Popular Comedy

What happened to Generation X? Millenials dominate our Facebook feeds and people bang on about the baby boomers - but what about us? The lost generation, the middle youth, the middle child of today. Are we still cool? Generation X? Remember them? The kids who believed they'd never grow up. The generation Douglas Coupland immortalised in his novel of the same name.

On December 22, 1953, Mort Sahl took the stage at San Francisco's hungry i and changed comedy forever. Before him, standup was about everything but hard news and politics. In his wake, a new generation of smart comics emerged - Shelley Berman, Mike Nichols, and Elaine May, Lenny Bruce, Bob Newhart, Dick Gregory, Woody Allen, and the Smothers Brothers, among others.

We all know how Darth Vader shared his big secret with Luke Skywalker, but what if he had delivered the news in a handwritten note instead? And what if someone found that letter, as well as all of the drafts that landed in the Dark Lord’s trash can? In the riotously funny collection Dear Luke, We Need to Talk. Darth, John Moe finally reveals these lost notes alongside all the imagined letters, e-mails, text messages, and other correspondences your favorite pop culture icons never meant for you to see.

A stinging satire of tell-all showbiz memoirs, starring a self-deluded gay icon who has managed to ride every pop culture trend of the last 40 years. Marc LeJeune has had a remarkable career in the entertainment business. Despite the carping of critics, cruel twists of fate, and the treachery of former friends who were blind to his exceptional dramatic and musical talents, he has remained true to his unique artistic vision. Through this fabulous parody of the showbiz confession, Rupert Smith has created a witty and scathing satire of popular culture and entertainment over the last 40 years.

A fictional account of a future woman president's tenure, this funny satire imagines a president who stops war, gets rid of the IRS, and then gets down to work on handling illiteracy, illegal drug abuse, and other social ills. She has an attitude, and she's determined. Maybe you'll find some ideas that could be put into use today.

Here's an irreverent and hilarious reference guide to all the people, ideas, and institutions that pollute our lives. Because you don't have to be old to be grumpy. Read by the stars of Channel 4's Green Wing.