Baby Pool Reads

If "beach reads" are 800 page paperbacks of dubious literary merit, here are two books for those of you stuck at home sitting in 6 inches of hot water in a plastic pool in the backyard. Clever, but also very light in mass.

813.6 CAIN Confessions of a teen sleuth : a parody / by Chelsea Cain ; illustrations by Lia Miternique. Frank Hardy, Tom Swift Jr., Encyclopedia, Cherry Ames - she knew them all. Did this parody need to be labeled as such lest some innocent think he/she has stumbled upon the real Nancy's original diaries? Or was it a legal maneuver? Whether a work is parody or satire matters for copyright purposes. Pictures.

818.607 ROBIN Saving face : how to lie, fake, and maneuver your way out of life's most awkward situations / Andy Robin and Gregg Kavet ; illustrated by Mike Pisiak. Though this is actually cataloged as a self-helf book, few but the most outrageous extroverts would actually follow any of the tips here. For the shy they are delicious to contemplate. You could probably read the whole thing in less than an hour, though this sort of humor may be better in much smaller doses. Just don't get it wet.