Writing Humor

Without bothering to get approval from the President, the State Department, or even the FTC, Dave Barry's publishers sent him to Tokyo. You'd think they would have known better. Now the word is Barry has set back our diplomatic relations with the whole Pacific Rim by a couple of decades. Japanese culture, dining, sport, and industry all come under Barry's relentless scrutiny.

An indispensable, richly informative, and always entertaining audio sourcebook on Provence, by the writer who has made the region his own. Though organized from A to Z, this is hardly a conventional work of reference. It is rather a selection of those aspects of Provence that Peter Mayle, in almost 20 years there, has found to be the most interesting, curious, delicious, or down-right fun.

Penniless and downtrodden at the loss of his wife and one of his daughters, Samuel Clemens turned to writing. The short stories and essays in Letters from the Earth find Clemens—under the pseudonym of Mark Twain—at perhaps his most quizzical and questioning state ever. Written as diary entries, Twain penned a series of letters from the point of view of a dejected angel on Earth who observes the many curious natures of man. These pieces, gathered by Twain's literary executor, feature sharp takes on the inconsistencies of Christianity and farcical criticisms of American life.

Andy Smart's early adventures are a series of jaw-dropping feats and bizarre situations from which, amazingly, he emerged unscathed. Living on his wits, sleeping rough, and accepting lifts that get him into bizarre and often dangerous situations, Andy's six years spent on the road stands as a unique record of life as it was in the late 1970s and early '80s.  

Pix just wants to hunt monsters, craft armor, and pay off her college loans. Her partner Jaz does too. She just wants to pet the monsters more. While wearing impractical hot pants armor. And wielding a sword so massive she needs magic gems to carry it.

"If there is any life that is happier than the life we led on our timber ranch, it must be the sort of life which I have not read of in books or experienced in person," wrote Mark Twain, and now you can share in that experience. The beloved American humorist spent seven years on a "pleasure trip" through the untamed wilderness of Nevada. Twain intended to spend three months touring silver mines, but the lure of rough terrain and comfortable clothes proved irresistible - as will this vibrant travelogue.

Communication Skills—Eight manuscripts in one book, including: Body Language: 7 Easy Steps to Master Nonverbal Communication, Reading People, Microexpressions & Improve Your Charisma; Assertiveness: 7 Easy Steps to Master Assertive Social Confidence, Self-Esteem, Self-Awareness & Social Dynamics; Conversation Skills: 7 Easy Steps to Master Listening Skills, Interpersonal Feedback, Difficult Conversations & Voice Training; Make People Laugh: 7 Easy Steps to Master Being Funny, Conversational Humor, Improv Stand-Up Comedy & Joke Writing; and more.

Written together with friend and journalist Boyd Hilton, the audiobook follows a year in the lives of Matt Lucas and David Walliams in every unfiltered detail: the good, the bad, the mundane and the meaningful. It is a year that includes writing, rehearsing, filming, Live8, going to America, and undertaking a mammoth 100-date, seven-month tour where Little Britain goes in search of Great Britain.

Ireland’s Instagram sensation Meditations for the Anxious Mind takes us on a trip around Ireland of the likes you’ve never seen before, from the trolley-filled Liffey to the glamour of Navan. Why not go off the beaten track with Meditations for the Anxious Mind’s The Toxic Travel Guide and laugh your way around Ireland. We did the research so you don’t have to smell the bin juice.

Although there's no shortage of books on writing and publishing, there's none quite like Robert's Rules of Writing. Drawing on his many years of experience as an award-winning journalist, TV writer, and the author of over 20 books, Robert Masello addresses all the issues that confront, and all the problems that beset, writers of all stripes.

A collection of previously published inspirational and humorous short stories with positive and feel-good takeaway messages. Reflections of everyday life, each story is an easy and quick listen, but you will not want to pause this audiobook! In "Angels on Ice", the author shares inspirational lessons gleaned from surviving a near-death experience at age seven. Stories of home life, like "Freezer Bra" and "Reverse Engineering", are sure to tickle your funny bone and elicit chuckles! 

When the worst writer in history self-publishes his books, the world of literature is decimated overnight. Illiteracy becomes something to aspire to and book burnings become rife. The publishing industry is left hemorrhaging credibility and verges on collapse. But its recovery not a matter of removing said books, or even destroying them, the same must be done to the mind responsible.

Why?, you might ask and maybe even in a mean-sounding voice “How Dare I write about such a touchy subject as Book Reviewing?” I would answer that I'm not daring to but rather I am being guided to do it. That unseen substance we might call “Literary Inspiration”, “The Guiding Hand of Inspirational Writing” or “I Got an Itch to Write Something”, is driving me and I can all but resist it. There are apparently readers out there who need this material to fill a void that can be satisfied by nothing else and I am called upon to fill them up.

Rian Morris, despite his small stature, is one of the best bodyguards in the business. Only problem; nobody will hire him due to a former client being murdered on his watch. Depression, addiction, and the weight of the world come close to ending him, but then he receives a visit from a former colleague. This friend offers him a high-risk job protecting one of history’s most controversial authors—Ayn Rand.

Feuerstein reist wieder: durch Thailand, Birma, New York und ins Eismeer. Aber diesmal ist alles anders. Thailand kennt er seit Jahrzehnten besser als seine Westentasche (er trägt keine Westen), in New York hat er eine ganze Ehe lang gewohnt, und die beiden Reisen auf dem Wasser wurden komplett von anderen Leuten organisiert (mit Ausnahme der Seekrankheit, die aus Feuersteins Innerem kam).

Timothy is a serial killer. He's also very lonely. He's a walking contradiction, and his psychological predicament doesn't escape him. Lynnette is a vampire. She's also a nurse. She, too, is a walking contradiction. When she unexpectedly answers his desperate call for company, they realize they could be perfect partners in crime, engaging in a few kinds of bloodwork at once, bringing out the worst and the best in each other.

In the spring of 2012, an unlikely transformational figure inadvertently breaches the perimeter of U.S politics. Unencumbered by political ambition and devoid of greed or lust for power, Jonathon Braxton reluctantly enters the arena. Fueled solely by a desire to advocate for more medical research funding to find a cure for Type 1 diabetes afflicting his son, Braxton agrees to speak at the 2012 Republican National Convention courtesy of two influential power brokers who see ‘JB‘ as the future of the party.

Follow a man barely deserving of the title as he flails through a turgid cesspit of human depravity, only to discover that he’s the one bunging up its U-bend. Wrongly Writing has even more psychiatrists, anaphylaxis, and cringing social ineptitude than the first Wrong Book, and proves that while editors exist for a reason, the author clearly doesn’t.

This novel is a satirical look at my life, and I have never written for a porn site. There are four parts to this book: The Rehearsal (trying to figure out my life and men), The Performance (a story in two perspectives about a transgender guy being interviewed), The Reviews, and Pornopraphy (amusing selection of commentary and reviews of media products). I write just a little soft porn for humor, but mostly it's about why my satirical "drag queen" narrator started writing erotica.

It's good to know your limitations. I know I'll never grace the front cover of a magazine, unless it's a "most wanted" type. Every time someone looks at my ID card, I hold my breath, waiting for their reaction. Ma Barker has nothing on me when I'm wearing my serious face.