By Jim Knippenberg
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Something Funny at the Library

By Buck Niehoff (Mercantile Library; $25, available only at the Mercantile, 414 Walnut St.). This is a wonderfully readable behind-the-scenes look at the famous, infamous and pompous authors who have headlined the Mercantile Library's Niehoff Lectures. Attorney Buck Niehoff, who with wife Patti underwrites the series, pulls no punches.

When an author's a pain in the butt (Margaret Truman), he says so. When one is so pompous he puts people to sleep (William Buckley), he says so. At the other end, when one is too wonderful for words (Jonathan Winters, Ray Bradbury, Elmore Leonard) he says that, too.

Oh, and here's the unbelievable part: Niehoff writes really, really, well. That's unheard of for an attorney.

He tells his stories in informal, chatty, direct prose and spikes it with anecdotes. It's a must-read.

Wooden Shoe Hollow

By Charlotte Pieper, edited by Don Heinrich Tolzmann (Little Miami Publishing Co.; $22.50). It was published in 1951 but went out of print soon after that. Tolzmann, director of University of Cincinnati's German American Studies Program, decided to re-edit it and add all kinds of enriching material. The novel (the title refers to an old Cincinnati German neighborhood in the Golf Manor area) is the story of Rica Heber, who left Osnabrueck, Germany, for a new life in Cincinnati. Which she finds as she settles in and learns the odd ways of a new country. But what's cool about the book is all the incredibly rich detail Tolzmann adds in various introductions, asides and footnotes to create a fascinating portrait of early Cincinnati. It's another must. (Tolzmann has a signing 1 p.m. Saturdayat Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Rookwood Pavilion, Edwards and Madison roads, Norwood.)

Littsie of Cincinnati

By Jinny Powers Berten and Nora Holt, illustrated by Elizabeth W. Schott (Fountain Square Publishing; $9.95). Aimed at kids 8- to 12-years-old, Littsie is set in 1800-'50 Cincinnati and follows the adventures of Littsie O'Donnell, daughter of Irish immigrants. Like Wooden Shoe, it's a nicely researched picture of pioneer life in early Cincinnati when steamboats, flatboats and cholera were all over the place. Written in straight-forward first person, it's a narrative which eventually brings in such local names as Daniel Drake, Nicholas Longworth, Salmon Chase and others, making it a nice introduction to Cincinnati history.

M.I.L.D.E.W.

By Liz Bluper and Renee Plastique (Andrews McMeel Publishing; $9.95). First off, M.I.L.D.E.W. stands for Mothers-In-Laws Do Everything Wrong. Second off, the authors (former Cincinnatians) are using fake names because, well, they're merciless where the mother-in-law is concerned. But also very funny, from the Do You Have a mildew problem? quiz in chapter two, right through the mountain of atrocity stories they reprint from others, mostly women, with midlew problems.

This one's an easy, quick read, one of those jobs you can open to any page and start reading. And giggling.

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E-mail jknippenberg@enquirer.com