I’m completely overdosed on polarized politics, political analysis and phone calls urging me to vote, which I was going to do even before they called. Listening to certain candidates, especially Minnesota’s own Michelle Bachman, I’ve found my blood pressure rising so much I have to avoid news altogether and seek humor.  Yes, escape through reading. To that end, I’m thinking a book called I Found This Funny, edited by Judd Apatow, looks like a great diversion.

As it turns out, Apatow, the favorite director/producer of most young men I know–including movies such as The Forty-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, and Forgetting Sarah Marshall–loves books. The compilation features a mix that he describes as “a hodgepodge perfect for toilet or airplane reading.” (So much better than watching CNN.) It includes pieces from F. Scott Fitzgerald, Conan O’Brien, Philip Roth, Adam Sandler, Jonathan Franzen, and Alice Munro, to name a few. Proceeds from the book will go to 826 National, a nonprofit tutoring, writing, and publishing organization with locations in eight cities across the country.

Apatow concedes that not all the pieces are funny, but he says he finds about everything funny. “Most of human experience is just so strange….” That reminds me of some of the candidates, but I’m not thinking about that anymore.

See his comments about the book in a video on the Amazon web site.