The Heart of a Broken Story


J.D. Salinger - 1941
    

The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s: An Oral History


Andy Greene - 2020
    . . or it might have been last night, when you watched three episodes in a row. But either way, fifteen years after the show first aired, it's more popular than ever, and fans have only one problem--what to watch, or read, next.Fortunately, Rolling Stone writer Andy Greene has that answer. In his brand-new oral history, The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s, Greene will take readers behind the scenes of their favorite moments and characters. Greene gives us the true inside story behind the entire show, from its origins on the BBC through its impressive nine-season run in America, with in-depth research and exclusive interviews. Fans will get the inside scoop on key episodes from "The Dundies" to "Threat Level Midnight" and "Goodbye, Michael," including behind-the-scenes details like the battle to keep it on the air when NBC wanted to pull the plug after just six episodes and the failed attempt to bring in James Gandolfini as the new boss after Steve Carell left, spotlighting the incredible, genre-redefining show created by the family-like team, who together took a quirky British import with dicey prospects and turned it into a primetime giant with true historical and cultural significance.Hilarious, heartwarming, and revelatory, The Office gives fans and pop culture buffs a front-row seat to the phenomenal sequence of events that launched The Office into wild popularity, changing the face of television and how we all see our office lives for decades to come.

The Discworld Mapp: Being the Onlie True and Mostlie Accurate Mappe of the Fantastyk and Magical Dyscworlde


Terry Pratchett - 1995
    Well, it has been done, proving them wrong once again. After years of research, cunningly contrived in as many minutes, the Discworld has its map. It takes full account of the historic and much documented expeditions of the Discworld's fêted (or at least fated) explorers: General Sir Roderick Purdeigh, Lars Larsnephew, Llamedos Jones, Lady Alice Venturi, Ponce da Quirm and, of course, Venter Borass.Now travellers on this circular world can see it all: from Klatch to the Ramtops, from Cori Celesti to the Circle Sea, from Genua to Bhangbhangduc. The great cities of Hunghung, Pseudopolis, Al Khali and, of course, Ankh-Morpork are placed with loving care upon this world which is carried through space by Great A'Tuin.

The 100 Most Pointless Arguments in the World


Alexander Armstrong - 2013
    We've been round in circles trying to work out what came first, the chicken or the egg? Don't get us started on the debate of what we are all here for? And you're bound to have had sleepless nights pondering which ingredient you simply can't do without in a full English Breakfast - sausage or bacon. Well worry no more, here to help you solve some of life's biggest - and most pointless - conundrums, Alexander Armstrong and Richard Osman attempt to answer the trickiest of teasers that we all face.So, does God exist? and what is the most pointless sport - ballet or darts? With a witty and intelligent collection of stand-up pieces, quizzes, cryptic brainteasers and pointless facts and questions, Alexander Armstrong and his pointless friend Richard Osman will put the world to rights and finally answer the 100 Most Pointless Arguments in the World....Ever.

SCTV: Behind the Scenes


Dave Thomas - 1996
    Over 15,000 sold! Relive some of the most hilarious moments in television with the SCTV troupe.

Nocturne: A Play


Adam Rapp - 2002
    The father is so incapable of forgiveness he puts a gun in his son's mouth; the mother so shattered, she deserts the family and eventually takes leave of her sanity altogether; the son--only 17 years old at the time--sets out for New York City. There, he seeks an uneasy refuge in books and reinvents himself as a writer. Across the decade and a half that follows he tries to cope with the ramifications of his own anguish and estrangement while making a desperate search for redemption. A devastating, elegant, and gripping dissection of the American dream, Nocturne signals a brave new voice in American theater.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Monster Book


Christopher Golden - 1999
    "The Monster Book" looks at how vampires are created on the show. There are interviews with the series creator, Joss Whedon, as well as the writers, make-up and costume artists, stunt men and actors. It explores the mythology surrounding vampires and other ghouls, in other forms of popular culture. Meet the vampires and other Sunnydale hellmouth creatures, safely, in this monster book.

the little book of SITCOM


John Vorhaus - 2011
    So much of what you need to know is already defined for you. You know that your script needs to be a certain short length, with a certain small number of characters. You know that your choice of scenes is limited to your show’s standing sets and maybe one or two swing sets or outside locations. You know how your characters behave and how they’re funny, either because you invented them or because you’re writing for a show where these things are already well established. Sitcom is easy and sitcom is fun. Sitcom is the gateway drug to longer forms of writing. It’s a pretty good buzz and a pretty good ride, a great way to kill an afternoon, or even six months. And now, thanks to comedy writing guru John Vorhaus (author of THE COMIC TOOLBOX: HOW TO BE FUNNY EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT), writing situation comedy is easier than ever. In THE LITTLE BOOK OF SITCOM, you'll find a whole trove of tools, tricks and problem-solving techniques that you can use -- now, today -- to be the sitcom writer of your wildest dreams. Ready to write? Ready to have fun? THE LITTLE BOOK OF SITCOM is the big little book for you.

A Snowy Christmas in Wyoming


E. Ayers - 2011
    Is love preordained? An old diary from when Jessie and Clare Coleman settled on the land in the 1840's provides a history of their life. But tucked between the pages is an unrequited love between Clare Coleman and a tall Native American. Does love and land come full circle? In this season of giving, will fate reach through time to give a gift of love? Andy Coyote settled into the job as foreman on the Coleman ranch. He's got custody of his thirteen month old daughter and the situation is perfect for both of them until Caroline Coleman returns home for Christmas and one of the worst blizzards in years hits the area. He's forced to accept Caroline's help to move a herd of cattle and mixed in it are several head from another ranch in the community. Cattle rustling still happens. Caroline Coleman has her dream job as a Washington, D.C., news anchor for a national broadcast, but home is in Wyoming on her family's ranch. She has everything that money can buy, but the things that she really wants can't be purchased. Raised with solid, hard working, family values, she knows her life in the spotlight isn't real. She wants a man who appreciates the ranch, loves her for who she is and not what she is, and she wants a family of her own. And she doesn't like the idea of Andy Coyote taking advantage of her grandmother.

Help! I'm Laughing and I Can't Get Up: Fall-Down Funny Stories to Fill Your Heart and Lift Your Spirit


Liz Curtis Higgs - 1998
    Reveals the four humor personalities...and which category you fit in. Helps readers realize that God gave us a funny bone...we just need to find out how to use it.

Lone Star Law


Louis L'AmourMarcus Galloway - 2005
    Here, too, are superb, action-packed entries from today's outstanding Western storytellers -- distinguished award winners as well as daring newcomers, including Peter Brandvold · Randy Lee Eickhoff · Marcus Galloway · Ed Gorman · Elmer Kelton · Rod Miller · Robert J. Randisi · James Reasoner · Dusty Richards · Troy D. Smith · L. J. Washburn Edited by renowned author and anthologist Robert J. Randisi, Lone Star Law spans the existence of this elite investigative law enforcement agency. From fending off hostile Comanche to tracking serial killers, from aiming Winchesters and Colt revolvers to firing up laptops and state-of-the-art forensics technology, from targeting rustlers and outlaw gangs to leading harrowing hostage negotiations, the men and women who don the badge and white hat of the Texas Ranger stand as steadfast deliverers of American justice -- the Lone Star way.

Is He Dead?: A Comedy in Three Acts


Mark Twain - 1999
    A highly entertaining comedy that has never appeared in print or on stage, Is He Dead? is finally available to the wide audience Mark Twain wished it to reach. Written in 1898 in Vienna as Twain emerged from one of the deepest depressions of his life, the play shows its author's superb gift for humor operating at its most energetic. The text of Is He Dead?, based on the manuscript in the Mark Twain Papers, appears here together with an illuminating essay by renowned Mark Twain scholar Shelley Fisher Fishkin and with Barry Moser's original woodcut illustrations in a volume that will surely become a treasured addition to the Mark Twain legacy.Richly intermingling elements of burlesque, farce, and social satire with a wry look at the world market in art, Is He Dead? centers on a group of poor artists in Barbizon, France, who stage the death of a friend to drive up the price of his paintings. In order to make this scheme succeed, the artists hatch some hilarious plots involving cross-dressing, a full-scale fake funeral, lovers' deceptions, and much more.Mark Twain was fascinated by the theater and made many attempts at playwriting, but this play is certainly his best. Is He Dead? may have been too "out there" for the Victorian 1890s, but today's readers will thoroughly enjoy Mark Twain's well-crafted dialogue, intriguing cast of characters, and above all, his characteristic ebullience and humor. In Shelley Fisher Fishkin's estimation, it is "a champagne cocktail of a play--not too dry, not too sweet, with just the right amount of bubbles and buzz."