As the semester starts to wind down and summer finally begins to feel like more of a reality and less a distant dream, I thought it'd be appropriate to start finding good summer reads for the lucky ones who will spend their summers lying in the sun.

I figured James O'Neill's The Gas Can might be a good choice. The book is basically a collection of O'Neill's rants about every topic from marriage to animals. I like a good rambling about nothing as much as the next gal -- see Lewis Black's brilliant comic bit on candy corn -- so I figured this book might be the perfect way to relieve my tension after the end of a hectic semester.

Turns out I was wrong.

To give him credit, it's not that O'Neill didn't make me laugh, because he did. It's not like my expectations were too high, because trust me, they weren't. What bothered me the most about the book was the fact that although I laughed, I couldn't help but think that half of the people I know could have penned something equally as witty in their away messages.

O'Neill's book was inspired by a series of stand-up comedy routines he wrote, but has yet to perform. Several of his passages are funny, there are also a few very uninspiring bits that seem overdone and boring, which brings down the rest of the work.

For instance, O'Neill's sections on suicide and drugs are not only funny but also fairly thought provoking. Not only did I laugh and agree with his ideas, but he really seemed to be making a point rather than just trying to get a laugh. His section about friends seemed kind of pointless, and I was bored after two paragraphs.

O'Neill says exactly what he wants to say without any apology. But after a while, I couldn't help but wonder, who cares? Okay, he can express his opinion in fairly humorous way, but so can lots of people.

Bottom line, The Gas Can is OK and has its moments, but I can think of better ways to put my money to use, or better yet, I can just read some away messages for free. Grade: C

-- Reviewed by Megan Rundle