I can’t say how much I really wanted to like this book. Being a counselor who works with couples I am always looking for material that I can confidently refer them to in order to help them strengthen their marriage. My bookshelves are filled with books on handling issues that impact marriages. However I find that the women in the relationship are more likely to read the material than their spouses. Many women have complained to me that they wish that there was something that their spouse could read and enjoy while learning how to strengthen their relationship. With this in mind I began to read Rick & Bubba’s Guide. Because if anyone could appeal to men; it should be Rick & Bubba.

On a positive note there were some times where I chuckled as I read. The light irreverence that comes through during Rick & Bubba’s show was evident in the writing style. The language and the style of writing is not cognitively challenging. It would definitely be labeled “light” reading. Also the CD included with the book allows the reader to hear the tone of the authors. I recommend listening to the CD before they even begin to read the book. It allows the reader to read the book with the tone and the accent of the authors narrating the book in their brain as they continue to read. This help to understand the humor of the book.

Unfortunately if as a reader you are looking to find insight and tools to help you work through problems and issues in your relationship, you may be disappointed. The light hearted approach to relationships has its place; perhaps you can take it on a date with your spouse and laugh over some of the Letterman like lists that the book has sprinkled throughout. It may well be a good book for the spouses that my female client’s complain don’t want to read Gary Chapman’s “Five Love Languages”. I wish I could say that this guide was almost nearly perfect, however if it gets men to read its better than nothing. I will have to experiment and see. ( )

Rick and Bubba's Guide to the Almost Nearly Perfect Marriage is a book about two American Christian Radio personalities (I've never heard of them being from Australia) who are writing about their Marriages and essentially how much they aren't perfect. The book basically lists of a range of different experiences a couple will go through when they are married, and gives some tips on what to and not to do.

First up, I only finished reading this book because I had to review it. Generally I found it to be very much the same from page to page. I think there are much better books out there which deal much better with what the bible says about marriage and gives better tips etc. Having said that however, the book is littered with humour (albeit that kinda occasionally funny American humour that no one else gets), and the chapters are short and easy to read. So perhaps if my friend wasn't into reading I might consider this to be a good entry level book for them to read on the subject of marriage.

As you can tell by the title, the book is trying to be realistic. Sometimes however, I felt that the book was a bit to blase about how our sin can cause us to be poor partners, and I felt sometimes it just accepted the fact that humans are bad at being married. I understand that sometimes this was for the sake of humour, but I felt like sometimes it was inappropriate.

There was however some really great stuff in this book, that was presented in a simple way. these are few and far between at the beginning of the book in chapters like, Things like "Three sides to Every Story" (p45), and "Why couples fight" (p51) giving good insights into the underlying reasons behind fights. However, the last 6 chapters made for quite good reading. Here they outline how marriage is built on respect and love (although I take issue with their exegesis of Eph 5 where they seem to overlook the whole submit thing and jump right to respect) and tell a very moving personal story about how life can throw some curve balls at you and you really find out what it means to love each other in hard times.

The book is easy to read, it could probably be read and understood by reading the chapter heading and the first paragraph of each chapter, it never goes any deeper than that. There is some good stuff in it, but a lot of stuff has to be waded through to get to it. The book is sometimes amusing and would be good for someone who is not used to reading. 2.5/5 ( )

This book is funny! I love writers who have the talent to make me laugh aloud while I'm reading, and therefore, I love Rick Burgess, Bubba Bussey, and Martha Bolton. I laughed throughout this book. Many times, I stopped reading to drag my husband's attention from the game he was watching on TV so that he could listen while I read him a particularly funny section. He never minded my interrupting his game, which proves that the man appreciates good literature.

Along with the humor, comes sound advice on marriage based on principles from the Bible. ( )

"Marriage was never meant to be perfect. Marriage is meant to teach an imperfect person to love another perfectly".

Quite an insightful statement from the self proclaimed "America's Two Sexiest Fat Men Alive" Rick Burgess and Bill 'Bubba' Bussey from their fifth book "Rick and Bubba's Guide to the Almost Nearly Perfect Marriage".

Though I live in the south, I've never heard Rick and Bubba's morning show, odd but true. After reading their newest book and listening to the CD included, I realized what I've been missing.

Although much of the tips and advice are offered to both men and women, this is decidedly a man book and clearly written from a man's perspective (even though a wife hijacked the word processor, adding her comments).

Comical, at times hilarious, this is a great book. I found it not so much for the newly married as those already married. I identified with many of the top ten lists, the relationship illustrations, and many of the truth's that couples learn from going through.

My favorite parts of the book? As a woman, I must confess this statement from the 'Ten Commandments of Marriage" resonated with me the most....

"Thou shalt apologize to your wife for whatever agony or discomfort she has had to
endure on any given day, physically or emotionally, including mishaps with appliances
or motor vehicles, or as a result of national or world events, because it is your fault.
Accept it."

I'd recommend this book for the humor and for the wisdom. Hats off to these two guys for giving their tips on making marriage what God intended it to be.

Think Christians aren't funny? Think again!! The "Two Sexiest Fat Men Alive" are a talk-show duo from Alabama. I never heard of them before I received this book, but now I'm hooked. I laughed out loud over and over while reading this book. Rick and Bubby offer insight into their own marriages, and how they overcome hardships through humor and a strong sense of faith. I like the fact that the book shows both the wife and the husbands sides and that it takes them both to cause a ripple in a marriage and also to smooth that ripple out. I found myself relating to what they were saying over and over. "I/WE've done that before also" was a frequent thought I had while reading this book. Rick and Bubba are not straight laced, they might even have a little redneck in them. I'd recommend this to anyone familiar with Rick & Bubba, and to anyone who isn't, you don't know what you're missing. Check them out, they are very funny and may just save your marriage. The book also comes with a CD, which is hilarious also. ( )