Christina Pazsitzky: The Art of the Fart Joke

Depends. If I’m going to see this person again in the near future, I say “Comedian”. If it’s on an airplane, or a waiting room, I say “Corporate Paralegal”. It’s a job that inspires few follow up questions.

Dr. Laura: The Unauthorized Biography by Vickie L. Bane (please don’t judge me). Obsessed with Dr. Laura Schlessinger these days. Not sure why… I should bring this up in therapy.

The Monster at the End of this Book by Jon Stone and all the Sesame Street books you could buy at the grocery store in the 80’s.

Gilda Radner.

3rd grade. I memorized my father’s “Truly Tasteless” Joke books he stashed in the bathroom and told the jokes at school. They were all these old timey racist, sexist, dead baby jokes and it was such a thrill to tell them to the other kids. So forbidden.

I’d be shocked to learn I don’t eat all the candy in the world now that I have permission to. Disappointed that I go to bed at 9:30pm voluntarily.

The Magic of Believing by Claude M. Bristol. This is old school. Before the Secret, there was Claude M. Bristol.

On the toilet, duh. I have a 9 month-old son, so I read when he sleeps. But mornings are the best for reading. I love getting ripped on coffee and getting deep on a book.

Like a Lampshade in a Whorehouse My Life in Comedy by Phyllis Diller. She had such a positive perspective on show business and comedy. It’s easy to get jaded and cynical, Phyllis Diller was neither. This book really changed my thinking. Okay, one more please – The War of Art by Steven Pressfield – this book is great for anyone trying to make a living doing something creative.

1. Only say and do what is funny to you. Don’t think about what the crowd will think is funny.

2. Don’t be a douchebag. Be kind to people on your way up, because you will see them again on your way back down.

Bill Hicks, Roseanne Barr, George Carlin.

Story of the Eye by Georges Bataille. I read it to my husband when we first started dating and he thought it was the funniest thing he’d ever heard. It’s not a funny book at all. His reaction was ridiculous.

Tribes by Seth Godin – this book is great for anyone trying to make a living doing what they love.

Non-fiction. I like knowing how the world works. Don’t have the patience for fiction. Poetry makes me irate.

Reading might be the most important thing a person does. If there’s anything you want to know about, some other human has likely written it down in a book. As a species, humans have been around for 200,000 years – there’s an amazing amount of knowledge recorded in writing. Books have changed my life.

The Surrender Experiment by Michael Singer.

I used to be a strict real book person, but my house became too cluttered with books and I had a real problem with buying them on Amazon. For travel, digital books are the easiest. Now, I’m in love with my e-reader.

A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle (praise Oprah!). Yes, its a new- agey book, but it’s actually the spirituality of the East disguised as Western thought.

Existentialism and Human Emotions by Jean Paul Sartre blew my mind and formed who I am. Existentialism as a whole really changed how I think. Made me realize I hadn’t been thinking up until then.

Simulacra and Simulation by Jean Baudrillard – very relevant especially in today’s internet culture.

Next year?! Jeez, I’m reading a lot of baby development books so I raise my kid right. So more of that probably. Also, probably more new agey stuff. I’m always looking for ways to live better. Also, more books on how to conquer the world.

The Art of the Fart Joke by Christina Pazsitzky.