I have my personal favorites, like her discussion of cornfields, which remind her of the movies North by Northwest, Planet of the Apes, and Field of Dreams. Then there’s her run-in with a mechanic and trying to buy a car with a stick shift, her hilarious shorts on "Why Women Say No," and "The Ball Game." We can all identify with these events and the many others she includes in this wonderful collection.

Joyce Faulkner is also a marvelous author, and these essays are written as though to a friend. Certainly, by the time you finish her book, you will feel a kinship with this humorous and talented author. Each of Joyce’s observations will touch a familiar memory and make you laugh out loud. Some of them will, no doubt, even touch your heart, as they did mine, and make you think.

For Shrieking Out Loud is definitely on my keeper shelf, waiting to be read over and over again and make me smile.