The Knew York Times

by Hal Rammel

A magical tour through the imaginary terrain of the comic imagination as revealed in children's lore, literature, folktales, travel lies, film comedies, cartoons, comic books, and folksongs. With 14 bandw illustrations. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

by Jenny Hagel

From the Emmy-nominated Late Night with Seth Meyers writer and co-head writer of The Amber Ruffin Show comes a heartfelt and very funny collection of essays built around a list of life-changing recommendations — from the practical (wear black when you travel, buy an analog watch) to the profound. Jenny Hagel dispenses the advice no one asked for but everyone, deep down, kind of wants.

by Jon Ronson

From the acclaimed author of "Them" comes a truly disturbing, often hilarious look at the U.S. military's long flirtation with the paranormal--and the psy-op soldiers who are still fighting the battle.

by Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling

"Simultaneously hilarious, poignant, and deeply unsettling." ―The New Republic A tiny American town's plans for radical self-government overlooked one hairy detail: no one told the bears. Once upon a time, a group of libertarians got together and hatched the Free Town Project, a plan to take over an American town and completely eliminate its government. In 2004, they set their sights on Grafton, NH, a barely populated settlement with one paved road. When they descended on Grafton, public funding for pretty much everything shrank: the fire department, the library, the schoolhouse. State and federal laws became meek suggestions, scarcely heard in the town's thick wilderness. The anything-goes atmosphere soon caught the attention of Grafton's neighbors: the bears. Freedom-loving citizens ignored hunting laws and regulations on food disposal. They built a tent city in an effort to get off the grid. The bears smelled food and opportunity. A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear is the sometimes funny, sometimes terrifying tale of what happens when a government disappears into the woods. Complete with gunplay, adventure, and backstabbing politicians, this is the ultimate story of a quintessential American experiment -- to live free or die, perhaps from a bear.

by K. Jerome

Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow, is a collection of humorous essays by Jerome K. Jerome. It was the author's second published book and it helped establish him as a leading English humorist.

by Adam Carolla

Carolla's comedic gospel of modern America rips into the absurdity of the culture that made Steve Miller a rock star, demonized the peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich, and put its citizens at the mercy of a bunch of minimum-wagers with axes to grind.

by Sam Tallent

A blistering tale of love and violence, Brut is the story of a man measuring the circumference of his soul in bulletholes. Is his life — or any other — worth saving? From the author of the underground comedy classic Running the Light comes a propulsive, electrifying novel about a hitman confronting the wreckage of the life he has made. Sam Tallent's Random House debut is savage, funny, and unforgettable.

by Adam Carolla

The comedian, actor, television host, podcast king, and New York Times bestselling author of President Me, Not Taco Bell Material, and In Fifty Years We’ll All Be Chicks now lays down the law on the plight of the modern parent. Parents, do you often think that if your kids had to grow up the way you did—without iPads, 70-inch flatscreen TVs, American Girl dolls, and wifi in the climate controlled minivan—that they might actually be better off? Do you feel underappreciated or ignored? Do you worry you’re raising a bunch of spoiled softies who will never know how to do anything themselves—because you do everything for them? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you need Daddy, Stop Talking. Adam rips parenthood a new one, telling it straight about what adults must do if they don’t want to have to support their kids forever. Using his own crappy childhood as a cautionary tale, and touting the pitfalls of the kind of helicopter parenting so pervasive today, Daddy, Stop Talking is the only parenting book you should ever read. Here, too, is sage advice to Adam’s own kids—and to future parents—on what matters most: dating; drinking and drugs; buying your first house and car; puberty; and what kind of assholes his kids (and yours) should avoid becoming. Even if his own son and daughter pretty much ignore everything he says, you shouldn’t. And you’re welcome. Again.

by Dolly Alderton

New York Times Bestseller Like Bridget Jones’ Diary but all true— a wildly funny, occasionally heartbreaking coming-of-age memoir from the funny, sharp British journalist and podcast host, who Elizabeth Gilbert calls “a sparkling Roman candle of talent.” “The older you get, the more baggage you carry. When you date at twenty-five, everyone walks into the bar with a very neat, light carry-on. When you date from thirty onwards, get ready to meet someone absolutely brimming with history, complications and demands.” When it comes to the trials and triumphs of becoming an adult, writer Dolly Alderton has seen and tried it all. In her memoir, she vividly recounts falling in love, finding a job, getting drunk, getting dumped, and that absolutely no one can ever compare to her best girlfriends. Everything I Know About Love is about bad dates, good friends and—above all else— realizing that you are enough. Glittering with wit and insight, heart and humor, Dolly Alderton’s unforgettable debut memoir about navigating your twenties weaves together personal stories, satirical observations, a series of lists, recipes, and other vignettes that will strike a chord of recognition with women of every age. Perfect for fans of Nora Ephron and Caitlin Moran, this book is a hilarious and heartfelt look at the messiness of growing up: Female Friendship: A loving celebration of the ride-or-die girlfriends who get you through bad dates, terrible jobs, and the times you forget that you are enough. Rel

by B. R. Peterson

A tongue in cheek guide to fishing offers information on game fish, their behavior and characteristics, fishermen, fishing equipment, fly fishing, and licenses.

by Catherine O'Reilly

Background stories of everyday items, including the blender, the fire extinguisher, the cheese grater, the toiler, deodorant, Post Its, fabric softener, the clock radio.--From publisher description.

by Adam Carolla

Three-time New York Times bestseller Adam Carolla is back to take on social media, social justice warriors, and a society gone to s**t. In I’m Your Emotional Support Animal, Adam Carolla examines how our culture went careening off a cliff. We used to have one that created real warriors who fought world wars. Now it spawns social justice warriors who fight Twitter wars. He takes on those who are traumatized by Trump and “emotional support animal” owners who proclaim their victimhood at every airport. He stands up for the collateral damage of the #MeToo movement and for freedom of speech on “safe space” filled college campuses. Examining the calculated commercials churned out by Madison Avenue, like the ones about cars “made with love,” Carolla rants on ads designed to either bum us out or make us think the corporation is run by Mr. Rogers. Turning to social media, Adam takes down the “hashtag heroes” who signal their virtue daily from atop Twitter mountain. And in the era of the Roomba, performances by dead celebrity holograms, and meals-on-demand delivery services, he looks down the road at our not-so-bright future as a species. Frank, funny, and utterly unapologetic, this is not a book for those who need a trigger warning, but is THE book for everyone who wants to hit the snooze bar on the “woke” culture.

by Stephen E. Kercher

We live in a time much like the postwar era. A time of arch political conservatism and vast social conformity. A time in which our nation’s leaders question and challenge the patriotism of those who oppose their policies. But before there was Jon Stewart, Al Franken, or Bill Maher, there were Mort Sahl, Stan Freberg, and Lenny Bruce—liberal satirists who, through their wry and scabrous comedic routines, waged war against the political ironies, contradictions, and hypocrisies of their times. Revel with a Cause is their story. Stephen Kercher here provides the first comprehensive look at the satiric humor that flourished in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. Focusing on an impressive range of comedy—not just standup comedians of the day but also satirical publications like MAD magazine, improvisational theater groups such asSecond City, the motion picture Dr. Strangelove, and TV shows like That Was the Week That Was—Kercher reminds us that the postwar era saw varieties of comic expression that were more challenging and nonconformist than we commonly remember. His history of these comedic luminaries shows that for a sizeable audience of educated, middle-class Americans who shared such liberal views, the period’s satire was a crucial mode of cultural dissent. For such individuals, satire was a vehicle through which concerns over the suppression of civil liberties, Cold War foreign policies, blind social conformity, and our heated racial crisis could be productive

by Thomas Cathcart

This New York Times bestseller is the hilarious philosophy course everyone wishes they’d had in school. Outrageously funny, Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar... has been a breakout bestseller ever since authors—and born vaudevillians—Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein did their schtick on NPR’s Weekend Edition. Lively, original, and powerfully informative, Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar... is a not-so-reverent crash course through the great philosophical thinkers and traditions, from Existentialism (What do Hegel and Bette Midler have in common?) to Logic (Sherlock Holmes never deduced anything). Philosophy 101 for those who like to take the heavy stuff lightly, this is a joy to read—and finally, it all makes sense! And now, you can read Daniel Klein's further musings on life and philosophy in Travels with Epicurus and Every Time I Find the Meaning of Life, They Change it.