My Year of Flops


Book Description

In 2007, Nathan Rabin set out to provide a revisionist look at the history of cinematic failure on a weekly basis. What began as a solitary ramble through the nooks and crannies of pop culture evolved into a way of life. My Year Of Flops collects dozens of the best-loved entries from the A.V. Club column along with bonus interviews and fifteen brand-new entries covering everything from notorious flops like The Cable Guy and Last Action Hero to bizarre obscurities like Glory Road, Johnny Cash’s poignantly homemade tribute to Jesus. Driven by a unique combination of sympathy and Schadenfreude, My Year Of Flops is an unforgettable tribute to cinematic losers, beautiful and otherwise.




Not Since Carrie


Book Description

Not Since Carrie is Ken Mandelbaum's brilliant survey of Broadway's biggest flops. This highly readable and entertaining book highlights almost 200 musicals created between 1950 and 1990, framed around the notorious musical adaptation of Carrie, and examines the reasons for their failure. "Essential and hilarious," raves The New Yorker, and The New York Times calls the book "A must-read."




You Don't Know Me But You Don't Like Me


Book Description

A writer's journey with the fan bases of Phish and Insane Clown Posse describes his unexpected discovery of how both groups have tapped the human need for community, a finding that coincided with his diagnosis of bipolar disorder.




Fiasco


Book Description

A longtime industry insider and acclaimed Hollywood historian goes behind the scenes to tell the stories of 15 of the most spectacular movie megaflops of the past 50 years, such as Cleopatra, The Cotton Club, and Waterworld. He recounts, in every gory detail, how enormous hubris, unbridled ambition, artistic hauteur, and bad business sense on the parts of Tinsel Town wheeler-dealers and superstars such as Elizabeth Taylor, Clint Eastwood, and Francis Ford Coppola, conspired to engender some of the worst films ever.




It's The End of the World and I'm In My Bathing Suit


Book Description

A hilarious new middle-grade from Justin A. Reynolds that asks: What happens when five unsupervised kids face the apocalypse under outrageously silly circumstances? Twelve-year-old Eddie Gordon Holloway has concocted his most genius plan ever to avoid chores... especially the dreaded L-A-U-N-D-R-Y. If he can wear all the clothes he owns, he'll only have to do the laundry once during his school break. On the day of the highly anticipated Beach Bash, Eddie's monstrous pile of dirty laundry is found by his mom. And Eddie's day has just taken a turn for the worst. Now he's stuck at home by himself, missing the bash, and doing his whole pile of laundry. But mid-cycle, the power goes out! With his first load of laundry wet and the rest of his stuff still filthy, he sets out to explore the seemingly empty neighborhood in his glow-in-the-dark swim trunks, flip-flops, and a beach towel. He soon meets up with other neighborhood kids: newcomer Xavier (who was mid-haircut and has half his head shaved), Eddie's former friend Sonia (who has spent her entire break trying to beat a video game and was mid-battle with the final boss), and siblings Trey and Sage (who are dealing with major sibling drama). As they group up to cover more ground and find out what happened, they realize that their families aren't coming back anytime soon. And as night falls, the crew realizes that they aren't just the only people left in the neighborhood, they might be the only people left... anywhere.




The Gross


Book Description

The Grossis an all-access pass to the movers, shakers, and fakers who make Hollywood run. Tinseltown is an edgy place where risk-taking is a way of lifeand the risks now run into the hundreds of millions of dollars. Summertime, when the studios unfurl their most expensive and effects-laden "tent-pole pictures," has become the only season in which Hollywood makes money, and so, as this book illustrates, the summer season provides an ideal microcosm for scrutinizing the mega-budget-driven revolution that has forever changed the movie business. Bart interviews all the key players, including studio executives, producers, directors, and stars, to show how creativity and commerce hang in a dangerous balance in the new Hollwood.




Flit the Fantail #1


Book Description

Flit's first flight is a flippy, floppy fail. But Flit's friends have a clever plan! Can they get him safely back to his nest? The first in a gorgeous new series from the author of the #1 bestseller, KUWI the KIWI books.




I Remember Nothing


Book Description

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Here is the beloved, bestselling author of I Feel Bad About My Neck at her funniest, wisest, and best, taking a hilarious look at the past and bemoaning the vicissitudes of modern life—and recalling with her signature clarity and wisdom everything she hasn’t (yet) forgotten. In these pages she takes us from her first job in the mailroom at Newsweek to the six stages of email, from memories of her parents’ whirlwind dinner parties to her own life now full of Senior Moments (or, as she calls them, Google moments), from her greatest career flops to her most treasured joys. Filled with insights and observations that instantly ring true, I Remember Nothing is a delightful, poignant gift from one of our finest writers.




Broadway Musicals


Book Description

When Evita opened on Broadway during the 1979-1980 season, it was (as one of its songs said) "High Flying Adored." But in the 1970-71 season, the producers of Lolita, My Love saw their show (as one of its songs said) "Going, Gone, Gone" after its torturous Philadelphia and Boston tryouts. It didn't even try to brave Broadway, although the bookwriter-lyricist of My Fair Lady had written it. It happens every season. Broadway has one, two, or a few hit musicals, but many, many more flops. Here's a look at the extreme cases from each season of the past half-century. The musicals that everyone knew would be hits - The Sound of Music, The Phantom of the Opera, The Producers - and were. The tuners that sounded terrible from the moment they were announced - Via Galactica, The Civil War, Lestat - and turned out to be even worse than anyone expected. The shows that were destined to succeed - Breakfast at Tiffany's, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Merrily We Roll Along - but didn't. The ones that didn't have a chance - Man of La Mancha, 1776, Grease - but went on to household-name status. Yes, Broadway is the oldest established permanent non-floating crap game in New York, and Peter Filichia takes a look at 100 shows that met either the most glorious or the most ignominious fates.




Flip and Flop


Book Description

A two-year-old penguin named Flop is sad when his five-year-old brother, Flip, would rather play with Hip, a polar bear friend his own age, in an Arctic romp that will warm the hearts of little siblings of every climate.