Best of
Humor

2000

The Greatest of Marlys


Lynda Barry - 2000
    This book answers the call as it delivers the life and times of Marlys Mullen, the most beloved character in Barry's nationally syndicated comic strip, "Ernie Pook's Comeek." This is a Lynda Barry double-tall: the long-awaited collection of the best strips from her syndicated comics. Way back in the mid-1980s, comic illustrator and writer Lynda Barry introduced the character of Marlys Mullen, her crazy groovy teenage sister Maybonne, her sensitive and strange little brother Freddie, a mother like no other, and an array of cousins and friends from the 'hood. This oversized book presents the long strange journey through puberty and life that Marlys and company have experienced. Marlys's universe and galaxy are funny, rude, disturbing, tearful . . . in short, very, very Lynda Barry.

What Ho! The Best of P.G. Wodehouse


P.G. Wodehouse - 2000
    This anthology of stories, novel-extracts, working drafts, articles, letters and poems gives a fresh angle on the twentieth century's greatest humourist. In his introduction, Stephen Fry writes: "What a very, very lucky person you are. Spread out before you are the finest and funniest words from the finest and funniest writer the past century ever knew... Without Wodehouse I am not sure that I would be a tenth of what I am today... He taught me something about good nature. It IS enough to be benign, to be gentle, to be funny, to be kind."

The Truth


Stephen Briggs - 2000
    Allegedly. William de Worde is the Discworld's first investigative journalist. He didn't mean to be - it was just an accident. But, as William fills his pages with reports of local club meetings and pictures of humorously shaped vegetables, dark forces high up in Ankh-Morpork's society are plotting to overthrow the city's ruler, Lord Vetinari.

Plum Boxed Set 4


Janet Evanovich - 2000
    She's a target for every psycho and miscreant this side of the Jersey Turnpike. He mother's convinced she'll end up dead...or worse, without a man. She's Stephanie Plum and she kicks butt for a living (well, she thought it would sound good to put it that way...)It begins as an innocent trip to the deli-mart, on a quest for nachos. But Stephanie Plum and her partner, Lula, are clearly in the wrong place at the wrong time. A robbery leads to an explosion, which leads to the destruction of yet another car. It would be just another day in the life of Stephanie Plum...except that she becomes the target of a gang. And the target of an even scarier, more dangerous force that comes to Trenton. With super bounty hunter Ranger out of town (and Stephanie on the outs with vice cop Morelli), she finds herself alone, with a decision to make: how to protect herself and where to hide while on the hunt for a killer known as the Junkman. There's only one safe place, and it has Ranger's name all over it-if she can find it. And if the Junkman doesn't find her first. With Lula riding shotgun and Grandma Mazur on the loose, Stephanie Plum is racing against the clock in her most suspenseful novel yet. Ten Big Ones is page-turning entertainment and Janet Evanovich is the best there is.     Eleven on Top Stephanie Plum is thinking her career as a fugitive apprehension agent has run its course. She's been shot at, spat at, cussed at, fire-bombed, mooned, and attacked by dogs. Stephanie thinks it's time for a change. So she quits. She wants something safe and normal. But the kind of trouble she had at the bail bonds office can't compare to the kind of trouble she finds herself facing now...Stephanie is stalked by a maniac returned from the grave for the sole purpose of putting her into a burial plot of her own. He's killed before, and he'll kill again if given the chance. Caught between staying far away from the bounty hunter business and staying alive, Stephanie reexamines her life and the possibility that being a bounty hunter is the solution rather than the problem. After disturbingly brief careers at the button factory, Kan Klean Dry Cleaners, and Cluck-in-a-Bucket, Stephanie takes an office position in security, working for Ranger, the sexiest, baddest bounty hunter and businessman on two continents. Tempers and temperatures rise as competition ratchets up between the two men in her life--her on-again, off-again boyfriend, tough Trenton cop Joe Morelli, and her boss, Ranger. Can Stephanie Plum take the heat? Can you?     Twelve Sharp FIRST A STRANGER APPEARSWhile chasing down the usual cast of miscreants and weirdos, Stephanie discovers that a crazed woman is stalking her. THEN THE STRANGER REVEALS HER SECRETSThe woman dresses in black, carries a 9mm Glock, and has a bad attitude and a mysterious connection to dark and dangerous Carlos Manoso ...street name, Ranger.  NEXT, SOMEBODY DIESThe action turns deadly serious, and Stephanie goes from hunting skips to hunting a murderer.  SOON, THE CHASE IS ONRanger needs Stephanie for more reasons than he can say. And now, the two are working together to find a killer, rescue a missing child, and stop a lunatic from raising the body count. When Stephanie Plum and Ranger get too close for comfort, vice cop Joe Morelli (her on-again, off-again boyfriend) steps in. Will the ticking clock stop at the stroke of twelve...or will a stranger in the wind find a way to stop Stephanie Plum...forever?

The Joy of a Peanuts Christmas: 50 Years of Holiday Comics!


Charles M. Schulz - 2000
    All of your favorite characters are here: Charlie Brown and Snoopy, Lucy and Linus, Sally and Woodstock, Schroeder and Peppermint Patty, Franklin and Pig-Pen, even Spike and Marcie.Though the characters’ appearances have changed a bit over the years, one thing about PEANUTS always rings true: EVERY day is better when you’re sharing it with your friends, your family, and your loved ones (human, bird, or beagle).With dozens of strips, character profiles and stunning full-color graphics throughout, this glorious collection is a great way to celebrate The Joy of a PEANUTS Christmas. So come join in the Festivities!Merry Christmas, PEANUTS!

The Boondocks: Because I Know You Don't Read the Newspaper


Aaron McGruder - 2000
    The notoriety landed Boondocks creator Aaron McGruder in publications ranging from Time magazine to People magazine which named him one of the "25 Most Intriguing People of '99." Centered around the experiences of two young African-American boys, Huey and Riley, who move from inner-city Chicago to the suburbs (or the "boondocks" to them), the strip fuses hip-hop sensibilities with Japanese anime-style drawings and a candid discussion of race. In this first collection of Boondocks cartoons, you'll discover the funny yet revealing combination of superb art and envelope-pushing content in one of the most unique strips ever.

Humongous Zits


Jerry Scott - 2000
    Cartoonists Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman have captured the humor of that challenging time with Zits, in which they chronicle the life and times of the typically exasperating yet ever lovable Jeremy Duncan.In this first Zits treasury, a compilation of Zits and Growth Spurt, faithful fans of Jeremy's world will get a glimpse behind the scenes with never-before-seen sketches and the stories behind the strips. Sunday cartoons appear in full-color, highlighting the strip's acclaimed drawing style.Even though the teenage terrain is rocky, Zits is warm and sympathetic. "The highest compliment we hear from readers is, 'You must have a camera hidden in our house!'" says Borgman.

Assorted FoxTrot


Bill Amend - 2000
    Fans of all ages can find something in creator Bill Amend's work with which they're familiar, from the outrageous sibling rivalries between ten-year-old Jason and his teenage siblings, Peter and Paige, to marital squabbles over golf between parents Roger and Andy.FoxTrot's appeal, in large part, comes from Amend's talent for finding humor in contemporary topics and issues. Readers enjoy a delightful ride as the Fox family members give their takes on the latest in pop culture. It's sometimes surprising and always entertaining to see just how different members of the same gene pool can be.Universal Press Syndicate newspaper feature:*FoxTrot

Azumanga Daioh, Vol. 1


Kiyohiko Azuma - 2000
    Teacher Yukari Tanizaki is oblivious, immature, emotional and one of the people shaping young minds. Her students face difficulties in school that most never imagined. For example, as one pupil starts to ask a question, Miss Yukari cuts him off, stating she won't talk about her bra size. Another group of students are ready for their lessons, but instead of learning about social studies or science, they learn how Miss Yukari spent her weekend. Maybe that's not so bad, considering Miss Yukari's not the brightest bulb in the bunch and has her students correcting her on many technical points. Her students aren't sure how to react, but their bewilderment is half the charm of this manga. Like the 1980s TV series Head of the Class, Azu has an eclectic mix of pupils ranging from child geniuses to sports enthusiasts to tough girls; each possessing much more than meets the eye. The precocious child genius may be great at academic subjects, but she still draws like a little girl and has the emotions of a kid. The unemotional tough teen melts for tiny animals and longs to have a pet of her own, even if all of the creatures she comes in contact with seem to hate her. The art is simple and minimalistic, but adequately conveys the thought and emotion behind each strip. Azuma's cast has depth, dimension and character, and their story heartily entertains.

One for the Money / Two for the Dough


Janet Evanovich - 2000
    Here comes Stephanie Plum, a bounty hunter with attitude. In Stephanie's opinion, toxic waste, rabid drivers, armed schizophrenics, and August heat, humidity, and hydrocarbons are all part of the great adventure of living in Jersey.She's a product of the "burg," a blue-collar pocket of Trenton where houses are attached and narrow, cars are American, window are clean, and (God forbid you should be late) dinner is served at six.Now Stephanie's all grown up and out on her own, living five miles from Mom and Dad's, doing her best to sever the world's longest umbilical cord. Her mother is a meddler, and her grandmother is a few cans short of a case.Out of work and out of money, with her Miata repossessed and her refrigerator empty, Stephanie blackmails her bail bondsman cousin, Vinnie, into giving her a try as an apprehension agent. Stephanie knows zilch about the job requirements, but she figures her new pal, fearless bounty hunter Ranger, can teach her what it takes to catch a crook.Her first assignment: nail Joe Morelli, a former vice cop on the run from a charge of murder one. Morelli is also the irresistible macho pig who took Stephanie's virginity at age sixteen and then wrote the details on the bathroom wall of Mario's Sub Shop. There's still powerful chemistry between these two, so the chase should be interesting.It could also be extremely dangerous, especially when Stephanie encounters a heavyweight title contender who likes to play rough. Benito Ramirez is known for his brutality to women. At the very least, his obsession with Stephanie complicates her manhunt and brings terror and uncertainty into her life. At the worst, it could lead to murder.Two for the Dough: It's Stephanie Plum, New Jersey's "fugitive apprehension" agent (aka bounty hunter), introduced to the world by Janet Evanovich in the award-winning novel One for the Money.Now Stephanie's back, armed with attitude -- not to mention stun guns, defense sprays, killer flashlights, and her trusty .38. Stephanie is after a new bail jumper, Kenny Mancuso, a boy from Trenton's burg. He's fresh out of the army, suspiciously wealthy, and he's just shot his best friend.With her bounty hunter pal Ranger stepping in occasionally to advise her, Stephanie staggers knee deep in corpses and caskets as she traipses through back streets, dark alleys, and funeral parlors.And nobody knows funeral parlors better than Stephanie's irrepressible Grandma Mazur, a lady whose favorite pastime is grabbing a front-row seat at a neighborhood wake. So Stephanie uses Grandma as a cover to follow leads, but loses control when Grandma warms to the action, packing a cool pistol. Much to the family's chagrin, Stephanie and Granny may soon have the elusive Kenny in their sights.Fast-talking, slow-handed vice cop Joe Morelli joins in the case, since the prey happens to be his young cousin. And if the assignment calls for an automobile stakeout for two with the woman who puts his libido in overdrive, Morelli's not one to object.Low on expertise but learning fast, high on resilience, and despite the help she gets from friends and relatives, Stephanie eventually must face the danger alone when embalmed body parts begin to arrive on her doorstep and she's targeted for a nasty death by the most loathsome adversary she's ever encountered. Another case like this and she'll be a real pro.

Asterix Omnibus, vol. 2


René Goscinny - 2000
    In Asterix the Gladiator, our hero has to save his friend Caconofix from getting thrown to the lions. Asterix and the Banquet offers a feast for readers as Asterix and Obelix sample delicacies on a cross-country tip. And in Asterix and Cleopatra, he and the Egyptian queen build a sumptuous palace for Caesar—and outwit the Roman Army, too.

Shark In The Park


Nick Sharratt - 2000
    Peep through the die-cut holes in this book to see if you can spy a shark. Is that really a shark? Turn the page and find out . . .A delightful, entertaining story - with its rhyming text and ingenious die-cut pages, it's a book children will want to read again and again.

The Complete McAuslan


George MacDonald Fraser - 2000
    He continued his disorderly advance, losing, soiling or destroying his equipment, through the pages of McAuslan in the Rough. The final volume, The Sheikh and the Dustbin, pursues the career of the great incompetent as he shambles across North African and Scotland, swinging his right arm in time with his right leg and tripping over his untied laces.His admirers know him as court-martial defendant, ghost-catcher, star-crossed lover and golf caddie extraordinary. Whether map-reading his erratic way through the Sahara by night or confronting Arab rioters, McAuslan’s talent for catastrophe is guaranteed. Now, for the first time, the inimitable McAuslan stories are collected together in one glorious volume.

4: Fantastic Novels


Daniel Pinkwater - 2000
    Four-fantastic-books-in-one by the popular author of The Hoboken Chicken Emergency: Borgel Yobgorgle The Worms of Kukumlima The Snarkout Boys & the Baconburg Horror

The Giggler Treatment


Roddy Doyle - 2000
    The Gigglers are magical pranksters who exact appropriate revenge on adults who have been mean to children.

Captain Underpants Boxed Set


Dav Pilkey - 2000
    Also includes a sticker sheet with all-new art!Now you can have the first four books in one boxed set-along with a super-cool sticker sheet featuring your favorite characters! The award-winning Captain Underpants books have received rave reviews across the nation and have been translated into numerous languages, including Spanish, Italian, Korean, Greek, Norwegian, Dutch, German, and Hebrew. "It'll make kids laugh until soda comes out their noses."-Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Pastoralia


George Saunders - 2000
    Whether he writes a gothic morality tale in which a male exotic dancer is haunted by his maiden aunt from beyond the grave, or about a self-help guru who tells his followers his mission is to discover who's been "crapping in your oatmeal," Saunders's stories are both indelibly strange and vividly real.

Snake and Bacon's Cartoon Cabaret


Michael Kupperman - 2000
    A collection of comics presents the exploits of such characters as the mannister, two-fisted Poe, Mister Bossman, Cousin Grampa, and underpants-on-his-head man.

The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip


George Saunders - 2000
    In the seaside village of Frip live three families: the Romos, the Ronsens, and a little girl named Capable and her father. The economy of Frip is based solely on goat’s milk, and this is a problem because the village is plagued by gappers: bright orange, many-eyed creatures the size of softballs that love to attach themselves to goats. When a gapper gets near a goat, it lets out a high-pitched shriek of joy that puts the goats off giving milk, which means that every few hours the children of Frip have to go outside, brush the gappers off their goats, and toss them into the sea. The gappers have always been everyone’s problem, until one day they get a little smarter, and instead of spreading out, they gang up: on Capable’s goats. Free at last of the tyranny of the gappers, will her neighbors rally to help her? Or will they turn their backs, forcing Capable to bear the misfortune alone? Featuring fifty-two haunting and hilarious illustrations by Lane Smith and a brilliant story by George Saunders that explores universal themes of community and kindness, The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip is a rich and resonant story for those that have all and those that have not.

Maakies


Tony Millionaire - 2000
    weekly newspapers, including the L.A. New Times and Seattle Stranger. This first collection, designed by Chip Kidd and Millionaire, reprints every strip from its 1994 inception through early 2000. Maakies features the nautical adventures of an alcoholic crow and suicidal ape, and includes an introduction by Andy Dick.

In a Sunburned Country


Bill Bryson - 2000
    His previous excursion along the Appalachian Trail resulted in the sublime national bestseller A Walk in the Woods. In A Sunburned Country is his report on what he found in an entirely different place: Australia, the country that doubles as a continent, and a place with the friendliest inhabitants, the hottest, driest weather, and the most peculiar and lethal wildlife to be found on the planet. The result is a deliciously funny, fact-filled, and adventurous performance by a writer who combines humor, wonder, and unflagging curiousity.Despite the fact that Australia harbors more things that can kill you in extremely nasty ways than anywhere else, including sharks, crocodiles, snakes, even riptides and deserts, Bill Bryson adores the place, and he takes his readers on a rollicking ride far beyond that beaten tourist path. Wherever he goes he finds Australians who are cheerful, extroverted, and unfailingly obliging, and these beaming products of land with clean, safe cities, cold beer, and constant sunshine fill the pages of this wonderful book. Australia is an immense and fortunate land, and it has found in Bill Bryson its perfect guide.

Edwurd Fudwupper Fibbed Big


Berkeley Breathed - 2000
    But one day, Edwurd tells such a whopping lie that the army, the air force, and the dogcatcher are called to reverse the damage. Full color.

ごくせん 1


Kozueko Morimoto - 2000
    Unfortunately for her, she's assigned by the school board as the homeroom teacher for class 3-D, which happens to be the class of delinquent students. When the class attempts to make a living hell out of Yankumi's career, they fail as her persistence and aggression gain her respect. However, little does anyone in the school know that Yankumi is actually heir to the Kuroda Ikka - one of Tokyo's most powerful yakuza clans.

It's Raining Pigs and Noodles


Jack Prelutsky - 2000
    Grab your umbrella—and make sure it's a big one!It's raining pigs and noodles,it's pouring frogs and hats,chrysanthemums and poodles,bananas, brooms, and cats.Assorted prunes and parrotsare dropping from the sky,here comes a bunch of carrots,some hippopotami.

Shrub: The Short but Happy Political Life of George W. Bush


Molly Ivins - 2000
    In Shrub, Ivins focuses her Texas-size smarts on the biggest politician in her home state: George Walker Bush, or "Shrub," as Ivins has nicknamed Bush the Younger.         A candidate of vague speeches and an ambiguous platform, Bush leads the pack of GOP 2000 presidential hopefuls; "Dubya" could very well be our next president. What voters need now is an original, smart, and accessible analysis of Bush--one that leaves the "youthful indiscretions" to the tabloids and gets to the heart of his policies and motivations. Ivins is the perfect woman for the job.         With her trademark wit and down-home wisdom, Molly Ivins shares three pieces of advice on judging a politician: "The first is to look at the record. The second is to look at the record. And third, look at the record." In this book, Ivins takes a good, hard look at the record of the man who could be the leader of the free world. Beginning with his post-college military career, Ivins tracks Dubya's winding, sometimes unlikely path from a failed congressional bid to a two-term governorship. Bush has made plenty of friends and supporters along the way, including Texas oil barons, evangelist Billy Graham, and co-investors in the Texas Rangers baseball team. "You would have to work at it to dislike the man," she writes. But for all of Bush's likeability, Ivins points to a disconcerting lack of political passion from this ascending presidential candidate. In her words, "If you think his daddy had trouble with 'the vision thing,' wait till you meet this one."         Witty, trenchant, and on target, Ivins gives a singularly perceptive and entertaining analysis of George W. Bush. To head to the voting booth without it would be downright un-American.From Shrub: The Short but Happy Political Life of George W. Bush"        The past is prologue in politics. If a politician is left, right, weak, strong, given to the waffle or the flip-flop, or, as sometimes happens, an able soul who performs well under pressure, all that will be in the record." ¸         Bush's welfare record: "Texas pols like to 'git tuff' on crime, welfare, commies, and other bad stuff. Bush proposed to git tuff on welfare recipients by ending the allowance for each additional child--which in Texas is $38 a month." ¸         Bush and the Christian right: "Bush has learned to dance with the Christian right. It has been interesting and amusing to watch the process. Interesting because it's sometimes hard to tell who's leading and who's following; amusing because when a scion of Old Yankee money gets together with a televangelist with too much Elvis, the result is swell entertainment." ¸         Bush's environmental record: Since Governor Bush's election, Texas air quality has been rated the worst in the nation, leading all fifty states in overall toxic releases, recognized carcinogens in the air, cancer risk, and ten other categories of pollutants. ¸         Bush's military career: "Bush was promoted as the Texas Air National Guard's anti-drug poster boy, one of life's little ironies given the difficulty he has had answering cocaine questions all these years later. 'George Walker Bush is one member of the younger generation who doesn't get his kicks from pot or hashish or speed,' reads a Guard press release of 1970. 'Oh, he gets high, all right, but not from narcotics.'"From the Hardcover edition.

Bill Bryson: The Complete Notes


Bill Bryson - 2000
    back to the States for a while. But before leaving his much-loved Yorkshire, Bryson insisted on taking one last trip around old Blighty, a sort of valedictory tour of the green and kindly island that had for so long been his home. The resulting book, Notes from a Small Island, is a eulogy to the country that produced Marmite, George Formby, by-elections, milky tea, place names like Farleigh Wallop, Titsey and Shellow Bowels, Gardeners' Question Time and people who say, 'Mustn't grumble'. Britain will never seem the same again.Once ensconced back home in New Hampshire, Bryson couldn't resist the invitation to write a weekly dispatch for the Mail on Sunday's Night & Day magazine. Notes from a Big Country is a collection of eighteen months' worth of his popular columns about that strangest of phenomena - the American way of life. Whether discussing the dazzling efficiency of the garbage disposal unit, the exoticism of having your groceries bagged for you, or the mind-numbing frequency of commercial breaks on American TV, Bill Bryson brings his inimitable brand of bemused wit to bear on the world's richest and craziest country.The Complete Notes combines two of Bill Bryson's best-loved travel books in one volume, It demonstrates his unique take on life - from either side of the pond.

E.


Matt Beaumont - 2000
    . . but before I go there are some things you should know . . . !!!! Set in a London ad agency desperate to land a coveted big account, e follows the bureaucratic bungling, cutthroat maneuvers, and outrageous sexual antics of a group of Miller-Shanks employees as they scheme, lie, lust, and claw their way up (and down) the company ladder.Written by a former advertising copywriter, this hilarious, dead-on-target novel marks the debut of a hip and exciting new voice in contemporary fiction. With the click of a mouse, Matt Beaumont brings the novel of letters into the twenty-first century, turning his merciless, unerring eye on today's Machiavellian corporate culture-with uproarious results. Rachel Stevenson, Personnel-1/5/00, 3:09 pm to: Chandra Kapoor cc: David Cruttonre: Urgent: Please delete Carla Browne's ID from e-mail with immediate effect. Thank you.

The Remarkable Farkle McBride


John Lithgow - 2000
    But he's never satisfied: Something is missing.In his first book, actor and musician John Lithgow introduces a memorable character, a fickle yet lovable child prodigy who brings the sounds and rhythms of an orchestra to sprawling visual life. With a double gatefold showing the entire orchestra, this is the ultimate book for the music lover in all of us.Deedle-ee Doodle-eeDoom-pety CLANG!

How Murray Saved Christmas


Mike Reiss - 2000
    And with the help of a pushy elf and an eager-to-believe young boy, Murray finds that even though he's not big enough to fill Santa's suit, he's got more than enough heart to get the job done. Illustrated by David Catrow.

The Adventures of Sock Monkey


Tony Millionaire - 2000
    Written and drawn by Tony Millionaire, best known as the creator of the successful alternative comic strip, Maakies. Follow Uncle Gabby and Drinky Crow as they try to find a home for a shrunken head, play matchmakers between the bat in the doll's house and the mouse in the basement, hunt salamanders, and try to get to heaven. Delights! Happy endings and random destruction are guaranteed!

Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates


Tom Robbins - 2000
    . . Robbins takes readers on a wild, delightful ride. . . . A delight from beginning to end."--Buffalo NewsSwitters is a contradiction for all seasons: an anarchist who works for the government; a pacifist who carries a gun; a vegetarian who sops up ham gravy; a cyberwhiz who hates computers; a man who, though obsessed with the preservation of innocence, is aching to deflower his high-school-age stepsister (only to become equally enamored of a nun ten years his senior). Yet there is nothing remotely wishy-washy about Switters. He doesn't merely pack a pistol. He is a pistol. And as we dog Switters's strangely elevated heels across four continents, in and out of love and danger, discovering in the process the "true" Third Secret of Fatima, we experience Tom Robbins--that fearless storyteller, spiritual renegade, and verbal break dancer--at the top of his game. On one level this is a fast-paced CIA adventure story with comic overtones; on another it's a serious novel of ideas that brings the Big Picture into unexpected focus; but perhaps more than anything else, Fierce Invalids is a sexy celebration of language and life.Praise for Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates"Superb."--New York Post"Dangerous? Wicked? Forbidden? You bet. . . . Pour yourself a bowl of chips and dig in."--Daily News, New York "Robbins is a great writer . . . and definitely a provocative rascal."--The Tennessean"Whoever said truth is stranger than fiction never read a Tom Robbins novel. . . Clever, creative, and witty, Robbins tosses off impassioned observations like handfuls of flower petals."-- San Diego Union-Tribune

A Stainless Steel Trio


Harry Harrison - 2000
    Here the multi-talented expert in karate and fast-change fast-talk artist narrates three great exploits. A Stainless Steel Rat Is Born describes how the lad graduates from Bit O'Heaven porcuswine farm to jail, finds and rescues a mentor, stowaways to slavery, then helps interplanetary League Navy Captain Varod defeat medieval Capos. Conscripted again in The Stainless Steel Rat Gets Drafted, he tries to help a planet of peace, inspired by the philosophy of logical robot Mark Forer IV, defend against the invading army, led by the sadistic killer of his mentor, The Bishop. In The Stainless Steel Rat Sings the Blues, Jim, disguised as a futuristic rock-and-roller, must retrieve a missing alien artifact or lose his life.

The Frightful First World War And The Woeful Second World War (Two Horrible Books In One)


Terry Deary - 2000
    The Woeful Second World War gives you the dire details about the worst war ever - from snow-bound cities under siege to fly-infested jungle trenches. Read on for curious quizzes, rotten recipes, gruesome games and terrible tests ...for your teacher! History has never been so horrible!

Dungeon: Zenith - Vol. 2: The Barbarian Princess


Joann Sfar - 2000
    Herbert’s fictitious Princess in distress to lure more hapless warriors to the Dungeon turns out to be all too real and quite a handful!

The Adventures of Barry Ween, Boy Genius 1


Judd Winick - 2000
    What does a ten-year-old boy do with a 350 I.Q.? Any thing he wants. Cranky, egotistical, arrogant and foul-mouthed, Barry in general wants to conduct his experiments and be left alone, but it never seems to work out. Hurdles that Barry must outmaneuver range from time warps, to art thieves, to accidentally turning his best friend into a dinosaur.

Don't Turn Your Back in the Barn


Dave Perrin - 2000
    Dave Perrin has been in practice for two days in the Creston Valley, and already he's found trouble. He has encountered William, the aggressive billy goat, and Theo, the intrepid Doberman. (Theo has recently discovered the delight of chasing chickens on the neighbour's property.) "Sweet" William and Theo are just two of the fabulously entertaining characters that the country vet encounters. There are times he's not sure if he's in the right business, even though he's wanted to be a veterinarian since he was a kid growing up on a mountain farm near Trail, British Columbia. The fascinating human characters he befriends help him through his first year of practice. Don't Turn Your Back in the Barn focuses on the humorous incidents that inevitably happen in a rural practice that treats cows in the morning and kittens in the afternoon. He relies on Doris, his steadfast assistant, to help him in the surgery and to organize the daybook, but even she sometimes has trouble balancing his hectic schedule. This first volume of stories provides a real-life look at the rigours of practising veterinary medicine in a country setting. Pathos is a given as Dr. Perrin deals with his own emotions and those of his human clients, who must often make hard decisions about their beloved animals. The introduction to this best-selling collection says, "Dave Perrin is not afraid to display his emotion in his writing nor to reveal his own frailties. But the element that runs through each story is his passion—for his work, for his patients, and for the mountains and fertile flat lands that surround the Kootenay River."

The Blue Day Book: A Lesson in Cheering Yourself Up


Bradley Trevor Greive - 2000
    No one who has lips will be able to read it without smiling; it s guaranteed. The fact is, we all have our bad days -- they are an intrinsic part of being human. As prescribed by The Blue Day Book in its delightful photo and text messages, the solution is to see each incident in perspective, recognize that our feelings of failure and loss are not unique, and acknowledge the absurdities of our existence, and glory in the potential we all have. In less than one hundred sentences, The Blue Day Book conveys this message with great compassion and humor. Its vehicle is charming black-and-white photographs of animals that are strangely human and completely free of judgment or pretension. The humble marriage of easy text and beautiful images takes us through the entire evolution of a blue day -- examines what it feels like, what causes it, and how to get over it.

Thelwell's Pony Panorama: Thelwell's Gymkhana, Thelwell Goes West and Thelwell's Penelope


Norman Thelwell - 2000
    Offers a humorous insights into pony psychology and British equestrian life.

Mr. Bear Squash-You-All-Flat


Morrell Gipson - 2000
    Mr. Bear, the "Neighborhood Nuisance", roams the forest squashing the houses of other animals--and finally gets his own hilarious, smashing comeuppance!

Lisa's Story: The Other Shoe


Tom Batiuk - 2000
    Visit Lisa's Legacy Fund to learn more or to make a direct donation.A story from the comic strips that will make you laugh and cryTom Batiuk spent several years as a middle school art teacher before creating the comic strip Funky Winkerbean in 1972. Originally a "gag-a-day" comic strip that portrayed life in high school, Funky has evolved into a mature series of real-life stories examining such social issues as teen dating abuse, teen pregnancy, teen suicide, violence in schools, the war in the Middle East, alcoholism, divorce, and cancer.In 1999, Lisa Moore, one of Funky's friends and a main character, discovered she had breast cancer. Batiuk, unsure about dealing with such a serious subject on the funny pages, decided to go ahead with the story line. He approached the topic with the idea that mixing humor with serious and real themes heightens the reader's interest. Lisa and husband Les faced the same physical, psychological, and social issues as anyone else dealing with the disease.After a mastectomy and chemotherapy, Lisa was cancer free. She finished her law degree, opened a practice, and had a baby daughter, Summer. Then, in the spring of 2006, the cancer returned and metastasized. Lisa's Story: The Other Shoe is a collection of both the 1999 comic strips on Lisa's initial battle with cancer and the current series examining her struggle with the disease and its outcome. Additionally, it contains resource material on breast cancer, including early detection, information sources, support systems, and health care.

Daily Splashes of Joy: 365 Gems to Sparkle Your Day


Barbara Johnson - 2000
    And she's seen how a simple message of hope uplifts a life that's left in tatters.In these pages you'll find a daily dollop of Barbara's favorite jokes, heartwarming stories, witty cartoons, and heartache-survival strategies. Share a moment each morning with the Geranium Lady, and soon you, like Barbara, will realize you've been "blessed to be a blessing."

The Life of Reilly: The Best of Sports Illustrated's Rick Reilly


Rick Reilly - 2000
    This collection presents the best of Reilly: unforgettable sporting moments, favorite columns, and unpublished pieces.

The Deer on a Bicycle: Excursions Into the Writing of Humor


Patrick F. McManus - 2000
    It is intended for those who write humor or have ever wanted to.

Laugh With Laxman


R.K. Laxman - 2000
    It is here that Laxman's sense of parodyand satire find some of their finest expressions. A selection of these rare and masterly cartoons which comment caustically on our social and political character were togethter in the first volume of "laugh with Laxman", and proved to be immensly popular. This is the second volume in the series replete with timeless gems that continue to amuse.

On Line


Al Hirschfeld - 2000
    Includes essays by Whoopi Goldberg, Arthur Miller, Mel Gussow, Kurt Vonnegut, Grace Mirabella, Louise Kerz Hirschfeld and more Commentary by Hirschfeld throughout.

The Yuckiest, Stinkiest, Best Valentine Ever


Brenda A. Ferber - 2000
    A let-her-cut-in-line-at-the-water-fountain kind of crush. And he's got the perfect valentine. But this valentine has no intention of getting caught up in any romantic conspiracy. "Love is yucky, kid! Valentine's Day is all about CANDY!" the card yells at Leon, before leaping out the window and running away, leaving Leon to chase it across town, collecting interested kids along the way. Here is a hilarious take on the holiday that boys love to hate, the most complex holiday of them all. Saying "I love you" has never been so yucky or so sweet.

The Bride of Anguished English: A Bonanza of Bloopers, Blunders, Botches, and Boo-Boos


Richard Lederer - 2000
    From headlines to menus, student papers to politicians' speeches, every embarrassing example is true-and wonderfully funny.

How to Good-Bye Depression: If You Constrict Anus 100 Times Everyday. Malarkey? or Effective Way?


Hiroyuki Nishigaki - 2000
    You can do so at a boring meeting or in a subway. I have known a 70-year-old man who has practiced it for 20 years. As a result, he has a good complexion and has grown 20 years younger. His eyes sparkle. He is full of vigor, happiness and joy. He has neither complained nor born a grudge under any circumstance. Furthermore, he can make #### three times in succession without drawing out. In addition, he also can have burned a strong, beautiful fire within his abdomen. It can burn out the dirty stickiness of his body, release his immaterial fiber or third attention, which has been confined to his stickiness. Then, he can shoot out his immaterial fiber or third attention to an object, concentrate on it and attain happy lucky feeling through the success of concentration. If you don't know concentration, which gives you peculiar pleasure, your life looks like hell.

The Vicar of Dibley: The Great Big Companion to Dibley


Richard Curtis - 2000
    Meet the parishoners and fall in love with Dibley as the scripts of the television programme are published here in a "prayer-book" format.

Snatch: The Shooting Script


Guy Ritchie - 2000
    A diamond heist gone helter-skelter, the rough and tumble world of bare-knuckle boxing, an unpredictable Irish gypsy and...a dog. Writer-director Guy Ritchie's highly anticipated comedy takes the gangster genre into another dimension—hilarity. The colorful ensemble cast features Benicio Del Toro, Dennis Farina, Jason Flemyng, Vinnie Jones, Brad Pitt and Jason Statham. Double-crossing, double-bluffing and double-dealing abound as various parties pursue personal agendas—all of them illegal, some of them farcical and most of them involving an 86-carat diamond. As plans go haywire and tempers fray, dogs, diamonds, mobile homes, boxers and assorted weaponry get swept up into a chaotic free-for-all. Who will emerge with the stone? Snatch premiered in England in September 2000 to rave reviews and huge box office! This Newmarket Shooting Script® edition of the book includes the complete shooting script, an introduction by Ritchie, stills and credits.

The Jeeves Wooster Boxed Set: The Collectors Wodehouse


P.G. Wodehouse - 2000
    G. Wodehouse, The Jeeves Collection is a set your bookshelves simply cannot live without. A gorgeous boxed set with special editions of three of Wodehouse’s most beloved masterpieces, this is a gift that fans of Jeeves and Wooster will cherish. A collection of books that includes The Code of The Woosters, The Inimitable Jeeves, and Very Good Jeeves!

MAD Cover to Cover: 48 Years, 6 Months, & 3 Days of MAD Magazine Covers


Frank Jacobs - 2000
    Among the artists listed are Norman Mingo, Kelly Freas, Richard Williams, Mort Drucker, chimpanzee J. Fred Muggs, and a new corner with the strangely familiar moniker "Leonard da Vinci".

Groo and Rufferto


Sergio Aragonés - 2000
    A bad run-in with the wizard Anakrony, Master of the Chronological Sciences, tests once and for all the bond between this barbarian and his best friend. Making another accidental stand against tyranny, Groo becomes separated from Rufferto, and an entire city is made to suffer. Will Groo be reunited with Rufferto, or will the little dog have to go get his own comic?

The Irresistible Rose Is Rose


Pat Brady - 2000
    In each installment, cartoonist Pat Brady presents a loving and funny family that fans simply want to be a part of.In The Irresistible Rose is Rose, Brady plays up Rose's active fantasy world. Through one or two clever flip-art sequences she morphs into her alter ego, the leather-clad biker sexpot, Vicki the Biker. In this fourth Rose is Rose collection, Rose's playful nature is complemented by her son Pasquale's wild dream life and the constant devotion from her adoring husband Jimbo.The strip has received many accolades, including the prestigious Wilbur Award from the Religious Public Relations Council, and has been nominated five times for Best Newspaper Comic Strip by the National Cartoonists Society. Rose is Rose appears in over 500 newspapers. Fans will find this collection completely irresistible! Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Pat Brady started submitting strips to newspapers at age 11. He studied art and creative writing at the University of Wisconsin, graduating in 1969. Nominated in 1997, 1998, and 1999 for the Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year by the National Cartoonists Society, Brady lives in the Midwest.

Our Peaceable Kingdom


John Drysdale - 2000
    Certainly it's not every day that one sees a lion that's befriended a Boston terrier. Maybe elephants don't usually go fishing, and parrots generally don't tend to lounge around in beach chairs, next to their human companions. But in the "peaceable kingdom" of John Drysdale, surprisingly unique alliances flourish. His photographs are whimsical and charming, but also carry a very important, necessary truth - the essential bonds of friendship transcend appearances, expectations, and traditions. Cats can love mice, bulldogs can rear squirrels, and foxes can protect chicks. With a refreshingly honest eye, Drysdale has captured the many ways in which the creatures that inhabit the earth bring one another comfort and happiness. Never mind that a burro and a boy are curled up on the sofa, or that a chimpanzee is sunbathing with his human family by the pool. Friendship is where you find it. The familiarity and love expressed in Drysdale's work is heartfelt and very real - as the endnotes explain, the exotic animals that are his subjects were often orphaned as babies, and reared along with the humans and other animals in the photographs. Since his earliest photographs of children frolicking on the cobblestoned streets of London, Drysdale's wonderfully illustrious career has spanned close to fifty years. And in Our Peaceable Kingdom, for the first time, 100 of his most memorable images are collected in one beautiful volume, destined to become a favorite on the shelves of children, adults, animal lovers, and anyone who appreciates a good friend.

The Vicar of Dibley: Volume One


Richard Curtis - 2000
    

Me Talk Pretty One Day


David Sedaris - 2000
    His family is another inspiration. You Can't Kill the Rooster is a portrait of his brother, who talks incessant hip-hop slang to his bewildered father. And no one hones a finer fury in response to such modern annoyances as restaurant meals presented in ludicrous towers of food and cashiers with six-inch fingernails.

This is Spinal Tap: Official Companion


Karl French - 2000
    Largely ad-libbed by lead guitarist Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest), lead singer David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), and bassist Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer)-as well as a succession of drummers whose careers were cut short by spontaneously combusting, drowning in somebody else's vomit, or other untimely deaths- This Is Spinal Tap chronicles the band's latest American tour in a cunning satire of rock and roll culture.Now, just in time for the theatrical re-release of This is Spinal Tap, as well as the ensuing video and DVD release, comes The Official Companion, featuring: Fully illustrated textA complete transcript of the film (much of the film was ad-libbed, so an ordinary screenplay can lack entire scenes) Never-before-seen stills from cut footage A comprehensive A-to-Z Guide featuring everything you've ever wanted to know about This Is Spinal Tap Don't miss the chance to see behind the scenes of one of the most riotous and memorable satires of our time!

Pirata


Pol Medina Jr. - 2000
    In this colorful graphic novel, we discover the origins of Polgas while enjoying the adventure and a regular dose of humor that made Pugad Baboy popular.This book is a reprint of the original graphic novel released in 1995.

I, Jack


Jack the Dog - 2000
    Wag tail. I live with a big Pack. I love my Packleader HUGE AMOUNTS! More than steak, even. yumyum. My Packleader has a Pack Lady and three children. I love them Big Amounts, too.And then there's Petra. She is the dog who lives next door and she is Gorgeous. I love her very much.This is my story. It's SO EXCITING! Find out how I become friends with Petra, brave the fierce garage dog, and save Packleader from Huge Scary Metal Monsters.ARROOOF ARROOOF!

Knock, Knock! Who's There?: My First Book of Knock Knock Jokes


Tad Hills - 2000
    Pull back the flaps and find out each hilarious punch line in this classic collection of knock-knock jokes!

Leonardo Da Vinci And His Super-Brain


Michael Cox - 2000
    But have you heard that Leonardo: - spent ten years making a seven-metre tall horse - thought pink was the coolest colour for clothes - loved to play practical jokes? Yes, even though he's dead, Leonardo's still full of surprises. Now you can get the inside story with Leonardo's lost notebook, flick through the pages of the Milan Messenger and discover dozens of the dazzling inventions the great man dreamed up in his amazing super-brain. Dead Funny - Dead Gripping - Dead Famous

A is for Salad


Mike Lester - 2000
    but not in this wacky alphabet book! In author/artist Mike Lester's slightly warped world, A is for salad, B is for Viking, and C is for hot dog. What's that all about, you may ask? It's a fun way for kids to learn as they figure out what each alphabet letter actually stands for. A is for alligator, shown on the page eating a healthy salad. B is for beaver, wearing a very handsome Viking helmet. C is for cat, pictured munching on a foot-long hot dog.

Dork Covenant


John Kovalic - 2000
    From dragon-filled dungeons to star treks, from comic book conventions to internet naughtiness, Dork Tower is the comic that put the "cult" back into sub-culture. Join Matt, Igor, Ken, Gilly the Perky Goth and Carson the Muskrat in their uproariously dorky adventures.

Eyeheart Everything


Mykle Hansen - 2000
    "Somewhere between the laughtrack of Mark Leyner's work and European surrealism, Hansen's stories shock, titillate, and bombard the reader with dark shards of comedy." - KEVIN SAMPSELL, author of Creamy Bullets

The Theory of Cat Gravity: Being Robin's Pet Theory


Robin Wood - 2000
    And, for just as many years, the people who have been listening and laughing have been asking for it to be all written down in a book. Well, finally, it is! The Theory of Cat Gravity, which is my Pet Theory, is all written out for your enjoyment, with decorations by Diana Harlan Stein who has been nominated for the Hugo Award several times. (I asked her to do it, because I can't do that many pictures in any reasonable amount of time anymore.) In it, I explain just what Cats are doing in those Window Ledges, and what that has to do with being immobilized by having a Cat on your Lap, and why things pile up under your bed and on your dining room table, and why it gets harder to move the older you get, and many other puzzling things. And it's all part of the same Unified Pet Theory. And not only that, but since the illustrations are all black and white line drawings, you can use it as a coloring book! If you have a cat, you are going to love this book. If you don't have a cat, you need it anyway to give to your friends who have cats. (But read it first, so that you are Warned! )

Leaking Laffs Between Pampers and Depends


Barbara Johnson - 2000
    Soon hordes of happy readers were flooding Barbara's mailbox with their own favorite jokes, touching stories, and hilarious tales of female misadventures.Now Barb has packed that amazing collection of wacky wit into this boisterously funny new book that's full of "laff leaks" about every stage of a woman's life?from diapers to dentures. No matter what stage of the "hormonal cesspool" you're splashing through, there's something here to touch your heart. You'll love Barb's quirky empty-nest de-cluttering strategies, her joyful insights on stress-soothing, husband-handling, kid-corralling, and parent-parenting in chapters like these:Having a Baby Is Like Writing a Book?Lots of Whining, Begging, and PushingWho Are These Kids, and Why Are They Calling Me Mom?I Finally Got My Head Together?Then My Body Fell ApartWe Started Out With Nothing?and Still Have Most of It LeftLeaking Laffs Between Pampers and Depends is a heart-warming ride over the waves of humor in God's endless sea of love.

The Tom Bodett Value Collection: The End of the Road, the Last Decent Parking Place in North America, Those Grand Occasions at the End of the Road (Value Collections)


Tom Bodett - 2000
    music creating the background mood, Tom Bodett lends his trademark voice to this collection of stories that include The End of the Road, The Last Decent Parking Place in North America, and Those Grand Occasions at the End of the Road.

The Mad Bathroom Companion


MAD Magazine - 2000
    Whether it's a classic "Lighter Side of...", "Spy vs. Spy", or one of the scores of other features, "The Mad Bathroom Companion" is sure to launch a new movement in humor.

Oh, Yuck!: The Encyclopedia of Everything Nasty


Joy Masoff - 2000
    From the liquids, solids, and gases--especially the gases!--or their own bodies to the creepy, crawly, slimy, slithery, fetid, and feculent phenomena in the world at large, kids with a curious bent just can't get enough. Oh, Yuck! The Encyclopedia of Everything Nasty brings together, in one book, all the good things about some of the baddest things on Earth.Exhaustively researched and impeccably scientific, yet written with a lively lack of earnestness, Oh, Yuck! is an ants to zits encyclopedic compendium covering people, animals, insects, plants, foods, and more. Here are vampire bats, which sip blood and pee at the same time so that they'll always be light enough to fly away; and slime eels, wreathed in mucus and eating fellow fish from the inside out. Oh, Yuck! explains why vomit smells; where dandruff comes from; what pus is all about; and why maggots adore rotting meant. Other features include gross recipes, putrid projects, 10 foods that make you airborne, and more.With hundreds of cartoon illustrations and real-life photographs, Oh, Yuck! is the complete guide to the irresistible--at least to an 8-to-12 year old--underbelly of life.

Enough


Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch - 2000
    She and her father share with the other villagers over the winter, then plant the few remaining grains in the spring. A gigantic stalk of magical wheat grows attracting the attention of an equally large and magical stork. The stork flies with Marusia on a magical journey to the prairies, where farmers give Marusia enough wheat for her village.Word of the magical journey reaches a greedy officer, who tricks the stork into retracing the magical journey. But the officer does not understand the meaning of "enough" and his greed leads to his doom. Back in the village, Marusia and her father know they must devise a clever plan to protect their wheat from other greedy soldiers . . . and perhaps from the dictator himself!

Things In Ditches


Jimmy Olsen - 2000
    The story of Phillip "Dutch" Cleland, a man with a hidden past and a future about to explode in his face. A seemingly average man whose love for two women drives him to such extremes that deception, even murder and suicide are not longer unthinkable. When a lovely corpse is discovered near Dutch's home town, the nearby ditches begin to yield a harvest of secrets, none of them comforting for Dutch. Soon he is forced to flee for his life, before his past and the police slip a noose around his neck. Things In Ditches is peopled with small town characters that are so humorous and eccentric, their oddball antics enliven every paragraph and page. A reader can't help but be reeled in by the strange citizens of Willow River, until soon discovering they're really not so different from all of us and Dutch's story is the oldest story on earth; good and evil, betrayal and laughter. And finally, the power of love and friendship, forging one man's determination to overcome all odds, even death.

The Best of Laxman: The Common Man Watches Cricket


R.K. Laxman - 2000
    Hilarious and thought-provoking at the same time, this is a treasure house of humour from one of the most striking voices commenting on Indian socio-political life today. This is a revised edition of the original published in 1998.

Fifty Acres and a Poodle: A Story of Love, Livestock, and Finding Myself on a Farm


Jeanne Marie Laskas - 2000
    But she never expected her fantasy to come true — until a summer afternoon’s drive in the country.That’s when she and her boyfriend, Alex — owner of Marley the poodle — stumble upon the place she thought existed only in her dreams. This pretty-as-a-picture-postcard farm with an Amish barn, a chestnut grove, and breathtaking vistas is real ... and for sale. And it’s where she knows her future begins.But buying a postcard — fifty acres of scenery — and living on it are two entirely different matters. With wit and wisdom, Laskas chronicles the heartwarming and heartbreaking stories of the colorful two- and four-legged creatures she encounters on Sweetwater Farm.Against a backdrop of brambles, a satellite dish, and sheep, she tells a tender, touching, and hilarious tale about life, love, and the unexpected complications of having your dream come true.

What's Not to Love?: The Adventures of a Mildly Perverted Young Writer


Jonathan Ames - 2000
    After all it can’t be easy to be sixteen with a hairless “undistinguishable from that of a five year old’s.”This wonderfully entertaining memoir is a touching and humorous look at life in New York City. But this is life for an author who can proclaim “my first sexual experience was rather old-fashioned: it was with a prostitute”–an author who can talk about his desire to be a model for the Hair Club for Men and about meeting his son for the first time. Often insightful, sometimes tender, always witty and self-deprecating, What’s Not to Love? is an engaging memoir from one of our most funny, most daring writers.

The Tale of the Allergist's Wife and Other Plays: The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, Psycho Beach Party, The Lady in Question, Red Scare on Sunset


Charles Busch - 2000
    Of his latest play, The New York Times has written, "Uproarious ... wall-to-wall laughs ... Mr. Busch has swum straight into the mainstream and stays comfortably afloat there." Busch is the author of such plays as Vampire Lesbians of Sodom -- one of the longest-running plays in Off-Broadway history -- and Psycho Beach Party, a cross between Gidget and Spellbound. After a successful Off-Broadway run at New York City's Manhattan Theater Club, Busch moves to Broadway with The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, a hilarious comedy about a self-absorbed Upper West Side doctor's wife whose life is devoted to mornings at the Whitney, afternoons at the Museum of Modern Art, and evenings at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Her world is shaken and transformed when a childhood friend makes an unexpected visit.

The Norm: Ball Collection


Michael Jantze - 2000
    The set includes four booklets with more than 300 comics and activities. The Ball collection contains episodes wherein our man Norm comes to his senses, pursues a high-tech career, dreams of Peanuts, offers salient tips on acquiring gainful employment, discovers one friend missing and kisses the other -- all before retiring home for the holidays.

Groucho: The Life and Times of Julius Henry Marx


Stefan Kanfer - 2000
    Fields refused to follow it; the unprecedented Broadway success of The Cocoanuts and Animal Crackers; the cinematic triumphs of Duck Soup and A Night at the Opera; and the marvelous come-back career as king of the game show hosts with You Bet Your Life. Here, too, is the man himself: a lonely middle child who aspired to be a doctor; a man who sabotaged three marriages; a father alternately indulgent and cruel. Intelligent and thorough, hilarious and sad, Groucho is a spectacular biography of the century’s most influential comedian.

The Norm: Cube Collection (The Norm Dailies - Box Set Book 3)


Michael Jantze - 2000
    "The Cube Collection" contains the episodes wherein Norm is guilty of computer lust, experiences an oedipal valentine adventure, suffers through a Star Wars plot line, takes his X-GFs for a dog walk, gets help with his self-help book and eulogizes a chaotic new year.This Kindle edition includes all four booklets from the print box collection with more than 300 of the black and white daily comics.

I Am Puppy, Hear Me Yap: The Ages of Dog


Valerie Shaff - 2000
    From sleepy golden retriever pups to sophisticated poodles, personality shines through in each of Valerie Shaff's remarkable photographs. The images, accompanied by Blount's puppy poetry, with the "canine measure somewhere between ordered and free," make this book a delight for dog lovers and, until dogs learn to talk, the best way to understand the "inner puppy" in all of them.

In Search Of The World's Worst Writers


Nick Page - 2000
    This volume is a celebration of bad writing - a journey into the lives of writers so wonderfully awful, they have unwittingly arrived at genius from the other direction.

Ride the Butterflies: Back to School with Donald Davis


Donald Davis - 2000
    Maybe it's because his mother was a teacher. Or maybe it's because he has spent most of his life in classrooms - as a wide-eyed first grader, a na�ve college student, a seminarian, and now as a visiting writer in residencies across the country. There's something about school that infuses the work of Donald Davis and he has collected his all-time favorite school stories in the book. Whether we're traveling around the world with Miss Daisy, the fourth grade teacher who was integrating arithmetic, geography and English before the term "whole language" ever surfaced; or watching in awe as a classmate conjugates malaprops in Miss Vergilius Darwin's Latin class; or driving a school bus and learning about segregation - we experience flashes of recognition in moments that transcend Donald Davis's childhood stories. These coming of age tales will teach readers the importance of caring, citizenship and respect.

One Big Happy: All The Dirt!


Rick Detorie - 2000
    

50 Years of Beetle Bailey


Mort Walker - 2000
    After 50 years in service, Beetle still stays firmly lodged in the nation's top five comic strips, in 1,800 newspapers in 52 different countries with 200 million readers every day. Creator Mort Walker has lovingly put together this decade-by-decade compilation to commemorate Beetle's extended tour of duty, throwing in a little bit of the strip's history for good measure. Whether it was Lt. Flap's introduction to the outfit ("How come there's no blacks in this honkie outfit?") or General Halftrack's stint in sensitivity training for drooling over Miss Buxley, Walker's strip has always stayed current, even in the face of controversy. (In fact, as Walker explains, the strip owes much of its initial success to raising a ruckus. It only really took off after being banned from the Stars and Stripes for what he calls "making fun of officers.") The hundreds of black-and-white daily and Sunday strips will likely charm even those new to Camp Swampy, but it's the die-hard fans who'll appreciate Walker's final illustration: the only existing picture of Beetle Bailey's eyes. --Paul Hughes

Futurama Comics #1


Matt Groening - 2000
    It ends with the near destruction of New New York. Join Fry, Leela and Bender and the rest of the Planet Express crew a thousand years in the far-flung future, in their all-new, bi-monthly adventures! New from Bongo Comics!

Autobiography Of A One Year Old


Rohan Candappa - 2000
    From full and frank explanations as to why he sometime blows snot bubbles through his nose (because he can) to the mystery of the stalker (if someone had just explained to him about mirrors). From the frustrating stupidity of his parents (Hairy and Smooth) to delights of running around naked on the kitchen table, it's a truly enlightening and delightfully funny read. To every parent who's ever wearily wiped food from the floor and said 'Is this your idea of a game?' - beware. The One Year Old is about to reveal just how much he's been playing with you.

Beerlenium


Lyndon Gregorio - 2000
    Join Glen, Alan, Bryan, Dana, Boopey, Jay, Harry, and Jimmy as they try to survive and thrive in that jungle called College! Features Dana joining the Miss Colegiala, Bryan running for office, and the infamous “You might be Coño” series that was banned from the Philippine Star!

The Best of Christmas in my Heart Volume 2: Timeless Stories to Warm Your Heart


Joe L. Wheeler - 2000
     Joe Wheeler is renowned for bringing the classic stories of Christmas to eager readers, and he continues this tradition with this newly handpicked collection, in an elegantly designed Christmas keepsake, The Best of Christmas in My Heart, Volume 2. These time-tested stories are sure to warm the heart of readers of all ages. This special volume also includes personal journaling pages that allow readers to preserve their holiday memories for years to come, so they can recall them with the same joy and happiness as when they first jotted them down. The Best of Christmas in My Heart, Volume 2 is the perfect gift for family, friends, and loved ones, distilling the peace, hope, and love of Christmas into timeless tales that will touch readers' hearts. This collection awakens wonderful nostalgia in anyone who has ever sat at the feet of a parent or grandparent and been swept up in Christmas stories of old. Now readers can relive that cheerful experience simply with this beautiful holiday treasure.

Like Salt for a Head Wound: A Parking Lot Is Full Collection


Pat Spacek - 2000
    

Live Long & Die Laughing


Mark Lowry - 2000
    Using material from his email newsletter, along with responses from its nearly 40,000 subscribers ("reMarkable,"www.marklowry.com), Lowry underscored the idea that God tirelessly loves and looks after his believers, no matter how quirky we are!

Hot Tropics and Cold Feet


Diann Hunt - 2000
    But just as she's about to take the plunge, she gets cold feet--ice cold.To calm her pre-wedding jitters, Lily and her girlfriends take off on a getaway to Siesta Key, Florida. Harkening back to younger days, they stalk Donny Osmond, get tattoos (henna!), and turn the heads of local studs. But not far from any of their minds are the challenges of midlife: grown children coming home to roost, husbands in midlife crisis mode, and--could it be?--a first-time pregnancy at forty-five.The "girls" all have their baggage in tow, but the salty air and laughing with friends is just what the doctor ordered--if they can weather the hot flashes until wedding bells ring!

Evil Geniuses in a Nutshell


Illiad - 2000
    'Illiad' Frazer. " Some say it's a cartoon about Open Source; some say it's about the rift between technical and nontechnical staff; others say its about the pain that technical people suffer when dealing with the stubbornly unintelligent; some even say that User Friendly is a cartoon about Internet Workers. User Friendly addresses all those issues, but I don't think that's what it's about, strictly speaking. User Friendly's universe revolves around the simple idea that technology brings out both the best and the worst in people, no matter who they are."User Friendly reads like Dilbert for the Open Source community. With a massive online following, it provides outsiders a light-hearted look at the world of the hard core geek, and allows those who make their living dwelling in this world a chance to laugh at themselves.

Love, Sex and Tractors


Roger Welsch - 2000
    Learn the ins and outs of the Great Tractor Road Trip, Boswell Flick's Dating Guidelines, the magic of tools, the religion of tractors, and the secrets of Women's School. This revealing and fun-filled guide is guaranteed to transform even the most thickheaded variety of the Common Gearheaded Male into a swooning Romeo!

Duet: Parnassus On Wheels & The Haunted Bookshop


Christopher Morley - 2000
    But love of books soon turns deeper as he encounters and eventually marries Helen, and fulfills his dream of opening a real bookshop (albeit "haunted") in Brooklyn. Wherein the booksellers become embroiled in a plot to assassinate the President of the United States. A must read for book lovers.

What Is Mr. Winkle? (Step Back in Time with Mr. Winkle)


Lara Jo Regan - 2000
    Winkle. With hilarious and adorable color photographs and captions, photographer Lara Jo Regan takes readers on an enchanting tour of the dozens of identities assumed by the charming Mr. Winkle.

Powerpuff Professor


Amy Keating Rogers - 2000
    So he invents a superhero suit and starts fighting crime along with 'em! At first everything's great...until the Professor starts taking on criminals all by himself. Can the Girls put a lid on his enthusiasm...before Mojo Jojo does?

Memoirs of a Papillon: The Canine Guide to Living with Humans Without Going Mad


Geneviève - 2000
    Important - read this book before your dog does!Dennis Fried has enjoyed careers in college teaching, marketing, advertising, nightclub ownership, software development, and stand-up comedy. He holds advanced degrees in physics and philosophy, both of which he considers essential to successful dog ownership. He lives in Sarasota, Florida, with his wife, Katrina, and his trainer, Genevieve.

Great Comedians Talk about Comedy


Larry Wilde - 2000
    Each engaging interview was painstakingly elicited by the author, who spent years researching, collecting the material and recording these intimate one-on-one conversations.

Unplugged


Selçuk Erdem - 2000
    

My Body Fell Off!


B.J. Rowley - 2000
    A recent transplant from California to Utah, Bart is just beginning to enjoy the excitement of high school, driving, and dating, when his whole world is turned upside down by the bizarre events transpiring around him. And suddenly, his unusual ability is the only thing standing between life and death for himself and his new-found friends. Now ...imagine trying to explain to ANYBODY about your rare skills and abilities without them thinking you're as crazy as a three-dollar bill and throwing you in the loony-bin for life. My Body Fell Off! delivers a fast-paced, heart-pounding adventure that will leave you gasping at every turn. An adventure that, once begun, will be impossible to put aside until its final, dramatic conclusion.