Russell Baker, Erma Bombeck, & Me

Eliscu, who lives with her family in a ""very old farmhouse with the original 1850s air-conditioning'' in Poland, Maine, writes ``Coffee Break,'' a Maine Sunday Telegram humor column. With this compendium of past columns, she says, ``I just wanted to show dear Russell and Erma how anybody, no matter where he or she is, can find the material for humor.'' The author's talents are more than average, however; in fact, she has a genuine gift for anecdotes and short humor pieces. Among other topics, she covers public speaking (``The trouble was I had been what you call a talker, not a speaker''); favorite recipes (``Warm up car. Let stand for an hour next to restaurant''); sleazy supermarket tabloids (``I have assumed that if I withheld my sixty-nine cents the publications would eventually go out of business''); summer guests (``They unload six Samsonite suitcases and a footlocker and tell you they were treated badly by the friends whose home they just left''); directory assistance (``Reach out and punch someone''); and practical etiquette (``Don't ask for seconds more than six times''). Farrow contributes 30 appealing cartoons. (February)