NAKED BENEATH MY CLOTHES: Tales of a...

NAKED BENEATH MY CLOTHES: Tales of a Revealing Nature by Rita Rudner (Penguin: $8; 162 pp., illustrated). Rudner’s skewed reflections on contemporary life have made her a popular comedian in both America and Britain. She explains such puzzling phenomena as why 10,000 people run in the New York City Marathon (“Maybe there’s a Hare Krishna in back of them going, ‘Excuse me, can I talk to you for a second?’ ”) and why women buy designer clothes (“ . . . the more expensive the garment, the bigger it is cut. Somewhere there is a Size 6 gown that is so expensive it fits Nell Carter”). An ideal diversion for lazy afternoon at the beach or an airplane ride.