Book Review: Dad Tweets Me Right by Sam Robb

I pondered what to do next with this blog as the Caucus has ended.

Things surely did not go as I planned.  One of the largest, most interesting Democratic fields in history was winnowed pretty quick.  Iowa, often a battleground state, seems to be checkmarked  either as a red state or a less interesting purple state.

I will continue to share humorous and interesting stories from the campaign trail, but is there even going to be a Trail in these pandemic days.  Perhaps, we are back to the 1880s when candidates like James Garfield and William McKinley gave speeches from their Front Porch.

When I talk about politics, the part I love is the campaign itself.  I read a lot of books related to Presidential campaigns, and I thought it was a no brainer to share some reviews here.  I am going to try to add one each Wednesday.  We will see how it goes.  I often try to leave my opinion out of my blog (as much as I can) but of course, it will seep in when I talk reviews.

It was a tough decision to pick my first book to review.  In Iowa (and elsewhere, I am sure), it's often a trick for politicians to see how big a crowd they can draw.  I have seen many a politco show up at Barnes and Noble with their work.  I correctly guessed that Newt Gingrich was sizing up a run when he showed up two years out before the election.  Ben Carson volunteers handed out buttons and stickers as there was little difference between his book signing and a campaign rally when he was there in September of 2015.

There are more than a few candidates with books.  Remember last year and the ridiculous plan in Iowa to read every Democratic candidates' book in book club format.

Candidates often like to tell their bio, and once they have done that, they often move on to a family member (Obama spoke at length about his parents in his first book, while Chris Dodd wrote about his famous father who was Chief Council at the Nuremberg Trials) or other topic.

Some politicians write about their interests (Newt has a second career writing alternate history.  Jacob Hornberger has written extensively about the JFK assassination,  Jim Webb has writes military novels and has written a book about the Scots-Irish in America).

This current election cycle has a number of candidates who are interested in helping you live your best life.  This includes presidential candidates from all parties- Marianne Williamson, Zoltan Istvan, and Jedi Hill, to name three.

But it is April 1 after all, and I wanted to start off with something light.

There is a push on twitter today that we celebrate International Dad Joke Day in lieu of a day where we would normally play pranks on (and be within six feet of) each other.

In these otherwise anxious or depressing times, I have noticed an uptick in humor, and Dad Jokes specifically.  They seem to be everywhere I turn in the last couple of weeks.  Those corny jokes that aren't quite puns, but should evoke as much of a groan as a laugh.

Which provides for me my first book here.  Current Libertarian Candidate Sam Robb (political campaign website here) wrote and published a book of Dad Jokes last year (available on Amazon as an ebook and in printed form).

It is exactly what the title says it is- 1001 Dad Jokes in 160 Characters or Less

After about four pages of describing the perfect Dad joke, Robb lists 1000 more Dad jokes that are just the right size for a text message or a Tweet.

As far as a review goes, well, you will have to decide whether you need a book of 1000 Dad Jokes or not.  I have got a shelf filled with Dave Barry and the book is cheaper than lunch at McDonald's, so i answer that in the affirmative.

In any case, I won't vouch that these are the best (or the worst) but here are five completely random selections from the book to celebrate April Fool's and International Dad Joke Day

115. At work they told me that as a security guard, it's my job to watch The Office.  Not sure what that's got to do with security, but I am on Season 6 now.

267. Did you know a Turkey can jump higher than a house?  It's true!  Houses can't jump at all.

392. I made the mistake of opening my water and electric bills at the same time. Needless to say, I was shocked.

412. Did you hear about the two men from the Monastery  who opened a fast food seafood restaurant?  One was the fish friar and one was the chip monk.

794. I tried to donate blood today, but they kept asking so many questions.  Like, "Whose Blood is This?" and "Where did you get it?"