libra Retrograde transit. We need all the help we can get.

SCORPIO: The Art of War by Sun Tzu. This is the perfect choice for Scorps with their dual Rulership by Mars and Pluto. Unlike Aries who is more likely to shoot first and strategize later, Sun Tsu’s classic oozes the Scorpionic ability to psych out the enemy and even spy on him or her. The Art of War has been used in modern business as well as on ancient battlefields. Any Scorp true to his or her nature will get into both the game and the wisdom and probably find some laughs in this epic on handling enemies.

SAGITTARIUS: The Know-It-All: One Person’s Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World by A. J. Jacobs. If the title weren’t enough, this memoir on Jacobs’ obsession to learn everything is apparently laden with humor. Laughter, BIG learning and romps through history that are a vicarious journey around the world through time: What’s for Sag not to love?

CAPRICORN: How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying: The Dastard’s Guide to Fame and Fortune by Shepherd Mead. The book, on which the successful Broadway musical is based, has been dubbed classic, timeless and hilarious by readers. It may suggest to success-happy Caps that hard work isn’t the only way to get to the top—and you’ll surely have a good time contemplating the alternatives within this short romp (160 pp.). Reader feedback suggests its message “ … still is 90% true of the office environment today.” Satirical and ultimately lyrical in its musical incarnation. Will appeal to the Capricornball sense of humor.

AQUARIUS: The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Can’t you just imagine your favorite Aquarian hitching a ride on a comet? Quirky, funny and ahead of its time anytime.

PISCES: The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. Nothing could be more grounding for the often floating and spiritually-minded Pisces than coming into the present moment. As proof that Pisces is indeed the culmination and soup of all 12 signs, this book holds power for everyone. The ultimate tip from The Radical Virgo Recc Room!

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