Ask Mr. Smartypants Lane Filler ISBN: 978-1-891885-63-1 160 pages, 5x7 Publication Date: November 2008 $11.95

Call him Ceiling Fan Man. Call him Sticker-Shock Guy. Or even Ignacio Finkelstein, Roller-Rink King. Lane Filler, columnist for the Spartanburg Herald-Journal, is all this and more in his new Hub City book. Filler is, quite simply, one of the funniest newspaper columnists writing in America today, a feat made more impressive by the fact that he is not, strictly speaking, a humorist.

He is also one of the most innovative political and philosophical thinkers around, a feat made more impressive by the fact that he injects mirth into nearly every topic, no matter how serious. When Filler addresses parenting or marital relations—Man vs. Household—the laughter comes fast and furious, but an insightful observation or a sobering reminder often lurks, as well—camouflaged and as powerful as a knockout punch.

By the same token, when Filler takes on a political giant or a sacred cow, he nearly always grants us a hint of humor to help make the medicine go down. And he is fearless. When a mass-marketed mouthwash begins turning his teeth black, Filler makes Crest go on the record explaining why. Readers will find it heart-stoppingly funny.

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING: 

"Lane Filler is so funny, he could write a column about the history of stucco walls and pack it with eight solid laughs ... One time, when a reader called in with a tip, Lane writes, "I smelled a Pulitzer. Or Camembert. I smelled something." You know what I smell? Comedy. The sweet fragrance of comedic insights into life. I encourage you to breathe deep some Lane Filler."

---A.J. Jacobs-author of The Year of Living Biblically

"I am happy to report, after reading this incisive, surprisingly touching, and very, very funny collection that the Lane Filler I know is alive and well and writing in Spartanburg. Don't let the good manners fool you; once a wiseass, always a wiseass."

---Josh Lieb-co-executive producer, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart