Ellen DeGeneres published her first book of comic essays, the #1 bestselling My Point...and I Do Have One, way back in 1996. Not one to rest on her laurels, the witty star of stage and screen has since dedicated her life to writing a hilarious new book. That book is this book.

After years of painstaking, round-the-clock research, surviving on a mere twenty minutes of sleep a night, and collaborating with lexicographers, plumbers, and mathematicians, DeGeneres has crafted a book that is both easy to use and very funny. Along with her trademark ramblings, The Funny Thing Is...contains hundreds of succinct insights into her psyche, supplemented by easy-to-understand charts, graphs, and diagrams so that you'll never miss a joke.

Overseeing all aspects of production, DeGeneres labored over details both significant and insignificant, including typefaces, page number placement, and which of the thousands of world languages to use. Ultimately she selected English, as it's her mother tongue, but translations into Hindi and Pig Latin are already in the works.

DeGeneres takes an innovative approach to the organization of her book by utilizing a section in the beginning that includes the name of each chapter, along with a corresponding page number. She calls it the "Table of Contents," and she is confident that it will become the standard to which all books in the future will aspire.

Some of the other innovative features you'll find in this edition:

• More than 50,000 simple, short words arranged in sentences that form paragraphs.

• Thousands of observations on everyday life -- from terrible fashion trends to how to handle seating arrangements for a Sunday brunch with Paula Abdul, Diane Sawyer, and Eminem.

• All twenty-six letters of the alphabet.

Sure to make you laugh, The Funny Thing Is...is an indispensable reference for anyone who knows how to read or wants to fool people into thinking they do.

Remarkably nice. Seen her hosting on tv. Now reading her book. The chapters are short yet straight to the point, no beating 'round the bushes. Pretty interesting & really make my day.

if i did not know that ellen was a millionaire, i would not have been able to tell by reading this book......she is so down to earth....i love her simplicity and "normality." She tells it just like an average person away from fame would.....nice, easy read.....FUNNY....FUNNY....FUNNY....FUNNY....FUNNY....did i mention FUNNY?

I went into this mistakenly thinking it was a biography but what it amounts to is stand-up comedy in the written form. While bits of it were cute most of the book wasn't particularly funny and it often seemed to just ramble on. I did learn that Ellen eats veal (ugh) and that she grew up poor but that's about as deep as it gets. Overall it was a bit of a disappointment.

Many books by stand up comedians can more be characterized as a collection of their material, and this is no exception. I am an avid fan of stand up comedy as well as a queer individual, so let's just say that I am quite familiar with Ms. DeGeneres' body of work. Because of this, I already knew a lot of the material in the book. It makes it no less hilarious or well written, but let's just say some of the magic is gone when you know the tricks behind the curtain.

Still, if you're a casual fan of her stand up or you're an avid viewer of her talk show, I highly recommend it. Not only is her material hilarious, but she often sneaks a great message about life right past ya. She is truly an amazing human being, and her signature humor can brighten up even the darkest day.

I read this book after having my gall bladder removed. It was just what I needed. The book was very easy to read, witty and amusing. I must admit, Ellen comes across much better on the television than in the book but maybe I just haven't seen enough of her to imagine the expressions she would be making while saying the things she says in the book. Great light entertainment.
Angela Coldwell - Author of 100 Essential Steps to Career Success