The star of the Harold and Kumar franchise, House, and Designated Survivor recounts why he rejected the advice of his aunties and guidance counselors and, instead of becoming a doctor or "something practical," embarked on a surprising journey that has included confronting racism in Hollywood, meeting his future husband, and working in the Obama administration, in this entertaining and refreshingly candid memoir. You Can't Be Serious is a series of funny, consequential, awkward, and ridiculous stories from Kal Penn's idiosyncratic life. It's about being the grandson of Gandhian freedom fighters, and the son of immigrant parents: people who came to this country with very little and went very far-and whose vision of the American dream probably never included their son sliding off an oiled-up naked woman in the raunchy Ryan Reynolds movie Van Wilder ...or getting a phone call from Air Force One as Kal flew with the country's first Black president. With intelligence, humor, and charm on every page, Kal reflects on the most exasperating and rewarding moments from his journey so far. He pulls back the curtain on the nuances of opportunity and racism in the entertainment industry and recounts how he built allies, found encouragement, and dealt with early reminders that he might never fit in. He describes his initially unpromising first date with his now-fiancé Josh, involving an 18-pack of Coors Light and an afternoon of watching NASCAR. And of course, he reveals how, after a decade and a half of fighting for and enjoying successes in Hollywood, he made the terrifying but rewarding decision to take a sabbatical from a fulfilling acting career for an opportunity to serve his country as an Obama White House aide. Above all, You Can't Be Serious shows that everyone can have more than one life story. Kal demonstrates by example that no matter who you are and where you come from, you have many more choices than those presented to you. It's a story about struggle, triumph, and learning how to keep your head up. And okay, yes, it's also about how he accidentally (and very stupidly) accepted an invitation to take the entire White House Office of Public Engagement to a strip club-because, let's be honest, that's the kind of stuff you really want to hear about.

McRaney brings his popular blog of the same name to book form. He collects more than 46 of the lies we tell ourselves every day, then pulls back the psychological curtain to explain how people routinely trick themselves using such tactics as hindsight bias, confirmation bias, and misplaced brand loyalty.

Ross McCammon delivers a funny and authoritative guide that provides the advice you really need to be confident and authentic at work, even when you have no idea what's going on.

From becoming an iconic MTV VJ to starring in Dumb and Dumber to being diagnosed with a life-threatening disease, Karen Duffy has been through a lot. But it was only when she became a mother that she realized she had some pretty solid life lessons to pass down. In this book, she offers advice on building a friend group that is weasel free, finding the love of your life, and determining how much to duke the waiter.

A hilarious and incisive exploration of the joys of reading from a teacher, bibliophile, and Thurber Prize Semifinalist. We read to escape, to learn, to find love, to feel seen. We read to encounter new worlds, to discover new recipes, to find connection across difference, or simply to pass a rainy afternoon. No matter the reason, books have the power to keep us safe, to challenge us, and perhaps most importantly, to make us more fully human. Shannon Reed, a longtime teacher, lifelong reader, and New Yorker contributor, gets it. With one simple goal in mind, she makes the case that we should read for pleasure above all else. In this whip-smart, laugh-out-loud-funny collection, Reed shares surprising stories from her life as a reader and the poignant ways in which books have impacted her students. From the varied novels she cherishes (Gone Girl, Their Eyes Were Watching God) to the ones she didn't (Tess of the d'Urbervilles), Reed takes us on a rollicking tour through the comforting world of literature, celebrating the books we love, the readers who love them, and the ways in which literature can transform us for the better.

Admit it already. Life is always better after a margarita or three. Artist and aperitif advocate Mary Phillips shares her cocktail wit and wisdom inside this intoxicating smash titled Why Limit Happy to an Hour? Whether the subject is cocktails, men, chocolate, weight, relatives, motherhood, or just plain unadulterated attitude, Phillips finds a way to sum up life's happenings one zinger at a time. For example:

"I used to care but now I take a pill for that."

"Inside me is a thin woman screaming to get out... I can usually keep the bitch quiet with chocolate."

"When life gives you lemons, add vodka."

Phillips promises to stimulate the economy one drink at a time with this keepsake book of witticisms featuring her popular full-color artwork and sassy one-liners. Now cheers to that!

A humorous and rousing set of literal and figurative sojourns as well as a mission statement about comprehending, protecting, and truly experiencing the outdoors, inspired by three journeys undertaken by actor, humorist, and New York Times bestselling author Nick Offerman Nick Offerman has always felt a particular affection for the Land of the Free-not just for the people and their purported ideals but to the actual land itself: the bedrock, the topsoil, and everything in between that generates the health of your local watershed. In his new book, Nick takes a humorous, inspiring, and elucidating trip to America's trails, farms, and frontier to examine the people who inhabit the land, what that has meant to them, and to the land itself, both historically and currently. The seeds of this book were planted in 2019, when Nick took two memorable journeys with pals-a hiking trip to Glacier National Park with his friends Jeff Tweedy and George Saunders, as well as an extended visit to his friend James Rebanks, the author of The Shepherd's Life and English Pastoral . He followed that up with an excursion that could only have come about in 2020-Nick and his wife, Megan Mullally, bought an Airstream trailer to drive across the United States. All three journeys inspired some "deep-ish" thinking from Nick, about the history and philosophy of our relationship with nature in our national parks, in our farming, and in our backyards; what we mean when we talk about conservation; the importance of outdoor recreation; and the healthy building of both local and national communities across party lines, all subjects very close to Nick's heart. With witty, heartwarming stories and a keen insight into the problems we all confront, this is both a ramble through and celebration of the land we all love.

The authors of the popular What to Talk About have returned to help banish awkward silences and inspire better conversations. This handy deck is packed with funny and fresh ideas for both small talk

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of What If? and How To answers more of the weirdest questions you never thought to ask The millions of people around the world who read and loved What If? still have questions, and those questions are getting stranger. Thank goodness xkcd creator Randall Munroe is here to help. Planning to ride a fire pole from the Moon back to Earth? The hardest part is sticking the landing. Hoping to cool the atmosphere by opening everyone's freezer door at the same time? Maybe it's time for a brief introduction to thermodynamics. Want to know what would happen if you rode a helicopter blade, built a billion-story building, made a lava lamp out of lava, or jumped on a geyser as it erupted? Okay, if you insist. Before you go on a cosmic road trip, feed the residents of New York City to a T. rex, or fill every church with bananas, be sure to consult this practical guide for impractical ideas. Unfazed by absurdity, Munroe consults the latest research on everything from swing-set physics to airliner catapult–design to answer his readers' questions, clearly and concisely. As he consistently demonstrates, you can learn a lot from examining how the world might work in very specific extreme circumstances.