Delancey Place quotes Groucho Marx on being a comedian.

My guess is that there aren’t a hundred top-flight professional comedians, male and female, in the whole world. They are a much rarer and far more valuable commodity than all the gold and precious stones in the world. But because we are laughed at, I don’t think people understand how essential we are to their sanity. If it weren’t for the brief respite we give the world with our foolishness, the world would see mass suicide in numbers that compare favorably with the death rate of lemmings.

A review of modern culture and modesty. “If he’s pressuring you for sex, he probably doesn’t love you,” no matter what last nights TV show taught you. I hope that become common wisdom soon.

This book looks like a good one. From the review:

Shalit’s book [Girls Gone Mild] has been attacked by one feminist critic for suggesting that the sex act “should have an everlasting warranty of love attached to it.” To the contrary, writes Nona Willis-Aronowitz in the Nation, all girls should realize that sex “is the ultimate risk, a risk that makes human relationships complicated, intoxicating, and wonderful. It is a risk that women are finally allowed to take without being chastised for it.”

Or, as Shalit herself quotes a feminist lawyer barking: “I am very suspicious of telling girls they need to be morally good—that’s sexism right there!”

That’s right, girl. Tell the next generation to follow their hearts, regardless of what’s in their hearts. And kill the offspring so they won’t get in the way. What is life but today’s comfort?

Pastor Tim Keller of Redeemer PCA in New York City apologetically announces his new books, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism. He wants to avoid the appearance of hype, but now that the news has hit the blogosphere there’s no stopping the hype. It will take on a life of its own, ha, ha. Really, it looks like a good book. He says, “Ever since I got to New York nearly two decades ago I’ve wished I had a volume to give people that not only answered objections to Christianity (what has been called ‘apologetics’) but also positively presented the basics of the gospel in an accessible yet substantial way.” Only Mere Christianity does that, he says, and it doesn’t address some issues pertinent today. So Keller has written the dual purpose book himself, not to replace Mere Christianity, but to add to the modern intellectual debate on God.

Ever since I read the rumor that Justice Clarence Thomas was going to write a book, which was shortly after starting this blog, I have looked forward to reading it. I knew it would be interesting. Same goes for anything Condoleezza Rice will write. Now, Judge Thomas’ memoir has been released. From what I’ve heard, My Grandfather’s Son describes Thomas’ entire life with more candor than most readers would expect.

Did you see the “60 Minutes” special on Thomas? I didn’t (segments available here), but I hear the same question asked in two different discussions of the book, and you know what they say about non-verbal communication carrying most of the weight in a conversation? Saturday on NPR, a couple women were talking about how angry and bitter the book felt despite its beautiful language. The anchor or host asked the reviewer why Thomas would write this book now? Why can’t we just put all this behind us? Why irritate old wounds? The tone was clearly negative.

Yesterday, Rush Limbaugh asked the same question of Thomas himself. Why did you write this book now? The tone was clearly positive, asking for a stated purpose of the book as opposed to a justification for something distasteful. If I remember correctly, the answer to both questions was about the same, though Thomas added a little which NPR may not have known. He wanted to describe his life and work at the Supreme Court–a high honor, in his view, not his destiny. Many had described his life already and with many lies or errors, so he wanted to give his perspective as an eye-witness.

Didn’t I say there’s a book about everything? The blog Apartment Therapy is giving away an essay/recipe book on eating alone called Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant. Only one copy will be given away, so act now. Deadline is 5:00 p.m. Friday (Eastern).

Jared has a new blog, The Gospel-Driven Church, and he points out Joel Osteen‘s latest effort: Become a Better You: 7 Keys to Improving Your Life Every Day. I’m having a hard time posting this to the non-fiction category, but I’m sure there’s some value to the book. Some value somewhere.

Let me pass on this recommendation for The Best $4.03 You’ll Ever Spend