Humor

My thoughts are inside of you as you read this.  Therefore, I am inside of you now. Living inside you. Walking around in my boxer briefs. Scratching my balls. Rearranging the mental furniture inside your head. Opening the space up in case I feel like entertaining.  I plan on entertaining.  Thank you for letting me live inside your head.  Thank you for giving me a warm place to stay.  At least for now. I am Homeless. Hello. Hello…

Born in Shropshire soon after the end of the First World War, venerable motoring writer W de Forte has driven everything from his grandfather's first Daimler, to modern-day supercars … ridden everything from vertiginous Victorian penny farthings, to high velocity twenty-first century superbikes … travelled everywhere from the permafrost of the Arctic Circle to the baking sands of the Baja Peninsula … and met everyone from Tazio Nuvolari to Valentino Rossi.
W de Forte enjoyed an eventful career as a top-level journalist, spanning 75 years, during which time he tested many thousands of cars and reported on countless automotive events around the world. This made him uniquely qualified to comment on all aspects of classic and vintage motoring and motorcycling.
Relatively undimmed by age and ague, even in his 90s, de Forte had no plans to retire, but, in early 2011, a high-speed prang while testing a wayward Rudge Ulster at a racing circuit in Belgium brought him up with a jolt, both literally and metaphorically. After recuperating in hospital, he settled down to write his long-awaited and much requested autobiography.
This unique and insightful book is the result. Packed with fascinating stories about classic cars and motorcycles, A Life Awheel – the ‘Auto’ Biography of W de Forte is an account of an extraordinary motoring life, and the story of motoring in the 20th century.

Questions about the ethical and political boundaries of comedy, satire, or irony have inspired widespread anxiety in recent years, as with the 2015 shootings at the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris, or the so called ‘locker-room banter’ that defined Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign. What, then, can a turn to humour offer International Relations?

Drawing on literature across International Relations, literary theory, cultural studies and sociology, Alister Wedderburn argues that humour plays an underappreciated role in the making and unmaking of political subjectivities. The book recovers a historical understanding of humour as a way of making a claim to political subjectivity in the face of its denial. This function, Wedderburn argues, is embodied by the ambiguous figure of the parasite, a stock character of Greek comic drama. The book interrogates three separate sites where political actors have used humour ‘parasitically’ in order to make political claims and demands. In so doing, it not only outlines humour’s political potential and limitations, but also demonstrates how everyday practices can draw from, feed into, interrupt, and potentially transform global-political relations.

Representing the first monograph-length study on the politics of humour within International Relations, this book makes a timely contribution to debates about the politics of humour, subjectivity and everyday life.

Give your mother the perfect gift: this humorous tribute to Hockey Moms everywhere with funny illustrations, jokes, and true stories.

Hockey Moms... if we can't laugh at ourselves, who can we laugh at? (Besides Soccer Moms!) Author Jody M. Anderson is a passionate mom and an avid hockey fan, and this funny book pays tribute to Hockey Moms everywhere with hilarious illustrations and lively jokes. It even includes short funny stories from Hockey Moms and hockey greats—like Mike Eruzione, captain of the “Miracle on Ice” 1980 Winter Olympics national team!

You’ll appreciate the book’s humorous perspective on everything from early mornings to travel to playing time—and let’s not forget the second mortgage you’ll need to pay for it all! Get a list of acceptable pet names. Find out how a ferret accidentally ended up in a team’s locker room. Hear from a Hockey Mom whose son won a Stanley Cup!

Inside you’ll find

• rib-tickling jokes
• riotous illustrations
• real-live stories

Finally, there’s a hockey book that gives us the credit we deserve! (Well, okay, our kids deserve a little credit, too.)

In this delightful sleigh ride through Christmas history, Paul Kerensa answers the festive questions you never thought to ask...

Did Cromwell help shape the mince pie? Was St Nicholas the first to use an automatic door? Which classic Christmas crooners were inspired by a Hollywood heatwave? And did King Herod really have a wife called Doris?

Whether you mull on wine or enjoy the biggest turkey, the biggest tree or the biggest credit card bill, unwrap your story through our twelve dates of Christmas past. From Roman revelry to singing Bing, via Santa, Scrooge and a snoozing saviour, this timeless tale is perfect trivia fodder for the Christmas dinner table.

'An elegant treatise on how [the church] could lighten up its image.' The Times

'Having worked for many years at the coalface of comedy, sorting the dross from the combustible, James Cary is uniquely qualified to write this book.' Milton Jones, comedian and panellist on BBC2's Mock the Week

Every few weeks a politician, pundit or soap star causes a media storm by making a gaffe or tweeting a joke that some people do not find funny. Comedy is very hard to get right and yet we think it's important to have a sense of humour and not take yourself too seriously. On the other hand, a sense of humour failure can lead to losing your friends, your twitter account, your job, your career and, in some cases, your life.

James Cary knows about this. He is a sitcom writer who's written jokes about bomb disposal in Afghanistan (Bluestone 42), defended comments about Islam by Ben Elton on Newsnight, been on a panel with radical Muslim cleric Anjem Choudary, sits on the General Synod of the Church of England and somehow managed to co-write episodes of Miranda.

An odd mix, but one that makes him very readable. This entertaining, breezy book, explains how comedy works (with jokes and quotes) and gives much-needed insights into the controversy surrounding humour.

Highly entertaining account of a young man's first year as a rookie comedian. His comedy is focused on the world rather than the church, and he gigs regularly around the country - average three times a week.

He has a considerable following through the churches but also does a great deal of work through the mainstream comedy circuit. He has performed regularly at all the main Christian events.

"The book represents my first year in the world of comedy. The book will chart the reality of life on the comedy circuit - and how those ups and downs affect my faith, my relationships, my goals etc. It is also about a 25 year old slightly at odds with his environment. The gigs are a stepping stone for observations on life in general. I want to provide good quality humour that faces outwards and talks about life in general, rather than looking inwards and seeing the funny side of church."

Maybe Jesus was joking, the disciples didn't know what they were doing and the New Testament is a lot funnier than you might think.

You would think it weird if someone suddenly ascended into heaven, right? Reading between the lines, do we detect a touch of rivalry between Peter and John? And surely the lack of parables in the latter's mystical tome is simply crying out to be redressed...

In this sparklingly witty book, BBC sitcom writer James Cary gives us a new and liberating way of looking at the gospel as he entertainingly relates it to a modern context, with references ranging from Charles Dickens to The Vicar of Dibley. Cheerfully playing around with the text, he takes the Bible seriously but allows us to laugh at our own petty vanities and foibles - and be enlightened in the process.

The Gospel According to a Sitcom Writer is ideal for anyone wanting to liven up their Bible reading and looking for new ways to be thrilled by this sacred text. It's also perfect for priests, pastors, youth leaders and all those involved in ministry and giving sermons, as James Cary shows using comedy and humour is a brilliant way to communicate the gospel.

Warm, funny and full of brilliant insight and Christian humour, The Gospel According to a Sitcom Writer will make you laugh out loud and shake your head in awe. You'll never read the Bible the same way again.

“A Muslim, a Christian and a Jew walk into a bar. According to new guidelines on religious tolerance, they enjoy a mutually respectful time.”

“We’re very proud of God in the Middle East. He’s the local guy who went on to acquire international fame.”

“The US exported so much democracy to the Middle East, it ran out of it.”

Bringing together over one hundred of the wildly wry observations and sketches of online sensation Karl reMarks, this is the perfect book for anyone looking to understand the mysterious land of dervishes, falafels, and despotic leaders.

Karl reMarks is the alias of Karl Sharro, whose popular satirical blog receives over 50,000 hits daily. His opinion on matters relating to the Middle East is regularly sought by media outlets, including CNN, The Guardian and The Economist, among others. In 2016 his video, “The simple one-sentence explanation for what caused Isis,” went viral, with 1.6 million views on Facebook alone. Alongside his role as a satirist and commentator on the Middle East, Karl Sharro is also an architect.

The book provides a comprehensive discussion of the new humor that has appeared on the internet. The book is divided into five sections: First, the introduction, which explains the idea that humor has changed since the widespread adoption of the internet and social media. The introduction reviews the theoretical tools that will be applied throughout the book: a discussion of humor theory and memes and how they function. The discussion is kept engaging and readable but is nonetheless based on rigorous scholarship, presented clearly by a well-known humor researcher.

Part 1 collects several chapters on the new humorous genres that have appeared on the internet: the humorous meme, the compilation video, online digital cartoons, the “stuff white people like” phenomenon, Dogecoin, the joke crypto-currency, and of course satirical news, such as The Onion. The overall point is that many of these phenomena are completely native to the internet/social media or have been significantly affected by the distribution via the internet.

Part 2 considers in more detail a number of examples of humorous memes: they include the Cheryl She Shed meme, the BoatyMcBoatface incident in which the crowdsourcing of the name for a boat went awry, Pastafarianism, the joke religion, grumpy cats, and the Chuck Norris memes. Part 3 considers multimodal humorous genres: the Hitler rant, photobombing, embarrassment (“cringe”) comedy, rant-to-music videos, and music video parodies. Here too, these new genres can exist only due to the availability of platforms such as Youtube or TikTok. Part 4 looks at the dark side of internet humor, considering the use of humor by the alt. right on 4chan and 8chan, trolling, and related phenomena. The last chapter looks at humorous cartoon “mascots” such as Pepe the Frog and Kek, which have been appropriated by the right.

The first comprehensive guide to humor in the age of the internet and social media, this book will make you laugh (for the examples) and will enlighten you (for the analyses). Hopefully.

A PEOPLE Magazine Editor's Pick!

“The book brims with wisdom, heart and self-deprecating humor. Friend to every generation, Jill Orr writes with an easy, knowing style — you can practically sense her smile radiating through the page.”
— Columbia Daily Tribune

Old suggests you have life experience, but OLD means you won’t shut up about it. Old brings with it a more relaxed pace of life, while OLD is synonymous with slow driving (and even slower digestion). Old comes with a quiet confidence envied by youth, but OLD comes with bitterness and a rigidity that youth cannot rightfully stand. While growing old is a privilege, becoming OLD is optional. If you don’t mind being “Okay, Karen-ed” by Millennials and Gen Zs, that's totally your choice. But if want to update some of your long-held beliefs (and possibly your even-longer-held hairstyle) to become more relevant, How Not to Be Old will clue you in on how a slight adjustment in behavior and thinking will help you more fully connect with today’s world... and the people who will be in charge of your nursing home one day.

A humorous how-to guide on aging gracefully… or not. Perfect gift for boomers, GenX, & millennials looking to find the funny in getting older.

Will Ewen and Cat's Wee Book of Aye or Naw change your life? NAW. But will it make you instantly more interesting to other humans? OH AYE!

Not your typical quiz book. Ewen and Cat's Wee Book of Aye or Naw is a rollicking adventure through 500 quiz questions that promise to test your knowledge on EVERYTHING! This book of brain teasers for adults is an exploration into the hilarious behind-the-scenes moments and puzzling brain busters that characterize the UK award-winning radio show Ewen and Cat at Breakfast.

Perfect blend of fun facts and trivia. Packed with true or false questions like "Usain Bolt would beat a cat over 100m," and "A jiffy is a real unit of time," or "Volkswagen sells more sausages than cars," readers are in for a treat. This book transcends the traditional quiz questions book by emphasizing the joy of finding new facts and connection to other people through shared knowledge. It's not just about testing your memory; it's about the pleasure of discovering fascinating facts and engaging in lively conversations with others.

Inside:

• Be bemused and amused as you dive into a journey of daily fun
• Tackle exciting true or false questions on your quest for new knowledge
• Find compelling reasons to share this quiz questions book with friends and family

If you are seeking a book of quiz questions such as Awesome Facts That Will Make You Look Super Smart, Trivia for Seniors, or So You Think You Know Baseball then Ewen and Cat's Wee Book of Aye or Naw is for you!

Fay Jacobs is back . . . again . . . really . . . for the LAST time!

As the author of five previous humorous memoirs, activist and comedian Fay Jacobs returns with her FINAL collection of tall tales, Big Girls Don’t Fry: Rehoboth Beach Wrap Up. And, as you’d expect, It’s chock-full of Fay’s signature witty, wise, and often laugh-out-loud commentary about the craziness of contemporary life in the diverse and welcoming resort town of Rehoboth Beach on the Delaware Coast.

This time, though, everyone’s favorite “Sit-Down Comic” tangles with the after-effects of an insane election, kissing penguins, riding an opinionated camel, wearing pussy hats, and masking in the time of Covid . . .

Big Girls Don’t Fry was compiled over the last few years, beginning in January 2021 and ending with an urgent plea to get out and vote for our lives. It chronicles her chronic losing battle with nature and changing technology, revisits some of her greatest hits and misses, deals with the ups and downs of social distancing, masking, and video happy hours, and reflects on what it was like to be honored by a troop of Girl Scouts.

And through it all, Fay finds a way to make her stories provocative, political, occasionally heartwarming, and reliably hilarious.

It’s all captured in the final installment of Fay Jacobs’ award-winning Tales from Rehoboth Series.

Come along for the ride—you’ll be happy you did!

Bergli Book’s Hoi Guides are the best-selling Swiss German guides of all time, now with over 50,000 copies in print. 

The original English-Swiss German survival guide has been completely updated for this tenth anniversary edition, which features a larger format and all new-cartoons. Now you too can enjoy speaking Swiss German. With this survival guide’s over 200 cartoons and 2000 words and phrases, it’s not just easy, it is downright fun.

Please note: This book is based on the Zürich dialect of Swiss German.

• Why is the inuksuk more revered than Wheelchair Jimmy?
• Does the iconic beaver really represent us better than The Littlest Hobo?
• Is everyone going canoeing without me or is canoeing way less of a thing than it’s made out to be?

What sex is to inter-personal relationships, eating is to the Human-Environment relationship, a daily consummation of our de facto marriage to the living biosphere.

This book is about the true meaning of eating, intimacy, love, vomiting and diarrhea: You and your food partner. It is about the celebration of ecology through eating and about how food poisoning can save the world.

This book should be kept next to your toilet, and also next to your refrigerator. The next time you suffer from a bout of food poisoning, doubled over in abdominal pain, feeling like there rages a true revolution within, I want you to understand what is happening to you, why the inner child is having a gaseous tantrum in your guts. I want you to hear Gaia's, the earth organism's, whispered love-message to you.

It is rare that one can pick up a book and find all the answers to the problems of Life. Yet in this one book, we find these answers, and learn a few more things that will keep us up at night. What really happened when Mike Harris woke up after emergency surgery in a hospital still smarting from budget cuts? Why did Linda Tripp turn on Bill Clinton? How many people knew that after the Manhattan Project, the world's leading scientists gathered at Jane Russell's house to devise the strapless bra?

This is a book for everyone: it's an exercise program for the not-too-ambitious senior, a step-by-step guide for the teenage lad on his first date, an advice column for the young spinster who, at the ripe old age of 22, is still trying to find a first-class man.

We listen in as two American broadcasters cover the Olympic Games as only Americans can.

We learn that even the big guns at the TSE were unaware of the biggest corporate takeover in history when S Claus Corp seized control of its philanthropic rival, EasterBunCo.

Yet, for all its humour, the book still brings us close to tears as the author reveals the tragedy of his thirty-year love affair with Sophia Loren.

If Shakespeare were alive today, he would read this book?

Dude, are you pumped to hack California-speak so you don’t sound like a buster? This sweet guide will get you talking fresh, whether you’re in the 626 or the Yay Area, whether you're below the line or in the pocket, or whether you're on fleek or on hiatus. Swoop this epic read, take the 5 to the 405 to the 73, and you’ll be a legit Californian.

To translate, this vibrantly designed, modestly priced pocket guide to California slang will help residents and visitors alike feel at home wherever they go in the Golden State, from the beach to a food truck and from a Hollywood soundstage to a Silicon Valley cocktail party.

Have You Ever Wondered How “The Simpsons” Predict the Future?

“Did The Simpsons really, truly predict anything? I predict you’ll have to purchase this book to get the true story.” ―Bill Oakley, Simpsons writer and producer

#1 New Release in Animated Movies, Comedy Movies, and Comedy Television

Then, The Simpsons Secret is the book for you. Delve into some of the biggest predictions that came true on the show, and just how the Simpsons predict the future.

Simpson predictions from three-eyed fish to presidential elections. "The Simpsons" has been predicting major events with scary accuracy for over three decades. From Donald Trump's presidency to Disney buying 20th Century Fox (...years before it happened!). People just can't seem to get enough and are eager to know what they are going to predict next. This book goes behind the scenes of this adored cartoon series, and the family we’ve grown to love. Between Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and the rest of the Simpsons family, the show has stolen our hearts, and also left us amazed at how often the Simpsons predict the future!

So how do they do it? Is it a crystal ball? A fountain of knowledge? Have the writers gained the ability to travel through time? As shocking as it may seem, the answer is actually a little simpler than that. The cartoon crew is not in a secret society that can see the future, nor have they mastered the art of time travel.

In The Simpsons Secret, learn more about:

• How The Simpsons are able to predict so many major events
• How the show writers and producers come up with these ideas
• And so much more about your favorite old-school cartoon family

If you enjoyed books like Springfield Confidential, The Simpsons Family History, Friends Forever, or The Office, you’ll love The Simpsons Secret.

Life is expensive. Rent. School. Gas. Dates. Breakfast. Alcohol. It just seems like all the best parts of life come with a price tag. Well, not anymore! Sort of. While things will always cost money, there is a way to make it work for you. Money Hacks Handbook will solve all your worries about budgeting, investing, and all things invovling money management. This is the definitive book when it comes to our fiscal needs. Overflowing with how-to illustrations, infographics and heavily researched insight on everything that requires a credit card, Money Hacks Handbook will make it so you never have to worry about being evicted again.

The world of the Caucasian Americans comes alive through history lessons, puzzles, and word games for all ages. The history, material culture, mores, and lifeways of the people now collectively known as the “Caucasian Americans” have often been discussed but rarely comprehended. Until now. This revised edition of Basic Skills Caucasian Americans Workbook provides young readers with accurate accounts of the lives of the Caucasian Americans, who long ago roamed our land. Caucasians are as much a part of American life as they were one hundred years ago. Even in times past, Caucasians were not all the same. Not all of them lived in gated communities or drove SUVs. They were not all techie geeks or power-hungry bankers. Some were hostile, but many were friendly.

It is important for young people to study our Caucasian American forebears in order to learn how they enriched the heritage and history of the world. We hope that the youngsters who read these pages will realize the role that Caucasian Americans played in shaping the United States, and in making the world the remarkable place that it is today.

If you are English, please read this book with a light heart and do what the English do best – have a laugh at yourself. If you are a visitor, or are planning to visit England's sometimes sunny, sometimes cloudy, and sometimes windy shores, this book will help you to begin to appreciate, if not fully understand, this unique country and its people.
Each page of the book features a section entitled ‘Metaphorically Speaking' – a testimony to the English love of metaphors, which can often cause confusion if English is not your native language. These sections explore some of the many unusual metaphors a visitor might hear, and offer helpful advice on when to use them.
Featuring humorous illustrations throughout, this is a hilarious and informative read for all nationalities.

What is humor? Why do we laugh? And why is the root of a good joke almost always error?

Good jokes, bad jokes, clever jokes, dad jokes—the desire to laugh is universal. But why do we find some gags hilarious, whilst others fall flat? Why does explaining a joke make it less amusing rather than more so? Why is laughter contagious, and why did it evolve in the first place?

Using the oldest jokes and the latest science, in The Comedy of Error, Professor Jonathan Silvertown investigates why we laugh: from laughter’s evolutionary origins, to similarities and differences in humor across cultures, and even why being funny makes us sexier.

As this unique book demonstrates, understanding how humor really works can provide endless entertainment.

With a new foreword by Russ Radcliffe

‘Freedom of speech is the freedom to offend and that means the freedom to offend anyone.’ — Bill Leak

A collection of the art and observations of cartoonist, painter, and all-round contrarian — the incomparable Bill Leak.

The public has rarely held politicians and the practice of politics in such contempt. Luckily, Bill Leak was there to guide us through the darkness. With his best editorial cartoons, UnAustralian of the Year provides a satirical history of an extraordinary period in Australian politics, from the enthusiastic popular mandate enjoyed by Kevin Rudd’s Labor after the 2007 federal election to the brutal merry-go-round of party leaders, culminating in the rancour and instability surrounding Julia Gillard’s minority government.

In a series of reflections, Leak also writes with his customary directness and acerbic wit on a range of topics: his accident and recovery from brain damage; the blessings of manic depression for the creative artist; the art of editorial cartooning and his commitment to free expression; and portrait painting and the contemporary art scene.

New York Times bestseller 

Es posible que hayas oído hablar de un libro (sí, un libro entero) dedicado al tema de la limpieza, uno que habla sobre lo mágico y liberador que es ponerte a ordenar y deshacerte de TODAS TUS COSAS. Pues bien, ha llegado la hora de luchar contra esa ridiculez y responder comprando todavía más cosas para poder ir dejándolas tiradas por ahí, donde te dé la gana. Porque, ¿sabéis qué, ordenaditos? La ciencia demuestra que las personas desordenadas somos más creativas. 

 Así que si ya hace tiempo que no ves el suelo de tu cuarto y todavía guardas aquella camiseta que tus abuelos te trajeron de Benidorm, no te preocupes, no pasa nada malo contigo, y Jennifer McCartney está aquí para demostrarlo. Puede que ser un desastre no siempre sea fácil (de hecho, es un arte), pero gracias a sus consejos te aseguramos que podrás desordenar a conciencia y conseguir resultados alucinantes. 

Respira, haz desaparecer tu lista de tareas y súmate a la causa del caos, la acumulación y la anarquía. Es hora de recuperar tu vida.

The book is intended to provide a definitive view of the field of humor research for both beginning and established scholars in a variety of fields who are developing an interest in humor and need to familiarize themselves with the available body of knowledge. Each chapter of the book is devoted to an important aspect of humor research or to a disciplinary approach to the field, and each is written by the leading expert or emerging scholar in that area.

There are two primary motivations for the book. The positive one is to collect and summarize the impressive body of knowledge accumulated in humor research in and around Humor: The International Journal of Humor Research. The negative motivation is to prevent the embarrassment to and from the “first-timers,” often established experts in their own field, who venture into humor research without any notion that there already exists a body of knowledge they need to acquire before publishing anything on the subject-unless they are in the business of reinventing the wheel and have serious doubts about its being round!

The organization of the book reflects the main groups of scholars participating in the increasingly popular and high-powered humor research movement throughout the world, an 800 to 1,000-strong contingent, and growing. The chapters are organized along the same lines: History, Research Issues, Main Directions, Current Situation, Possible Future, Bibliography-and use the authors’ definitive credentials not to promote an individual view, but rather to give the reader a good comprehensive and condensed view of the area.

Arthur Asa Berger’s Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errorsuses semiotics along with a psychoanalytic approach to offer a granular analysis of one of Shakespeare’s funniest and most interesting comedies.

It is distinctive in that it offers a discussion of the basic techniques found in comic literature of all kinds and applies these techniques to events in the play. It also offers a discussion of the basic theories of humor and a syntagmatic and paradigmatic analysis of the play.

It provides an overview of the theories of humor, what the author calls why theories, to provide a general understanding of how humor works. This is contrasted with his 45 techniques which deal with what makes people laugh.

Some people might consider the literary genre of proverbs to be stodgy or out of date, perhaps pretentious and irrelevant in our techy world. Not so with Meatballs for the People: Proverbs to Chew On. These proverbs are all original, all beckoning for verbal debate and discussion, and addictive in that it’s impossible to read just one. The nearly even hundred proverbs are discussion starters and could be a favorite work among book groups. They are enjoyable fodder not only for laughter, but for possible enlightenment. The title alone—Meatballs for the People—suggests substance and a hardy meal. You can really chew on these.

Some readers of Mike McCoy's Earplug Erotica will simply see earplugs placed in a variety of domestic and outdoor settings.

Others might see earplugs representing people of all genders and orientation engaged in a wide variety of bawdy activities!

What do you see?

Do you think these earplugs belong in Playboy magazine . . . or Audiology Today?

What you see inside Earplug Erotica may say more about how you view the world than you care to admit!

One thing is for certain: After browsing through Earplug Erotica, you will never see the humble earplug in quite the same way ever again.

The Bad Driver’s Handbook is the book the DMV doesn’t want you to read! Zack and Larry Arnstein (The Dog Ate My Resumé) debunk the myths of the “good” and “bad” driver by describing in detail the liberating truths about driving that have long been suppressed. Comical commentary and tongue-in-cheek observations are provided on such topics as:

• Bribes, Threats and Other Secrets to Getting Your License
• Intimidating Pedestrians
• Making Your Car Louder
• Turn Signals: Why Give Up the Element of Surprise?
• Tailgating: How Close Is Not Close Enough?
• Sleeping at the Wheel (Do's & Don'ts)
• Motorcycles: Faster, Cooler, Safer!
• Driving When You Can No Longer See
You’ll also find exhaustive lists of “Did You Knows?” (“Did you know if you get boxed in by other, smaller cars in a parking space, you have a legal right to smash into them, and bash your way free?”); Definitions (Pedestrian: “Annoying obstacle infringing upon your right to drive at the speed you feel most comfortable”); and Safety Tips (“When challenging another driver to a race at a traffic light, be sure to wait until the light has almost turned green before mashing the accelerator to the floor”). Hidden meanings behind ordinary traffic signs are revealed, including the coyly worded No U-turn sign, which actually means look both ways for police officers, and if you don’t see any, go ahead and make the U-turn!

Vague memories of road trips, skateboarding, the ocean, and ping-pong are all reconstructed in the shape of a barn and set on fire. We're not even sure they're poems. Maybe they are just: BARN. Go ahead, take off your shoes and drive off a cliff. The barn awaits.

10 mammoth cheeses, 9 people who died laughing, 8 remarkable pistol duels, 7 great sausage events and much, much more

The first and best compendium of facts weirder than fiction, of intriguing information and must-talk-about trivia has spawned many imitators - but none as addictive or successful.

For nearly three decades the editors researched curious facts, unusual statistics and the incredible stories behind them. The most entertaining and informative of these have been brought together in this edition.

Toast on Toast is the must-have book for all budding actors - and non-actors too. In this part memoir, part 'how to act' manual, Steven Toast draws on his vast and varied experiences, providing the reader with an invaluable insight into his journey from school plays to RADA, and from 'It's a Right Royal Knockout' to the Colony Club.

Along the way, he reveals the secrets of his success. He discloses how to brush up on and expand your technical and vocal skills, how to nail a professional voiceover, and how to deal with difficult work experience staff in a recording studio. He also reveals the dangers of typecasting, describes the often ruthless struggle for 'top billing', and shares many awesome nuggets of advice.

The end result is a book that will inspire and educate anyone who wants to tread the floorboards. It will also inform (and entertain) anybody who simply wants to discover what a jobbing actor's life is actually like.

'"Why are we here?" The only time I ever asked meself that was on a surprise holiday to Lanzarote.'

Left to his own devices, Karl Pilkington would be happy with his life just as it is. But now he's hit forty, everyone keeps asking him why he's so reluctant to marry his girlfriend and why he doesn't want to have kids. It's time for Karl to face up to the biggest question of the lot - what does it all mean? Karl thought he'd seen it all filming An Idiot Abroad, but now he's off around the globe to learn how other cultures deal with life's big issues. Find out how Karl copes as he . . .

- Has plastic surgery in LA
- Models for a Japanese life drawing class
- Helps deliver a baby in Bali

Have his experiences changed him? Find out in this hilarious new book.

The nation's favourite idiot is back. Safely home from his latest travels, Karl has decided it is time to share his hard-earned wisdom of the world.

Taking the Bucket List of '100 Things to Do Before You Die' as his starting point, Karl combines brilliant stories from his recent adventuresto Alaska, Siberia and beyond with entertaining, highly-opinionated views on what other people aspire to do with their lives.

� Why on earth would anybody want to run with the bulls in Pamplona?
� Go 'storm chasing' through Tornado Alley?
� Have lunch with the Queen?
� Or touch hands with the Pope?

The Further Adventures of An Idiot Abroad is a fitting finale to two years of eventful globe-trotting. Frank, funny and strangely inspiring, this is Karl's final word on travel.

Why did London Underground once employ a one-legged man to ride up and down the escalators at Earl's Court tube station? What did Hitler plan to do with Nelson's Column? Why is London's only medieval mummy a prostitute named Clarice la Claterballock? How did a beer flood in Tottenham Court Road drown nine people? Where can you see a pair of Queen Victoria's knickers?
Containing chapters covering London past and present; buildings and streets; famous and unexpected Londoners; arts, literature and crime; plus much much more, the 180 lists will amaze, amuse and inform. More than simply a keepsake for tourists, every self-respecting Londoner needs this book.

After going on a journey of discovery in The Moaning of Life, the enlightened one - otherwise known as Karl Pilkington - finds himself back on the road.

In his search for the answers to life's big questions, Karl has therapy in Tokyo to try and reduce the size of his head, spends time in California with a man and his five wives, tries his hand at painting with his own vomit in New York, and travels to Berlin to have his future predicted by a blind man, via his bum cheeks.

Will his travels around the world bring him any closer to the meaning of life? Find out in his hilarious new book.

In 2002, an amateur Jane Austen scholar, while staying at a Hertfordshire estate, stumbled upon a hidden cache of manuscript pages and made an extraordinary literary discovery - lost scenes from Jane Austen's novels that reveal an altogether different dimension to her oeuvre.

Pride and Prejudice's Bingley sisters appear as Sapphic seductresses; Mansfield Park's incest subtext becomes manifest; and Darcy gets more than his shirt wet.

This incisive parody of academic study is sure to astonish and delight mischievous Austenites.

Presenting the Travel Diaries of Karl Pilkington: Adventurer. Philosopher. Idiot.

Karl Pilkington isn't keen on travelling. Given the choice, he'll go on holiday to Devon or Wales or, at a push, eat English food on a package holiday in Majorca. Which isn't exactly Michael Palin, is it? So what happened when he was convinced by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant to go on an epic adventure to see the Seven Wonders of the World?

Travel broadens the mind, right?
You'd think so...

Find out in Karl Pilkington's hilarious
travel diaries.

'He is a moron. A completely round, empty-headed, part-chimp
Manc.' RICKY GERVAIS

'He'd have been happier in medieval times in a village where
you didn't travel beyond the local community.' STEPHEN MERCHANT

Are you a snob? Then why not learn to do it right? Study this revolutionary work and become a Canadian Snob of Distinction!

Victoria Branden has traced the history of Snobbery from its pre-human roots to our own era, in our own country, and has enunciated the definitive Theory of Snobbery. She examines its evolution from its crude beginnings to its present confused state, with detailed study of the most important types of snobbery, distinguishing Goodsnobs from Badsnobs, experts from fumbling amateurs. Snobbery has influenced history at least as much as the invention of the wheel or the printing press, which were probably actually inspired by snob instincts.

Always staunchly patriotic, Ms. Branden has given particular attention to Canadian Snobs, who have been until this time gravely neglected in both life and literature, and has provided Canadian Snobmodels by which we can be guided to higher and better levels of Snobbery. She finds a certain lack of professionalism among Canadian Snobs: Snobbery is not acknowledged as an Olympic contender, and has received no recognition in this year's "black budget." So there is much to be done, urgently! Branden has thoughtfully provided Snobexercises (video later) by which you can develop Snobmuscle. Careful study, with diligent practice and iron self-discipline, will help you to achieve great heights of Snob-expertise, using techniques and materials particularly suited to the Canadian climate and social mores.

Other how-to books claim to "make it easy" to succeed. We do not. Achieving Snob-distinction is hard, gruelling, and incessant work - but the rewards are incalculable. Any jerk can be a snob, and usually is. But to be a truly Great Snob, an upper-case Snob, a Snob who will go down in history like Beau Brummell or Oscar Wilde ah, that is attainable only by the few.

Eavesdroppings recounts life in the small towns of Ontario before sin arrived on the Internet - a time when churches were never locked and parents, not wishing to be disturbed while they listened to the radio, shooed their children out to play in the dark, unguarded streets without fear. Here you'll find comedy, outrage, and tragedy but no disguise. Included are actual events and the names of all persons involved.

The author tracks the quaint immorality of smalltown sin in the 1930s and its evolution from full-frontal bingo in the churches to the current degeneracy of nude women wrestling men in vats of Jell-O in licensed nightclubs, but he never moralizes. Indeed, he provides no uplifting messages at all - just gossip, which, as Oscar Wilde said, "is what history is all about and more fun."

NEW FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHORS OF HOW TO POO AT WORK

From the excretion experts who brought you the global phenomenon How to Poo at Work comes Things to Do While You Poo. Specifically written to help those pooing on the job, this book is the ultimate guide to sedentary self-improvement.

Expert authors Mats and Enzo share their scientific advice crafted over a lifetime of lavatory investigations to help improve every aspect of your life. From success in your career to a satisfying sex life, from health and fitness to simply earning a bit of extra cash, this book is guaranteed to help you become a better you, eight minutes at a time.

Learn how to:

• Find the spirituality of your sphincter with meditation

• Start a really crap YouTube cooking channel

• Become a travel influencer without leaving the stall

• Relax with flush-friendly yoga poses

• Get a six pack in just 30 days of pooing

• Find true loo-ve!

With detailed diagrams, expert advice and tried-and-tested testimonials, discover how to squeeze more into your day as you squeeze one out.

These dot-to-dots are not child's play-but they are fun! Racy, raunchy, and sizzling hot, this bestselling adult activity book can spice up your life. Each of these tantalizing color photos hides the intimate details with dots; to see the full sexy scene you have to make the connection. So grab your pencil because erotic and steamy positions await! Warning: Contains sexually explicit material.

Oh, the Pics That You’ll Post! will strike a chord for anyone who has dabbled in social media, from those just starting, to the gram-vets and even for those who have made it to insta-stardom and are out their living their #bestlife. It offers a nice break from the daily scroll and is both comic relief and a light cautionary tale about what might happen if one’s life is centered around Instagram. And believe Maiana Rose, there are things that can go wrong, such as maxing out credit cards, plummeting self-esteem, and missing out on Amore in Rome. Oh, the Pics That You’ll Post! is a metaphorical journey of becoming an influencer with a message that younger generations are sorely in need of: put the phone down and live life.

Weird Trivia and Strange History

Everyone loves fun trivia! Buckle up for a very odd ride through history and enjoy this trivia book full of stuff you missed in history class. We Did That? is a great bathroom reader gift for people who have everything.

How did we come up with that? Everyone knows about mousetraps, but did you know they were originally inspired by burglar alarms? What was so important to Samuel Hopkins that he became the first person to have a US patent? Many curious creations have been born over the centuries. In this section, author and historian Sophie Stirling dives into the curious minds of inventors and their unique (and sometimes wild) ideas throughout history.

Strange beauty and fashion fads. The phrase “pain is beauty” has a very real history across the globe. Discover painful fashion trends, wooden bathing suits, breast enhancers in the shape of toilet plungers, and death-inducing cosmetics. People are willing to do anything to stay beautiful. But why would ingredients include arsenic, beetles, or “hog’s pisse”?

Odd superstitions and folklore. Do you know about the centuries-old Banana Curse? The origin of the Tooth Fairy? Our weird obsession with shoes? Some strange beliefs might seem be the stuff of old wives’ tales, but many have become ingrained in our minds. You might be more superstitious than you think!

We Did That? is an entertaining collection of odd history! In this book, you will learn about:

• Odd jobs throughout the centuries that will leave you appreciating your day job
• Curious inventions that never made it big, or that were the first versions of mainstream products today
• Interesting and sometimes gross medical cures and deadly beauty trends
• Embarrassing human bloopers and weirdness leaving you wondering…we did that?

If you enjoyed books like Strange History, The Book of Extraordinary Facts, or The Totally Awesome Book of Crazy Stories, then We Did That? should be next on your list.

An “R” rated absurdist comic strip for the 12 year old boy hidden in all of us, Dickie critiques western cultural pillars in an age of political and social tribalism.

Imagine Charlie Brown dropping out of highschool, moving to Belgium, and developing a bit of a drinking problem. Meet Dickie, a Belgian yokel with good intentions but dubious critical thinking skills, navigating a modern world with inadequate emotional intelligence. Like the football yanked out from under Charlie, he always ends up on the wrong side of every situation.

This satirical cartoon skewers modern society, shining an uncomfortable light into the dark recesses of our civilization, where our individual, well-meaning choices conflict with our culture’s values and morals. It’s the dark humor of The Far Side and the social/political satire of The Simpsons, a sophisticated humor wrapped in disarmingly simple illustrations with unending tragic consequences for our favorite antihero. Dickie will cause you to laugh out loud while simultaneously blushing – hoping no one will ask you to explain what is so funny.

This collection of Mark Twain quotes presents the best of the curmudgeonly writer's thoughts on diet, exercise, medicine, smoking, drinking, romance, parenting, old age, fashion, finances, politics, and stress management. Curated by a well-known Twain expert and mining lesser-known texts, speeches, and notebooks, it's the perfect gift for anyone who's had enough of Gwyneth's self-righteous advice and the ramblings of the blogosphere.

"Be respectful to your superiors, if you have any."—from an April 15, 1882 speech

"Training is everything. The peach was once a bitter almond; cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education."—from Pudd'nhead Wilson

"The less a man knows the bigger the noise he makes and the higher the salary he commands."—from "How I Edited an Agricultural Paper"

With the humor of millennial Samantha Irby, Khaholi Bailey’s debut essay collection about the 90s and beyond will invoke the not-so-nostalgic nostalgia.

90s kids were raised on sparse and slow internet, cable TV and adults who said the darndest things. Some learned that weed was the gateway to insanity, that people of the cloth would never disrobe you, or to hope for inconspicuous, tiny tits. 

Khaholi Bailey was taught as much and more, only to discover that the dank green does God’s work, and a well-timed catcall could make her day. Through her family, as much as from MTV and New York City, Khaholi discovers that right from wrong is a matter of time, place and whoever’s asking. 

In frank and comedic essays, Khaholi shares the vulnerability (and sometimes grace) that comes from aging in a rapidly changing world. The Miseducation of a 90s Baby will give you all the lols and feels, and she might even teach you something along the way.

—Allison Joseph, author of Confessions of a Barefaced Woman

“Balmain treads that fine line between comedy and tragedy in poems graced by telling details, surprising turns, and a keen sense of the absurd … Satan Talks to His Therapist is a serious book that’s very funny, and Melissa Balmain’s gift is being able to tilt toward humor without losing the ache beneath the laughter."
—Literary Matters

In Satan Talks to His Therapist, Melissa Balmain explores the lighter side of dark times. Playful yet poignant, her poems perfectly capture our human fallibility and comedic sense of importance.

The collection begins with “On Looking at an MRI Cross-Section,” in which Balmain peeks inside her own skull to consider the jumble of thoughts and memories harbored there. After this introduction to the poet's inner world, the book divides into three sections: Spiraling Down, In Limbo, and Climbing Out. The poems in this lyrical descent and ascent are about climate change, social media, pandemics, politics (sexual and otherwise), parenthood, consumerism, aging, loss, and ills, both physical and societal. Balmain writes in meter and rhyme, and she uses traditional forms (sonnets, villanelles, terza rima) as well as ones she’s coined for the moment.

The poems in Satan Talks to His Therapist provide clarity and comedy in a time that feels anything but clear or comic, and they hint at the consolations of art, kindness, maturity, persistence, love, and, of course, humor.

From cell phone users in yoga classes to Zoom yoga participants sneaking wine and cheese off camera to those folks who just can't help peeking during meditation sessions, The Lighter Side of Yoga presents the humorous and offbeat aspects of yoga through Mike Nevitt’s satiric comics.

The many true-to-life situations in the book are based on Nevitt's experiences and observations over a 30-year period as a full-time yoga and meditation teacher. Aside from providing good laughs, Nevitt aims to gently poke those teachers and students who might have a tendency to take themselves and the practice of yoga a little too seriously.

Yoga and mindfulness practitioners will smile knowingly as they recognize the all-too-familiar scenarios which Nevitt skewers throughout the book. So settle into your favorite yoga pose and let The Lighter Side of Yoga get your chakras spinning!

The results are almost always (unintentionally) laughable. Kaleita doesn't need to go undercover to report from the front lines, though. She's been living there her entire life. There's a raw authenticity to her voice. Her writing is unpretentious yet inventive, riddled with a healthy dose of black humor...If I were her manager, I would fire her on the spot after reading this book. Not because she's a lawsuit waiting to happen--she might be--but because This Book Is Brought To You By My Student Loans makes it clear the job she's most qualified for is being a writer. -- Andrew Shaffer, author of Hope Never Dies: An Obama Biden Mystery

A personal message from the author:

Lots of individuals in society today are feeble-minded. They don't know what the HELL is going on. Unfortunately many of these people are responsible for running THE COUNTRY. They don't know the difference between a PRECIOUS JEWEL and a piece of animal turd. Their ideas are MEANINGLESS, illustrated using RUBBISH imagery (often made by a computer). The stupid words they write are always in BAD FONTS.
Yet still people HEED this nonsense. Maybe YOU are one of these people?
It's alright. I am here to HELP you. I have a FULLY-COMPOSED WORLD VIEW. I have STRONG opinions about EVERYTHING. And my ideas are HAND-ILLUSTRATED and use REAL HANDWRITING that you can trust. I know exactly what's going on and am WILLING to share my thoughts with you. If you LISTEN to what I say then things will quickly improve.

No more weak messages. No more bad situations. Shall we proceed?