Family Humor

Tess has downsized to a lively new town and is ready for 'me' time. But her Zen-like calm is tested by her boomerang offspring, who keep fluttering back to the nest (usually with a full bag of dirty washing) and by her elderly mother’s struggle to hold on to her independence. Tess is also surprised to discover that there are dark resentments simmering beneath the vintage charm of her new hometown and a spate of vandalism has exposed the rift between the townsfolk and new arrivals like Tess.

New Jersey transplant and non-blonde cheerleader Annisa Gobrowski has a major boy problem: The Sand Dune High National Championship cheer-leading squad has gone coed, and not everyone is happy about it. As if dealing with her teammates freaking out over the guy cheerleaders wasn't enough stress, her boyfriend, Daniel, just signed up. At first Annisa is psyched to spending more time with Daniel, and stunting with the guys is pretty cool. But then the battle of the sexes starts to heat up.

Stuart has been married to Tiffany for five years now, and though they have their issues, he is full of unconditional love for his family. Last time it was his outrageous relatives they had to deal with, and now they're headed on a trip to visit Tiffany's family for Christmas. His stepdaughter, Angel, has grown into a rebellious teenager. Tiffany's parents are divorced but still living together, and their tendency to say exactly what they're thinking leads to some dramatic arguments.

Kids today spend way too much time in front of a screen. The numbers are alarming, and many experts on child development are urging parents to provide their children with some “non-screen” activity. Of course, if you’re a parent you know that’s easier said than done. Kids love video games because they’re fun and challenge them to explore, team up, and express their creativity. That’s exactly why our unique dog author, Cooper The Pooper, came up with a fantastic game of "Would You Rather" - a thought-provoking conversation game.

It's 1991, and Tara Maureen Murphy is finally on top. A frightening cross between Regina George and Tracy Flick, Tara Maureen Murphy is any high school's worst nightmare. She's a senior, poised to star as Sandy in South High's production of Grease. Cinching the role is just one teensy step in Tara's plot to get out of her hometown and become the Broadway starlet she was born to be. It gets tricky with the arrival of freshman Matthew Bloom, whose dazzling audition for the role of Danny Zuko turns Tara's world upside down.

When Quaker Pastor Sam Gardner is asked by the ill Unitarian minister to oversee a wedding in his place, Sam naturally agrees. It's not until the couple stands before him that he realizes they're two women.

Kate has taught herself to be careful, to be meticulous. To mark the anniversary of a death in the family, she plans a dinner party—from the fancy table settings to the perfect Baked Alaska waiting in the freezer. Yet by the end of the night, old tensions have flared, the guests have fled, and Kate is spinning out of control. But all we have is ourselves, her father once said, all we have is family.

Take a trip to the Yorkshire village of Burley Bridge, where a very special little cookbook shop is about to open its doors.... In the beginning...Kitty Cartwright has always solved her problems in the kitchen. Her cookbooks are her life, and there isn't an issue that 'Cooking with Aspic' can't fix. Her only wish is that she had a book entitled Rustling Up Dinner When Your Husband Has Left You. Forty years later.... On Rosemary Lane, Della Cartwright plans to open a very special little bookshop.

When Rita McCall discovers her husband’s affair, there isn’t a lick of surprise—not a single tear or broken heart. Just a wife and mother who’s over it and ready to watch her twenty-three-year marriage go up in flames. Sticking close, thick as thieves since childhood, Rita’s unfailingly loyal cousins Jemel and Sharae become her lifeline. They stand beside her as she contemplates a new career and navigates the murky waters of being a preacher’s daughter disgraced by scandal.

Felicity Lewis' 50th birthday party in her newly renovated home, loving husband and daughter Greta by her side, is going off with a bang when disaster strikes. Her father, Franklyn, with his usual impeccable timing, has keeled over and died. For some members of the family, his wife Hazel, for example, Franklyn's death is not the great loss it first appears to be. But when his toxic and inexplicable will is read out, it becomes clear that long-buried secrets are about to surface, starting with the astonishing reappearance of Hazel's long-lost sister.

Emily Glass knows she’s neurotic. But she’s got it under control. Sort of. She dons compression socks when she flies (because, you know, deep vein thrombosis) and responds to people routinely overestimating her age with more Lifespin classes and less gluten. Thankfully, she also has David, the wonderful man she’ll soon call husband - assuming they can survive wedding week with her wildly dysfunctional family. Emily’s therapist mother, Marla, who’s been diagnosing her children since they were in diapers, sees their homecoming as the perfect opportunity for long-overdue family therapy sessions. Less enthused are Emily and her two siblings.

Wo eine Mama ist, da ist ein Zuhause. Und Mathilde weiß, ihre Mama – das Mädchen, das sie zum Leben erweckt hat – lebt an dem Ort, an dem die Sonne untergeht. So macht sich die Vogelscheuche abenteuerlustig auf den Weg, gemeinsam mit Mats Piep. Mats ist ein Schwatz (halb Schwalbe, halb Spatz) und hat wegen seiner Flugangst den Vogelzug gen Süden verpasst. Auf ihrer Reise erleben die beiden viele bunte Abenteuer an fantastischen Orten, und bald werden der Vogel und die Vogelscheuche die allerbesten Freunde.

Eine Mutter, die mit verführerischer Sogwirkung schwarzsieht. Ein Vater, der mit Nebelkerzen wirft, wenn er von sich erzählen soll. Und ein vermeintliches Unglückshaus, das es endlich zu verlassen gilt. Miriam Böttgers aberwitziger, tragikomischer und abgründiger Roman für alle, die sich auch mit ihrer Familie herumschlagen. "Eigentlich ist jede Familie eine Sekte für sich, mit irgendeiner speziellen Idee oder Wahnvorstellung, um die alles kreist", grübelt die Ich-Erzählerin in Miriam Böttgers Roman.

Patchwork ist mehr als ein Fleckerlteppich! Thessa ist mit ihrem Leben ganz zufrieden, doch als ihr Mann Wolfgang einen Posten als Förster in Voralberg annimmt, bleibt sie mit Sohn Nicky in Wien. Dennoch verbringen die Drei ihre Urlaube nach Möglichkeit gemeinsam. Doch dann verliebt sich Wolfgang in seine Praktikantin und Thessa stellt fest, dass ihr Chef eigentlich ein ebenso angenehmer wie begehrenswerter Mann ist. Sohn Nicky gefällt das gar nicht und als Wolfgang dann noch erfährt, dass er in Hamburg eine fünfzehnjährige Tochter hat, ist das Chaos erst einmal perfekt.

This is a story about a man, his son, and their three-day mission to cheat death. Sometimes funny, often sardonic, with shifting perspectives and unpunctuated dialogue, Nearly Dead in North Dakota is a fast and loose journey through history, science, religion, pop culture, and a closer examination of the kind of world we live in but never get enough time to really think about.

Jesse Few peddles lies. His boss and clients order a couple. His married girlfriend gets a few. His family buys several. But he saves the top-of-the-line dishonesty to sell to himself. The 49-year-old suburban rogue focuses on carousing with his golf buddies, chasing women much too young for him, and surviving the Great Recession that’s raging across the South like it's the Big Banks March to the Sea.

In this "bittersweet and utterly beguiling novel" (Publishers Weekly) each of the MacKenzie family tells their stories in nine, wildly opposed points of view. Starting at a family reunion, three generations of the MacKenzies face off against each other. They discover that terrorism is as intimate as one's own family. Selected as a New York Times "Notable Book of the Year", Duck and Cover is a "wicked black comedy" of a family who fights their wars "on the home front."

It’s spring of 2020 and Rachel Bloomstein—mother of three, recent divorcée, and Brooklynite—is stuck inside. But her newly awakened sexual desire and lust for a new life refuse to be contained. Leaning on her best friend Lulu to show her the ropes, Rachel dips a toe in the online dating world, leading to park dates with younger men, flirtations with beautiful women, and actual, in-person sex. None of them, individually, are perfect . . . hence her rotation. But what if one person could perfectly cater to all her emotional needs?

"Zugegeben, die meiste Zeit habe ich mich eher mit der Frage befasst, wie ich nicht Vater werde. Bis ich dieser Frau begegnete." Und nun heißt es plötzlich: Wie wird man eigentlich Vater, wenn man es möchte, aber es nicht auf Anhieb klappt? Und was macht der Prozess mit einem, das Auf und Ab des Hoffens und Bangens, neben und zusammen mit der Frau, die das alles am eigenen Leib erlebt? Ein schmerzvoll-tragisch-urkomischer Bericht aus Männersicht.

Nachdem er und seine Frau lange darum gerungen haben, endlich Eltern zu werden, ist die Schwangerschaft viel zu schnell vergangen. Schwups ist das Kind da – und mit ihm die Frage: "Was für ein Vater will ich eigentlich sein?" So stolpert er durch den Familienalltag mit ganz neuen Fallstricken und Fettnäpfchen – immer mit der Angst im Nacken, von einem Säugling als Versager enttarnt zu werden. Der zweite Band von Melanie Amélie Opalkas "Papa-Trilogie" erzählt den "unausgeschlafenen Imperfekt" seines ersten Jahres mit dem eigenen Nachwuchs.