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Funny Letters from Famous People
by Charles Osgood WoodIn this humorous collection of celebrity wit, acclaimed broadcaster and humorist Charles Osgood offers witticisms penned by luminaries ranging from Abraham Lincoln to Andy Rooney. Known for his clever commentary and witty radio-show rhymes, Charles Osgood here selects and introduces a collection of hilarious correspondence from some of our best-loved politicians, authors, and stars of the stage and screen. Funny Letters from Famous People delivers rib-tickling communications from the likes of Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw, Flannery O'Connor, S. J. Perelman, Groucho Marx, Bob Hope, John Cheever and dozens more.Providing an entertaining look at celebrated lives, Osgood lets us glimpse Mark Twain squabbling with the gas company, Dwight D. Eisenhower kvetching to Mamie about Patton, and radio personality Fred Allen desperately seeking logic from his insurance carrier in one of comedy's most amusing epistles.Sprinkled throughout with Osgood's own humorous quips, Funny Letters from Famous People is a delightful compendium of clever letter writing at its side-splitting best.
Funny Man: Mel Brooks
by Patrick McGilliganA deeply textured and compelling biography of comedy giant Mel Brooks, covering his rags-to-riches life and triumphant career in television, films, and theater, from Patrick McGilligan, the acclaimed author of Young Orson: The Years of Luck and Genius on the Path to Citizen Kane and Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light.Oscar, Emmy, Tony, and Grammy award–winner Mel Brooks was behind (and sometimes in front the camera too) of some of the most influential comedy hits of our time, including The 2,000 Year Old Man, Get Smart, The Producers, Blazing Saddles, and Young Frankenstein. But before this actor, writer, director, comedian, and composer entertained the world, his first audience was his family.The fourth and last child of Max and Kitty Kaminsky, Mel Brooks was born on his family’s kitchen table in Brooklyn, New York, in 1926, and was not quite three-years-old when his father died of tuberculosis. Growing up in a household too poor to own a radio, Mel was short and homely, a mischievous child whose birth role was to make the family laugh. Beyond boyhood, after transforming himself into Mel Brooks, the laughs that came easily inside the Kaminsky family proved more elusive. His lifelong crusade to transform himself into a brand name of popular humor is at the center of master biographer Patrick McGilligan’s Funny Man. In this exhaustively researched and wonderfully novelistic look at Brooks’ personal and professional life, McGilligan lays bare the strengths and drawbacks that shaped Brooks’ psychology, his willpower, his persona, and his comedy. McGilligan insightfully navigates the epic ride that has been the famous funnyman’s life story, from Brooks’s childhood in Williamsburg tenements and breakthrough in early television—working alongside Sid Caesar and Carl Reiner—to Hollywood and Broadway peaks (and valleys). His book offers a meditation on the Jewish immigrant culture that influenced Brooks, snapshots of the golden age of comedy, behind the scenes revelations about the celebrated shows and films, and a telling look at the four-decade romantic partnership with actress Anne Bancroft that superseded Brooks’ troubled first marriage. Engrossing, nuanced and ultimately poignant, Funny Man delivers a great man’s unforgettable life story and an anatomy of the American dream of success.Funny Man includes a 16-page black-and-white photo insert.
The Funny Man: A Novel (A\novel Ser.)
by John WarnerThe funny man is a middling comic in an unnamed city. By day he takes care of his infant son, by night he performs in small clubs, sandwiched between other aspiring comics. His wife waits tables to support the family. It doesn't sound like much, but they're happy, more or less. Until the day he comes up with it. His thing. His gimmick. And everything changes. He's a headliner, and the venues get bigger fast. Pretty soon it's Hollywood and a starring role in a blockbuster, all thanks to the gimmick. Which is: He performs with his fist in his mouth to the wrist. Jokes, impressions, commercials--all with his fist in his mouth to the wrist. The people want him--are crazy for him--but only with his fist in his mouth. And the funny man, he is tired of having his fist in his mouth. Thus, as the novel begins, his career's in tatters, his family's left him, and he's on trial for shooting an unarmed man six times. But for the second time in his life, against all odds, he's found love. This time with another celebrity, who may or may not be sending him coded messages, and may or may not be equally in love--or even know he exists. A coruscating satire of our culture of celebrity, this debut novel documents one individual's slide from everyman to monster, even as it reveals the potential for grace--and mercy--in his life.
Funny on Purpose: The Definitive Guide to an Unpredictable Career in Comedy
by Joe Randazzo&“A guidebook to the world of professional humoring . . . Randazzo pulls off the rare trick of being funny while discussing comedy.&” —Michael Ian Black, The New York Times Book Review It takes guts to be a comedian, and it takes smarts to make a living off it. In this insider&’s guide, former Onion editor Joe Randazzo delivers a funny and insightful blueprint for those looking to turn their sense of humor into a vocation, and solicits advice and stories from the likes of Judd Apatow, Jack Handey, Weird Al Yankovic, Rob Delaney, Joan Rivers, Tim & Eric, Nick Kroll, Lisa Hanawalt, and more. Explaining how it works and how to break in, Joe provides tips and guidance, outlines successful career paths, and gives readers the knowledge and inspiration to launch a career in comedy with confidence. &“Covers an impressive range of comedy formats including standup, improv, sketch, TV, writing, directing, animation, and YouTube . . . includes tons of little details (reviews of websites that accept submissions, tips on how to create funny characters), any one of which might be the thing to jumpstart a comedian&’s success.&” —Publishers Weekly
Funny Pets: Laugh-out-loud pet facts! (Funny Nature #13)
by Paul MasonHeaps of funny facts and cartoons about our hilarious creature companions!Humans first invited animals into their homes thousands of years ago. Since then, it's been a laugh a minute! Sometimes it's the quirky creatures causing the giggles, sometimes the silly owners. With lively artwork and side-splitting jokes, we bring these relationships alive - and uncover the awesome science of animals. In Funny Pets you'll meet the stinkiest, noisiest, trickiest and of course the absolutely FUNNIEST pets on planet Earth!Funny Nature is a series of books presenting science learning through laughter. This series covers science topics including evolution, adaptation, habitats, anatomy, physiology, life cycles and much more! Perfect for fans of facts and fun aged 6+.Books in the Funny Nature series:Funny BeastsFunny BugsFunny DinosaursFunny PlantsFunny Human Body BitsFunny Pets
Funny Plants: Laugh-out-loud nature facts! (Funny Nature #3)
by Paul MasonHeaps of funny facts and cartoons about the plant world's most hilarious adaptations!Plants have developed some downright strange features and behaviours to survive day in and day out. This book's lively artwork and side-splitting jokes uncover the awesome science of the plant world. Meet the stickiest, the stinkiest, the trickiest and of course the absolutely funniest plants on planet Earth!Funny Nature is a series of books presenting science learning through laughter. Brought to you by the author and illustrator of The Poo That Animals Do, this series covers science topics including evolution, adaptation, habitats, anatomy, physiology, life cycles and much more! Perfect for fans of facts and fun aged 6+.Books in the Funny Nature series:Funny BeastsFunny BugsFunny DinosaursFunny Plants
Funny Shaped Balls: The Biggest Book of Sporting Jokes Ever
by Jonathan SwanOver 2,000 sporting funnies from every sport: football, rugby, cricket, golf, boxing,snooker and beyond...Two men fishing on a river bank in a canal in London on a Saturday afternoon miles away from a radio or TV. Suddenly one man turns to the other and says, 'Spurs have lost again.' The other man is astonished and says, 'How on earth do you know that?' The other man replies, 'It's quarter to five.'After the success of the George Foreman grill, Audley Harrison is launching his own toaster. The problem is it can only do four rounds.What does Steve Harmison put in his hands to make sure the next ball almost always takes a wicket? A bat
The Funny Side of Faith: A Lighthearted Look at Life in the Church
by Murray WattsOops! There's pie on our face More fun than a potluck supper, these delightful anecdotes, tongue-in-cheek wisecracks, and verbal miscues will leave you laughing in the aisles. Need a quip to lift your spirits? A one-liner for your next sermon? THE FUNNY SIDE OF FAITH serves up the inside scoop on God's family with delectible wit and humor. A delight to all who enjoy the gift of laughter. Best of all, the jokes are on us!
Funny Story
by Emily Henry#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ∙ A shimmering, joyful novel about a pair of opposites with the wrong thing in common, from #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry.A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2024Named a Must-Read Book of 2024 by TIME ∙ NPR ∙ ELLE ∙ Parade ∙ Woman&’s World and more! Daphne always loved the way her fiancé Peter told their story. How they met (on a blustery day), fell in love (over an errant hat), and moved back to his lakeside hometown to begin their life together. He really was good at telling it…right up until the moment he realized he was actually in love with his childhood best friend Petra.Which is how Daphne begins her new story: Stranded in beautiful Waning Bay, Michigan, without friends or family but with a dream job as a children&’s librarian (that barely pays the bills), and proposing to be roommates with the only person who could possibly understand her predicament: Petra&’s ex, Miles Nowak.Scruffy and chaotic—with a penchant for taking solace in the sounds of heart break love ballads—Miles is exactly the opposite of practical, buttoned up Daphne, whose coworkers know so little about her they have a running bet that she&’s either FBI or in witness protection. The roommates mainly avoid one another, until one day, while drowning their sorrows, they form a tenuous friendship and a plan. If said plan also involves posting deliberately misleading photos of their summer adventures together, well, who could blame them?But it&’s all just for show, of course, because there&’s no way Daphne would actually start her new chapter by falling in love with her ex-fiancé&’s new fiancée&’s ex . . . right?
A Funny Thing About Love
by The Estate of Rebecca FarnworthThe funny thing about love is that just when you think you've got it sorted, it turns round and bites you on the behind.Which is exactly what's happened to Carmen Miller.Her ex husband's girlfriend is pregnant, her career as a comedy agent is going down the pan, she's made a fool of herself with fellow agent Will Hunter, a man she's fancied for ages, and to cap it all she has to move out of her flat. Surely things can't get any worse. Moving down to Brighton to write the TV comedy series that she's always dreamed about, Carmen meets the divine Daniel. A man so gorgeous, she doesn't even mind that he's got long hair. It seems that Carmen's life is on the up again.Until, that is... love bites again.Looks like Carmen's back where she started. But could it be that love isn't the problem? Maybe she's just been choosing the wrong men.
The Funny Thing About Norman Foreman: A Novel
by Julietta Henderson"Charming, warm and uplifting...there is so much to love about this book."—Laurie Frankel, New York Times bestselling author of This is How It Always IsA triumphant and touching debut about the unlikeliest superstar you&’ll ever meet.Twelve-year-old Norman Foreman and his best friend, Jax, are a legendary comedic duo in waiting, with a plan to take their act all the way to the Edinburgh Fringe. But when Jax dies, Norman decides the only fitting tribute is to perform at the festival himself. The problem is, Norman&’s not the funny one. Jax was.There&’s also another, far more colossal objective on Norman&’s new plan that his single mom, Sadie, wasn&’t ready for: he wants to find the father he&’s never known. Determined to put a smile back on her boy&’s face, Sadie resolves to face up to her own messy past, get Norman to the Fringe and help track down a man whose identity is a mystery, even to her.Julietta Henderson&’s delightfully funny and tender debut takes us on a road trip with a mother and son who will live in the reader&’s heart for a long time to come, and teaches us that—no matter the odds—we must always reach for the stars.
A Funny Thing Happened . . .
by Caroline AndersonIt should have been so simpleAll architect Sam Bradley intended was a visit to his grandparents, but he hadn't allowed for the weather! A blizzard brought him to a standstill by a run-down farm, and he'd just met Jemima and her dogs when the power failed! That led to some funny-and not so funny-mishaps! Sam might not be a countryman, but he was totally gorgeous, and his strength around the farm was a godsend. But before Jemima would allow herself to fall in love with Sam, she did begin to wonder when he would remember her....
A Funny Thing Happened After School . . .
by Davide CaliIt's a race to do homework—in space! But first, there's a spaceship jam. Then there's the moon detour, the Mars alien exploration, and a stop on the gravity-defying International Space Station. And that's just the beginning! Henry and Ali want to get their homework done—they really do! But how are they supposed to study the solar system when they seem to be swept up in an endless series of interstellar surprises?From Davide Cali and Benjamin Chaud, the author-illustrator team behind I Didn't Do My Homework Because . . ., comes an action-packed, entertaining tale about trying to get your homework done, whether you're in—or out—of this world!
A Funny Thing Happened at the Museum . . .
by Davide Cali Benjamin ChaudThere's more to this museum than meets the eye! This is the wonderfully wacky world of celebrated international author-illustrator team Davide Cali and Benjamin Chaud, the duo behind Junior Library Guild selections I Didn't Do My Homework Because . . . , The Truth About My Unbelievable Summer . . . , and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to School . . . . Notoriously (and delightfully) unreliable narrator Henry is late to a museum where his class is spending the day. But he has a plan: He'll just catch up in one of the exhibits. That's not possible in these halls! With volcanoes erupting, dinosaurs charging, and secret stairwells lurking, reuniting with his classmates becomes a quest of outrageous proportions. Young readers will revel in this entertaining book's over-the-top antics.
A Funny Thing Happened at the Museum . . .: (funny Children's Books, Educational Picture Books, Adventure Books For Kids ) (A\funny Thing Happened Ser.)
by Benjamin Chaud Davide CaliThere's more to this museum than meets the eye! This is the wonderfully wacky world of celebrated international author-illustrator team Davide Cali and Benjamin Chaud, the duo behind Junior Library Guild selections I Didn't Do My Homework Because . . . , The Truth About My Unbelievable Summer . . . , and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to School . . . . Notoriously (and delightfully) unreliable narrator Henry is late to a museum where his class is spending the day. But he has a plan: He'll just catch up in one of the exhibits. That's not possible in these halls! With volcanoes erupting, dinosaurs charging, and secret stairwells lurking, reuniting with his classmates becomes a quest of outrageous proportions. Young readers will revel in this entertaining book's over-the-top antics.
A Funny Thing Happened On The Way: Discover the 1960s trend for buying land on a Greek island and building a house. How hard could it be…?
by Nancy Spain<p>The superb classic memoir from a dazzlingly eccentric and endlessly fascinating author and feminist icon - a woman very much ahead of her time - including her time spent on the glorious island of Skiathos<p> <p>Nancy Spain was one of the most celebrated - and notorious - writers and broadcasters of the 50s and 60s. Witty, controversial and brilliant, she lived openly as a lesbian (sharing a household with her two lovers and their various children) and was frequently litigated against for her newspaper columns - Evelyn Waugh successfully sued her for libel... twice.<p> <p>Nancy Spain had a deep love of the Mediterranean. So it was no surprise when, in the 1960s, she decided to build a place of her own on the Greek island of Skiathos. With an impractical nature surpassed only by her passion for the project, and despite many obstacles, she gloriously succeeded. This classic memoir is infused with all Spain's chaotic brilliance, zest for life and single-minded pursuit of a life worth living.<p>
A Funny Thing Happened On The Way: Discover the 1960s trend for buying land on a Greek island and building a house. How hard could it be…?
by Nancy SpainThe superb classic memoir from a dazzlingly eccentric and endlessly fascinating author and feminist icon - a woman very much ahead of her time - including her time spent on the glorious island of Skiathos'A happy, hilarious book' Daily ExpressNancy Spain was one of the most celebrated - and notorious - writers and broadcasters of the 50s and 60s. Witty, controversial and brilliant, she lived openly as a lesbian (sharing a household with her two lovers and their various children) and was frequently litigated against for her newspaper columns - Evelyn Waugh successfully sued her for libel... twice.Nancy Spain had a deep love of the Mediterranean. So it was no surprise when, in the 1960s, she decided to build a place of her own on the Greek island of Skiathos. With an impractical nature surpassed only by her passion for the project, and despite many obstacles, she gloriously succeeded. This classic memoir is infused with all Spain's chaotic brilliance, zest for life and single-minded pursuit of a life worth living.Perfect for fans of A PLACE IN THE SUN and ESCAPE TO THE COUNTRY'Full of fun, and that zest of intelligence that never left her' Sunday Times
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Delivery Room
by Kasey Michaels Kathleen Eagle Emilie RichardsThis single guy's biological clock's ticking and there's no bride in sight. How does he get a baby? Find out in New York Times bestselling author Kasey Michaels's love story Parents by Design. "Kasey Michaels delivers a humorous, poignant, powerful read." --bestselling author Joan Hohl. A hospital-bound single mother-to-be jumped into a taxicab and guessed she was in for the ride of her life--with the man of her dreams--in award-winning author Kathleen Eagle's Daddy's Girl. "Kathleen Eagle is unique and incomparable." --Harriet Klausner, Affaire de Caeur. He was talented, successful.. .and fatherhood was the last thing on his mind. But the stork--and a woman from his past--had other plans in bestselling writer Emilie Richards's A Stranger's Son. "Ms. Richards mesmerizes us with her vibrant storytelling." --Romantic Times.
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the White House: Humor, Blunders, and Other Oddities from the Presidential Campaign Trail
by Charles OsgoodCharles Osgood, one of America's favorite news personalities, offers a hilarious compendium of anecdotes from the last seventy years of presidential campaigns. With anecdotes from Harry Truman to JFK to George W. Bush, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the White House captures the wit and humor of the campaign trail. Culled from speeches, interviews, press conferences, as well as articles written by and about the candidates--no source is left untapped. From Bob Dole telling reporters after a loss in the primary that "I slept like a baby--every two hours I woke up and cried," and Barry Goldwater's comment that his talkative opponent Hubert Humphreys "has been clocked at 275 words a minute with gusts up to 340," to Adlai Stevenson declaring that "If I talk over the people's head, Ike must be talking under their feet," this is the go-to source for campaign humor. Just when America most needs a good laugh, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the White House makes the seemingly endless race to the presidency a lot more fun.
The Funny Thing Is...
by Ellen DeGeneresAn indispensable reference for anyone who knows how to read—or wants to fool people into thinking they do—The Funny Thing Is... is sure to make you laugh.Ellen DeGeneres published her first book of comic essays, the #1 bestselling My Point...And I Do Have One, way back in 1996. Not one to rest on her laurels, the witty star of stage and screen has since dedicated her life to writing a hilarious new book. That book is this book. After years of painstaking, round-the-clock research, surviving on a mere twenty minutes of sleep a night, and collaborating with lexicographers, plumbers, and mathematicians, DeGeneres has crafted a work that is both easy to use and very funny. Along with her trademark ramblings, The Funny Thing Is... contains hundreds of succinct insights into her psyche and offers innovative features including: -More than 50,000 simple, short words arranged in sentences that form paragraphs. -Thousands of observations on everyday life—from terrible fashion trends to how to handle seating arrangements for a Sunday brunch with Paula Abdul, Diane Sawyer, and Eminem. -All twenty-six letters of the alphabet.
A Funny Time to Be Gay
by Ed KarvoskiIn A Funny Time to Be Gay, Ed Karvoski Jr. traces the evolution of gay and lesbian comedy from the few pioneers in New York's Greenwich Village in the seventies, to the mavericks who played San Francisco's famed Valencia Rose in the eighties, to the comics who starred in their own TV specials in the nineties and continue to headline comedy clubs. Among the more than 30 humorists spotlighted... · TOM AMMIANO - longtime San Francisco elected official · JUDY CARTER - three-time author including The Homo Handbook· KATE CLINTON - three-time author including Don't Get Me Started · SABRINA MATTHEWS - star of own Comedy Central special· BOB SMITH - three-time author including Openly Bob and star of own HBO special· JASON STUART - frequent TV guest appearances · ROBIN TYLER - performer, producer and proprietor of a women's cruise line· SUZANNE WESTENHOEFER - star of own HBO special · DANNY WILLIAMS - longtime MC at RSVP Cruises ... and more! "To the next generation of showbiz hopefuls who are gay or lesbian and choose not to hide it: make a grand entrance onto the comedy-club stages and television and film studios. The closet door has been set ajar. As any of these openly gay and lesbians comics will tell you, 'A funny thing happened on the way out of the closet!'"-- Ed Karvoski Jr., from author's introduction
Funny Valentine
by Amy JenkinsStevie was a young woman who took life very seriously indeed: wouldn't drink coffee if it came from a chain, would never buy a card on Valentine's day. Why would she, of all people, be sent to spend a week with a film star? Why would she, of all people, fall in love with him? Why would she, of all people, get involved in the fame game? Why would she, of all people, send him a Valentine? A Valentine that blows it all apart. Funny Valentine.
Funny Valentine
by Amy JenkinsStevie was a young woman who took life very seriously indeed: wouldn't drink coffee if it came from a chain, would never buy a card on Valentine's day. Why would she, of all people, be sent to spend a week with a film star? Why would she, of all people, fall in love with him? Why would she, of all people, get involved in the fame game? Why would she, of all people, send him a Valentine? A Valentine that blows it all apart. Funny Valentine.
Funny, You Don't Look Funny: Judaism and Humor from the Silent Generation to Millennials
by Jennifer CaplanIn this comprehensive approach to Jewish humor focused on the relationship between humor and American Jewish practice, Jennifer Caplan calls us to adopt a more expansive view of what it means to "do Jewish," revealing that American Jews have, and continue to, turn to humor as a cultural touchstone. Caplan frames the book around four generations of Jewish Americans from the Silent Generation to Millennials, highlighting a shift from the utilization of Jewish-specific markers to American-specific markers. Jewish humor operates as a system of meaning-making for many Jewish Americans. By mapping humor onto both the generational identity of those making it and the use of Judaism within it, new insights about the development of American Judaism emerge. Caplan’s explication is innovative and insightful, engaging with scholarly discourse across Jewish studies and Jewish American history; it includes the work of Joseph Heller, Larry David, Woody Allen, Seinfeld, the Coen brothers films, and Broad City. This example of well-informed scholarship begins with an explanation of what makes Jewish humor Jewish and why Jewish humor is such a visible phenomenon. Offering ample evidence and examples along the way, Caplan guides readers through a series of phenomenological and ideological changes across generations, concluding with commentary regarding the potential influences on Jewish humor of later Millennials, Gen Z, and beyond.
Funny, You Don't Look Like a Grandmother
by Lois WyseSmart, warm, telling, and funny, Funny, Your Don't Look Like a Grandmother is the perfect bouquet for today's grandmother, that active and interesting woman who is old enough to be somebody's grandmother and young enough to run around the world.Lois Wyse's new book, charmingly illustrated by Lilla Rogers, is a collection of wit and wisdom for today's Nana, Grandma, Goo-Goo, or Gran.How can you recognize today's grandmother?Easy, says Wyse.The grandmother is the one who goes out more and complains less than her daughter. In the spirit of Erma Bombeck and Bill Cosby, Lois Wyse tells loving and amusing stories that illustrate the joys of contemporary grandmothering.According to Lois Wyse, "A mother becomes a true grandmother the day she stops noticing the terrible things her children do because she is so enchanted with the wonderful things her grandchildren do."Contemporary grandmothers and their children and grandchildren will see themselves in these reflections of family life that include everything from how it feels to become a grandmother to gentle advice on parenting and career grandmothers.Funny, You Don't Look Like a Grandmother is the first nontraditional book about grandmothers who may not look like grandmothers -- but who love as deeply as the generations of grannies who preceded them.From the Hardcover edition.