I hit a lull at my job yesterday where even every little bit of busy work was done. I couldn't noodle away a few minutes checking email or newsfeeds since there is no internet or cell phones allowed in the workroom. But, hey, it was a library workroom, and there were shelves of books all around me. And this book of cartoons was the first to catch my eye. In three minutes, I had covered several dozen pages, and liked what I saw well enough to check out the book so I could finish it at home.

The cartoons in this collection mostly appeared in the New Yorker, and while I have never cracked the cover of an issue of that magazine, I'm aware of the reputation of its cartoonists. The cerebral humor here never made me laugh out loud, but it did evoke reactions ranging from silent appreciation to small groans.

The gags are mostly set in a timeless epoch that evokes 1950s America, with office men wearing ties and housewives wearing high heels. (At least I think they are heels; Kaplan has a strange way of drawing feet.) The characters are homogenous white middle class sorts, and the jokes mostly revolve around the battle of the sexes or midlife crisis themes. It's all very bland and mild, but there are some thinkers and clever bits that will linger with you.

All in all, not a bad way to fill a lull. ( )