Upton Sinclair meets Joseph Heller, the funniest book since A Confederacy of Dunces. Austin's novel is an unlikely mixture of expose, social satire and high comedy that somehow, brilliantly, succeeds. It will make you laugh, cry, and want to punch out your boss. Don't read this book at work, but by all means read it. Charles Dodt, Author, The Night Boy *** Do you remember the best time of your life? For Chuck Farlowe, his time came and went, one April day back in 1973. His "A" game, unfortunately, was left in the dugout that day. Cut to 1998. His son, Danny, is at the crossroads of his life. A young man in need of answers, he finds them in the form of a long-buried manuscript written by his father back in 1973. Suddenly he finds himself at a strange place and time-the Hotchkis Department Store in downtown Oakland, circa 1970. Danny is introduced to both the store manager, Matt Farber, and the store owner, Isaac Benjamin Stern. Soon a union election begins to loom ominously. Chuck manages to find a kindred spirit in Lee Kroeber, and eventually, after a struggle, with Cooper Smith, whose own bitterness and alienation over store racism threatens to change the entire store dynamic. When Wayne Justice joins the Hotchkis fold in 1971, soon the era of poker and male bonding begin. Rediscovering Mrs. Murphy is all about fighting through the pain of the past and rediscovering what really matters.

The limerick form, we are told, originated with the Greeks. The popular enhancement of the form, however, came about through its extensive usage by English authors.Limericks have been known to come in a number of varieties: risqu, suggestive and perfectly clean but not quite as humorous.The author of this volume of limericks has blended all of these varieties into a collage of social commentary and fancy titillating, all designed to amuse you and hopefully, bring a smile to your cheeks, wherever they are

Wrinkles, Waistlines, and Wet Pants is an irreverent look at aging. Fashion, self -improvement and social etiquette are thrown out the window in this hilarious book that disregards good taste and dignity. The author disproves the theory that fifty is the new thirty with anecdotes, some of them actually true.

Existence after fifty, according to Jeanne Kraus, is fraught with peril from lifethreatening underwear to homeowners' associations. Lifestyle activities are recommended, along with full schedules of doctor visits. Humiliation lurks at every corner with shotgun makeup interventions, bodily function failures, and swiss cheese memory. Condom trees, risqu photos found in a laundry mound, and DNA-tainted ornaments all have their part in this series of incidents.

Jeanne includes advice for those aging ne'er do-wells who hope to make it to the pearly gates eventually. And even though this book will not change you in any way, there is something for everyone in Wrinkles, Waistlines, and Wet Pants. Even self-help junkies will be delighted with the three insightful but useless surveys.

Wrinkles, Waistbands, and Wet Pants was wittily written by Jeanne Kraus, and illustrated by her sister, Diana Arneson, both having experienced wrinkles, expanding waistlines, and wet pants.

Providing a snapshot of the world scene, "Comments on the Human Condition" offers a collection of aphorisms, a series of wittily worded opinions, penned by author William J. Cone, a self-described unrepentant curmudgeon.

Providing views on an array of controversial subjects, Cone calls attention to the silliness in everyday life through his amusing, frustrating, and outrageous opinions on a range of subjects applicable to today's world. Topics include "Three Men in a Bar," "Women Reporters in Men's Locker Rooms," "Somali Pirates," "Messages on T-Shirts," "English Accents," What's Wrong with Profiling?" "Buddy, Can You Spare a Dime?" "Contemplating Pompeii," "More Political Stupidity," "Gay Speak in Sports" and "CornHole Tournaments."

An eclectic collection of rants and ravings, "Comments on the Human Condition" offers one man's thoughts and ideas, often humorous, on a host of topics facing humans today, and he's not afraid to tell you how he really feels.

Mixing sarcasm and humor with facts and current events, 'Democrats Invade Mars' follows in the footsteps of Stephen Guy Hardin's previous works, 'Commies on Parade' and 'If Being a Conservative Were Easy There Wouldn't Be Any Liberals' as it attempts to peel back yet another layer of the various and nefarious schemes of the American Left and the Democrat Party.

This book is an authentic compendium of poems, stories, one-liners, and anecdotes circulated throughout the World War II period by the men and women in the armed services as well as those in the factories and support services of the greatest war machine ever built. This raucous humor is espeially poignant in its representation of a nation's young finding levity in their most basic needs, displacing themselves from the reality of death. Each joke, story, witticism, poem, or amusement has been associated with a bonafide United States war poster of the day, reflecting its comparative humor. In honoring the Greatest Generation for their sacrifices, these works are a testament to their dignity; that when faced with their own mortality, they still could laugh.

This complete edition of All Things Considered by G.K. Chesterton sees the author show off his critical wit and poise with considerable aplomb. The topics herein range between discussions on human nature and behaviour, to the contemporary affairs which enveloped Edwardian Britain, and even to the practice of chasing one's hat. Ponderings on a scientific theme, together with discussions on Chesterton's favourite topic of religion. In all, these torrents and barbs offer the reader both entertainment and pause for thought. All Things Considered is a collection of highlights from various magazines Chesterton wrote in during the early 20th century. The skillful display of paradox in his pointed arguments for faith make for provocative reading. Characterized by the author's easily digestible and plainly written style, the works of G.K. Chesterton have generally aged well in the modern day, being both literate and straightforward in style.

It has been said that the eyes are the windows to one's soul. Poetry to me is like a snapshot of ones soul, freezing a moment in time, creating a picture that means different things to different people, evoking unique feelings for the individual reader. Etched into your beings fiber are those moments that shape you. I believe it is good to revisit those that you have stored, the pleasant, the painful and the... Observing where we came from, remembering auspicious beginnings can affect the future giving strength to rise to any challenge that life's crazy ride might throw at you. So, I titled this collection of poems with an Irish proverb, which derives its strength from its simplicity.

Greg Milow has spent twelve years of his life next to his beautiful girlfriend. Only one detail clouds the blissfulness of his experience: she is a total psychopath. When he leaves for a company retreat, she mistrusts his intentions and embarks on a road trip to follow him, unleashing a weekend of raving madness. Help me get rid of my psycho girlfriend is an action-packed comedy filled with eccentric characters, laugh-out-loud situations, and the thrilling menace of romance. A novel that, once you have started it, you won't be able to put down until the end.

Pilot, Iowa farmer, award-winning columnist, and editor of two statewide service organization newspapers, Marion P. Johnson shares his insightful, humorous take on life in America's heartland in the 1960s and early 1970s. For those who live or have lived on a farm or ranch or in one of the many small towns that make up rural America, "With Tongue in Cheek" offers a nostalgic walk down memory lane. Johnson's column appeared in "The Roland Record" from 1961 to 1973 and turned into a well-loved, highly anticipated weekly experience for the farming community of Roland, Iowa. "With Tongue in Cheek" showcased Johnson's wit and candor, earning him several Master Columnist awards. Whether discussing the local elections or the county fair, Johnson artfully reveals the pleasures of small-town living. Immerse yourself in the simple joys of yesteryear with Johnson's special brand of humor.

This volume highlights humour's crucial role in shaping historical re-visions of the long nineteenth century, through modes ranging from subtle irony, camp excess, ribald farce, and aesthetic parody to blackly comic narrative games. It analyses neo-Victorian humour's politicisation, its ideological functions and ethical implications across varied media, including fiction, drama, film, webcomics, and fashion. Contemporary humour maps the assumed distance between postmodernity and its targeted nineteenth-century referents only to repeatedly collapse the same in a seemingly self-defeating nihilistic project. This collection explores how neo-Victorian humour generates empathy and effective socio-political critique, dispensing symbolic justice, but also risks recycling the past's invidious ideologies under the politically correct guise of comic debunking, even to the point of negating laughter itself. "This rich and innovative collection invites us to reflect on the complex and various deployments of humour in neo-Victorian texts, where its consumers may wish at times that they could swallow back the laughter a scene or event provokes. It covers a range of approaches to humour utilised by neo-Victorian writers, dramatists, graphic novelists and filmmakers - including the deliberately and pompously unfunny, the traumatic, the absurd, the ribald, and the frankly distasteful - producing a richly satisfying anthology of innovative readings of 'canonical' neo-Victorian texts as well as those which are potential generic outliers. The collection explores what is funny in the neo-Victorian and who we are laughing at - the Victorians, as we like to imagine them, or ourselves, in ways we rarely acknowledge? This is a celebration of the parodic playfulness of a wide range of texts, from fiction to fashion, whilst offering a trenchant critique of the politics of postmodern laughter that will appeal to those working in adaptation studies, gender and queer studies, as well as literary and cultural studies more generally." - Prof. Imelda Whelehan, University of Tasmania, Australia