One man. Ten extraordinary quests.
Bestselling author and human guinea pig A. J. Jacobs puts his life to the test and reports on the surprising and entertaining results. He goes undercover as a woman, lives by George Washington's moral code, and impersonates a movie star. He practices "radical honesty," brushes his teeth with the world's most rational toothpaste, and outsources every part of his life to India--including reading bedtime stories to his kids.
And in a new adventure, Jacobs undergoes scientific testing to determine how he can put his wife through these and other life-altering experiments--one of which involves public nudity.
Filled with humor and wisdom, "My Life as an Experiment "will immerse you in eye-opening situations and change the way you think about the big issues of our time--from love and work to national politics and breakfast cereal.

A life: a shared time of feelings. What is it in reality? Could our just being here, be but a memory. "Heaven forbid." But in our world, can we place ourselves in memory? She lives for the laughter; the people who walk in her world.the stories become her memory. She calls her grandmother long distance. -Grandmother answered and she starts the conversation with -hi grandma- what have you been doing? - Her grandmother talks some of her world. -They chat for a few, then a feeling comes to her, and she says -you know, I don't think you're my grandma-. And grandmother replies, -I don't think you're my granddaughter either-. Ok, - well have a good day, and it was nice talking to you. - Should I call again? She laughs, "Only you girl." It's her son's birthday today. The children are at school, and needing to get the birthday cake made, she decides to get the woodcook stove heated up. (Thinking about how hot the oven needs to be, and how much to let it cool down.) She gets the angle food cake mixed and in the oven. Going to the stove to check on the cake, she opens the oven door. There is the blackest cake rising to the top of the oven, gets there, and then down it come It ends up about 2 inches tall, burnt black -Now what do I do-? -I don't have anything else-. Mind made up, just scrap the sides and top, she frosts it with a nice white frosting, (trying not to cry while at it)..Opening presents, the best part. The cake...not so good. One of her most humiliating moments ever Taking a trip home to her parents house, she's so excited to see them, and her siblings. The day is glorious, she and her mom are outside visiting, and the guys are out back working on a vehicle. David the oldest brother arrives, deciding to help them with their chore, he comes around from out back taking off his shirt, and he hands it to her -Here sis, would you take care of this for me? - It's a nice white shirt, (he just came from church). Sure, then she gets the water hose and wets the shirt down. Hangs it on the clothesline, laughing the whole time. Mom says: -Oh girl, you don't want to do that. He will get even - Then thinking of what she just did, she decides to hide. Here comes David, taking a look around for his shirt, and spots it hanging on the line dripping with water She's hiding behind the drapes in the house and can see the look on his face. It's -oh where is she - The hunt was on.Finally he gets in his pickup and goes up the road. She couldn't believe it. - David giving up that soon. - Well, fun for the day. She decides to go out and brag to the guys about how she had finally got David. On her way, out of the bushes, David jumps and grabs her, (screaming to the top of her lungs) as he picks up the hose and proceeds to drown her. He had circled around the block, and waiting for her to do just as she did. -Go to brag. - Payback, the moral of this story: When she was at the dating age, (16) it seemed that whenever she had company, as in boyfriend, there he was..If they were sitting in the car, his face would be plastered on the window. Fingers in ears, wiggling the hands, (you can see the picture). One time, she and date are on their way to the movies. Up jumps David from the back seat. -Where are we going? - Later in time, she lives in Salt Lake and the phone rings: It's Mom, -too bad you aren't down here, cause David is going on his first date tonight Would she have loved to been there. - Maybe payback time-.

It's a family feud full of fun and togetherness in Kirkman and Scott's "The Natural Disorder of Things." Readers step into the home of the MacPhersons, a perfectly normal family with perfectly chaotic lives. Daryl and Wanda are deep in the trenches of child rearing, earning their stripes as parents to Zoe, Hammie, and baby Wren.

"Baby Blues" is genuinely funny, portraying parenting the way it is, including the good, the bad, the ugly . . . and the sometimes smelly.

"Baby Blues" "recently celebrated an achievement that is considered the comic industry's top milestone: surpassing 1,000 newspaper clients around the world." --Arizona Republic

Finally in paperback with lots of brand-new jokes from today's top comedians.
What could be funnier than a great joke? How about 2,000 great jokes? In this side splitting compendium, revised and updated and featuring a new introduction by Drew Carey, members of the world-renowned Friars Club and other comedians provide zingers for every occasion, situation, and taste.
Organized alphabetically and by topic, this book is made for browsing, but it's also perfect for finding icebreakers for social occasions, adding a touch of humor to business speeches, and spicing up toasts.
Hundreds of the best-known comedians are represented, including Sarah Silverman, Ellen Degeneres, Lewis Black, Ray Romano, Milton Berle, Carol Burnett, George Burns, George Carlin, Johnny Carson, Billy Crystal, Phyllis Diller, Bob Hope, Alan King, Richard Lewis, Bob Newhart, Rita Rudner, Jerry Seinfeld, Robin Williams, and tons more.
"

Here are 23 new stories, written with characteristic affection and wit, which will greatly entertain Reg's loyal and eager readers. Bellowing basses, lead singers at least a line ahead of everyone else, temperamental organists, mildewing sheet music and fusty robes - welcome to the world of the local church choir. There is no better observer of the volatile relations between the clergy, the choir, the organist and the congregation than Reg Frary who has seen it all in almost seventy years' first hand experience of sitting in the choir stalls Sunday by Sunday. This is an ideal Christmas gift for anyone who sings in an amateur choir (and the more amateur, the better).

The latest installment of the hilarious "New York Times" bestselling phenomenon?more than 1.5 million copies sold
"New York Times" bestselling author Wendy Northcutt is back, asking, ?Have we evolved at all The answer: Not all of us.
What crazy cocktail of DNA leads Homo sapiens to do pull-ups off the edge of a seventh-floor balcony or wrap their lips around a paintball gun and pull the trigger? How about offering a beer to a bear or self-testing a Taser? Why not go joyriding in a shopping cart strapped to an SUV or jump a drawbridge on a bicycle?
Fully illustrated with over a hundred new jaw-dropping and side-splitting feats of stupidity?and including science essays by guest writers and answers to FAQs about evolution in action?The Darwin Awards Next Evolution continues the tradition of honoring the victims of appallingly poor survival instinct who selflessly improve our gene pool by removing themselves from it.

The "New York Times" bestseller by Famous Minor Television Personality John Hodgman?"The Daily Show"'s ?Resident Expert? and the ?PC? in the iconic Apple ads?picks up exactly where his first book left off. In fact, ?the new volume is in every way a continuation of "Areas of My Expertise," except in the ways it's clearly superior.?("The Onion AV Club")
In 2005, John Hodgman published his first compendium of Complete World Knowledge, "The Areas of My Expertise," a handy volume of fake trivia and made-up facts. Hodgmania was born. Virtually overnight, John Hodgman was whisked from tweedy obscurity to the high ether of minor celebrity. And from his strange new vantage point as a Famous Minor Television Personality, Hodgman realized that there is some world knowledge yet to be documented. And so he returned to exactly where he had left off?namely, page 256 of the paperback edition of "The Areas of My Expertise." And he brought with him: "MORE INFORMATION THAN YOU REQUIRE" Which, naturally, begins on page 257. Like its predecessor, " More Information than You Require" consists of brief articles, overlong lists, frighteningly complex charts, and beguiling narratives on new and familiar themes such as:
THE PAST (because there is always more of it)
THE FUTURE (because they say there is still some left)
MOLE-MEN (including a list of 700 Mole-man names)
GAMBLING, THE SPORT OF THE
ATHSMATIC MAN (including hermit crab racing)
CRYPTOGEOGRAPHY (including Canada)
HOW TO BE A FAMOUS MINOR TELEVISION PERSONALITY (Hint: Go on television)
AND NOW, the relatively pocket-sized and inexpensive paperback edition includes even "more"
"MORE INFORMATION THAN YOU REQUIRE," updated to include the very latest in implausibility.
PLUS : This paperback edition includes a special self-expanding fold-out edition of THE TAXONOMY OF COMPLETE WORLD KNOWLEDGE, which you have probably never seen before because it has been carefully hidden. UNTIL NOW.

"His folksy humor...has made him a hit in the heartland...Don't bet a little plain ol' charm won't work just as well on the rest of the country."--"Philadelphia"" Inquirer"

For the record, here's the official definition of a guy: A person who doesn't think before he speaks. He can't. He's not that deep. Because a guy has only three basic needs: eating, sleeping, and sex. That's it. "Just a Guy" chronicles a "lifetime" in pursuit of those needs.

In this hilarious and heartfelt memoir, Bill Engvall takes you on the rollicking ride of his life, beginning with his childhood in Texas and adolescence in Arizona, becoming a fixture in local emergency rooms, the result of massive amounts of non-thinking behavior trying to impress girls or torture his sisters; to high school in Dallas where he dabbled in an array of truly odd jobs and came of age; to college and his tenure as his fraternity's social chairman, where he masterminded a series of legendary parties; to following his dream as a standup comic and, gulp, singer; to his bumbling and riotous courtship, then marriage to Gail, the love of his life; and, finally, fatherhood, where he remains, to this day, a well-meaning, but flawed parent.

Through it all, Bill gamely stumbles along, struggling to maintain a facade of confidence and control. Far from a superhero, Bill Engvall is an everyday Everyman, the poster boy for normal. The result is just a guy who is disarming, perceptive, wildly funny, and unexpectedly moving.

"The sensitive parts of the book...truly stand out."--"Publishers Weekly"

"Bottom line: if you like Blue Collar TV or are just looking for some good comedy, this is a great book to pick up."--"Blogcritics.org"

Features a collection of email trails in which each message is signed off by someone with a witty and appropriate name. This book features a variety of subject headings ranging from camping to drinking.

"This strip is the culmination of a life's worth of dreams. I'm using the opportunity to entertain, enlighten, and be the trembly voice of the socially awkward everywhere." --Cory Thomas

An edgy and nuanced strip--chronicling the demanding but reflective lives of six urban teens at Oliver Otis University.

Cory Thomas's "Watch Your Head" is presented through the eyes of Cory, an academically brilliant but socially inept college student. His friends at Otis U. include Omar, a recluse who seems umbilically tied to his computer; Quincy, Omar's friend (and therefore Cory's friend by default); and Kevin, who, as both a Canadian and one of the few whites on a predominantly black campus, feels like a foreigner times two. Robin, the object of Cory's crush, and Jason, Cory's roommate and polar opposite, round out the cast.

Through this diverse group, Thomas provides a raw critique on current social issues while perfectly relating the amusements, angst, and growth that come with the college experience.

"Watch Your Head" currently appears in papers stretching from New York, Washington, D.C., and Boston to Chicago, Dallas, and St. Petersburg. This inaugural book offering collects more than 40 weeks of strips.

"Laughing Matters "showcases how a range of contemporary writers including Jon Stewart and David Sedaris craft persuasive arguments, using humor to make their case while entertaining the reader. A guide to analyzing how comic arguments are made-and to crafting such arguments using the rhetorical strategies particular to comedy. Theoretical, analytical, and comic strategies. General Interest

Jim Toomey is "a breath of fresh water." --Washington Post Lauded for sparking dialogue on topics relating to marine life, Sherman's Lagoon appears in 250 newspapers in 30 countries in 6 languages. Collecting more than 42 weeks of Jim Toomey's Sherman's Lagoon, this collection transports readers to an imaginary lagoon near the South Pacific island of Kapupu, where a cast of coral reef critters live a charmed aquatic lifestyle. Commenting on such timely issues as rising sea levels, degrading water quality, and environmental pollution, inhabitants of Toomey's nautical neighborhood include Sherman, an always-hungry, but otherwise typical kind of great white shark, and his witty pearl-wearing wife Megan, along with friendly Fillmore the turtle, geeky fish Ernest, macho hermit crab Hawthorne, and salty old Captain Quigley, who remains vengeful after loosing his leg to Sherman. This is the 13th Sherman's Lagoon cartoon collection, in addition to two treasuries.

Short on life lessons, precious moments, and pearls of wisdom, Tony Carrillo's "F Minus" takes on life's serious issues by pinning them to the ground and stealing their lunch money. (Then it feels a little bit guilty and gives some of the money back.)Author's web site: www.fminus.net

"David Sedaris's ability to transform the mortification of everyday life into wildly entertaining art," ("The Christian Science Monitor") is elevated to wilder and more entertaining heights than ever in this remarkable new book.
Trying to make coffee when the water is shut off, David considers using the water in a vase of flowers and his chain of associations takes him from the French countryside to a hilariously uncomfortable memory of buying drugs in a mobile home in rural North Carolina. In essay after essay, Sedaris proceeds from bizarre conundrums of daily life-having a lozenge fall from your mouth into the lap of a fellow passenger on a plane or armoring the windows with LP covers to protect the house from neurotic songbirds-to the most deeply resonant human truths. Culminating in a brilliant account of his venture to Tokyo in order to quit smoking, David Sedaris's sixth essay collection is a new masterpiece of comic writing from "a writer worth treasuring" ("Seattle Times").
Praise for When You Are Engulfed in Flames:
"Older, wiser, smarter and meaner, Sedaris...defies the odds once again by delivering an intelligent take on the banalities of an absurd life." --"Kirkus Reviews"
This latest collection proves that not only does Sedaris still have it, but he's also getting better....Sedaris's best stuff will still--after all this time--move, surprise, and entertain." --"Booklist"
Table of Contents:
It's Catching
Keeping Up
The Understudy
This Old House
Buddy, Can You Spare a Tie?
Road Trips
What I Learned
That's Amore
The Monster Mash
In the Waiting Room
Solutions to Saturday's Puzzle
Adult Figures Charging Toward aConcrete Toadstool
Memento Mori
All the Beauty You Will Ever Need
Town and Country
Aerial
The Man in the Hut
Of Mice and Men
April in Paris
Crybaby
Old Faithful
The Smoking Section

Traditionally, women share their secrets with their hairdressers. But what about their manicurists, masseurs, chi gong teachers, and tattoo artists? In Damage Control, women wax poetic about the experts and gurus who help them love themselves, sharing stories of everything from friendships born in the make-up chair to the utter dismay of a truly horrible haircut.

Minnie Driver finally meets a Frenchman who understands her hair . . . and tries to teach her not to hate it.

Marian Keyes remembers the blow-dry that pushed her over the edge.

Francesca Lia Block tells the ugly story of the plastic surgeon who promised to make her beautiful.

Rose McGowan explains why it's harder to be depressed when you're glamorous . . . and shows how it takes a village to transform from mere mortal to movie star.

Witty and wise, Damage Control is an intimate, sometimes dark, look at our experiences with the professionals who pluck, prod, and pamper every inch of our bodies--and a reminder why we surrender ourselves to their (hopefully) very capable hands.

Where would our country be without its proud traditions? Beer, ballads, blokes - and the ability to laugh at yourself? Where would our country be without its proud traditions? Beer, ballads, blokes - and the ability to laugh at yourself. Folklorist Warren Fahey's fabulous collection of Aussie jokes is guaranteed to entertain and offend absolutely everyone! GENERAL RULES OF AUSSIE EtIQUEttE 1. Never take a beer to a job interview. 2. Always identify people in your yard before shooting them. 3. It's tacky to take an Esky to church. 4. If you have to vacuum the bed, it's time to change the sheets. 5. Even if you're certain you're included in the will, it's rude to take the trailer to the funeral home. Warren Fahey, larrikin, balladeer, author and professional joke collector, has done all the hard work for you by bunging together all his favourite gags: the ones about marriage and men, about work and cars, about politics, foreigners (especially that lot across the tasman) and religion. So all you have to do is laugh. Which you will, or risk being branded a dickhead. the Big Fat Book of Aussie Jokes is the biggest, fattest, funniest joke book in the land..

From beer pong to final exams, from instant messaging to hooking up with people whose last names are a complete mystery, "The CollegeHumor Guide to College" is the bible to getting through college with minimum work and maximum fun. The authors, six recent graduates from colleges around the country, fill readers in on how to do their own laundry, how to pick the best (easiest) professors, and how to tell if someone has an STD just by looking at them. From the creators of the smash-hit website, "The CollegeHumor Guide to College" is perfect for anybody who can make it past twelfth grade, and an incredibly mean gift for those who can't.

There's nothing like singing a favourite hymn to the wrong tune to get everyone up in arms - the congregation will blame the vicar, the vicar will blame the organist, the organist will take it out, as usual, on the choir who claim they never, ever, sing any other tune. By this and other such common occurrences, a low grade war of attrition is constantly maintained in local churches everywhere. It keeps everyone on their toes. And there is no better observer of the volatile relations between the clergy, the choir and the organist than Reg Frary who has seen it all in almost seventy years' first hand experience of sitting in the choir stalls Sunday by Sunday.

Every Sunday evening, millions of viewers tune in to 60 Minutes to hear Andy Rooney riff on everything from coffee percolators to the state of the union. Millions more read his weekly newspaper column. Why? Because Rooney tells it like it is. But Rooney fans have never seen him quite like this. Andy Rooney is plain frustrated by what's going on in America and the world. Why can't Americans,let alone our president,speak English anymore? How do we expect to fight a terrorist enemy that we can't even locate? And when did capitalism go so terribly wrong? This book isn't all heady stuff, though. Readers will also get the familiar,and hysterical,Rooney gripes about everyday foibles, such as the impossibility of physically locating your driver's registration, of purchasing a genuinely healthy breakfast cereal, or of enjoying a college reunion,unless everyone ends up in their nighties, that is. PublicAffairs is pleased to present its fifth collaboration with Andy Rooney. Loyal Rooney fans and anyone who enjoys a good laugh at life's absurdities will be thrilled to add it to the bookshelf during the holidays.

Celia Rivenbark is an intrepid explorer and acid commentator on the land south of the Mason-Dixon Line. In this collection of screamingly funny essays, you'll discover:
*How to get your kid into a character breakfast at Disney World (or run the risk of eating chicken out of a bucket with Sneezy)*Secrets of Celebrity Moms (don't hate them because they're beautiful when there are so many other reasons)*ebay addiction and why "It ain't worth having if it ain't on ebay"*Why today's children's clothes make six-year-olds look like Vegas showgirls with an abundance of anger issues*And so much more!
Celia Rivenbark's essays about life in today's South are like caramel popcorn---sweet, salty, and utterly irresistible.

Real Owls Don't Bark is a charming, quirky, and sometimes deeply moving collection of true stories that will convince anyone that who we are and what matters is often shaped by the most ordinary people and events we encounter in our daily lives. Drawn from years of hilarious and thoughtful travelogues he wrote as a communications consultant, author Paul Heagen provides intriguing insights into communications in business and life as you journey with him when he learns: * The generosity of a toothless fruit vendor in Hong Kong * The importance of getting out of your element during a biker rally in Nevada * The value of context from a memorable round of golf in the morning fog * The role of significance from an elderly Parisian couple's modest wooden jewelry box Whether you're a parent, a professional, or just a person who likes to think more about the everyday events in our lives, Real Owls Don't Bark will help you understand that all of us have stories that have a lasting influence in our lives, as well as the lives of others. 'A witty and charming velvet hammer for what really matters in life. you turn each page if you'll laugh or cry, but you'll definitely think. -Mary Nixon, Vice President-Finance, KFC 'This is a must-read for any leader-or anyone, for that matter-who is open to what everyday life can teach us. -Mike Monahan, Executive Director, Life Success Seminars