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Humour

  • Author:
    Breslin, Mark
    Summary:

    From the club that introduced such stars as Jim Carrey, Mike Bullard, Howie Mandel, Norm MacDonald, and Russell Peters, along with dozens more, The Yuk Yuk's Guide to Canadian Stand-Up is guaranteed to make milk come out of your nose. Mark Breslin - founder of Yuk Yuk's, the largest chain of comedy clubs in North America, and the initial force behind XM Satellite Radio Canada's comedy channel - narrates the past, present, and future of Canadian comedy. Following the explosion of talent from the mid-70s to today, Breslin explores the unique qualities that make Canadian stand-up unique. Listeners are treated to behind-the-scenes stories of great comics and clubs, as well as to excerpts from an array of favourite routines by well-known performers. Breslin brings to life the history of Canadian comedy with hours of vintage performances from Yuk Yuk's comprehensive and exclusive archives. Representing the classic work of some of Hollywood's biggest stars, along with current and past gems, The Yuk Yuk's Guide to Canadian Stand-Up is 100 percent Canadian and the only audio collection of its kind.

  • Author:
    Klein, Jessi
    Summary:

    Both a tomboy and a late bloomer, Jessi Klein grew up feeling like an observer rather than a participant in the rites of modern femininity. This is a funny collection of real-life stories in which Klein explores the milestones of the twenty-first-century woman.

  • Author:
    Penn, Kal.
    Summary:

    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.

  • Author:
    Benedetti, Paul
    Summary:

    Hamilton Spectator columnist Paul Benedetti’s essays paint a wonderfully funny portrait of family life today. Paul Benedetti has a good job, a great family, and successful neighbours — but that doesn’t stop him from using it all as grist for a series of funny, real, and touching essays about a world he can’t quite navigate. Benedetti misses his son, who is travelling in Europe, misplaces his groceries, and forgets to pick up his daughter at school. He endures a colonoscopy and vainly attempts to lower his Body Mass Index — all with mixed results. He loves his long-suffering wife, worries about his aging parents and his three children, who seem to spend a lot of time battling online trolls, having crushes on vampires, and littering their rooms with enough junk to start a landfill.

  • Author:
    McRaney, David
    Summary:

    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.

  • Author:
    Winston-Macauley, Marnie
    Summary:

    "The Jewish mother feels her job isn't done even after death. You're never too dead to be a Jewish mother." –Mallory Lewis, daughter of Shari Lewis * What do Steven Spielberg, Woody Allen, Barbra Streisand, Jon Stewart, Bette Midler, and Natalie Portman have in common with this book? A Jewish mother. Is there such a thing as a Jewish mother? And if so, who is she? For the first time, best-selling Jewish author and humorist Marnie Winston-Macauley examines all aspects of the Jewish mother. Chronicling biblical Jewish mothers to modern-day Yentls, she creates a compendium using celebrity interviews, anecdotes, humor, and scholarly sources to answer these questions with truth and humor. * Contributors to the book range from Dr. Ruth Gruber and Rabbi Bonnie Koppel to Jackie Mason, Amy Borkowsky, John Stossel, Lainie Kazan, and more. * "The definitive source on Jewish mothers." –Eileen Warshaw, Ph.D., executive director of the Jewish Heritage Center of the Southwest

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  • Author:
    Wardlaw, Lee
    Summary:

    A cat arrives at a shelter, arranges to go home with a good family, and settles in with them, all the while letting them know who is boss and, finally, sharing his real name.

  • Author:
    Duffy, Karen
    Summary:

    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.

  • Author:
    Doughty, Caitlin
    Summary:

    Best-selling author and mortician Caitlin Doughty answers real questions from kids about death, dead bodies, and decomposition. Every day, funeral director Caitlin Doughty receives dozens of questions about death. The best questions come from kids. What would happen to an astronaut's body if it were pushed out of a space shuttle? Do people poop when they die? Can Grandma have a Viking funeral? In Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?, Doughty blends her mortician's knowledge of the body and the intriguing history behind common misconceptions about corpses to offer factual, hilarious, and candid answers to thirty-five distinctive questions posed by her youngest fans. In her inimitable voice, Doughty details lore and science of what happens to, and inside, our bodies after we die. Why do corpses groan? What causes bodies to turn colors during decomposition? And why do hair and nails appear longer after death? Readers will learn the best soil for mummifying your body, whether you can preserve your best friend's skull as a keepsake, and what happens when you die on a plane. Beautifully illustrated by Dianne Ruz, Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? shows us that death is science and art, and only by asking questions can we begin to embrace it.

  • Author:
    Reed, Shannon
    Summary:

    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.

  • Author:
    Kaling, Mindy
    Summary:

    Since the publication of her much-loved first book, Mindy Kaling's life has changed significantly. Back then, she played Kelly Kapoor, a supporting character on the popular series, The Office. Now Mindy is the creator, producer, writer, and star of her own TV show, The Mindy Project. She is, as she puts it, "a tiny bit famous," the perks of which include being three assistants, two phone calls and a really good lie away from obtaining Bradley Cooper's e-mail address and having convicts writing her fan mail from prison. She's gone through some other major changes as well--she's watched friends start their own families, and she's grappled with her own balance of work and private life. Mindy turns the anxieties, the glamour, the heartache, and the celebrations of her second coming of age into a laugh-out-loud funny collection of essays that anyone who's ever been at a turning point in their life or career can relate to. And those who've never been at a turning point can skip to the parts where she talks about meeting Bono, encountering Elmo, what kind of snacks they have at a Vogue photo shoot, and what you should carry in your purse when you go to the State Dinner honoring the president of France.

  • Author:
    Phillips, Mary
    Summary:

    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!

  • Author:
    Burgess, Steve
    Summary:

    One of Canada's funniest writers tackles his mother's life and death in a profound, entertaining story. Memoir, biography, and outrageous comedy make for a perfect blend in the debut book from acclaimed writer Steve Burgess. Telling the tale of his mother's life and death, and along the way laying bare his own struggles, Burgess delivers a moving meditation on life and family. The author's mother, Joan, barely survived her thirteenth birthday: a rare disorder had made it almost impossible for her to swallow food. Her battle to survive this illness was the first in a lifelong struggle with the demons of her upbringing. As she raised her five children, of whom the author is the youngest, Joan revealed herself to be a strong and remarkably complex woman. This is the story of her family: Joan herself, her husband-a charming United Church minister-and their children, including the alarmingly delinquent Steve. Who Killed Mom? brims with uproarious anecdotes and one-liners. Whether he's relating how an ice cream product saved him from a gruesome death on the Trans-Canada, sizing up the rebranding efforts of a woeful Manitoba motel, or depicting daily life in a retirement community, Burgess infuses his tales with plenty of laughs. But beneath the book's hilarity is a penetrating examination of eternal themes: family, mortality, fate, and the enduring value of love.

  • Author:
    Johnson, Anjelah
    Summary:

    Anjelah Johnson-Reyes recounts funny stories from her journey--from growing up caught between two worlds to unexpectedly embracing faith to her many adventures in dating. These stories explore subjects such as navigating your racial identity, finding your place in the world, chasing your crazy dreams, the messiness of an evolving faith, and searching for belonging and meaning.

  • Author:
    Offerman, Nick
    Summary:

    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.

  • Author:
    Sedaris, David
    Summary:

    David Sedaris' remarkable ability to uncover the hilarious absurdity teeming just below the surface of everyday life is elevated to wilder and more entertaining heights than ever in this new book of stories. Sedaris proceeds from bizarre conundrums of daily life - the etiquette of having a lozenge fall from your mouth into the lap of a fellow passenger or how to soundproof your windows with LP covers against neurotic songbirds - to the most deeply resonant human truths. Taking in the parasitic worm that once lived in his mother-in-law's leg, an encounter with a dingo and the purchase of a human skeleton, and culminating in a brilliant account of his attempt to quit smoking - in Tokyo - David Sedaris' sixth story collection is a fresh masterpiece of comic writing.

  • Author:
    Colin, Christopher
    Summary:

    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

  • Author:
    Munroe, Randall
    Summary:

    In this informative feast for anyone who loves to ponder the hypothetical, Randall Munroe, creator of the wildly popular webcomic xkcd, provides hilarious and deeply researched answers to his fans strangest questions.

  • Author:
    Munroe, Randall
    Summary:

    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.

  • Author:
    Fenster, Bob
    Summary:

    In a world of bumbling idiots, stupidity is a growth industry. One smart strategy is to laugh at it all with this outrageous collection of hilarious tales about the stupid things people do in every field of human activity. Bob Fenster has combed the world of the intellectually challenged searching for more tales of stupidity to entertain us with... and he's hit the jackpot! After the success of his first two books, Duh! and They Did What!?, Fenster has struck again with Well, Duh! Our Stupid World, and Welcome to It. More tales of the dim-witted and simpleminded are incorporated in chapters such as: Food for Thoughtlessness: The All-Turnip Diet and Other Loony Meals at the Mindless Cafe Hollyweird: Bird Brains in Tinsel Town Dumb Ways to Die: Buried Alive but Not for Long Government by the Idiots: How to Get Elected to Anything

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