David Thorne’s The Internet Is a Playground: Irreverent Correspondences of an Evil Online Genius (Tarcher, Apr.) is the funniest book I’ve read in years. I had to stop reading repeatedly because I was laughing so hard. I called people I know and read them sections over the phone. Thorne, who is equal parts social cartographer, psychologist, and sociopath, stays true to his name by poking fun and puncturing the egos of strangers and friends alike. With just a push, even the simplest of situations explodes into the wildest and most outrageous e-mail exchanges. Interspersed throughout are his razor-sharp musings—sucker punches both juvenile and brilliant. If you can make it through the story of “Missy, the Missing Cat” without cheering aloud at the author’s sheer bravado, you’re completely missing the point of this wildly entertaining book. Wicked, breath-taking, and absolutely contagious, this Internet is an effortless hand-sell: just start reading out loud.