Koncocoo

Best Self-Help & Psychology Humor

The Last Lecture
When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn't have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. In this book, Randy Pausch has combined the humor, inspiration and intelligence that made his lecture such a phenomenon and given it an indelible form. And while they speak, audiences can't help but mull the same question: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn't have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because "time is all you have...and you may find one day that you have less than you think"). In this book, Randy Pausch has combined the humor, inspiration and intelligence that made his lecture such a phenomenon and given it an indelible form. We were shy about barging in on Randy Pausch's valuable time to ask him a few questions about his expansion of his famous Last Lecture into the book by the same name, but he was gracious enough to take a moment to answer. As anyone who has watched the lecture or read the book will understand, the really crucial question is the last one, and we weren't surprised to learn that the "secret" to winning giant stuffed animals on the midway, like most anything else, is sheer persistence. I have neuropathy (numbness in fingers and toes), and varying degrees of GI discomfort, mild nausea, and fatigue. Occasionally I have an unusually bad reaction to a chemo infusion (last week, I spiked a 103 fever), but all of this is a small price to pay for walkin' around. Amazon.com: Your lecture at Carnegie Mellon has reached millions of people, but even with the short time you apparently have, you wanted to write a book. Also, much of my lecture at Carnegie Mellon focused on the professional side of my life--my students, colleagues and career.
Reviews
"Bought this to re-read it."
"Great and inspiring book!"
"This books is an awesome read."
"Excellent read."
"Interesting story, sad to know he passed away."
"great book--very sad but very inspiring."
"This is an excellent inspirational book, it is a refreshing look at what matters."
"It is an easy read, but makes you dig deep within yourself & think about how you choose to see your life and are you spending your time the way you should."
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Of Mess and Moxie: Wrangling Delight Out of This Wild and Glorious Life
New York Times bestselling author, Big Sister Emeritus, and Chief BFF Jen Hatmaker returns with another round of hilarious tales, shameless honesty, and hope for the woman who has forgotten her moxie. She and her husband, Brandon, founded the Legacy Collective and also starred in the popular series My Big Family Renovation on HGTV.
Reviews
"No, her life is absolutely nothing like mine, but every chapter ... every last one ... was filled with humor, honesty, and realism. Every chapter pulled me out of my world, and away from my pain, and they all made me think that everything is going to be ok. Life is messy for everyone, but it won't be that way forever. Based off a review I read on one of Mrs Hatmaker's previous books, I was skeptical that she'd be able to connect with me at all, but she did. The book is filled with uplifting humor, candid honesty, and messages about God and love. Mrs Hatmaker's "How To" chapters were my absolute favorites, and this is an excerpt from her instructions on "How to Get Uninvited Back to a Home Decor Store". 3) Hear gasp from a bystander, and look up to see your son's bare behind and a hearty stream of urine trailing from the cart into a $48 decorative basket. You don't understand why he had to drop his underpants to his ankles, but in addition to soiling the home goods, he has now displayed his bits and bobbles for all to witness. 5) Watch the tee-tee run down the shelving unit and soak the towels below before pooling in a delightful puddle at the end of isle 7."
"I just finished this book and I laughed and related to most of it."
"For moms trying to figure out how to be a family on mission because that’s what caring for your people is."
"... one of those friends who remind you of truth, cry with you, laugh with you and at themselves."
"One of the best books I read in 2017!"
"Great mix of heartfelt sentimental and wildly hilarious truth about living the Mom life!"
"Jen Hatmakers best book yet!!"
"Author goes off on tangents with no point ans little organization."
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Win Bigly: Persuasion in a World Where Facts Don't Matter
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From the creator of Dilbert , an unflinching look at the strategies Donald Trump used to persuade voters to elect the most unconventional candidate in the history of the presidency, and how anyone can learn his methods for succeeding against long odds. Scott Adams—a trained hypnotist and a lifelong student of persuasion—was one of the earliest public figures to predict Trump’s win, doing so a week after Nate Silver put Trump’s odds at 2 percent in his FiveThirtyEight.com blog. But Adams recognized in Trump a level of persuasion you only see once in a generation. “Win Bigly taught me how to persuade my boss to treat me with slightly less contempt.”. —Dilbert. “If I’m being honest, Win Bigly is better than all other books and at least one play.”. —Abe Lincoln.
Reviews
"It has me questioning everything I feel like I have a solid rational opinion on and is helping me understand why it is that people who I think are reasonable in other instances can believe in things that I think are so obviously wrong. It goes without saying that very few people will agree with everything in this book, but the author is interesting, thoughtful, and he presents techniques that are simple enough you can test out in real life to see if they are effective or not."
"He gives current, real world examples taken from the Trump and Clinton campaign to illustrate how our brains respond to different forms of persuasion and how we can adopt them ourselves to affect change, and hopefully change for the good. If you're familiar with his work, this is a good refresher to help you improve your master persuasion, and if you're not, this will give you some insight on both interesting elements of the 2016 election, and how you can apply the techniques, and avoid the pitfalls, of what helped and hindered both campaign teams."
"He very calmly and objectively shares his observations on Trump, without calling him Hitler or God's gift to the country."
"Very interesting take on the success of Donald Trump."
"Simple manual on persuation and its application in real life."
"Great book about Persuasion and how Trump won the election with mastery of this tool."
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Best Regional & Cultural Literary Criticism

A Die Hard Christmas: The Illustrated Holiday Classic
A delightful Christmas storybook for adults based on the action-packed Die Hard movie. All John McClane wants for Christmas is to reunite with his estranged family. Author: Doogie Horner is a comedian, author, and illustrator.
Reviews
"which is the most amazing part of this book."
"It's a must buy for Die Hard fans and an "Hmm, I'm not sure" buy for parents who want to introduce their toddlers to Die Hard."
"Written in the style of the classic "Twas the Night Before Christmas" this hilarious story sets the ongoing argument to rest, proving once and for all that Die Hard is indeed a Christmas movie."
"I bought this for my fiancé for Christmas because we both love Die Hard and I thought this would be a cute gift idea and he loved it."
"Doogie Horner is genius."
"If you love the greatest Christmas movie ever and have any sense of humor, you MUST get this book."
"Got it as a joke gift and a card for the entire family."
"Well drawn, funny, and rhymes!"
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Best Motherhood

Knock Knock What I Love About Mom Fill In The Love Journal
Our crackerjack in-house team creates humorous nonfiction and specialty journals from the ground up, and we also publish new titles from outside authors, bloggers, and other creative types. Just complete each line and voila: you have a uniquely personal gift Mother will read again and again.
Reviews
"A word of advice if you're willing to put in the work (which you should be, since you clearly love your mom): In a Word document, type out all the statements on each page, then fill in the blanks here before you copy them all into the actual book."
"I loved the idea of this gift-- but I loved it even more once it was complete."
"I filled it out with some very serious responses, and some funny, and sent it to my mom for Mother's Day."
"My mom is my best friend and to get a chance to leave some really sweet and loving notes and then some really funny make her laugh out loud notes I had to buy this book!"
"I got one of these for both of my parents for Christmas and they ADORED them."
"I filled it out and mailed it to my sister, across the country, who filled out her answers and mailed it to the rest of our siblings in another state."
"Over all a cute idea, although for the price I would have expected something a bit larger."
"If you are a person of few words, this is perfect to get you thinking and writing from the heart."
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Best Anxiety Disorders

Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things
Furiously Happy is about depression and mental illness, but deep down it's about joy―and who doesn't want a bit more of that? Praise for Jenny Lawson:
Reviews
"I like Jenny's POV, I just liked the first book a little more as it was more stories and this has a good bit more time spent in essays or like, motivational talks to the reader."
"A brave, talented woman lets us in to the mind of an intelligent, lovable person trapped in a world with quirky rules about what to spend her energy on that seem to wear her out while at the same time causing much amusement."
"Parts of this book made me laugh out loud."
"This was a fine read."
"Silly, funny, twisted, honest, heartbreaking... on top of struggling with mental illness which she is candid about, Lawson is a little nuts."
"This book is hilarious, sobering, thrilling and chilling all at once."
"Why isn’t shampoo good enough for all parts of the body; just let it drop and drip from the top of the head? A gall bladder emergency surgery can leave the digestive plumbing unpredictable. Lawson’s sharing her reality, in search of laughter and personhood, places each reader on the spectrum of mental illness."
"A few of the pieces are more serious when explaining the difficulties of her mental illness, but most are funny observations that are incapable of getting from point A to point B without going off on numerous odd tangents. Some of the topics she addresses are pockets for woman's pants, air travel, her gallbladder, a trip to Australia with a female friend, Twitter support groups, opossums galore, and a handful of silly arguments she has with her husband Victor. It takes a lot of courage to struggle with frequent depression and would help readers who do not understand the challenges of mental illness."
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Best Parent & Adult Child Relationships

An Odyssey: A Father, a Son, and an Epic
But through the sometimes uncomfortable months that the two men explore Homer's great work together--first in the classroom, where Jay persistently challenges his son's interpretations, and then during a surprise-filled Mediterranean journey retracing Odysseus's famous voyages--it becomes clear that Daniel has much to learn, too: Jay's responses to both the text and the travels gradually uncover long-buried secrets that allow the son to understand his difficult father at last. Mendelsohn weaves his basket with many wands; the complexity seems natural, an account of the quality of life itself, a route to revelation. The book partakes of at least four genres: classroom drama; travel writing; biographical memoir; literary criticism. Mendelsohn makes Homer’s epic shine in your mind.” —Dwight Garner, The New York Times “My favorite classicist once again combines meticulous literary investigation with warm and wrenching human emotion—books like these are why I love reading.” —Lee Child “Poignant, tender, affecting. “When Daniel Mendelsohn’s mathematician father lands in his son’s Homer seminar at Bard, the older man sets in motion an odyssey both hilarious and heartfelt. Father and son start in the pages of an epic, board a ship to follow the hero’s path through the Mediterranean, and finally end where all our stories do. Dread of the alien thrums through [Homer’s] Odyssey ; for Mendelsohn, the ancient tale becomes an occasion not only to explore his relationship with his father, but to transform it. The recognition leaves Mendelsohn free to see through his father’s hardness—his ‘exacting standards for everything’—to the vulnerable fighter within: a scrappy, strategizing Odysseus from the Bronx. What solace or despair resides in the unexpected relevance of this ancient poem, its encounters with Otherness thrown into high relief by the xenophobia of our time? [But] it dives deeper, excavating a portrait of Mendelsohn’s special student, his father: his lonely childhood, his early brilliance, his forfeiture of Latin for a life of numbers. There is but one ending to the book; within a year, Jay would die, and so Mendelsohn’s journey—indeed like Homer’s—would be undertaken after the fact, when something remained to be learned. In An Odyssey, he reels us in with a storyteller’s strongest gifts: passion, clarity, and timing.” —Willard Spiegelman, Wall Street Journal. Mendelsohn’s exploration is [both] a personal family memoir and a critical report on Homer’s epic, and the two facets illuminate each other. The Mediterranean cruise that father and son take pays off in surprising ways; we get a haunting glimpse of the fear that the end of your journey means finis , the hope residual in permanent postponement. This is an honest, and loving, account of the improbable odyssey that gave them this one last deeply satisfying adventure together.” —Peter Green, The New York Review of Books “Heartfelt, touching . The course, and the cruise retracing Odyssey’s voyage to Ithaca a few months later, set in motion an emotional journey neither man could have anticipated. Mendelsohn expertly examines the Odyssey with depth and classical acumen, extracting meaning from even its most subtle moments. He details his own relationship with the ancient poem, and he culls from the narrative many insights into his own familial bonds, specifically with his father. a surprising piece of art—a masterful memoir of reading, teaching and learning; a book as full of twists and turns as its subject, often beautiful too. This is a story of reconciling a scientist and an artist; Jay, the man of calculus, comes to influence both his son and his fellow pupils. As well as a contribution to the art of memoir, An Odyssey is a vivid defence of the close rereading of a classical text, the tiny questions from which bigger pictures become clear.” —Peter Stothard, The Financial Times ★ “Enlightening—engaging, gripping and deeply moving . Mendelsohn explores the enduring relevance of Homer’s Odyssey through a memoir tracing the complex relationship between father and son.” —Library Journal (starred review) “Beguiling. in this memoir, Mendelsohn recounts a freshman class on the Odyssey he taught at Bard College with his father, an 81-year-old computer scientist, sitting in. … Mendelsohn gradually unwraps layers of timeless meaning in the ancient Greek poem; Homeric heroes offer resonant psychological parallels to a modern family. His father, a retired mathematician, had been interested in the classics during his school days and decided to continue his education by studying with his son . The author uses a close reading of the epic to illuminate the mysteries of the human condition; he skillfully, subtly interweaves textual analysis [with] the lessons of life outside it . At the book’s center is [Mendelsohn’s father] Jay, whose presence in the classroom bewilders and charms the other students and his son . With this graceful and searching memoir, we all drink from the cup of knowledge proffered by one of our leading philosopher-writers.” —Hamilton Cain, Star Tribune. A meditation on filial love as candid, tender and in its own way ruthless as its counterparts in the Bible, Shakespeare and Homer . both dense and fleet, and wholly captivating.” —Tim Pfaff, The Bay Area Reporter “It’s hard to pierce a legend, even when it’s just generation-old family lore . As author-professor, Mendelsohn doesn’t lecture; his storytelling leaves room for other teachers — including his current students, his former professors and relatives who decode multi-layered family myths. Classroom discussions of Odysseus’ long, wandering journey home to Ithaca led father and son to undertake a real-life Mediterranean cruise retracing the Greek warrior’s travels. Mendelsohn begins to see his father in a new light even while the older man challenges the basic tenets of Homer’s epic. A noted memoirist and venerable contributor to a myriad of respected periodicals, Daniel Mendelsohn doesn’t hold back. An Odyssey carefully unpacks details from Homer’s epic poem, with the author taking the stance of a vigilant observer. Witnessing his father’s guileless rediscovery of the ancient text, Mendelsohn’s life’s work as a classicist is turned on its head. The revelations and thoughts of the central characters of Homer’s Odyssey serve as portals to deeper understanding of contemporary relationships. Studying (and essentially mirroring) Homer’s legendary work allowed both the Mendelsohn father and son to find new dimensions for their love of one another. While the events of An Odyssey conclude with Jay passing away, the vibrant stamp he left behind on his son is evidenced by the profundity of the memoir’s pages. It’s an epic reconciliation, albeit a quiet one, focused on all that he’d been given by his father, celebrating their mutual love and respect.” —Michael Raver, The Huffington Post “Family memoirs are often chronicles of estrangement and rapprochement, typically seeking to wring meaning from the haze of grief or regret. As the memoir unspools, Mendelsohn’s narrative grip tightens, and the son’s search for his father becomes poignant and powerful.” —Julia M. Klein, The Forward “Compelling . As I read Mendelsohn’s wonderfully precise textual analysis of Homer, I couldn’t help but think how similar his interpretative method is to the ways in which Biblical scholars parse the Torah for deeper understanding. Through Homer, Mendelsohn has created a memorial his father: an extraordinary act of ­filial love.” —Helen Morales, Times Literary Supplement (UK). In this insightful, tender book, Mendelsohn gracefully marries literary criticism and memoir to describe an intellectual and personal journey that becomes one of profound discovery for both [father and son]. Most impressive are his transitions from scholarly con­sideration of ‘The Odyssey’ to intimate stories of his family life, as when the class discussion flows effortlessly into a magical moment, witnessing [his father] Jay as he offers a heartbreakingly beautiful tribute to his wife… [There are] many wise lessons to be gleaned from this lovely book.” —Harvey Freedenberg, BookPage. Mendelsohn has achieved an enviable renown as essayist, literary critic and author of autobiographical explorations undergirded by insights from classic texts. It’s clear that Mendelsohn’s Socratic method of teaching (via dialogue rather than lecture) forces everyone, including himself, to see things with fresh eyes. Every step of the way, An Odyssey charts a remarkable journey made indelible by Mendelsohn’s elegant prose. Mendelsohn is perhaps the most accessible contemporary ambassador of the classics; An Odyssey makes his most convincing case to date for their vital necessity. Mendelsohn takes us through the Odyssey alongside his class, meanwhile drawing comparisons between his and his father’s journeys, and those of Odysseus and Telemachus. Mendelsohn has honed a method of mixing memoir and criticism to reflect on the problems of contemporary life through the lens of the Greek classics. An Odyssey is a stellar contribution to the genre of memoirs about reading—literary analysis and the personal stories are woven together in a way that feels both artful and natural. “A marvellously entertaining and wise chronicle of [Mendelsohn’s and his father’s] odyssey, first in the classroom and then on a tour of the seas around Greece. This is powerfully true of this moving new odyssey as well.” —Alberto Manguel, Literary Review (UK) “A gentle, at times almost nostalgic, work: Mendelsohn’s lithe prose flits seamlessly across intervals and registers, switching from erudite exposition one minute to emotion-filled reminiscence the next. An accomplished, brave book that testifies to what is perhaps the Odyssey ’s most abiding message: that intelligence has little value if it isn’t allied to love.” —William Skidelsky, The Observer (UK). Besides creating page-turning narrative tension, Mendelsohn’s father Jay’s skepticism raises a question: What good are classics to a modern life? .Mendelsohn is the closest thing American classicists have to a hometown celebrity; his nonpareil prose has been recognized in wide literary circles. Even as Mendelsohn lights up hidden meanings in the Odyssey and universal resonances for the reader, he is not only conveying his knowledge about the epic, but about the little things, too, those details that make a person who they are. The book thus enacts a truth that has long been central to Mendelsohn’s writing and teaching, which is that the great works of antiquity remain relevant today. This is a gentle, at times almost nostalgic, work; Mendelsohn’s lithe prose flits seamlessly across intervals and registers, switching from erudite exposition one minute to emotion-filled reminiscence the next. This accomplished book testifies to what is perhaps the Odyssey ’s most abiding message: that intelligence has little value if it isn’t allied to love.” —William Skidelsky, The Guardian (UK) “Brilliant . The ancient story’s leaving and coming back to shared memories is also a strength of a son’s tribute to his father. Reading The Odyssey , the great book, with your failing old man, and keeping each other company in the parallel epic known as life [is] a memory that will last longer than anything on your cellphone.” —Ian Brown, The Globe and Mail (Canada).
Reviews
"As other reviewers have noted, Daniel Mendelssohn skillfully interweaves a compelling father and son narrative along with erudite commentary on the text of the Odyssey in this book."
"This was my favorite book of 2017 primarily because I know the author personally as well as his family."
"A book written by a fascinating, intelligent, educated man, that brings us into his thinking and remembering his life."
"A phenomenal book--healing, touching, and insightful."
"It was an excellent introduction to the Odyssey and a delightful memoir of a son’s relationship with his aging father."
"Jay Mendelsohn, a retired research scientist, decided to take the undergraduate seminar on Homer's Odyssey that his son Daniel teaches at Bard College. Additionally, Jay and Daniel take an educational Mediterranean cruise together that attempts to re-create the journey of Odysseus. Daniel blends literary analysis with personal family history and creates a powerful work that is an enduring tribute to both Jay Mendelsohn and The Odyssey."
"A wonderful story about fathers and sons."
"Daniel Mendelsohn, a Classics professor at Bard College, has written "An Odyssey: A Father, a Son, and an Epic", a book, a memoir, almost a dissertation on what seem to be two of his favorite subjects, family and classical literature. Daniel had long tried to understand his father and felt that Jay, with a long interest in the classics and Greek, might benefit from studying that father-son (and grandfather) epic, "The Odyssey" together. How Odysseus felt after not seeing his home, his wife, his father, and his son for twenty years can't exactly be paired with a man's life two thousand years later, but just the working through the passages of the epic with his father helped bring the two closer and helps Daniel understand - a bit - about his father."
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Best American Literature Criticism

Theft by Finding: Diaries (1977-2002)
A Goodreads Choice Awards nominee. David Sedaris tells all in a book that is, literally, a lifetime in the making For forty years, David Sedaris has kept a diary in which he records everything that captures his attention-overheard comments, salacious gossip, soap opera plot twists, secrets confided by total strangers. These are the three stages that all artists - with some variation - go through in their careers...So it's encouraging to read 25 years of David Sedaris's diaries, and not just because he manages to defeat Bloat. But through all 25 years of "Theft by Finding" - of soap opera addictions and spider feeding, family kookiness (Sedaris notes the day Charles Addams dies; it feels like the passing of a baton) and language lessons - Sedaris's developing voice is the lifeline that pulls him through the murk." Yet David Sedaris has somehow pulled it off...with eviscerating wit and radiant humanity...Fans will no doubt delight in the entries that will turn into Sedaris's most beloved essays." "Sedaris fans will thrill to this opportunity to poke around in the writer's personal diaries, which he has faithfully kept for four decades and used as raw material for his hilarious nonfiction as well as his performances." "Sedaris' diaries are the wellspring for his cuttingly funny autobiographical essays, and he now presents a mesmerizing volume of deftly edited passages...Sedaris is caustically witty about his bad habits and artistic floundering...A candid, socially incisive, and sharply amusing chronicle of the evolution of an arresting comedic artist." "A David Sedaris book is always a welcome addition to any personal library - his hilarity, his self-deprecation, his compassion for (and amusement with) the human condition, and his clear joy at making his readers laugh out loud are all what make a David Sedaris book great.
Reviews
"David has become the PG Woodhouse of his era."
"Love David and his writing, and this book doesn’t disappoint."
"Loved this look into David Sedaris' early years, before he was "famous"!"
"Not his best, but good enough if you are a fan."
"All the wit and charm and wry wonder you expect from David Sedaris is here."
"Didn't expect this to be as entertaining as it was."
"Bought for my husband who loves David sedaris and he didn’t like it."
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Best Science & Scientists Humor

What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
From the creator of the wildly popular webcomic xkcd, hilarious and informative answers to important questions you probably never thought to ask. In pursuit of answers, Munroe runs computer simulations, pores over stacks of declassified military research memos, solves differential equations, and consults with nuclear reactor operators. Fortunately, such people can turn to Randall Munroe, the author of the XKCD comic strip loved by fans of internet culture. For Munroe, who writes with a clarity and wit honed over eight years of writing captions for his webcomic, the fact that a question might be impossible to solve is no deterrent to pursuing it.” —Wall Street Journal Speakeasy blog. while dealing with relationships and the meaning of a computer-centric life, xkcd has become required reading for techies across the world….The Internet has also created a bond between Mr. Munroe and his readers that is exceptional. "With his steady regimen of math jokes, physics jokes, and antisocial optimism, xkcd creator Randall Munroe, a former NASA roboticist, scores traffic numbers in NBC.com or Oprah.com territory. [A]t its best [xkcd] isn’t a strip comic so much as an idea factory and a shared experience."
Reviews
"I love the blog and was really looking forward to this book, but buying the kindle edition was a mistake."
"This is a great way to enjoy older questions and answers over again, updated, and to share them with new people, and the new questions and answers - never featured on the website - are delightful; I won't spoil it for you, but my favorite has to be the answer to "If a bullet with the density of a neutron star were fired from a handgun (ignoring the how) at the Earth's surface, would the Earth be destroyed?" If you have even a passing interest in science and ever enjoy daydreaming about the fantastic or the ridiculous, this book is for you. Gift season is coming up; thanks to this book my Christmas shopping will be a great deal easier."
"Randall Munroe hits that oddball humor sweet spot with zany questions and actual, scientific--and most importantly, interesting--answers."
"Randall Munroe's XKCD is a cornerstone of the World-Wide Web, and he brings the same intelligence and overabundance of careful research here to absolutely hilarious (and often randomly awesome or terrible) questions."
"Best bathroom book ever... and I mean that in the very best possible way you can imagine."
"All wrapped up in a well made book sufficient for display."
"Whether it's taking a dip in a nuclear reactor cooling pool, or halting the earth's spin just to see what would happen, Monroe accepts the intellectual challenge and delivers with gusto."
"They're hyperlinked, and you can use the links on the footnote to jump back But the page bounds move slightly every time, and notes near the top activate the Kindle options rather than the footnote."
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Best Business & Professional Humor

Win Bigly: Persuasion in a World Where Facts Don't Matter
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From the creator of Dilbert , an unflinching look at the strategies Donald Trump used to persuade voters to elect the most unconventional candidate in the history of the presidency, and how anyone can learn his methods for succeeding against long odds. Scott Adams—a trained hypnotist and a lifelong student of persuasion—was one of the earliest public figures to predict Trump’s win, doing so a week after Nate Silver put Trump’s odds at 2 percent in his FiveThirtyEight.com blog. But Adams recognized in Trump a level of persuasion you only see once in a generation. “Win Bigly taught me how to persuade my boss to treat me with slightly less contempt.”. —Dilbert. “If I’m being honest, Win Bigly is better than all other books and at least one play.”. —Abe Lincoln.
Reviews
"It has me questioning everything I feel like I have a solid rational opinion on and is helping me understand why it is that people who I think are reasonable in other instances can believe in things that I think are so obviously wrong. It goes without saying that very few people will agree with everything in this book, but the author is interesting, thoughtful, and he presents techniques that are simple enough you can test out in real life to see if they are effective or not."
"He gives current, real world examples taken from the Trump and Clinton campaign to illustrate how our brains respond to different forms of persuasion and how we can adopt them ourselves to affect change, and hopefully change for the good. If you're familiar with his work, this is a good refresher to help you improve your master persuasion, and if you're not, this will give you some insight on both interesting elements of the 2016 election, and how you can apply the techniques, and avoid the pitfalls, of what helped and hindered both campaign teams."
"One of the best features of the book is that Adams gives you little marketing lessons in side notes that apply to the chapter they are in. Whatever you think of Donald Trump, this is a convincing (and entertaining) book about the marketing principles and strategies Trump used to gather a growing loyal base, and eliminate the competition. Trump may not know much about politics, but he sure knew a lot about marketing. This book outlines how Donald Trump did it, what marketing principles and strategies were used, and the results. Adams makes it clear that just because he may admire the marketing savvy of Donald Trump, he isn't a huge supporter. Adams also spends some time explaining why Trump's techniques worked on the public, and why we are susceptible to such manipulation in marketing and advertising.. This is the only book I've seen that covers the marketing methods used to win a political election. Adams gives Trump himself credit for the marketing techniques used in the campaign."
"He very calmly and objectively shares his observations on Trump, without calling him Hitler or God's gift to the country."
"This is a great introduction to persuasion and how it affected the U.S. presidential election."
"The authors is ridiculous about the claims that only he saw the president win the election when no one else did."
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Best Hunting & Fishing Humor

Too Fat to Fish
Lange provided what Stern had yet to find all in the same place: a wit quick enough to keep pace with his own, a pathetic self-image to dwarf his own, a personal history both heartbreaking and hilarious, and an ingrained sense of self-sabotage that continually keeps things interesting. A natural storyteller with a bottomless pit of material, Lange grew up in a close-knit, working-class Italian family in Union, New Jersey, a maniacal Yankees fan who pursued the two things his father said he was cut out for—sports and comedy. This debut memoir from the comedian best known as Howard Stern's radio show sidekick is scrappy, funny, tumultuous and profane, just like its author. Lange, a self-proclaimed fat guy with a heroin problem, is difficult to love, but easy to like, his shaggy-dog life story full of derogatory self-awareness and cheerful vulgarity (often in the form of casual profanity and sexism).
Reviews
"Thanks Artie for a great book."
"Despite several stories being retold or similar to ones heard in the other bestseller, there is enough original Artie Lange storytelling here to keep true fans entertained, and should not disappoint fan's of the Stern Show either, as his years at the hit radio show are heavily discussed throughout the book, as well as Artie's earlier life."
"Artie has had a roller-coaster of a life and he pulls no punches even when telling many very embarrassing stories about himself."
"Bought the Audio CD version as I was taking long drives for work and enjoyed him reading his own story."
"I've been a long time listener of the Stern Show and I fully welcomed the replacement of Jackie."
"I loved the book."
"I'd like to thank Artie for sharing his story with me...I've been in his shoes plenty of times and I know it can be a real struggle to stay on the right path...good on ya mate!"
"I love Artie like I love my crazy uncle and he doesn't even know me."
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Best Sports Humor

Basketball (and Other Things): A Collection of Questions Asked, Answered, Illustrated
BASKETBALL (AND OTHER THINGS) presents readers with a set of pivotal and ridiculous questions from basketball history, providing arguments and answers, explained with the wit and wisdom that is unique to Shea Serrano. With incredible art from Arturo Torres, this book is a must-have for anyone who has ever stayed up late into the night debating basketball's greatest moments, what-ifs, stories, and legends, or for those who are discovering the mythology of basketball for the first time. ( Men's Journal ) “ With colorful, comic-book depictions of Spurs great Tim Duncan and other NBA stars by artist Arturo Torres, Serrano drops some serious and seriously funny knowledge on a sprawling range of hoops debates.“. ( Esquire ). “Even if you’re a basketball novice or die-hard Spurs fan like Shea, this is a perfect companion to his Rap Year Book: full of myths, what-ifs, and hyperspecific fanaticism.”.
Reviews
"This is the most essential piece of media since the 1993 film Blood In Blood Out."
"They put these pajamas on him that made him look like a fox as he left the hospital and it to this day is probably the best thing I have ever seen with my own two eyes. In that moment it was this incredible combination feeling of pure joy and fear and love and anxiety and excitement and terror and everything was perfect."
"I bought this as a gift to my 14 year old son who is obsessed with basketball."
"Got this as a gift, and she was apparently immediately liked by the author after sharing her photo with it."
"Definitely contains adult language, but it adds the salt and flavor needed for a man who loves basketball."
"On the other hand, Shea is super awesome, a former middle school teacher turned twitter hero."
"All anyone can ever ask for in a sports book is to be made to laugh, made to learn and made to think - and my God Shea does that on every page."
"20 something son loves this book!"
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Best Theories of Humor

Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
Praised throughout the cartoon industry by such luminaries as Art Spiegelman, Matt Groening, and Will Eisner, Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics is a seminal examination of comics art: its rich history, surprising technical components, and major cultural significance. “If you read, write, teach or draw comics; if you want to; or if you simply want to watch a master explainer at work, you must read this book.” (Neil Gaiman). “Cleverly disguised as an easy-to-read comic book, Scott McCloud’s simple-looking tome deconstructs the secret language of comics while casually revealing secrets of time, space, art and the cosmos!
Reviews
"Helpful for not just understanding comics, but also the concepts of semiotics."
"Excellent book selection for learning the history of comics!"
"This book is an incredible read for anyone interested in comic books."
"I consider this book as important as Richard William's Animator's Survival Kit and The Illusion Of Life by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnson."
"This book is very well written and the ideas are clearly explained."
"It's everything I wanted a comic about comics to be."
"For example, it isn't a history of comics or a how-to book for aspiring comics artists, but McCloud does show different ways of drawing the same thing, and points out how each different style carries a slightly different message for the reader."
"McCloud's books are amazing!"
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Best Love, Sex & Marriage Humor

Go the F**k to Sleep
" Go the F*** to Sleep challenges stereotypes, opens up prototypes, and acknowledges that shared sense of failure that comes to all parents who weary of ever getting their darling(s) to sleep and briefly resuming the illusion of a life of their own." Seriously, Just Go to Sleep, a children's book inspired by Go the F*** to Sleep and appropriate for kids of all ages, is also available, as well as Seriously, You Have to Eat for finicky ones everywhere! Adam Mansbach's novels include The End of the Jews, winner of the California Book Award, and the best-selling Angry Black White Boy, a San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of 2005.
Reviews
"I was shocked to find that some reviewers, apparently completely forgot to read the title of the book before purchasing. For those parents who do have a sense of humor and who may not find profanity particularly offensive and who live in the real world. It's real, overworked, frustrated beyond belief, about to loose your mind at 3am, inner parent monologue. Samuel L. Jackson should narrate a book for every single stage of life, from being born to the grave. This book is one that will be shared from one exhausted, fed up, delusional, red eyed, sleep deprived parent to another."
"I purchased this book as a 21st birthday gift for my best friend."
"If you have a child that fights sleep, this book may be for you."
"Then they said their baby wouldn't need it - that they knew how to make babies sleep really well."
"Nor should you purchase this book if you do not have a sense of humor."
"I gave this book to my best friend who is due any day now and she could not stop laughing."
"If you have had children, you have said and or thought what is written in this book."
"It is cleverly written in a tone that only the most desperately tired mom or dad could understand."
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Best Parenting & Families Humor

Go the F**k to Sleep
" Go the F*** to Sleep challenges stereotypes, opens up prototypes, and acknowledges that shared sense of failure that comes to all parents who weary of ever getting their darling(s) to sleep and briefly resuming the illusion of a life of their own." Seriously, Just Go to Sleep, a children's book inspired by Go the F*** to Sleep and appropriate for kids of all ages, is also available, as well as Seriously, You Have to Eat for finicky ones everywhere! Adam Mansbach's novels include The End of the Jews, winner of the California Book Award, and the best-selling Angry Black White Boy, a San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of 2005.
Reviews
"I was shocked to find that some reviewers, apparently completely forgot to read the title of the book before purchasing. For those parents who do have a sense of humor and who may not find profanity particularly offensive and who live in the real world. It's real, overworked, frustrated beyond belief, about to loose your mind at 3am, inner parent monologue. Samuel L. Jackson should narrate a book for every single stage of life, from being born to the grave. This book is one that will be shared from one exhausted, fed up, delusional, red eyed, sleep deprived parent to another."
"One for his first child and one for his second child."
"I do not recommend this for the uptight, no sense of humor kind of person or for the children unless you change it out for 'heck'....maybe."
"When the source of sleep deprivation is a small child, it is mind numbing relentless torture."
"The helpless feeling of not being able to get your little one to sleep is captured perfectly in this hilarious adults bedtime story!"
"I purchased this book as a 21st birthday gift for my best friend."
"A great shower or first baby gift for those parents with a sense of humor."
"If you have a child that fights sleep, this book may be for you."
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Best Lawyers & Criminals Humor

In a Sunburned Country
Despite the fact that Australia harbors more things that can kill you in extremely nasty ways than anywhere else, including sharks, crocodiles, snakes, even riptides and deserts, Bill Bryson adores the place, and he takes his readers on a rollicking ride far beyond that beaten tourist path.
Reviews
"I'm a sexagenarian who, on a recent vacation, happened to walk out and back on the first three miles or so of the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail (Springer Mtn, GA) and, in a fit of exhilaration, decided then and there that I would, by golly, hike the AT before I died. As I was joyfully entertained by his incisive sense of humor, I was simultaneously and seriously learning history, biology, geology (and several other -ologies) as well as being discomfitted by Bryson's documentation of our culture's dismissive practices regarding ecology."
"Read one and except for a few events, you've pretty much read them all and almost any extended backpacking trip involves the same rigors, risks, weather and that mixture of misery and exhilaration."
"Bill's storytelling captured me immediately...I was taking every step he took, I enjoyed every vista he looked out on, I was eavesdropping on his conversations with his fellow hikers and feeling the spectrum of emotions held for his friend and hiking companion."
"An adventure that walks you experientially and historically through the nation's longest series of trails from Georgia to Maine while feeling every fear from blisters, hunger, thirst, wildlife, climate changes, man's limitations and nature's nuances, all the while trekking with a forty pound pack on your back, and any one of these could do you in, well it's a wonder why the wild is so compelling."
"After reading Bryson's African Diary, I had to continue on with this offering on the Australian state of affairs."
"With the film in theaters, I decided to pick it up and give it a go. I loved this book, and place it among Jon Krakauer's "Into the Wild," Cheryl Strayed's "Wild," and Elizabeth Gilbert's "The Last American Man" in terms of well-written essays that explore our yearning to return to a simpler, untethered way of life."
"Unfortunately some of his stories about what happened to people along the trail, made me not that interested in walking any trail."
"I think Bill Bryson is an incredibly good writer whose humor extends to poking as much fun at himself as he does at others."
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Best Computers & Internet Humor

Dangerous
The liberal media machine did everything they could to keep this book out of your hands. ''Fat people will hate this book.''.
Reviews
"As an information professional I have always been very interested in intellectual freedom issues and am a card carrying member of the Freedom to Read Foundation so as soon as my industry colleagues began to tell me how dangerous Dangerous would be, I knew I had to read it as soon as possible. I emailed my old Intellectual Freedom & Censorship professor from grad school about the cancellation and her response was that Milo already had a platform so it's not the same type of insidious censorship. It is important to be mindful that censorship can come from both the political right and the political left. It seemed a bit ironic to me that all these alleged advocates of free speech were refusing to get a book called Dangerous because it would be too dangerous for people to read. Milo was more invigorating to read than Trump, probably because he is by trade a professional word slinging journalist. I'm not saying I agree with literally all the things Milo Yiannopoulos says or stands for but that doesn't matter. Dangerous is a decent book and censorship is dangerous."
"I pre-ordered the book out of curiosity, there was so much controversy when Simon and Schuster cancelled the book deal."
"As a gay man who has seen not just the gay rights movement but the entire progressive movement hijacked by Marxist regressives, Milo is and has always been a breath of fresh air. Milo comes back from a takedown that would have left most people in hiding."
"You don't have to like who he is, you might not like the way he looks or speaks or expresses his thoughts, but what he stands for is EVERYTHING that we are slowly losing as the media outlets take control of manipulating everything we see and hear."
"It is extraordinarily funny, and gets the modern conservative viewpoint across in a way that stereotypical stuffy conservatives can only imagine. While I have tried my best to encourage free-thinking in her impressionable young mind, the mindset in her public school has her believing all sorts of PC based nonsense. I asked for specific examples, but they have thus far been unable or unwilling to give examples."
"Milo is absolutely correct in the following excerpt from "Dangerous". "In short, I’m the Left’s worst nightmare: a living, breathing refutation of identity politics, and proof that free speech and the truth wrapped in a good joke will always be more persuasive and more powerful than identity politics.""
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Best Religious Humor

The Tao of Pooh
Happy 90th birthday (10/14/16), to one of the world's most beloved icons of literature, Winnie-the-Pooh! In which it is revealed that one of the world's great Taoist masters isn't Chinese--or a venerable philosopher--but is in fact none other than that effortlessly calm, still, reflective bear. As a child, he preferred to spend his time outdoors, observing animals, insects, and plants.
Reviews
"It IS for adults, but I read segments to my daughter and use it to teach her Taoist principles in simpler terms."
"Benjamin Hoff really blessed humanity with a gem."
"Hoff makes a good point in joining the Taoist teachings to (Tao Master) Pooh Bear."
"Best book ever."
"Insightfully true to the original."
"Great book, simplifies philosophy in a humorous way."
"gr8 book."
"Could not get into it, gave it away."
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Best Doctors & Medicine Humor

The House of God
By turns heartbreaking, hilarious, and utterly human, The House of God is a mesmerizing and provocative novel about Roy Basch and five of his fellow interns at the most renowned teaching hospital in the country. “A wildly funny, sad, laugh-out-loud, frightening, outrageous, thought-provoking, moving book…a story of modern medicine rarely, if ever, told.”— The Houston Chronicle.
Reviews
"Absolutely a requirement for anyone in the medical field -- especially newcomers, interns, new nurses, patients who need to know how the hospital experience will work (or not work) &c. Hilarious-because-its-true details of the writer's intern year in a major Boston teaching hospital."
"This book is the "Catch 22" for medicine."
"Samuel Shem has created pages and pages of realistic medical training, I would be interested in reading a critique of the. Fat Man."
"I read that book a lot during my internship and residency. The only comparison to this experience was "The Hospital", script by Paddy Cheyefskie (I forgot how to spell his last name)."
"Though this was a requirement as part of a small learning group at my medical school, I couldn't be happier to have pulled and rushed through this book."
"I had a similar experience in my medical training, I felt that matters to him personally and I am myself moving to psychiatry."
"I remember reading this book back in he 80's when I first got out of nursing school."
"Nice to hear how his intern year went back in the day, unfortunately that doesn't make me like the him in the book any more."
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Best Cat, Dog & Animal Humor

I Could Pee on This: And Other Poems by Cats
Cat lovers will laugh out loud at the quirkiness of their feline friends with these insightful and curious poems from the singular minds of housecats. In four cat-egories - family, work, play, and existence - Francesco Marciuliano (writer of the comic strip "Sally Forth") has given voice to cats' 'every desire, their every conflict, their every epiphany.'. From expressing their love for dead mice to pulling over Christmas trees, cats reveal their genius and neuroses". Shelf Awareness. "With poems like 'Who Is That On Your Lap,' 'Nudge' and 'Kneel Before Me,' this quirky book will surely induce laughter and whimsical from all who decide to delve into its poetry."
Reviews
"The book is a small hard-cover that fits on a table without taking up a lot of space. Cat portraits showing our furry brethren in cute and/or compromising poses illustrate the pages."
"Just received "I Could Pee on This: And Other Poems by Cats" today and have already finished it, wiping the tears of laughter as I went along."
"This is a cute book, and enjoyable."
"The author Francesco Marciuliano clearly understands cats, and his poems seemed to come directly from cats."
"The recipient also found it to be funny and very apt in it's descriptions of our interactions with felines."
"I recommend this adorable book to cat lovers."
"I love kittens and cats and always have wondered what's going on in their minds."
"I understand that the cute kitten pictures add to the funniness of the book, the material can still be reformatted to work on all platforms."
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Best Political Humor

Al Franken, Giant of the Senate
It's a book about what happens when the nation's foremost progressive satirist gets a chance to serve in the United States Senate and, defying the low expectations of the pundit class, actually turns out to be good at it. In this candid personal memoir, the honorable gentleman from Minnesota takes his army of loyal fans along with him from Saturday Night Live to the campaign trail, inside the halls of Congress, and behind the scenes of some of the most dramatic and/or hilarious moments of his new career in politics. "The best political book of 2017. "[AL FRANKEN, GIANT OF THE SENATE] may...be the funniest memoir by a sitting - standing, recumbent, squatting - U.S. senator. This is a genuinely funny book, often hilarious...the Senate, and the country, would be the poorer without him. [Franken] uses self-deprecating humor to poke fun at everyone on either side of the aisle, and he gives readers insight into the daily workings of life in the Senate.
Reviews
"That seemed like it was tough on him, and this memoir makes it clear just how tough it was, not only because Franken had been professionally funny for decades, but also because Franken had always used humor to say whatever he pleased throughout his life. This book is very funny, and Franken both borrows and satirizes the tropes of the traditional political bio in telling his own strange story of his rise to office. Because Franken gives himself leave to be funny again in this book, he is also very honest about his colleagues, the state of American politics, and himself."
"Read first half before he resigned and just recently finished it."
"Funny, informative and enligthening."
"Because the book was so compelling, I had to put off reading the last few pages in order to avoid the end of the book."
"Al Franken provides valuable insight into the workings of the senate and the behavior of his collegues."
"A really funny yet really Informative book."
"Good read and interesting."
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Best Rural Life Humor

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life
Author Barbara Kingsolver and her family abandoned the industrial-food pipeline to live a rural life—vowing that, for one year, they’d only buy food raised in their own neighborhood, grow it themselves, or learn to live without it. The book's bulk, written and read by Kingsolver in a lightly twangy voice filled with wonder and enthusiasm, proceeds through the seasons via delightful stories about the history of their farmhouse, the exhausting bounty of the zucchini harvest, turkey chicks hatching and so on.
Reviews
"This was a wonderful book that will change the way you look at food, how it is grown, processed, transported and satisfies our nutritional and emotional needs."
"All I can say is excellent, excellent, excellent!"
"Good info infused throughout story but at times a little too technical."
"WOW, so much to think about!"
"I have not finished the book, it is a year in the life of a family who moves from Arizona to the East, and it contains several stories where I thought Aye, why do they do this..."
"Positives = Organic, Pesticide Free, Grown in Backyard. - The idea of trying to eating locally and doing so much of it yourself is impressive, no questions asked. - Kingsolver's writing made me want to read her works of fiction- there's a fluidity of language and an ability to describe that I definitely can appreciate. - I learned a lot about growing your own food, eating locally and the politics behind agriculture. Negatives = Hamburgers from McDonalds, GMOs, and Twinkies. - I try so hard to eat my fruits and veggies, but after reading this I felt a little discouraged."
"I loved having chapters written by different family members."
"She along with support from a few family members and the farm manager have set up four tunnels over the last three years, sells at five of the local markets and to local eateries. SO....reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle gave me additional insight in ways I could offer support to her and the farm."
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Best Cooking Humor

Fifty Shades of Chicken: A Parody in a Cookbook
Dripping Thighs, Sticky Chicken Fingers, Vanilla Chicken, Chicken with a Lardon, Bacon-Bound Wings, Spatchcock Chicken, Learning-to-Truss-You Chicken, Holy Hell Wings, Mustard-Spanked Chicken, and more, more, more! Fifty chicken recipes, each more seductive than the last, in a book that makes every dinner a turn-on. A parody in three acts—“The Novice Bird” (easy recipes for roasters), “Falling to Pieces” (parts perfect for weeknight meals), and “Advanced Techniques” (the climax of cooking)— Fifty Shades of Chicken is a cookbook of fifty irresistible, repertoire-boosting chicken dishes that will leave you hungry for more. With memorable tips and revealing photographs, Fifty Shades of Chicken will have you dominating dinner. Ingredients 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, patted dry with paper towels 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 1 teaspoon plus pinch coarse kosher salt ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 sweet onion, thinly sliced 1 cup white wine 1 bay leaf 1 cinnamon stick 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 tablespoon honey. Directions Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. In a large bowl, toss the chicken, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper together. In a small saucepan, simmer together onion, wine, bay leaf, cinnamon stick, and a pinch of salt until most of the liquid has evaporated, 15 to 20 minutes. Bake until chicken is no longer pink and onions are meltingly tender and caramelized, about 25 minutes.
Reviews
"I bought this for a Christmas gift exchange."
"This is a great book to have out on the kitchen shelf, its also good as a gift for the fans of the original book series."
"I purchased this book for my boss at work since she is a fan of the movies and her diet only allows her to eat chicken, but anyway, I looked through it before giving it as a gift and the content is great!"
"Well written recipes, fun pictures and a great cheeky gift."
"The perfect gift for a bachelorette party!"
"I gave this as part of a bridal shower gift."
"This is a funny book with actual pictures of the chicken dishes....it is based on 50 Shades of Grey."
"I wrapped a bow around the book with a note saying to be opened by final recipient only....didnt want to reveal it's juicy contents ahead of time."
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Best Language Humor

Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation
Featuring a foreword by Frank McCourt, and interspersed with a lively history of punctuation from the invention of the question mark in the time of Charlemagne to George Orwell shunning the semicolon, Eats, Shoots & Leaves makes a powerful case for the preservation of proper punctuation. Filled with dread at the sight of ubiquitous mistakes in store signs and headlines, Truss eloquently speaks to the value of punctuation in preserving the nuances of language.
Reviews
"I couldn't imagine enjoying a book on punctuation; Ms Truss' "Eats, Shoots, and Leaves" weaves together the marks, their history and the rules of punctuation with examples, quotes and commentary in a bright and delightful way."
"It doesn't teach too much in the way of punctuation but does a solid job of showing where we'd be without it."
"I've always been a punctuation nut, because my mom, who taught English, made me very aware."
"Rather, she uses irony, self-deprecating humor, and other techniques to make apostrophes, commas, full stops (periods), and more interesting. In fact, she inspires: Her explanation of colons and semi-colons prompted me to play with their usage; I’ve been experimenting with them ever since. And “cutting a dash?” Well—I must stop using them as an easy way to incorporate stream-of-consciousness thinking, but I haven’t quite elevated them to an art form."
"Very funny and thought provoking little book."
"Author Lynne Truss, a self professed punctuation stickler, writes with knowledge, passion, not to mention an entertaining jazzy wit, with the result that EATS, SHOOTS AND LEAVES is great fun and not a little instructive. She does use real world examples, like the title of the Sandra Bullock-Hugh Grant movie "Two Weeks Notice," in which the possessive apostrophe eluded everyone from the screenwriter upward through the ranks of the studio brass, but she never wastes time flaying the irresponsible."
"It's a book about punctuation, yes, but it's not nearly as dull as it sounds."
"Lots of information, but not clear if you are trying to learn proper punctuation."
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Best Urban Legends Humor

Skeleton Creek Series: Omnibus edition, books 1-4
Omnibus edition, books 1-4 in the Skeleton Creek series in one 820 page volume.
Reviews
"Going into the last week of school with 6th graders knowing that grades have all been submitted and their fate has been decided is rough. First you read the book.... Ryan's journal of events that are taking place AND THEN you watch a video from Sarah online. This book was so good that soon the 6th grade class next door was wondering what we were up to and wanted in on the action. We ended up reading the first 4 books of the series in the last 4 days of the school year!!!"
"My 9 yr old son and I love these books, we read them together.The Skeleton Creek books keep him interested and he actually wants to read, which we all know what a challenge for a parent that can be."
"The story takes place in Skeleton Creek, Oregon.The main character is Ryan McCray. My favorite part of the story was when Sarah Fincher and Ryan McCray were at the dredge and they think there was a ghost on the dredge."
"The book is full of emotion and question (As it is a mystery/horror book) that pulls in the ready until the very end. It is truly an amazing experience, from the themes regarding teens' relationships with parents, to the secretively of children and their relationships, this book can teach a lot to both young children and adults alike while still bringing them entertainment."
"I read this book, along with the other ones in the series, to my 6th grade students last school year."
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Best Limericks & Humorous Verse

Go the F**k to Sleep
" Go the F*** to Sleep challenges stereotypes, opens up prototypes, and acknowledges that shared sense of failure that comes to all parents who weary of ever getting their darling(s) to sleep and briefly resuming the illusion of a life of their own." Seriously, Just Go to Sleep, a children's book inspired by Go the F*** to Sleep and appropriate for kids of all ages, is also available, as well as Seriously, You Have to Eat for finicky ones everywhere! Adam Mansbach's novels include The End of the Jews, winner of the California Book Award, and the best-selling Angry Black White Boy, a San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of 2005.
Reviews
"I was shocked to find that some reviewers, apparently completely forgot to read the title of the book before purchasing. For those parents who do have a sense of humor and who may not find profanity particularly offensive and who live in the real world. It's real, overworked, frustrated beyond belief, about to loose your mind at 3am, inner parent monologue. Samuel L. Jackson should narrate a book for every single stage of life, from being born to the grave. This book is one that will be shared from one exhausted, fed up, delusional, red eyed, sleep deprived parent to another."
"I purchased this book as a 21st birthday gift for my best friend."
"If you have a child that fights sleep, this book may be for you."
"Then they said their baby wouldn't need it - that they knew how to make babies sleep really well."
"Nor should you purchase this book if you do not have a sense of humor."
"I gave this book to my best friend who is due any day now and she could not stop laughing."
"If you have had children, you have said and or thought what is written in this book."
"It is cleverly written in a tone that only the most desperately tired mom or dad could understand."
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Best Humor Essays

Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
Trevor was born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother at a time when such a union was punishable by five years in prison. Living proof of his parents’ indiscretion, Trevor was kept mostly indoors for the earliest years of his life, bound by the extreme and often absurd measures his mother took to hide him from a government that could, at any moment, steal him away. Finally liberated by the end of South Africa’s tyrannical white rule, Trevor and his mother set forth on a grand adventure, living openly and freely and embracing the opportunities won by a centuries-long struggle. It is also the story of that young man’s relationship with his fearless, rebellious, and fervently religious mother—his teammate, a woman determined to save her son from the cycle of poverty, violence, and abuse that would ultimately threaten her own life. Whether subsisting on caterpillars for dinner during hard times, being thrown from a moving car during an attempted kidnapping, or just trying to survive the life-and-death pitfalls of dating in high school, Trevor illuminates his curious world with an incisive wit and unflinching honesty. His stories weave together to form a moving and searingly funny portrait of a boy making his way through a damaged world in a dangerous time, armed only with a keen sense of humor and a mother’s unconventional, unconditional love. Born a Crime is not just an unnerving account of growing up in South Africa under apartheid, but a love letter to the author’s remarkable mother.” —Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times. “[An] unforgettable memoir.” — Parade “What makes Born a Crime such a soul-nourishing pleasure, even with all its darker edges and perilous turns, is reading Noah recount in brisk, warmly conversational prose how he learned to negotiate his way through the bullying and ostracism. In the end, Born a Crime is not just an unnerving account of growing up in South Africa under apartheid, but a love letter to the author’s remarkable mother.” —Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times. “You’d be hard-pressed to find a comic’s origin story better than the one Trevor Noah serves up in Born a Crime . [He] developed his aptitude for witty truth telling [and]…every hardscrabble memory of helping his mother scrape together money for food, gas, school fees, and rent, or barely surviving the temper of his stepfather, Abel, reveals the anxious wellsprings of the comedian’s ambition and success. If there is harvest in spite of blight, the saying goes, one does not credit the blight-but Noah does manage to wring brilliant comedy from it.” — O: The Oprah. Magazine “What makes Born a Crime such a soul-nourishing pleasure, even with all its darker edges and perilous turns, is reading Noah recount in brisk, warmly conversational prose how he learned to negotiate his way through the bullying and ostracism. “This isn't your average comic-writes-a-memoir: It’s a unique look at a man who is a product of his culture—and a nuanced look at a part of the world whose people have known dark times easily pushed aside.” —Refinery29. told through stories and vignettes that are sharply observed, deftly conveyed and consistently candid. Growing organically from them is an affecting investigation of identity, ethnicity, language, masculinity, nationality and, most of all, humanity—all issues that the election of Donald Trump in the United States shows are foremost in minds and hearts everywhere. What the reader gleans are the insights that made Noah the thoughtful, observant, empathic man who wrote Born a Crime . Here is a level-headed man, forged by remarkable and shocking life incidents, who is quietly determined and who knows where home and the heart lie. “A gifted storyteller, able to deftly lace his poignant tales with amusing irony.” — Entertainment Weekly. Among the many virtues of Born a Crime is a frank and telling portrait of life in South Africa during the 1980s and ’90s. Born a Crime offers Americans a second introduction to Trevor Noah, and he makes a real impression.” — Newsday. “An affecting memoir, Born a Crime [is] a love letter to his mother.” — The. Washington Post. Noah is quick with a disarming joke, and he skillfully integrates the parallel narratives via interstitial asides between chapters. Perhaps the most harrowing tales are those of his abusive stepfather, which form the book’s final act (and which Noah cleverly foreshadows throughout earlier chapters), but equally prominent are the laugh-out-loud yarns about going to the prom, and the differences between ‘White Church’ and ‘Black Church.’” — Publishers Weekly (starred review). Incisive, funny, and vivid, these true tales are anchored to his portrait of his courageous, rebellious, and religious mother who defied racially restrictive laws to secure an education and a career for herself—and to have a child with a white Swiss/German even though sex between whites and blacks was illegal. and his candid and compassionate essays deepen our perception of the complexities of race, gender, and class.” — Booklist (starred review).
Reviews
"Trevor Noah is a superb storyteller, and this memoir is his eloquent and touching account of growing up as the mixed race child of a single mother, living in poverty in deeply racist and sexist South Africa. Reminiscent of The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, it is a superbly written story of a perceptive and resilient child thriving in very difficult circumstances, and it beautifully captures these circumstances seen through the eyes of a child."
"I have to love a guy who finds comedy in tragedy and who gleefully spins yarns about experiences that would keep most of us in therapy for a lifetime. The heroine of the book is Noah's mother, a feisty lady with a solid rock faith, a gal who snubs her nose at things that don't make sense. He learned to navigate Apartheid society's complex system that divided people in to three groups: black, white, and colored. Noah was 'colored' with a 'black' Xhosa African mother and a 'white' Swiss father, his very existence implicating his parent's crime. He spoke multiple languages, Xhosa and Zulu and Afrikaans, and English, could fit into most groups, but felt affiliated to black culture."
"As a long time viewer of the Daily Show, I started watching as Trevor took over from Jon Stewart and while I've always thought he does a good job, I had no idea the depth of character and experiences that were below the surface of those cute dimples! He is a wonderful story teller, finding the right balance between relaying his experiences, weaving in the social atmosphere around it and doing it in such a way that even as an American reader, I was able to visualize the communities he was describing in rich detail."
"The Trevor tome is written without anger at the system but the love and devotion of his mother."
"What this book does do is describe life growing up during Apartheid in ways that probably most readers are not familiar with."
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Best Puns & Wordplay

Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a Literary Twist
Featuring 65 delicious drink recipes paired with wry commentary on history's most beloved novels, Tequila Mockingbird also includes bar bites, drinking games, and whimsical illustrations throughout.
Reviews
"Bought as a holiday gift for a book-lover."
"I do actually use this for mixed drink ideas, but more often it is used as a topic for discussion at parties when people see it sitting on my home bar!"
"Nice gift."
"It was a great success!"
"Gave this book to my daughter and husband along with the Historically Modern Design tequila glasses."
"was a Christmas gift, the person loved it."
"Only complaint, no martini recipes!"
"Purchased Christmas gift for my sister and she loved it!"
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Best Jokes & Riddles

Egghead: Or, You Can't Survive on Ideas Alone
A strange and charming collection of hilariously absurd poetry, writing, and illustration from one of today's most popular young comedians... EGGHEAD: Or, You Can't Survive on Ideas Alone. Comedy Central Records released his first full-length self-titled album in 2009, Words Words Words in 2010, and his album entitled what .
Reviews
"I bought this because I saw a picture of one of the pages on twitter and it's a good poetry collection."
"Highly recommended for fans of Bo Burnham and fans of poetry."
"His writing is very introspective."
"I love Bo's comedy."
"I hear these poems in Bo's voice when I read them, and that's not intended to be in a creepy way."
"I lended it to my friend who pretty much never reads, and he never gave it back, so that says something."
"If you love Bo Burnham standup, you'll love this book."
"If you enjoy Bo Burnham or if you simply desire a lighthearted read, this book would be a good fit for you."
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Best Satire

Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
Trevor was born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother at a time when such a union was punishable by five years in prison. Living proof of his parents’ indiscretion, Trevor was kept mostly indoors for the earliest years of his life, bound by the extreme and often absurd measures his mother took to hide him from a government that could, at any moment, steal him away. Finally liberated by the end of South Africa’s tyrannical white rule, Trevor and his mother set forth on a grand adventure, living openly and freely and embracing the opportunities won by a centuries-long struggle. It is also the story of that young man’s relationship with his fearless, rebellious, and fervently religious mother—his teammate, a woman determined to save her son from the cycle of poverty, violence, and abuse that would ultimately threaten her own life. Whether subsisting on caterpillars for dinner during hard times, being thrown from a moving car during an attempted kidnapping, or just trying to survive the life-and-death pitfalls of dating in high school, Trevor illuminates his curious world with an incisive wit and unflinching honesty. His stories weave together to form a moving and searingly funny portrait of a boy making his way through a damaged world in a dangerous time, armed only with a keen sense of humor and a mother’s unconventional, unconditional love. Born a Crime is not just an unnerving account of growing up in South Africa under apartheid, but a love letter to the author’s remarkable mother.” —Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times. “[An] unforgettable memoir.” — Parade “What makes Born a Crime such a soul-nourishing pleasure, even with all its darker edges and perilous turns, is reading Noah recount in brisk, warmly conversational prose how he learned to negotiate his way through the bullying and ostracism. In the end, Born a Crime is not just an unnerving account of growing up in South Africa under apartheid, but a love letter to the author’s remarkable mother.” —Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times. “You’d be hard-pressed to find a comic’s origin story better than the one Trevor Noah serves up in Born a Crime . [He] developed his aptitude for witty truth telling [and]…every hardscrabble memory of helping his mother scrape together money for food, gas, school fees, and rent, or barely surviving the temper of his stepfather, Abel, reveals the anxious wellsprings of the comedian’s ambition and success. If there is harvest in spite of blight, the saying goes, one does not credit the blight-but Noah does manage to wring brilliant comedy from it.” — O: The Oprah. Magazine “What makes Born a Crime such a soul-nourishing pleasure, even with all its darker edges and perilous turns, is reading Noah recount in brisk, warmly conversational prose how he learned to negotiate his way through the bullying and ostracism. “This isn't your average comic-writes-a-memoir: It’s a unique look at a man who is a product of his culture—and a nuanced look at a part of the world whose people have known dark times easily pushed aside.” —Refinery29. told through stories and vignettes that are sharply observed, deftly conveyed and consistently candid. Growing organically from them is an affecting investigation of identity, ethnicity, language, masculinity, nationality and, most of all, humanity—all issues that the election of Donald Trump in the United States shows are foremost in minds and hearts everywhere. What the reader gleans are the insights that made Noah the thoughtful, observant, empathic man who wrote Born a Crime . Here is a level-headed man, forged by remarkable and shocking life incidents, who is quietly determined and who knows where home and the heart lie. “A gifted storyteller, able to deftly lace his poignant tales with amusing irony.” — Entertainment Weekly. Among the many virtues of Born a Crime is a frank and telling portrait of life in South Africa during the 1980s and ’90s. Born a Crime offers Americans a second introduction to Trevor Noah, and he makes a real impression.” — Newsday. “An affecting memoir, Born a Crime [is] a love letter to his mother.” — The. Washington Post. Noah is quick with a disarming joke, and he skillfully integrates the parallel narratives via interstitial asides between chapters. Perhaps the most harrowing tales are those of his abusive stepfather, which form the book’s final act (and which Noah cleverly foreshadows throughout earlier chapters), but equally prominent are the laugh-out-loud yarns about going to the prom, and the differences between ‘White Church’ and ‘Black Church.’” — Publishers Weekly (starred review). Incisive, funny, and vivid, these true tales are anchored to his portrait of his courageous, rebellious, and religious mother who defied racially restrictive laws to secure an education and a career for herself—and to have a child with a white Swiss/German even though sex between whites and blacks was illegal. and his candid and compassionate essays deepen our perception of the complexities of race, gender, and class.” — Booklist (starred review).
Reviews
"Trevor Noah is a superb storyteller, and this memoir is his eloquent and touching account of growing up as the mixed race child of a single mother, living in poverty in deeply racist and sexist South Africa. Reminiscent of The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, it is a superbly written story of a perceptive and resilient child thriving in very difficult circumstances, and it beautifully captures these circumstances seen through the eyes of a child."
"I have to love a guy who finds comedy in tragedy and who gleefully spins yarns about experiences that would keep most of us in therapy for a lifetime. The heroine of the book is Noah's mother, a feisty lady with a solid rock faith, a gal who snubs her nose at things that don't make sense. He learned to navigate Apartheid society's complex system that divided people in to three groups: black, white, and colored. Noah was 'colored' with a 'black' Xhosa African mother and a 'white' Swiss father, his very existence implicating his parent's crime. He spoke multiple languages, Xhosa and Zulu and Afrikaans, and English, could fit into most groups, but felt affiliated to black culture."
"As a long time viewer of the Daily Show, I started watching as Trevor took over from Jon Stewart and while I've always thought he does a good job, I had no idea the depth of character and experiences that were below the surface of those cute dimples! He is a wonderful story teller, finding the right balance between relaying his experiences, weaving in the social atmosphere around it and doing it in such a way that even as an American reader, I was able to visualize the communities he was describing in rich detail."
"The Trevor tome is written without anger at the system but the love and devotion of his mother."
"What this book does do is describe life growing up during Apartheid in ways that probably most readers are not familiar with."
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Best Parody

Go the F**k to Sleep
" Go the F*** to Sleep challenges stereotypes, opens up prototypes, and acknowledges that shared sense of failure that comes to all parents who weary of ever getting their darling(s) to sleep and briefly resuming the illusion of a life of their own." Seriously, Just Go to Sleep, a children's book inspired by Go the F*** to Sleep and appropriate for kids of all ages, is also available, as well as Seriously, You Have to Eat for finicky ones everywhere! Adam Mansbach's novels include The End of the Jews, winner of the California Book Award, and the best-selling Angry Black White Boy, a San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of 2005.
Reviews
"I was shocked to find that some reviewers, apparently completely forgot to read the title of the book before purchasing. For those parents who do have a sense of humor and who may not find profanity particularly offensive and who live in the real world. It's real, overworked, frustrated beyond belief, about to loose your mind at 3am, inner parent monologue. Samuel L. Jackson should narrate a book for every single stage of life, from being born to the grave. This book is one that will be shared from one exhausted, fed up, delusional, red eyed, sleep deprived parent to another."
"I purchased this book as a 21st birthday gift for my best friend."
"If you have a child that fights sleep, this book may be for you."
"Then they said their baby wouldn't need it - that they knew how to make babies sleep really well."
"Nor should you purchase this book if you do not have a sense of humor."
"I gave this book to my best friend who is due any day now and she could not stop laughing."
"If you have had children, you have said and or thought what is written in this book."
"It is cleverly written in a tone that only the most desperately tired mom or dad could understand."
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Best Comedy

Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
Trevor was born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother at a time when such a union was punishable by five years in prison. Living proof of his parents’ indiscretion, Trevor was kept mostly indoors for the earliest years of his life, bound by the extreme and often absurd measures his mother took to hide him from a government that could, at any moment, steal him away. Finally liberated by the end of South Africa’s tyrannical white rule, Trevor and his mother set forth on a grand adventure, living openly and freely and embracing the opportunities won by a centuries-long struggle. It is also the story of that young man’s relationship with his fearless, rebellious, and fervently religious mother—his teammate, a woman determined to save her son from the cycle of poverty, violence, and abuse that would ultimately threaten her own life. Whether subsisting on caterpillars for dinner during hard times, being thrown from a moving car during an attempted kidnapping, or just trying to survive the life-and-death pitfalls of dating in high school, Trevor illuminates his curious world with an incisive wit and unflinching honesty. His stories weave together to form a moving and searingly funny portrait of a boy making his way through a damaged world in a dangerous time, armed only with a keen sense of humor and a mother’s unconventional, unconditional love. Born a Crime is not just an unnerving account of growing up in South Africa under apartheid, but a love letter to the author’s remarkable mother.” —Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times. “[An] unforgettable memoir.” — Parade “What makes Born a Crime such a soul-nourishing pleasure, even with all its darker edges and perilous turns, is reading Noah recount in brisk, warmly conversational prose how he learned to negotiate his way through the bullying and ostracism. In the end, Born a Crime is not just an unnerving account of growing up in South Africa under apartheid, but a love letter to the author’s remarkable mother.” —Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times. “You’d be hard-pressed to find a comic’s origin story better than the one Trevor Noah serves up in Born a Crime . [He] developed his aptitude for witty truth telling [and]…every hardscrabble memory of helping his mother scrape together money for food, gas, school fees, and rent, or barely surviving the temper of his stepfather, Abel, reveals the anxious wellsprings of the comedian’s ambition and success. If there is harvest in spite of blight, the saying goes, one does not credit the blight-but Noah does manage to wring brilliant comedy from it.” — O: The Oprah. Magazine “What makes Born a Crime such a soul-nourishing pleasure, even with all its darker edges and perilous turns, is reading Noah recount in brisk, warmly conversational prose how he learned to negotiate his way through the bullying and ostracism. “This isn't your average comic-writes-a-memoir: It’s a unique look at a man who is a product of his culture—and a nuanced look at a part of the world whose people have known dark times easily pushed aside.” —Refinery29. told through stories and vignettes that are sharply observed, deftly conveyed and consistently candid. Growing organically from them is an affecting investigation of identity, ethnicity, language, masculinity, nationality and, most of all, humanity—all issues that the election of Donald Trump in the United States shows are foremost in minds and hearts everywhere. What the reader gleans are the insights that made Noah the thoughtful, observant, empathic man who wrote Born a Crime . Here is a level-headed man, forged by remarkable and shocking life incidents, who is quietly determined and who knows where home and the heart lie. “A gifted storyteller, able to deftly lace his poignant tales with amusing irony.” — Entertainment Weekly. Among the many virtues of Born a Crime is a frank and telling portrait of life in South Africa during the 1980s and ’90s. Born a Crime offers Americans a second introduction to Trevor Noah, and he makes a real impression.” — Newsday. “An affecting memoir, Born a Crime [is] a love letter to his mother.” — The. Washington Post. Noah is quick with a disarming joke, and he skillfully integrates the parallel narratives via interstitial asides between chapters. Perhaps the most harrowing tales are those of his abusive stepfather, which form the book’s final act (and which Noah cleverly foreshadows throughout earlier chapters), but equally prominent are the laugh-out-loud yarns about going to the prom, and the differences between ‘White Church’ and ‘Black Church.’” — Publishers Weekly (starred review). Incisive, funny, and vivid, these true tales are anchored to his portrait of his courageous, rebellious, and religious mother who defied racially restrictive laws to secure an education and a career for herself—and to have a child with a white Swiss/German even though sex between whites and blacks was illegal. and his candid and compassionate essays deepen our perception of the complexities of race, gender, and class.” — Booklist (starred review).
Reviews
"Trevor Noah is a superb storyteller, and this memoir is his eloquent and touching account of growing up as the mixed race child of a single mother, living in poverty in deeply racist and sexist South Africa. Reminiscent of The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, it is a superbly written story of a perceptive and resilient child thriving in very difficult circumstances, and it beautifully captures these circumstances seen through the eyes of a child."
"I have to love a guy who finds comedy in tragedy and who gleefully spins yarns about experiences that would keep most of us in therapy for a lifetime. The heroine of the book is Noah's mother, a feisty lady with a solid rock faith, a gal who snubs her nose at things that don't make sense. He learned to navigate Apartheid society's complex system that divided people in to three groups: black, white, and colored. Noah was 'colored' with a 'black' Xhosa African mother and a 'white' Swiss father, his very existence implicating his parent's crime. He spoke multiple languages, Xhosa and Zulu and Afrikaans, and English, could fit into most groups, but felt affiliated to black culture."
"As a long time viewer of the Daily Show, I started watching as Trevor took over from Jon Stewart and while I've always thought he does a good job, I had no idea the depth of character and experiences that were below the surface of those cute dimples! He is a wonderful story teller, finding the right balance between relaying his experiences, weaving in the social atmosphere around it and doing it in such a way that even as an American reader, I was able to visualize the communities he was describing in rich detail."
Find Best Price at Amazon
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