laughing matter

Maybe it's because I get slaphappy when I'm exhausted and I'd only had four hours of sleep the night before, or maybe Tina Fey's book, Bossypants, is the funniest book ever written... but I started laughing out loud on the subway the other day.

I'm sure it wasn't the first time anyone has ever laughed out loud while reading. But afterwards what's supposed to happen is that the reader - slightly embarrassed, perhaps, after a few suspicious glances from fellow travelers - gets ahold of themselves and goes back to their book.

Well, that didn't happen... I just kept giggling uncontrollably.

Of course I was mortified... and a little desperate. Because I really couldn't stop. Part of me knew it wouldn't last forever - that at some point I'd be able to act like a normal person again. But apparently that wasn't the case... Not even after I had closed the book and put it away in my purse. Every few moments I'd think I was done, and then I'd just start laughing again. Eventually the other passengers stopped giving me dirty looks and just avoided looking at me altogether. (That struck me as hilariously funny, of course - which didn't help either.) When I got off the train at my station I was still cackling.

So would I recommend Bossypants? I would. Fey is smart and funny, and her book's worth reading (but if you're easily embarassed or sleep deprived you might not want to do it in public.)