Comedic writer Jason Roeder (whose work has also graced the Radar pages) lambasts the self-help tome in all its degrading glory with his first book, Oh, the Humanity! A Gentle Guide to Social Interaction for the Feeble Young Introvert. And rightly so, because let's face it, to purchase a self-help book is to admit defeat.

At the local power-strip-mall Borders, you place the book on the checkout counter and silently proclaim yourself a loser in the game of life. Your loss is multi-faceted: You are troubled; you are too lazy/scared to go into actual therapy; you lack the speck of dignity that would prevent you from purchasing the book in person; your bank account's frozen and you are thus unable to buy online. Upon arriving home to your dirty, lonely, Dixie-cup-size apartment, your dignity is further assaulted. The self-help book, on which rests your last vestige of hope, only serves to insult you in its pages, doing more to confirm your inadequacies than to heal your soul.

It's far more fun to be insulted by Roeder than those earnest self-helpers. From "Part One: Essential Qualities You Lack!" to the final section, "Making Friends That Last a Lifetime (Or Until Things Just Kind of Drift)," he playfully skewers both the self-help preachers and their audience. Highlights along the way include instructional social dialogues and FAQs sections, such as "FAQ Buddy: Common Questions About Friends With Benefits." With a faint touch of empathy, Roeder's humor manages to be both delightfully dry and easy to swallow ... sort of like the wine you'll need to successfully employ his "social interaction tips." You know who you are.—Hailey Eber