Performance Memoir

Reordering the farting habits of humanity is a full-time chore, and Dr. Squeaks has traveled the globe studying and recording where the fart occurs. Many of the occasions are humorous, some serious, and a few are actually terrifying. You'll meet 40 farts of the world that he has recorded specifics on for your amusement, education, and enlightenment.

Not long ago it occurred to Carol Leifer that she had to stop telling one of her favorite stories – seeing The Beatles perform at Shea Stadium – because it dated her. But then she thought: what’s that about? “I see now that when you deny your age, you deny yourself,” she says, “and when you lie about your age, you become your inauthentic twin. But most importantly, when you lie about your age, they win. (And of course by ‘they,’ I mean the terrorists).”

C'est faire justice aux "Lettres de mon moulin" que de les donner à entendre au public adulte auquel elles étaient initialement destinées. C'est également réhabiliter Alphonse Daudet, conteur prodigieux et figure particulièrement attachante du XIXe siècle. Par l'habile procédé de la correspondance, Daudet dresse dans ces "Lettres" le tableau d'une terre luxuriante, source d'intarissables émerveillements pour une âme de poète.

"It's my belief that sanity lies in realizing that reality is not exactly what we had in mind," says Roy Blount, Jr. in this witty collection of essays. With humor that's wry, dry, and warm, he delights and provokes us by confronting the reality of American life compared to the way we thought it would be. With his characteristic drawl (or "oral resonance," as he calls it), he reflects on John Wayne, the federal deficit, women's underwear, and more.

Ariane Ascaride et Roland Giraud relèvent un défi bien plus compliqué qu'il n'y paraît dans cette interprétation : ils font apparaître l'au-delà du conte, ils révèlent la profondeur de cette prose. La finesse avec laquelle ils s'emparent de la dimension orale des "Lettres de mon moulin" n'en fait que mieux ressortir le travail stylistique et rythmique de Daudet, qui sort pleinement accompli de cet enregistrement." Claude Colombini & Benjamin Goldenstein

Uber Taxi Cab Confessions is a whirlwind tour of true short stories viewed through the eyes of a part time Uber driver. You will be a passenger on every ride, discovering the hottest bars and restaurants and the secret after-hour clubs in Fairfield County as we pick up riders and take them to wherever they want to go. Your life changes once you turn on the Uber app. The show begins as soon as a rider opens the door to your cab.

Born into a family of Irish traveller heritage, Big John Fury descends from a long line of bare-knuckle fighters, including King of the Gypsies. So it’s no surprise that he too found himself fighting outside the ring at a young age. From his early years in Manchester, John learned to box by practising bare-knuckle fighting within the travelling community, before graduating into the sport professionally. The ring has never been far from his sights, and John has played a crucial role in coaching and being a cornerman for his two-time British heavyweight champion son, Tyson Fury.

Arthur Smith is a "national treasure", extremely well-loved, with more than 45K Twitter followers. An anthology of Arthur Smith’s uniquely varied written work, this is Arthur's first book for many years. 100 Things I Meant to Tell You brings together 100 stories, poems, and articles gathered over a colourful lifetime making a living on the comedy circuit.

Benjamin Franklin left behind quite a legacy as an inventor, politician, and philosopher. Yet when he first arrived in Philadelphia, his future wife thought he had “a most awkward, ridiculous appearance.” Franklin recalls that this was because at the time he was carrying a large dinner roll under each arm and eating a third as he walked down the street. This delightful excerpt from his memoir shows how Franklin got his start in the printing business and demonstrates his skill as a humorist.

West Winging It: An Unpresidential Memoir is the personal story of Pat Cunnane and his journey from outsider to insider, from his dreary job at a warehouse to his dream job at the White House. Pat pulls the drapes back on the most famous and exclusive building in the United States, telling the story of the real West Wing with compelling and quirky portraits of the people who populate the place, from the president to the press corps.

Mark Twain's lifetime spans America's era of greatest economic growth. And Twain was an active, even giddy, participant in all the great booms and busts of his time, launching himself into one harebrained get-rich-quick scheme after another. But far from striking it rich, the man who coined the term "Gilded Age" failed with comical regularity to join the ranks of plutocrats who made this period in America notorious for its wealth and excess.

Warning: This book makes jokes about the Third Reich, the Reign of Terror, World War I, cancer, Millard Fillmore, and Chernobyl. When advertising legend Jim Riswold is stricken with leukemia and prostate cancer, he quits the business that made him famous to become a "fake artist", creating a controversial body of work with a controversial cast of characters, from Hitler to Mao to Kim Jong-Il. It was a decision that would save his life.

There is no shortage of humour in Broadway, Jeeves?, an elegantly observed journal of a year in the life of the musical play by Jeeves, written and directed by Sir Alan Ayckbourn and composed by Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber, in which Jarvis starred in America.

Beginning in January 2001, the listener can enjoy a detailed account of this acclaimed production as it moves from Pittsburgh to Toronto to....Will it ever get to Broadway?

“History is an account not of what actually happened, but of what people think happened" Queen Victoria. Marie Tussaud was a remarkable woman. She escaped the guillotine and survived the horrors of the French revolution. She toured the towns of Britain for thirty-three hard years with her travelling wax cabinet, fighting off competition against a background of fire, riot, shipwreck and betrayal. She personified persistence, fortitude, dedication and self-belief.

At 8,000 words, this collection of humorous essays explores such quirky topics as: disastrous home repairs, ("A Trip to the Hardware Store"), an unfortunate dinner party ("Dinner is Served"), the truth about lazy people ("Lazy Bones"), the weird life of a debt collector ("Your Account is Past Due") and obsessions with gadgets ("Gadget Girl"). Other essays examine how surreal the aging process is ("Where Did the Time Go?")

A typical, frustrating, impossible, funny, and glorious outing with an infant and toddler.

As one of America's hottest female comedians, Lisa Lampanelli has earned critical acclaim across the country for her no-holds-barred style and ability to make people laugh at their own stereotypes and differences. Now, from the gutter-mouth comedienne who "talks like a truck driver but resembles a '50s housewife" (New York Times) comes her over-the-top, laugh-out-loud memoir, Chocolate, Please.

In this musical romantic comedy, with actors, singers, and full orchestra, meet Emily who may or may not be with the right guy. She gets plenty of time to wonder about him as he haunts the pub where she works. Meet Ben, a twenty-something teacher who may one day find the courage to approach the miraculous beauty studying at the back of that pub. And meet Pablo, the handsome and awkward Spaniard, an unlikely hero who puts the pub back in post-puberty-based musical romantic comedies.

A hilarious guide to life from a man who has "lived large and fallen hard", offering observations on courage ("Lots of guys brag they'd fight off anything to save their woman. Yeah, right - there is no sense in both us dying"), discipline ("If you've got to get whupped, your father is the man. Mothers don't stop until you're bleeding to death"), money ("Before computers, checks were great...local ones took 14 days to clear"), and much more.

The author of Alec Baldwin Doesn't Love Me and That's Mr. Faggot to You returns with more skewed observations on the strange state of the queer union. As fans of his previous collections have happily discovered, little escapes his attention, and no topic is too controversial or sacred to be tackled.