I think this must be my sixth or seventh Billy Collin's collection, so you can probably tell, I am a fan of his work. This book is (I think) one of his earlier ones, and it's interesting to see the progression of his style, while the essence of his poems remains the same. Some of my favorites were: The Blue, Flying to a Funeral, Embrace, Introduction to Poetry, Books, and Personal History.

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This one has two of my favorite Collins' poems, "Another Reason I Don't Keep a Gun in the House," and "An Introduction to Poetry."

Billy Collins is a great poet...this is from someone who does not read a lot of poetry, but his reaches me. It is usually easy to read and understand and usually has a laugh in it as well.

Though it was Collins' first collection of poetry, I think it is my favorite. I often love poets' first books. They're never as polished, but I think that makes them have more flavor. If you are interested in poetry, you need to read this book!

The main issue with this book is that I started with Collins’ later books and moved backward until I got to this one. There isn’t anything inherently wrong with the writing but it is more self conscious and stilted than his later work. The poems are good but rarely have those enchanting whimsical turns that he is known for (now). If I had read this book first, I would have loved it and eagerly grabbed for more but having read it last, it just makes me wistful for his other work. The poems are very good. They just don’t so much as stir the soul as create small ripples. In short, read this if you are a diehard fan or looking for a place to start with his works or want to see the evolution of his writing.

More smiles than I expected :)