Book picks similar to
I Gotta Go: The Commentary of Ian Shoales by Merle Kessler
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The Jewish Joke: A Short History - With Punchlines
Devorah Baum - 2017
This smart and funny book includes tales from many of these much-loved comics, and will appeal to their broad audience, while revealing the history, context and wider culture of Jewish joking.The Jewish joke is as old as Abraham, and like the Jews themselves it has wandered over the world, learned countless new languages, worked with a range of different materials, been performed in front of some pretty hostile crowds, and yet still retained its own distinctive identity. So what is it that animates the Jewish joke? Why are Jews so often thought of as ‘funny’? And how old can a joke get?The Jewish Joke is a brilliant—and laugh-out-loud funny—riff on about what marks Jewish jokes apart from other jokes, why they are important to Jewish identity and how they work. Ranging from self-deprecation to anti-Semitism, politics to sex, Devorah Baum looks at the history of Jewish joking and asks whether the Jewish joke has a future. With jokes from Lena Dunham to Woody Allen, as well as Freud and Marx (Groucho, mostly), Baum balances serious research with light-hearted humor and provides fascinating insight into this well-known and much loved cultural phenomenon.
Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls
David Sedaris - 2013
When this guy is David Sedaris, the possibilities are endless, but the result is always the same: he will both delight you with twists of humor and intelligence and leave you deeply moved. Sedaris remembers his father's dinnertime attire (shirtsleeves and underpants), his first colonoscopy (remarkably pleasant), and the time he considered buying the skeleton of a murdered Pygmy. With Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls, David Sedaris shows once again why his work has been called "hilarious, elegant, and surprisingly moving" (Washington Post).
Quirky Essays for Quirky People: The Complete Collection
Barbara Venkataraman - 2014
What a collection! If this doesn't make you smile, then you're not even trying."A Trip to the Hardware Store"These humorous essays explore such quirky topics as: disastrous home repairs, ("A Trip to the Hardware Store"), an unfortunate dinner party ("Dinner is Served"), the truth about lazy people ("Lazy Bones"), the weird life of a debt collector ("Your Account is Past Due") and obsessions with gadgets ("Gadget Girl"). Other essays examine how surreal the aging process is ("Where Did the Time Go?"), why you shouldn't judge a person by their job ("Beyond Belief"), and how to complicate simple transactions ("High Finance"). "I'm Not Talking About You, Of Course"A collection of humorous insights into important topics ranging from annoying pet people ("I'm Not Talking About You, Of Course"), to analyzing your inner child ("Irrational Fears"), to living like the Amish in the aftermath of a hurricane ("A Jolt of Electricity"). Other essays examine just how much damage can be caused by a sneeze ("It All Started with a Loud Sneeze"), why it is so complicated to buy a tube of toothpaste ("Ask Me No Questions"), how a parent's obsessive hobbies can become an inescapable vortex ("Crazy Hobbies"), and why spending the night in a sleep clinic is like being abducted by probing aliens ("Nightmare at the Sleep Clinic").If you don't see yourself in each of these entertaining essays, then I'm not talking about you, of course.
Fan Mail
Nick Hornby - 2013
But occasionally over the years he’s found it impossible to turn down a particularly enticing assignment or, in the case of the 2012-13 Premier League, just unable to resist writing about that most spectacular of seasons. Fortunately for those who love great writing about soccer, all these fugitive pieces are collected in Fan Mail. You can follow the fortunes, as Hornby did, of a hopelessly out-of-their-depth Cambridge United in the old Second Division, discover why Perry Groves was an unlikely hero among Arsenal fans, enjoy Hornby trying to explain the World Cup to Americans, and share with him the pain of watching his national team.
A Look into the the Life and Love of Severus Snape: An Essay
Amber Vilate - 2013
Rowling's popular character, Severus Snape, and the roles he played in the Harry Potter series.
Diary of a Stressed Out Mother: ‘Bedlam’
Nicola Kelsall - 2015
Bedlam, is the first of four books in the hysterically funny series, “Diary of a Stressed Out Mother”. Dora Loveday (harassed mother of four kids, two unruly dogs, and a psychotic cat), records the daily chaos and madness of her family life in this laugh-out-loud, comic romp of a diary!
Jokes: Best Jokes 2016 (Funny books, Joke books, Funny jokes, Best jokes 2015, Best jokes 2016)
Kevin Murphy - 2016
Who doesn’t likes a good session of jokes? If you too are looking to add a little humor to your life and you would love to have some rib cracking laugher sessions, we have a perfect book for you. The internet is a vast repository of jokes and the list is practically too big to handle. However, not all jokes are funny and damn, we all know how much it frustrates to read a joke (and some pathetically long ones too) and then end up wondering WTF, where did that go!Heck, I didn’t even twitch an eyelid, leave apart laughing. So, to spare you from all such bloopers...
We have brought for you the best jokes of 2016, compiled all together.
We have spanned multiple dimensions and we are sure that you can’t have a straight face as you read the jokes.
They are just too funny to simply smile.
We had a cracker of a time compiling it as we broke into fits of laughter. So, are you all set to truly have a fun ride by dabbling on the best jokes that were hot on the internet?
Trailer Dogs: Life in America's New Middle Class (The Trailer Dog Chronicles Book 1)
Ellen Garrison - 2016
After losing their small business and life savings to the government’s unfathomable shutdown, the author and her husband are forced to sell their home and move into a travel trailer. Still reeling from financial loss and the deaths of two of their beloved dogs, the pair embark on a new life in a trailer park, populated with some of the most unconventional characters you’d ever hope not to meet. There’s Gretchen, the park’s unsympathetic and conniving manager, and her puny, perverted husband, Lloyd, who “maintains” the park grounds and who gives pool algae a bad name. Daisy and Lonnie May are the author’s closest neighbors, and are, perhaps, the park’s most devoted couple. Only Daisy May happens to be Lonnie’s dog. Trailer Dogs will make you laugh, cry, and maybe even a little angry. But it will never make you bored.
Fallin' For a Detroit Rydah
Londyn Lenz - 2019
A successful business, wealth, and a beautiful baby girl. The only area in her life that she seemed to be lacking in was romance. Although she and Mendesses—her drag racing baby father—does a great job co-parenting they didn’t work well as a couple. Instead of focusing on love, she hustles and put all of her energy into taking care of her daughter and building her business. That is, until the charming and extremely handsome Lamont Morehouse sweeps her off her feet. Lamont grew up on the mean streets of Detroit, but because his parents saw so much potential in him, they relocated to Atlanta Georgia before he could get himself into something he couldn’t get out of. Luckily, getting Lamont out of the hood took him down another path in life. Ultimately, though, Lamont ends up right back in Detroit, but this time, instead of breaking the law, he’s enforcing it as an undercover cop. Mendesses has been running the game in underground racing for years. As the undisputed champ, quitting is the furthest thing from his mind. He’s determined to keep his championship status despite a few things lurking, threatening to compromise his livelihood. Karisma is just as beautiful and ambitious as her best friend. Tahiry, Like Tahiry, Karisma is single, but she’s ready to mingle. She has her eye on the young, money getting street racer, James but unlike most, she’s a little soft spoken about it. Luckily for Karisma, fate pushes the two together eventually. But old habits die hard and Danielle is definitely James old habit. Collins, Karisma's out of town cousin, is fresh out of a relationship and isn’t interested in starting anything new, anytime soon. She relocated to Michigan, in search of a fresh start, definitely not a new love. But when she meets the intriguing, and slick talking Mendesses, everything changes. Despite her greatest efforts, Collins ends up falling hard for him. What started out as a good year for this group of friends drastically takes a turn for the worst when a snake infiltrates the crew. Brace yourself as Londyn Lenz takes you on yet another wild journey laced with drama, deceit, lies and bloodshed.
The Best Prank Book - Prank Your Friends and Family!
Anthony Sievers - 2013
Señor Lard Arse & Fat Man: A journey around the Iberian coast line of Spain & Portugal
Martin Barber - 2019
They have lifelong endearing names for each other – Lard Arse and Fat Man. Whilst on a fishing trip in Spain, they hatch a plan to travel around the Iberian Peninsula on motorbikes. No problem for Dave as a proficient biker of many years, but Martin is a complete beginner to riding motorcycles. He doesn’t even have a motorcycle licence. Follow Martin through the trials of taking his bike test, juggling a busy life and planning the journey with Dave while they live in different countries. Nothing can be taken for granted when these two plan anything. When everything is in place their journey through Spain and Portugal begins, starting in Marbella, then riding west along the Spanish coast and up through Portugal, through the northern coast of Spain and over the Pyrenees, finishing with the east coast of Spain and heading back into Marbella. Expect to laugh in places at their simple boyish behavior, as they act like two teenage, middle-aged men with mental age of young men going through puberty. They experience many comical events, as well as close calls for Martin the novice on his first-ever ride out. This book is a light-hearted but a true travel journal of two good friends enjoying their journey on the road in the sun.
Boogers for Lunch: A Sight Word Book (Billy Bad)
Billy Bad - 2014
It may be gross, but kids love this stuff, and that's the point! I originally wrote this book for my son, a first grader, who was struggling with sight words and reading speed. The sight word books, decodable word books, early reader books, and flash cards they offered him at school were boring, which made it a challenge to get him excited about reading. So I decided to write a series of children's books using sight words but with stories about the things I heard him and his friends laughing about. It worked! My son was able to read my Billy Bad sight word stories with speed and confidence. And because he was laughing I knew his reading comprehension was improving. This book is written using mostly Dolch sight words and a few other words that are easily decodable. Unlike most sight word books and decodable word books, Billy Bad's sight word books have stories that will capture the attention of early readers and make them laugh. When kids enjoy the stories they read they fall in love with reading. I hope your child enjoys these silly (and gross) sight word books as much as my son does.
Ayoade on Ayoade: A Cinematic Odyssey
Richard Ayoade - 2014
It wouldn't. In fact, it's actually pretty insulting that this so-called 'Community' hasn't done more to acknowledge (or even begin to repay) its undoubted debt to me.Richard Ayoade is many things - film director (of Submarine and the forthcoming The Double), comedy actor (The IT Crowd), comedian and TV presenter (Gadget Man). Ayoade on Ayoade captures the director in his own words: pompous, vain, angry and very, very funny.
Aren't You Forgetting Someone?: Essays from My Mid-Life Revenge
Kari Lizer - 2020
She finds the wry, bittersweet humor in (almost) all situations--whether it's becoming radioactive during a thyroid cancer treatment, getting fired from her volunteer work, or struggling to find her identity outside of motherhood. Aren't You Forgetting Someone? speaks to those of us who lament the invisibility of the middle-aged woman, but also revel in the unexpected delights of newfound freedom to do whatever the hell we want while no one is looking.
And Then the Vulture Eats You
John L. Parker Jr. - 1990
If you enjoy running and reading, you'll want this book."David Meyers, Running JournalThe best writers in the sport of running describe the last frontier of long-distance events: races longer than a marathon.James Shapiro begins by relating with heart-rending detail his experiences in a six-day race in "Swifts on the Wing." In "To the Limit and Beyond," Kenny Moore takes you through the Great Hawaiian Footrace, a horrendous six-day ordeal that seemingly changes his life. Don Kardong, one of the wittiest and most personable writers in the sport, in "Le Grizz" goes the fifty-mile distance at the infamous race. Ed Ayres, former editor of Running Times, takes on the Western States 100 in "Wings of Icarus," and the event turns out to be a kind of catharsis in his life. In "Road Warriors," Hal Higdon's report on his group's attempt to run across the state of Indiana is a lighthearted, self-imposed challenge that turns into a spiritual odyssey. Tom Hart attempts to run a solo thirty-seven-miler on his thirty-seventh birthday, which reveals that an ultra is more than a feat of endurance, it is a journey into self. John L. Parker, Jr. ends with "And Then the Vulture Eats You," an uproarious analysis of ultra runners.A book for all ultra runners, and for curious "normal" runners.