Mostly Laughing


Book Description

They don't make comments like they used to, and this book is proof! Mostly Laughing: Life in the DMs is a collection of comments and direct messages film and TV's Katie Garner has received over her on-camera career that has spanned over ten years and counting. These are real comments from real people (names changed for privacy... we're all just here to laugh) who have followed Katie's career and joined her cast of followers over the years. These are messages that encompass Santa Claus, a tapeworm, and being compared to a cow, as well as unique marriage proposals and an invitation to visit state prison inmates. You'll put this book down having had a few laughs, while also knowing that the world can be incredibly judgmental, creepy, and a downright rude place-but Katie's hope is that you leave knowing that at the end of the day, your view of yourself is the only one that matters.




The Laughing Monsters


Book Description

Denis Johnson's New York Times bestseller, The Laughing Monsters, is a high-suspense tale of kaleidoscoping loyalties in the post-9/11 world that shows one of our great novelists at the top of his game. Roland Nair calls himself Scandinavian but travels on a U.S. passport. After ten years' absence, he returns to Freetown, Sierra Leone, to reunite with his friend Michael Adriko. They once made a lot of money here during the country's civil war, and, curious to see whether good luck will strike twice in the same place, Nair has allowed himself to be drawn back to a region he considers hopeless. Adriko is an African who styles himself a soldier of fortune and who claims to have served, at various times, the Ghanaian army, the Kuwaiti Emiri Guard, and the American Green Berets. He's probably broke now, but he remains, at thirty-six, as stirred by his own doubtful schemes as he was a decade ago. Although Nair believes some kind of money-making plan lies at the back of it all, Adriko's stated reason for inviting his friend to Freetown is for Nair to meet Adriko's fiancée, a grad student from Colorado named Davidia. Together the three set out to visit Adriko's clan in the Uganda-Congo borderland—but each of these travelers is keeping secrets from the others. Their journey through a land abandoned by the future leads Nair, Adriko, and Davidia to meet themselves not in a new light, but rather in a new darkness.




Who’s Laughing Now?


Book Description

From dour old women to buzzkills who can't take a joke, the stereotype of the humourless feminist has repeatedly been deployed to derail and delegitimize the women's rights movement. This collection skips the tired debates that ask whether feminists can be funny—we know the answer to this already—to instead investigate contemporary expressions and functions of humour within international feminist movements and communities. This interdisciplinary volume showcases critical analyses of cultural texts and events, personal accounts of producing and encountering feminist humour, and creative interruptions that pair laughter with insight. As a whole, this work seeks to sideline caricatures of the humourless feminist by promoting a vision of a diverse movement vibrant with innovative, generous, threatening, and, ultimately, triumphant laughter.




Ha!


Book Description

An entertaining tour of the science of humor and laughter Humor, like pornography, is famously difficult to define. We know it when we see it, but is there a way to figure out what we really find funny -- and why? In this fascinating investigation into the science of humor and laughter, cognitive neuroscientist Scott Weems uncovers what's happening in our heads when we giggle, guffaw, or double over with laughter. While we typically think of humor in terms of jokes or comic timing, in Ha! Weems proposes a provocative new model. Humor arises from inner conflict in the brain, he argues, and is part of a larger desire to comprehend a complex world. Showing that the delight that comes with "getting" a punchline is closely related to the joy that accompanies the insight to solve a difficult problem, Weems explores why surprise is such an important element in humor, why computers are terrible at recognizing what's funny, and why it takes so long for a tragedy to become acceptable comedic fodder. From the role of insult jokes to the benefit of laughing for our immune system, Ha! reveals why humor is so idiosyncratic, and why how-to books alone will never help us become funnier people. Packed with the latest research, illuminating anecdotes, and even a few jokes, Ha! lifts the curtain on this most human of qualities. From the origins of humor in our brains to its life on the standup comedy circuit, this book offers a delightful tour of why humor is so important to our daily lives.




Laugh


Book Description

Mary Ann Rivers continues her Burnside family series—perfect for readers of Kristan Higgins, Jill Shalvis, and Ruthie Knox—as two people try to share their hearts without losing their cool. Dr. Sam Burnside is convinced that volunteering at an urban green-space farm in Lakefield, Ohio, is a waste of time—especially with his new health clinic about to open. He only goes to mollify his partner, suspecting she wants him to lighten up. Then Sam catches sight of Nina Paz, a woman who gives off more heat than a scorcher in July. Her easy smile and flirty, sizzling wit has him forgetting his infamous need for control. Widowed when her husband was killed in Afghanistan, Nina has learned that life exists to take chances. As the daughter of migrant workers turned organic farmers, she’s built an exciting and successful business by valuing new opportunities and working hard to take care of her own. But when Sam pushes for a relationship that goes beyond their hotter-than-fire escapades, Nina ignores her own hard-won wisdom. She isn’t ready for a man who needs saving—even if her heart compels her to take the greatest risk of all: love. Praise for Laugh “Amazing . . . one hell of a journey for a single book.”—Never Too Fond of Books “The humor, emphasis on community, and passionate feeling make [Laugh] a lovely read.”—Dear Author “Laugh makes you want to go out and take life by the horns, hug your friends and family tight and, yes . . . laugh.”—For What It’s Worth “If you want to read superb quality writing, be challenged intellectually and emotionally and be stimulated sensually—Mary Ann Rivers is the author to grab! Trust me on this!”—Ripe for Reader “Sam is my new favorite [May Ann Rivers] leading man. And trust me, when you read this you’ll know he’s all man.”—The Book Hammock “I love the Burnside family dynamic in this series—it’s messy and real.”—Red Hot and Blue Reads “Mary Ann Rivers has the ability to take my breath away and make me laugh in the same paragraph . . . heck, maybe even the same sentence.”—Straight Shootin’ Book Reviews “One of the most achingly real love stories that I’ve ever read.”—Love at First Page “Mary Ann Rivers is an author I trust implicitly. She unfailingly delivers stories with such realism. . . . She delivers the romance that is best experienced in the quiet moments between two people falling in love, or who are already there. It’s gritty and tough and messy. It’s beautiful.”—The Bookish Babe Includes a special message from the editor, as well as an excerpt from another Loveswept title.




Laughing at Life's Most Embarrassing Moments


Book Description

Laugh Hard, Laugh Loud, Laugh Often Of all the gifts God give us, laughter is definitely one of the sweetest. Delight in this good-for-the-soul collection of humor dedicated to the many ways laughter can surprise, amaze, comfort and enrich your life like nothing else. Drawing on his experience as a preacher's kid and a former youth pastor, humorist Dan Taylor shares hilarious anecdotes, such as mentally willing hungry parishioners away from primo potluck cookies dealing with the disappointment of not getting fork-stabbed at church camp running errands with a donut-loving driver's ed instructor Learn that those with the ability to laugh at themselves are truly blessed—because their well of good humor will never run dry.




Maisie Dobbs


Book Description

"A female investigator every bit as brainy and battle-hardened as Lisbeth Salander." —Maureen Corrigan, NPR's Fresh Air, on Maisie Dobbs Maisie Dobbs got her start as a maid in an aristocratic London household when she was thirteen. Her employer, suffragette Lady Rowan Compton, soon became her patron, taking the remarkably bright youngster under her wing. Lady Rowan's friend, Maurice Blanche, often retained as an investigator by the European elite, recognized Maisie’s intuitive gifts and helped her earn admission to the prestigious Girton College in Cambridge, where Maisie planned to complete her education. The outbreak of war changed everything. Maisie trained as a nurse, then left for France to serve at the Front, where she found—and lost—an important part of herself. Ten years after the Armistice, in the spring of 1929, Maisie sets out on her own as a private investigator, one who has learned that coincidences are meaningful, and truth elusive. Her very first case involves suspected infidelity but reveals something very different. In the aftermath of the Great War, a former officer has founded a working farm known as The Retreat, that acts as a convalescent refuge for ex-soldiers too shattered to resume normal life. When Fate brings Maisie a second case involving The Retreat, she must finally confront the ghost that has haunted her for over a decade.




Enter Laughing


Book Description

The semi-autobiographical, riotous account of stage-struck young David Kolowitz, originated on Broadway by Alan Arkin, working as a delivery boy in a sewing machine factory. Denying his parent's wishes for a druggist in the family, he leaves their dreams and his devoted girlfriend Wanda behind and is soon enlisted (and paying for) a slot as the "leading man" in a third-rate theatrical company while being vamped by the resident less-than leading lady, the daughter of the hammy "artistic director.




Exit Laughing


Book Description

There’s nothing funny about dying … or is there? Malachy McCourt, Jacquelyn Mitchard, and 22 more share hilarious and moving stories of confronting death. Exit Laughing makes death more approachable as it reveals the funny side of “passing on.” As painful as it is to lose a loved one, Exit Laughing shows us that in times of grief, humor can help us with coping and even healing. Best-selling author Amy Ferris explains how her mother’s dementia led to a permanent ban from an airline. Ellen Sussman writes of flying her mother's body home and watching the burial wardrobe spill out on the baggage carousel. Broadway and television actor Richard McKenzie shares the riotous story of a funeral procession led by a lost hearse. Bonnie Garvin even manages to find a heavy dose of dark humor in her parents’ three unsuccessful attempts at a double suicide. These stories, along with tales from Joshua Braff, Barbara Graham, Dianne Rinehart, and more, constitute a book whose purpose is to remind readers that when dealing with illness, aging, and dying, there is an important place for laugh-out-loud humor.




McNaught's Monthly


Book Description