People who rely on stereotypes are often vilified. But really, is there a better way to classify people? There are some taxonimical difficulties, though. Exactly how many types of people are there? What behaviours are characteristic of each particular group? How do you know if you’ve spotted an armchair psychologist or a kleptomaniac? Gabe Foreman's A Complete Encyclopedia of Different Types of People is not your average reference book. It turns a series of sociological case studies into a functional encyclopedia that doubles as a unique, achingly funny, always engaging collection of poems. 'Bridesmaids,' 'Day Traders,' 'Entomologists' and 'Number Crunchers' are all dutifully catalogued in a series of luminously strange, compellingly original lyric and prose poems The resulting field guide to our disparate humanity is often absurd, sometimes sad and frequently a mixture of both, as each entry unravels according to its own spidery logic.

There's no right way to keep a diary, but if there's an entertaining way, David Sedaris seems to have mas­tered it. If it's navel-gazing you're after, you've come to the wrong place; ditto treacly self-examination. Rather, his observations turn outward: a fight between two men on a bus, a fight between two men on the street, pedestrians being whacked over the head or gathering to watch as a man considers leap­ing to his death. There's a dirty joke shared at a book signing, then a dirtier one told at a dinner party—lots of jokes here. Plenty of laughs. These diaries remind you that you once really hated George W. Bush, and that not too long ago, Donald Trump was just a harm­less laughingstock, at least on French TV. Time marches on, and Sedaris, at his desk or on planes, in hotel dining rooms and odd Japanese inns, records it. The entries here reflect an ever-changing background—new administrations, new restrictions on speech and conduct. What you can say at the start of the book, you can't by the end. At its best, A Carnival of Snackery is a sort of sampler: the bitter and the sweet. Some entries are just what you wanted. Others you might want to spit discreetly into a napkin.

Don't you hate it when you tell some ignoramus you're from a certain city and they say, "Oh, do you know my friend Henry?" Or, lousy gift givers who say, "I kept the receipt, if you want to return it," so instead of a gift you end up with an extra errand? Well, so does stand-up comedian Paul Nardizzi. 602 Reasons to Be Ticked Off is his pointed response to the Things to Be Happy About series. Categorized by topic, the book features more than 600 quick-hit anecdotes on things that people do that grate on our collective nerves. Like smokers who blow smoke in your face because they know they're damaging their lungs, so why not bring along a few hostages? Whether it's a type of person-such as police officers, postal workers or the elderly — or an annoying circumstance — like driving, air travel, marriage or job interviews — Nardizzi has had it up to here (place hand palm-down six inches over head). The book offers a hilarious mix of proven-funny lines from his stand-up act as well as original material on the above subjects-and then some. This laugh-out-loud-funny gift book of PG-13 humor is sure to be enjoyed by anyone from kids in their early teens on up to old people dying in nursing homes.

"Am I different? Yeah. Deep down, you know you want to wear wider bottoms; you're just not secure enough. . . . Do I do my hair with a weed whacker? I admit it." —Rep. James Traficant (D-Ohio, 1985-2002) Supposedly some of our brightest speakers, politicians say some pretty stupid things. Members of America's major political parties put out a roaring stream of downright dumb comments, pronouncements, and observations. For proof, look no further than Ted Rueter's 449 Stupid Things Republicans Have Said. 449 Stupid Things Republicans Have Said includes subjects ranging from cloning and federal spending to foreign affairs and kissing. Asked what he and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair have in common, President George W. Bush remarked, "Well, we both use Colgate toothpaste." According to then-Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, "If you set aside Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, the safety record of nuclear energy is really very good." Rueter catches the best of the best, whether the gaffes came from Bob Dole, Trent Lott, Arnold Schwarzenegger or Strom Thurmond.

At the heart of Richardson's CBC Radio show is a variety of domestic tales that listeners relate through letters and phone calls. Their stories are sometimes comic and sometimes achingly sad. This is a collection of 163 of the most memorable of these letters - everyday stories of everyday Canadians reflecting life in every part of Canada.