Flash Nonfiction Funny by Tom Hazuka
From Dinty W. Moore, founding editor of the popular journal Brevity and prolific and pioneering author of several books of creative nonfiction, including Between Panic and Desire, Dear Mister Essay Writer Guy, and Crafting the Personal Essay, and Tom Hazuka, editor of the anthology Flash Fiction Funny, comes a new book that will make you laugh out loud in 750 words or less! Flash Nonfiction Funny explores the exploding form of very short creative writing and offers an accessible anthology that's perfect for individual entertainment or in a classroom setting. Teachers are increasingly embracing the very short form because it lets them use brief pieces to illustrate various styles and structures. The anthology includes work from both new and established writers from all over the world. It's like they always say: It's funny because it's true!
by Alicia Alvrez
Fun facts. Women outnumber men by five to one in shoplifting convictions. The very first Artichoke Queen was Marilyn Monroe in 1947. Diamonds didn’t become a girl’s best friend until the thirteenth century. Before that, they were for men only. The first human cannonball was a woman named Zazel, who was launched into the air through the use of a giant spring inside a cannon. Researchers at Northwestern University want us to know that men change their minds two to three times more than women. Queen Mary I of England and Ireland was a Catholic who had Protestants tortured and killed. Her actions provoked the nickname “Bloody Mary”, which inspired the cocktail. (Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.)
Trivia challenges. The Big Book of Women’s Trivia arms you with little known facts about the history, fame, fortunes, fashions, and fictions of the female species–enough to impress your mother and your boss, to win arguments with your boyfriends and husbands, and to generally know more about your fabulous female self.
The Big Book of Women’s Trivia spans history, crosses cultures, ranges from the silly to the salacious to the truly useful and back again. Designed to delight the feminist in you, Alicia Alvrez's book is organized into ten trivia-filled chapters: Women and Their Wardrobes, The Body Beautiful—and Not So, Ladies’ Matters of Love, In the Ladies’ Room, Ladies Look at the Animal Kingdom, Women Doing It for Themselves, Saintly Manifestations and Royal Subjects, Women’s Sporting Life, Celebrity Sightings of the Female Variety, and finally, Final Feminine Facts You Absolutely Can’t Live Without.
Wild Women Talk Back by Autumn Stephens
The Meaning of Life as Told by Wild and Brave Women, Wild Women Talk Back is for any women out there looking for inspiration, empowerment, or even just a laugh. The iconic women quoted in this book are sassy, full of wisdom, wickedly funny, and just what you need to remind you that girls run the world. Motivational words from the greats. These women—movie stars, politicians, musicians, and writers—remind us to be unapologetically ourselves. Their power-packed words cut to the truth of femininity and reveal what being a woman in this world looks like, not shying away from the harsh realities as well as the joys and pleasures. The inspirational women quoted here offer their own brash brand of counsel and commentary on themes common to women's lives and act as a guide, comic relief, and a source of empowerment for all women. Rejoice in your wild side. This book is more than a compilation of inspirational quotes for women—it's an invitation to embrace and live out your wild and beautiful feminine self. Not only will these empowering quotes lift your spirits, but they will make you stop and think about the meaning of life and women's invaluable role in the world. Wild Women author Autumn Stephens introduces each section, shedding contemporary light on the collection of quotes from awe-inspiring and unforgettable women such as Madonna, Lucille Ball, and Mary, Queen of Scots.
by Erin Barrett
A trivia collection that puts medical history under the microscope—with more than 500 little-known facts about doctors, diseases, and more.
Did you know . . .
Before the advent of surgery, ancient Egyptian doctors put their patients under by hitting them on the head with a mallet.
Working with pigs can raise your risk of appendicitis.
The Catholic Church has patron saints for many conditions, including hernias and syphilis.
In 18th-century New York, eight people were killed and many more wounded during three days of anti-doctor riots.
Doctors Killed George Washington reveals these and other stories of accidental medical discoveries, medical follies, bizarre cures, and more. With surgical wit, it examines centuries of medical practice, from herbalism and shamanism to the cutting-edge technology of today, providing hundreds of fascinating facts and outrageous oddities from the history of health care.
Thoughts of a Dog by Matt Nelson
Based on the beloved Twitter sensation, Thoughts of Dog contains never-before-seen, sweet and funny reflections on life from the pup-spective of a gooooob dog, who, above all else, loves their human. Join a dog and their stuffed “fren” sebastian as they navigate life’s adventures through the most wholesome lens imaginable. The mastermind behind WeRateDogs, Matt Nelson, expands the Thoughts of Dog universe born on social media with his new book for anyone looking for a smile.
by Tom Sidebotham
The authors, originally from the English Midlands and now settled in New Zealand, have allowed half-remembered phrases to find their way onto the printed page for the enjoyment of all. Accompanied by ‘translations’ in modern speech, they’ve presented the reader with a dip-in kaleidoscope of the way we speak for generations still to come.
Charming, homely and heart-warming, it’s the sort of book to curl up with and recall how we are, how we used to be, and the sheer silliness of why we opened our mouths in the first place. This book is never going to end. So have a smile, or a tear, at the Britain that used to be or we thought we knew, as one remembers the past.
by Keaton Patti
Humorist Keaton Patti "forced a bot" to digest massive amounts of human media to produce these absurdly funny, “totally real,” “bot-generated” scripts, essays, advertisements, and more. Ever wonder what an AI bot might come up with if tasked with creative writing? From Olive Garden commercials to White House press briefings to Game of Thrones scripts, writer and comedian Keaton Patti’s “bot” recognizes and heightens the tropes of whatever it’s reproducing to hilarious effect. Each “bot-generated” piece can be enjoyed as surrealist commentary on the media we consume every day or simply as silly robot jokes—either way, you’ll probably end up laughing.
by Paul Armstrong
Why Are We Always Indoors? (...unless we're off to Barnard Castle) is a personal chronicle of the strangest and darkest football close season in modern history. Having studied politics at university, Paul Armstrong spent much of his career running BBC TV's Match of the Day, then wrote the memoir Why Are We Always On Last? which was published in 2019. In March 2020, he embarked on a journal of London lockdown life against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic. This eventually spanned the 105 days between MOTD's Premier League highlights being removed from the schedules and returning in June. Musings and anecdotes about sport, TV, music and life under lockdown became increasingly overshadowed by the mounting tragedy, and a sense of despair and anger at how the crisis was handled at the highest level. This was informed by a lifetime of studying and following politics and by a network of contacts from television and sport, and in various other affected walks of life. A first-hand account of a slice of living history, conveyed with dark humour and a sense of urgency and immediacy.
by Gina Barreca
FAST FUNNY WOMEN is a broad collection: 75 women writers, ages 20 to 89, were invited by editor Gina Barreca to make a party out of their life's most unnerving, challenging, illuminating, desperate, and hilarious moments.Political campaigners, devoted teachers, lousy daughters, good mothers, would-be nuns, admired sportswriters, grad-school-wanna-bes, revenge-driven sisters, frustrated roommates, body-fluid-sorting professionals, lace-loving fashion mavens, intrepid daters, hungry lovers, justice-seeking nasty-women, ACE wedding celebrants, trapped wives, and women with all kinds of ammunition tell their stories-- and their stories are all under 750 words.You know many of these brilliant women, but you've never heard them like this: with new works commissioned for the book from NYT Bestseller and member of the American Academy of Poets, Marge Piercy, Pulitzer-Prize winner Jane Smiley, NYT bestseller graphic artist Mimi Pond, New Yorker staff cartoonist Liza Donnelly, Commander of the British Empire Fay Weldon, bestselling author of Love, Loss, and What I Wore; Ilene Beckerman, ;Sylvia; creator Nicole Hollander, stand-up comics Lisa Landry and Leighann Lord, filmmakers Ferne Pear.
488 Rules for Life by Kitty Flanagan
Despite what Jordan Peterson says, there are more than twelve rules for life . . . a lot more. Thankfully, you now have this witty guide to remedy every annoying little thing society throws at you.
488 Rules for Life is not a self-help book, because it’s not you who needs help—it’s other people. Whether they’re walking and texting, asphyxiating you on public transport with their noxious perfume cloud, or leaving one useless square of toilet paper on the roll, people just don’t know the rules.
But now, thanks to Australian comedian Kitty Flanagan’s comprehensive guide to modern behavior, our world will soon be a much better place. A place where people don’t ruin the fruit salad by putting banana in it . . . where your co-workers respect your olfactory system and refrain from reheating their fish curry in the office microwave . . . where middle-aged men don’t have ponytails.
What started as a joke on Kitty Flanagan’s popular segment on ABC TV’s The Weekly, is now a quintessential reference book with the power to change society. (Or, at least, make it a bit less irritating.)
by Scott Adams
In the newest Dilbert collection, award-winning cartoonist Scott Adams turns passive-aggressive corporate communication into comic strip gold. The office culture in Dilbert abounds with hazards, from risky re-orgs and ergonomic ball chair disasters to Wally’s flying toenail clippings. After a colleague suggests planning a huddle to ideate around an opportunity, Dilbert suffers an acute bout of jargon poisoning. It’s all part of the delightful drudgery of Eagerly Awaiting Your Irrational Response.