Life From Scratch


Melissa Ford - 2010
    And so is her kitchen.Divorced, heartbroken and living in a lonely New York apartment with a tiny kitchen, Rachel Goldman realizes she doesn't even know how to cook the simplest meal for herself. Can learning to fry an egg help her understand where her life went wrong? She dives into the culinary basics. Then she launches a blog to vent her misery about life, love and her goal of an unburnt casserole. To her amazement, the blog's a hit. She becomes a minor celebrity. Next, a sexy Spaniard enters her life. Will her souffles stop falling? Will she finally forget about the husband she still loves? And how can she explain to her readers that she still hasn't learned how to cook up a happy life from scratch?

The Growing Up Pains of Adrian Plass


Adrian Plass - 1989
    Through the stories he tells of everyday concerns, Adrian creates a vivid and unforgettable sense of the presence of God in the midst of the problems of ordinary life.

The Voice of Reason: A V.I.P. Pass to Enlightenment


Chael Sonnen - 2012
    Sonnen.Backwoodsmen and unlearned folk call him the Walking Thesaurus. His contemporaries have bestowed upon him the title Sir Sonnen. And those dwelling in the forgotten, forlorn jungles south of the equator reverently refer to him as filho da puta, a term Sonnen personally deciphered using his mastery of linguistics. It means, simply, "the Great and Humble Bearer of Knowledge."In the coming pages, Sonnen's commentary and tales of heroic adventure will initiate you into the world of superhuman greatness. Allow him to carry you like a frail damsel through the world of professional mixed martial arts as he cuts weight, deals with moronic cornermen, expresses his disdain for focus mitts and punching in general, gets his face rearranged, and finds support and encouragement from fans. Permit him to cleanse your mind's palate and teach you the truth about history, politics, endangered species, cinema, terrorists, music, particle accelerators, and his plans for creating a Chaelocracy, which translates as "a Better Earth." Shower him with praise as he takes you into his manly mitts like a lump of clay and reshapes you in his own likeness.Like all men of myth and legend, Sonnen strives for the betterment of the human race. Prometheus brought us fire; Dana White brought us the modern-day gladiator; and Chael P. Sonnen now brings us the step-by-step guide to being a great human being and patriot.Purchase this book; learn how the world really works from the perspective of a man who has been face-to-face with presidents, wardens, dignitaries, judges, kings and queens, and athletic commissions; and find out if you have what it takes to awaken from your progressive nightmare.There is no better day to stop being you and start trying to be Chael P. Sonnen. The time has come for The Voice of Reason.Chael Sonnen is the best trash-talker in all of sports.—Jim RomeHost of The Jim Rome ShowI've never seen anything like it. He's the best thing since Muhammad Ali—Dana WhiteUFC President

MAD About Trump: A Brilliant Look at Our Brainless President


Various - 2017
    Bush and visitors included)! In these 128 pages, President Trump is mercilessly mocked, relentlessly ridiculed and savagely satirized. The book features MAD's best reprinted material with the sharpest satiric shots at "The Donald," comically chronicling his rise from obnoxious businessman to really obnoxious reality show host to uber obnoxious "Commander-in-Tweet." Please note: MAD will not offer refunds on this book when Trump is impeached!

I Can't Believe It's Not Better


Monica Heisey - 2015
    Created to help you live your Best Life, this book offers tips on everything from workplace politics to sexting, from how to make your apartment look like you read design blogs to where to cry in public. Important guides like "How To Watch Literally Hours of TV At A Time" will help you sort your life out for good, while thought—provoking personal essays such as "Pizzas I Have Loved" and helpful exercises like "Are You Being Flirted With, A Quiz" provide some gravitas and perspective to help you navigate this modern world. Plus there is a very weird short story about bees.Funny, smart and charming, this book is the perfect accompaniment to your next life crisis, or at least an easy and appropriate gift for the niece you don't know very well but want to impress.Monica Heisey is a writer and comedian from Toronto. She has written for VICE, Playboy, the Guardian, Rookie, Cosmopolitan, The Hairpin, The Toast, Hello Giggles...

When the Fat Lady Sings: Opera History As It Ought To Be Taught


David W. Barber - 1990
    Now, to celebrate a decade of delighting opera fans and foes alike, musical historian and humorist David Barber has prepared a special revised and expanded edition of his hilarious bestselling history of opera. Chapters such as Serious Buffoonery, Teutonic Tunesmiths and, of course, Italian Sausage Machines display Barber's rapier wit and knack for knowing fascinating, if sometimes useless, information about music, musicians and the offbeat world they live in. This expanded edition includes new material ranging from Strauss to ragtime, opera to the Tenor Menace. From Italian castrati to German Ring-bearers, from Handel's fights with rival sopranos to Puccini's nicotine habit, the author of Bach, Beethoven and the Boys and Tenors, Tantrums and Trills delivers a funny yet informative, irreverent yet affectionate history of serious music's most serious art form as only he can - and as only he would dare to do.

The Good Man of Nanking: The Diaries of John Rabe


John Rabe - 1998
    The Good Man of Nanking is a crucial document for understanding one of World War II's most horrific incidents of genocide, one which the Japanese have steadfastly refused to acknowledge.  It is also the moving and awe-inspiring record of one man's conscience, courage, and generosity in the face of appalling human brutality.Until the recent emergence of John Rabe's diaries, few people knew abouth the unassuming hero who has been called the Oskar Schindler of China.  In November 1937, as Japanese troops overran the Chinese capital of Nanking and began a campaign of torture, rape, and murder against its citizens, one man-a German who had lived in China for thirty years and who was a loyal follower of Adolph Hitler-put himself at risk and in order to save the lives of 200,000 poor Chinese, 600 of whom he sheltered in his own home.

Medallion Status: True Stories from Secret Rooms


John Hodgman - 2019
    Following an appearance to promote one of his books on The Daily Show, he was invited to return as a contributor, serving as the show's "Resident Expert" and "Deranged Millionaire." This led to an unexpected and, frankly, implausible career in front of the camera.In these pages, Hodgman explores the strangeness of his career, speaking plainly of fame, especially at the weird, marginal level he has enjoyed--not only the surreal excitement of it, but also the drudgery of it, the emptiness of the status it conveys, and the hard moments of losing that status.Through these stories you will learn many things, such as what it's like to be invited to become an honorary member of an Ivy League secret society, only to be hazed and humiliated by the dapper young members of that club. Or how it feels when your TV gig is cancelled and you can console yourself with the fact that all of that travel that made your children feel so sad and abandoned at least left you with a prize: Platinum Medallion Status with your airline.

Yes, I'm Hot in This: The Hilarious Truth about Life in a Hijab


Huda Fahmy - 2018
    Huda Fahmy has found it’s a little more difficult to fade into the crowd when wearing a hijab. In Yes, I’m Hot in This, Huda navigates the sometimes-rocky waters of life from the unique perspective of a Muslim-American woman, breaking down misconceptions of her culture one comic at a time. From recounting the many questions she gets about her hijab every day (yes, she does have hair) and explaining how she runs in an abaya (just fine, thank you) to dealing with misconceptions about Muslims.

The Book of Awesome


Neil Pasricha - 2010
    With a 24/7 news cycle reporting that the polar ice caps are melting, hurricanes are swirling in the seas, wars are heating up around the world, and the job market is in a deep freeze, it's tempting to feel that the world is falling apart. But awesome things are all around us-sometimes we just need someone to point them out.The Book of Awesome reminds us that the best things in life are free (yes, your grandma was right). With laugh-out-loud observations from award- winning comedy writer Neil Pasricha, The Book of Awesome is filled with smile-inducing moments on every page that make you feel like a kid looking at the world for the first time. Read it and you'll remember all the things there are to feel good about. The Book of Awesome reminds us of all the little things that we often overlook but that make us smile. With touching, warm, and funny observations, each entry ends with the big booming feeling you'll get when you read through them: AWESOME!

The Naked Man Festival: And Other Excuses to Fly Around the World


Brian Thacker - 2004
    In search of the most unusual and wildest festivities, the author was pelted with beans, amazed by giant snow cows, stampeded in a temple full of men wearing nothing but "nappies," befriended by alien abductees, and much more while attending a Hogmanay in Scotland, a Tomato Festival in Ripley, Tennesee, a Bean Throwing Festival in Tokyo, and a Vodou Festival in Haiti. The side-splitting stories will inspire readers to attend—or create—peculiar festivals of their own, and on a more serious note, explore and appreciate other cultures.

Lies We Tell Mothers


Suzy K. Quinn - 2019
    They had fun! They didn’t have responsibilities! And then they decided to have a baby. Goodbye lazy weekends, hello sleepless nights, arguments and an addiction to industrial-strength hot chocolate.In the midst of this major life change, Suzy discovered that most parenting advice should be taken with a pinch of salt—or ten.For example:#1 Lie—Just go with your mother’s instinct. But what if your instinct is telling you to hide under the stairs?#10 Lie—Your new baby will tell you what it needs. Not if it can’t talk it won’t.#23 Lie—You should never bribe your children. You will ALWAYS bribe your children.Follow Suzy on the ultimate make-over—from nervous-wreck new mother to happy families. In this hilarious and refreshingly honest account for parents who prefer the realistic to the utopian, Suzy debunks the myths and takes us all along for the (bumpy) ride.

God Said, Ha!: A Memoir


Julia Sweeney - 1997
    She got a divorce (amicable), bought a small bungalow in Hollywood, and looked forward to a life that said, "Here dwells a happily single young woman!"But then the ax fell. Her younger brother Mike was diagnosed with terminal cancer and moved in with her. Her parents came to be with Mike—and moved in with her. Suddenly her tiny bungalow for one was filled to the rafters with Sweeneys. Here she was sleeping on her pull-out sofa bed while her father walked around, his Walkman on all day and her mother marveled at Julia's lack of such staples as stroganoff mixes. Every day was spent bringing Mike to and from chemotherapy, every evening watching Chicago Hope or E.R. Julia was now on seriously intimate terms with the people she had spent half a lifetime growing up away from.Just weeks before Mike died, Julia was diagnosed with a rare form of cervical cancer—what Mike called her "sympathy cancer"—and within days of burying her brother, she underwent a radical hysterectomy, beginning her own journey through "the International House of Cancer."From these Job-like travails, Julia has written a remarkably funny and touching memoir about a family in extremis that manages to persevere with humor, grace, and love.

Friends with Explicit Benefits Boxed Set


Luke Young - 2013
    Plus bonus scenes from the Ian Dalton - Victoria Wilde versions along with the erotic series prequel, Desperate Thoughts. Plus a sneak peek bonus chapter of the upcoming fifth book in the series, Friends With Way Too Many Benefits, releasing on 12/17/2013. Book 1 - Friends With Partial Benefits Jillian Grayson is a disillusioned divorcée and best-selling romance novelist who suddenly can't write a chapter without her hunky male heartthrob suffering ED, an STD, or even worse. Brian Nash is a tennis-obsessed college senior who's unlucky in love and the roommate and best friend of Jillian's son, Rob. When Rob brings Brian home for Spring Break, and Brian meets the surprisingly young and tennis passionate Jillian, their shared interest quickly develops into an intense mutual attraction. After nearly giving in to their feelings, they hatch a plan, while under the influence (of something more than just the perfect Miami night), to be Friends With Partial Benefits, complete with rules to define the boundaries. Will the lonely pair continue with this distinctive relationship, actually explore their desires, or discover all of it is a really bad idea? Book 2 - Friends With Full Benefits For best-selling romance novelist Jillian Grayson, writer's block is a thing of the past now that her clandestine relationship with her son's best friend, Brian Nash, has lifted her out of a post-divorce funk. The prospect of breaking the news to her son seems daunting, but it's nothing compared to the nightmare of meeting Brian's superstrict, off-the-wall, disapproving parents. After Jillian, Brian and his younger brother Jim, learn an eye-opening secret about the Nash parents they all go scurrying back to Miami where Jillian's best friend Victoria finds Brian's sexy, but innocent college senior brother to be just what the doctor ordered. But when Jim comes on a little too seriously, will Victoria lose interest and return to her life of casual fun or will things get even more complicated? Book 3 - Friends With More Benefits As Jillian and Brian's destination wedding date nears, Jillian's just released novel's complicated success threatens to destroy their big day. While Rob's new job grows extraordinarily more mysterious Brian's becomes infinitely more unfulfilling and both struggle to find the answers. Victoria finds it more and more difficult to hide her secrets and when they are finally exposed there is no shortage of collateral damage. When thoughts are revealed will the wedding be ruined, will Jillian's career survive and will everyone forgive Victoria? Book 4 - Friends With Extra Benefits Victoria, Jillian, Brian, Jim, Caroline, and Rob are back in book four, the 400-page epic next chapter in the series. Who will prevail in the Brookhart v. Grayson trial? Will Victoria have a boy or a girl, and will she finally find happiness? Will Rob figure out what the hell is going on with his mysterious and unstable boss, and will Brian find a career? Will you be able to get through the steamy chapters without tossing your e-reader to the floor and chasing your partner around the room? Prequel - Desperate Thoughts While struggling to move on with her life, a young widow tumbles into a clandestine sexual encounter with a shy college freshman who reminds her all too much of her late husband. Afterward, she's re-awakened sexually and motivated to pursue her desperately unfulfilled desires.

I'm Taking My Eggs and Going Home: How One Woman Dared to Say No to Motherhood


Lisa Manterfield - 2010
    Five years later she was a baby addict, hiding her addiction, plotting a maternity ward heist, and threatening anything that got in her way, including her beloved husband and his pesky practicality. In this gritty and honest memoir, Manterfield traces her spiraling route from rational 21st century woman to desperate mama-wannabe. She examines the siren song of motherhood, the insidious lure of the fertility industry, and the repercussions of being childless in a mom-centric society. But this isn’t just another infertility story with another miracle baby ending, nor is it a sad introspective of a childless woman; this is a story about love, desire, and choices—and ultimately about hope. It is the story of a woman who escapes her addiction, not with a baby, but with her sanity, her marriage, and her sense-of-self intact.