- Table View
- List View
Humorous American Short Stories: Selections from Mark Twain to Others Much More Recent (Dover Thrift Editions)
by Bob BlaisdellIncludes James Thurber's "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," a 2013 motion picture! Spanning nearly 300 years of American humor, this anthology of entertaining tales ranges from the inventive mind of Benjamin Franklin and his 1732 story, "Alice Addertongue," to Simon Rich's 2012 fable, "Center of the Universe." More than 30 witty short stories include works by Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, O. Henry, Langston Hughes, and other masters of the genre.Nineteenth-century stories include Washington Irving's classic, "Rip Van Winkle: A Posthumous Tale of Diedrich Knickerbocker," "A Jersey Centenarian" by Bret Harte, and Lucretia P. Hale's "The Peterkins Decide to Learn the Languages." From later eras come Ring Lardner's "The Golden Honeymoon," "A Telephone Call" by Dorothy Parker, "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" by James Thurber, Philip Roth's "The Conversion of the Jews," and "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
Humour
by Terry EagletonA compelling guide to the fundamental place of humour and comedy within Western culture—by one of its greatest exponents Written by an acknowledged master of comedy, this study reflects on the nature of humour and the functions it serves. Why do we laugh? What are we to make of the sheer variety of laughter, from braying and cackling to sniggering and chortling? Is humour subversive, or can it defuse dissent? Can we define wit? Packed with illuminating ideas and a good many excellent jokes, the book critically examines various well-known theories of humour, including the idea that it springs from incongruity and the view that it reflects a mildly sadistic form of superiority to others. Drawing on a wide range of literary and philosophical sources, Terry Eagleton moves from Aristotle and Aquinas to Hobbes, Freud, and Bakhtin, looking in particular at the psychoanalytical mechanisms underlying humour and its social and political evolution over the centuries.
Humour Theory and Stylistic Enquiry
by Taiwo Oloruntoba-OjuThis edited book brings together scholarly chapters on linguistic aspects of humour in literary and non-literary domains and contexts in different parts of the world. Previous scholarly engagements and theoretical postulations on humour and the comic provide veritable resources for reexamining the relationship between linguistic elements and comic sensations on the one hand, and the validity of interpretive humour stylistics on the other hand. Renowned Stylistics scholars, such as Michael Toolan, who writes the volume’s foreword against the backdrop of nearly four decades of scholarly engagement with stylistics, and Katie Wales, who in this volume engages with Charles Dickens, one of the most eminent satirists in English literature, as well as many other European and African authors who have worked ceaselessly in the area of humour and language, weigh in on the topic of language and humour in this volume. Together, they provide a variety of interesting perspectives on the topic, deploying different textual sources from different media and from different regions of the world. Part of the book’s offering includes integrative stylistic approaches to humour in African, European and American written texts, examinations of social media and political humour in Nigeria, Cameroon and Zimbabwe, pragmatics and humorous stance-taking, incongruity as comedy in works of fiction, and a unified levels of linguistic analysis approach to the investigation of humour. This book will be of interest to academics and students of Linguistics, Stylistics, Communications and Media Studies, and Humour Studies. Taiwo Oloruntoba-Oju is a Professor in the Department of English at the University of Ilorin in Nigeria
Humour and the Performance of Power in South Asia: Anxiety, Laughter and Politics in Unstable Times
by Sasanka Perera Dev Nath PathakThis book critically examines the role and politics of humour and the performance of power in South Asia. What does humour do and how does it manifest when lived political circumstances experience ruptures or instability? Can humour that emerges in such circumstances be viewed as a specific narrative on the nature of democracy in the region? Drawing upon essays from India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, this volume discusses many crucial historical and contemporary themes, including dance-drama performances in northern India; caste and stand-up comedy in India; cartoon narratives of citizens’ anxieties; civic participation through social media memes in Sri Lanka; media, politics and humorous public in Bangladesh; the politics of performance in India; and the influence of humour and satire as political commentaries. The volume explores the impact of humour in South Asian folklore, ritual performances, media and journalism, and online technologies. This topical and interdisciplinary book will be essential for scholars and researchers of cultural studies, political science, sociology and social anthropology, media and communication studies, theatre and performance studies, and South Asian studies.
Humour in Asian Cultures: Tradition and Context (Routledge Studies on Asia in the World)
by Jessica Milner DavisThis innovative book traces the impact of tradition on modern humour across several Asian countries and their cultures. Using examples from Japan, Korea, Indonesia and Chinese cultures in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, the contributors explore the different cultural rules for creating and sharing humour. Humour can be a powerful lubricant when correctly interpreted; mis-interpreted, it is likely to cause considerable setbacks. Over time, it has emerged and submerged in different periods and different forms in all these countries but today’s conventions still reflect traditional attitudes to and assumptions about what is appropriate in creating and using humour. Under close examination, Milner Davis and her colleagues show how forms and conventions that differ from those in the west can also be seen to possess elements in common. With examples including Mencian and other classical texts, Balinese traditional verbal humour, Korean and Taiwanese workplace humour, Japanese laughter ceremonies, performances and cartoons, as well as contemporary Chinese-language films and videos, they engage with a wide range of forms and traditions. This fascinating collection of studies will be of great interest to students and scholars of many Asian cultures, and also to those with a broader interest in humour studies. It highlights the increasing importance of understanding a wider range of cultural values in the present era of globalized communication and the importance of reliable studies of why and how cultures that are geographically related differ in their traditional uses of and assumptions about humour.
Humour in Old English Literature: Communities of Laughter in Early Medieval England
by Jonathan WilcoxHumour in Old English Literature deploys modern theories of humour to explore the style and content of surviving writing from early medieval England. The book analyses Old English riddles, wisdom literature, runic writing, the deployment of rhymes, and humour in heroic poetry, hagiography, and romance. Drawing on a fine-tuned understanding of literary technique, the book presents a revisionist view of Old English literature, partly by reclaiming often-neglected texts and partly by uncovering ironies and embarrassments within well-established works, including Beowulf. Most surprisingly, Jonathan Wilcox engages the large body of didactic literature, pinpointing humour in two anonymous homilies along with extensive use in saints’ lives. Each chapter ends by revealing a different audience that would have shared in the laughter. Wilcox suggests that the humour of Old English literature has been scantily covered in past scholarship because modern readers expect a dour and serious corpus. Humour in Old English Literature aims to break that cycle by highlighting works and moments that are as entertaining now as they were then.
Humpty Dumpty Climbs Again
by Dave HorowitzHumpty Dumpty is humiliated. All the King's Horses and All the King's Men make fun of him and his embarrassing fall every chance they get. So Humpty Dumpty holes up in his home, determined to never climb another wall. Until a friend needs his help. In this silly play on traditional nursery rhymes Humpty is given the chance to show that the best thing to do after you fall off the horse (or wall, in this case) is to get right back on."Illustrated with big, clear, line-and-watercolor cartoons, Horowitz's simple rhyming text is both a parody of nursery rhymes and a fun story. Children will enjoy the puns and the play with the Mother Goose verses that they know." - Booklist
Humpty Dumpty Lived Near a Wall
by Derek Hughes"Wickedly, subversively brilliant." - Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)"This book cracked me up and left a smile on my face (spoiler alert)" - Adam Rubin, #1 New York Times best-selling author of Dragons Love TacosLooks like the wall has finally met its match. This classic tale gets a modern twist with a Humpty Dumpty for a new generation."Humpty Dumpty lived near a wall..." begins this well-known fable. But this time Humpty is ready for battle, with a secret mission and a touch of mischief. Can all the King's horses and all the King's men help put Humpty together again? Or maybe the mission, no matter how small, is simply to question the point of a wall.
Humpty's Fall
by Dosh ArcherHumpty Dumpty arrives at City Hospital with a cracked shell. All the kings' men tried to help him, but all they did was make him leak yolk. Can he be fixed? With thickly illustrated pages, this story brings a unique twist to a well-known nursery rhyme, making it perfect for beginning readers who will wait to see if Doctor Glenda and Nurse Percy can save the day and put this egg back together again.
Hunches in Bunches (Classic Seuss)
by Dr. SeussWhat&’s a person to do when there is so much to do? Dr. Seuss adds his signature spin to the age-old dilemma of indecisiveness in his rhyming picture-book classic Hunches in Bunches. Go outside, play video games, eat a pizza, do homework? Whether you have a &“four-way hunch,&” a &“nowhere hunch,&” or an &“up hunch,&” Dr. Seuss and his unmistakable one-of-a-kind advice will ensure that readers of all ages won&’t get &“ga-fluppted.&”
Hunches in Bunches: Read & Listen Edition (Classic Seuss)
by Dr. SeussWhat&’s a person to do when there is so much to do? Dr. Seuss adds his signature spin to the age-old dilemma of indecisiveness in his rhyming picture-book classic Hunches in Bunches. Go outside, play video games, eat a pizza, do homework? Whether you have a &“four-way hunch,&” a &“nowhere hunch,&” or an &“up hunch,&” Dr. Seuss and his unmistakable one-of-a-kind advice will ensure that readers of all ages won&’t get &“ga-fluppted.&”This Read & Listen edition contains audio narration.
Hunger
by Kate Douglas A. C. Arthur Eve LanglaisDive into Hunger, a paranormal romance anthology by New York Times bestselling author Eve Langlais, Kate Douglas, and A.C. Arthur!A brand new, never before published novella! In The Alpha’s Mate, villains aren’t supposed to rescue damsels, and pack alphas are known to have complete control of their wolf. But when Fabian saves a certain lady from drowning, everything he knows gets tossed away and only one thing becomes clear: she’s his mate—and someone wants to kill her. Hell no. Protecting her, though, is only part of his problem. He also has to convince her she belongs to him. In her words, “Hell no.” When she flees, little does she realize this wolf loves to chase. And when he catches the woman he wants? She’ll become the Alpha’s Mate. Previously published in the 2-in-1 e-original Claimed by the Mate Volume 3 and in print for the first time! In Dangerous Passions, finding a mate shouldn’t be all that difficult for a sexy werewolf on the prowl. Modern women want romance and seduction, and Feral Passions Resort has served that purpose for providing both for the men of the Trinity Alps pack. Only two are still unmated—alpha leader Traker Jakes and his lieutenant Evan Dark—but danger stalks the women they’ve chosen. Danger that threatens everyone in the pack at Feral Passions. In Bound to the Wolf, Marena Panos is an attorney with a dark secret that follows her into the mountains and into the bed of a Phelan Sava, a lycan whose strength and shared penchant for pleasure/pain will eventually own her body and soul.
Hunger Point: A Novel
by Jillian Medoff“[An] unusually honest, painfully funny novel about a tight-knit family’s struggle.” —Entertainment Weekly"My parents may love me, but I also know they view me as a houseguest who is turning a weekend stay into an all-expense-paid, lifelong residency, and who (to their horror) constantly forgets to flush the toilet and shut off the lights."Twenty-six-year-old Frannie Hunter has just moved back home. Bright, wry, blunt, and irreverent, she invites you to witness her family's unraveling. Her Harvard-bound sister is anorexic, her mother is having an affair, her father is obsessed with the Food Network, and her grandfather wants to plan her wedding (even though she has no fiancé, let alone a steady boyfriend). By turns wickedly funny and heartbreakingly bittersweet, Hunger Point chronicles Frannie's triumph over her own self-destructive tendencies, and offers a powerful exploration of the complex relationships that bind together a contemporary American family. You will never forget Frannie, a "sultry, suburban Holden Caulfield," whom critics have called "the most fully realized character to come along in years," (Paper) nor will you forget Hunger Point, an utterly original novel that stuns with its amazing insights and dazzles with its fresh, distinctive voice.
Hunger: A Novel
by Erica Simone TurnipseedIn Erica Simone Turnipseed's captivating follow-up to A Love Noire, heartache fans the flames of lust when freethinking Noire and Innocent, her urbane African ex, reunite.Noire and Innocent are both having a thirtysomething crisis. His former identity as a successful investment banker and eligible bachelor has disappeared. A beleaguered graduate student, she's got no money, no man, and no Ph.D., yet. A year of predoctoral research in Haiti leaves Noire drained. And a trip home to Côte d'Ivoire offers Innocent little more than intermittent sexual gratification. In the aftermath of 9/11, Innocent and Noire are back in New York City and find solace in each other's bed. But even that arrangement collapses under the weight of Innocent's revelation that he has unfinished business in Africa. For Innocent and Noire, patching together their unraveling lives becomes an exercise in hope and humility. With Hunger, Turnipseed lives up to the promise of A Love Noire and has matured into a writer who fearlessly explores the intersection of sex, love, identity, and loss in a cross-cultural context.
Hungry
by Alethea EasonDeborah is starting to notice things about her best friend, Willy-like how cute he looks in his Halloween costume and the adorable way his red hair curls just above his collar. He's the coolest boy in sixth grade, and the closest friend she's got . . . that is, until her alien parents tell her she has to eat him for dinner. After all, she's an alien, too-even if she and her family do live in disguise. Should she keep Willy alive and survive on forbidden hamburgers and chocolate . . . or point her tentacles at her best friend and gain approval from alien kind? There are times when everyone feels like they're from outer space. A zany adventure and a close and sympathetic look at middle-school friendships and rivalries, Alethea Eason's wonderfully unique first novel satisfies that craving to fit in.
Hungry Bird
by Jeremy TankardDo YOU ever get hangry?Bird is hiking with his friends when his tummy rumbles.But no one packed him a snack that he likes!With every step, his hunger mounts until he collapses on the ground.How will Bird survive if he doesn't eat the perfect something this instant?!The hilarious blue-feathered anti-hero who first starred in Jeremy Tankard's high-flying debut, Grumpy Bird, returns in another laugh out loud melodrama. For every child who has ever needed a snack right now, and for every parent who has had to cope with a hangry, fussy child, Hungry Bird is sure to satisfy.
Hungry Heart: Adventures in Life, Love, and Writing
by Jennifer Weiner"Generous and entertaining." —Publishers Weekly (starred review) Finalist for the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay * Nominated for &“Best Memoir & Autobiography&” by Goodreads Choice Awards 2016 * Named a &“Best Book of the Year&” by New York Post "You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll want to read it again." —TheSkimm &“I'm mad Jennifer's Weiner's first book of essays is as wonderful as her fiction. You will love this book and wish she was your friend." —Mindy Kaling, author of Why Not Me? "Fiercely funny, powerfully smart, and remarkably brave." —Cheryl Strayed, author of WildJennifer Weiner is many things: a bestselling author, a Twitter phenomenon, and an &“unlikely feminist enforcer&” (The New Yorker). She&’s also a mom, a daughter, and a sister, a clumsy yogini, and a reality-TV devotee. In this &“unflinching look at her own experiences&” (Entertainment Weekly), Jennifer fashions tales of modern-day womanhood as uproariously funny and moving as the best of Nora Ephron and Tina Fey. No subject is off-limits in these intimate and honest essays: sex, weight, envy, money, her mother&’s coming out of the closet, her estranged father&’s death. From lonely adolescence to hearing her six-year-old daughter say the F word—fat—for the first time, Jen dives into the heart of female experience, with the wit and candor that have endeared her to readers all over the world.
Hungry Jim: (children's Emotion Books, Animal Books For Kids, Funny Children Books)
by Laurel SnyderWhen Jim wakes up one Tuesday morning, he doesn't feel like eating his pancakes. In fact, Jim doesn't feel like Jim. He feels rather, well, beastly. But he is hungry. Very hungry....This clever and relatable tale of moods from Laurel Snyder and Chuck Groenink offers a lighthearted depiction of the beastliness that lives inside all of us—and the power we have to put it in its place. Surprising yet satisfying, this richly illustrated book brims with humor that readers of all ages will be roaring to devour.
Hunk City
by James WilcoxAn astute and comical dissection of the culture wars-by the author of the much-loved Modern Baptists For More Than twenty years, James Wilcox has been cherished by reviewers and readers alike as one of the most talented American humorists. Since his classic Modern Baptists (picked by Harold Bloom as one of the few contemporary novels in his Western Canon), Wilcox has been charting the intricate spiritual topography of the South with inimitable wit and empathy. His "real comic genius" (Anne Tyler, The New York Times Book Review) has never been so brilliantly deployed as in this hilarious look at the peculiarly American cultural divisions of our times. .
Hunter Moran Digs Deep
by Patricia Reilly Giff Chris ShebanTwo-time-Newberry-Honor-winner Patricia Reilly Giff's Hunter Moran hunts for a long-buried treasure--tearing up the town and getting into some tight spots in the process in a humorous and heartwarming third book about Hunter. A companion to Hunter Moran Saves the Universe and Hunter Moran Hangs Out
Hunter Moran Digs Deep
by Patricia Reilly Giff Chris ShebanHunter, his twin brother, Zack, and neighborhood pest Sarah Yulefsky are about to be rich. All they have to do is find the hidden hoard of town founder, Lester Dinwitty. It shouldn’t be a problem, because they have clues. Shovels in hand, the gang sets to work tearing up their town and getting into some tight spots, including Dr. Diglio's dreaded dentist's chair. In a novel that is both humorous and heartwarming, the twins may leave a trail of havoc behind them, but they also make some leaps forward as they discover the true meaning of family unity.
Hunter Moran Hangs Out
by Patricia Reilly Giff Chris ShebanHunter and his twin brother, Zack, are on high alert after they hear about a potential kidnapping in Newfield. But the most shocking news is yet to come: the twins figure out that Steadman, their younger brother, is the kidnapper's target! The boys keep an eye out for suspicious activities around town from a treetop watchtower in Werewolf Woods. They are shocked to discover a probable ax murderer hiding in the cellar of an empty house, Bradley the neighborhood bully poking at what must be dead bodies in the pond, and a mysterious letter for their mom. All these could be clues, and it's up to the Moran boys to uncover whatever evil plans are afoot before it's too late.
Hunter Moran Saves the Universe
by Patricia Reilly Giff Chris ShebanHunter Moran and his twin brother have a small problem to solve: a diabolical dentist who is planning to blow their town to smithereens. They've found clues that prove it. Hunter and Zack have only days to save their town, but first they have to hold a funeral for an incriminating report card before it breaks their mother's heart and keep their father from finding out what they did to his laptop—with four nosy siblings on their tails. This laugh-out-loud novel is filled with wonderfully whimsical characters, momentous amounts of mischief, and plenty of heart.
Hunters and Gatherers: A Novel
by Francine ProseThe New York Times–bestselling author takes on New Agers as one woman searches for meaning in this &“brilliantly satiric but . . . sweet-natured&” novel (Publishers Weekly). Thirty-year-old Martha is stagnating in a demeaning, woefully underpaid job as a fact-checker at frothy fashion magazine Mode and an unhappy relationship with an unrepentant jerk. But she stumbles upon an unlikely new circle of friends when she interrupts a goddess-worshipping ceremony on Fire Island and ends up rescuing its accident-prone leader, Isis Moonwagon, from the waves. From the steel skyscrapers of Manhattan to a sweat lodge in the Arizona desert, Martha chases fulfillment and self-actualization in the company of this group of opinionated, bumbling women, but the revelations she receives are not necessarily what she expected. &“Prose&’s satiric vision could not be more sharply focused here, and her powers of observation and deadpan humor never falter&” as she sends up the New Age movement and its over-earnest adherents (The Miami Herald).
Hunting Season
by Andrea Camilleri Stephen SartarelliFrom internationally bestselling author Andrea Camilleri, a brilliant, bawdy comedy that will surprise even the most die-hard Montalbano fans In 1880s Vigàta, a stranger comes to town to open a pharmacy. Fofò turns out to be the son of a man legendary for having a magic garden stocked with plants, fruits, and vegetables that could cure any ailment--a man who was found murdered years ago. Fofò escaped, but now has reappeared looking to make his fortune and soon finds himself mixed up in the dealings of a philandering local marchese set on producing an heir. An absurd, quirky murder mystery that recalls the most hilarious and farcical scenes of Shakespeare and The Canterbury Tales, Hunting Season will introduce American readers to a refreshing new aspect of one of our best-loved writers.