The latest addition to the AAUGH.com reference library is King’s Treasury of Dynamic Humor, by King Duncan. This is a book aimed at public speakers – most notably pastors, but in general any public speaker who needs short humorous anecdotes to begin their talks and to introduce a topic. The book has somewhere around 1000 such anecdotes, organized by theme.
So what makes this a book for the rather focused AAUGH.com library? Many of the anecdotes – as a quick estimate I’d say between fifty and a hundred of them -  are simply tellings of Peanuts strips. For example, under the topic “Criticism”, we find

Lucy screams: “You Stupid Beagle! You Fat, No-Good, Worthless Hound!”

Snoopy slinks away thinking to himself: “That’s the trouble with being sensitive…even the slightest remark can hurt your feelings.” 

There are assorted anecdotes taken from other strips (as well as various books), but none of them anywhere nearly so frequently as Peanuts. Judging by the copyright page, the Peanuts ones were the only ones that they cleared permission for, so this is an approved use.

It’s sort of odd seeing the strips written out like this. Obviously, they won’t have as much impact as the strip itself, but in many cases this form will do fine for getting into a sermon or speech.

This 1990 hardcover is out of print, but you can still order used copies. It’s a curious item; not a must-have, but likely unlike anything else in your collection.

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