If there were contests for best book titles, this would win hands down. Oxymoronica is a wonderfully entertaining guide to the “paradoxical wit and wisdom from history’s greatest wordsmiths” and is filled with delightful and profound quotes that will have your brain in a twist in no time.

Dr. Mardy Grothe, popular speaker and author of Never Let A Fool Kiss You or A Kiss Fool You, has compiled a panapoly of oxymorons and paradoxical quotes covering such topics as romance and sex, politics, the human condition, even insults, all courtesy of some of the greatest thinking minds. From the wit of W.C. Fields – “The best cure for insomnia is to get a lot of sleep,” to the scathing hostility of William Faulkner – “Henry James was one of the nicest old ladies I ever met” this book will keep you coming back for more.

There is the profound John Cage, who says “The highest purpose of life is to have no purpose at all,” and the cynical humor of Edgar Watson Howe, who warns, “To be an ideal guest, stay at home.” Perhaps a little ancient wisdom from Heraclitus, who observed that “Nothing is permanent but change,” or maybe the anonymous observer who once remarked, “A man chases a woman until she catches him.”

Page after page of revealing, enlightening, thoughtful and witty contradictions, all of which make tremendous sense when you stop laughing and actually think about them. Well, maybe not this one, by Jimmy Durante, “I hate music…especially when it’s played.”

From the wry truth-telling of George Carlin’s “How is it possible to have a civil war?” to the outright ridiculousness of second-century thinker Plautus, who gave us “To blow and swallow at the same moment is not easy,” this is a tantalizing book that everyone will love, but only a real oxy-moron will truly understand. Count me in!