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The Joy of Prose
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Stay Free! Magazine
The beloved journal of commercialism and American culture has a new issue and recently pulled a prank on SUV owners.
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| "The First Time I Got Paid for It...Writers' Tales From the Hollywood Trenches" |
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21 Dog Years: Doing Time @ Amazon.com
Thank God this guy's non-disclosure expired. Also currently an off-Broadway show. |
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The Film Comedy Reader
Essay collection covers all the greats plus forgotten stars like infamous "gag man" Al Boasberg |
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Ain't It Cool? Hollywood's Redheaded Stepchild Speaks Out by Harry Knowles
The best part of Internet guru Harry Knowles' autobiography is his description of great projects languishing in development hell (e.g., Plastic Man by the creators of the Matrix).
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"The Great Show and Tell Disaster," by Mike Reiss
MH contributor Mike Reiss unleashes this rhyming tale of a boy and his malfunctioning Word Mix-up Ray.
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"Superbad," by Ben Greenman
A collection from one of McSweeney's best writers, including the perfect "Notes on Revising Last Night's Dream." |
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"Fraud" by David Rakoff
Slashing, witty essays by the silky-voiced writer/actor. We are huge fans. Audio book version available under our "Recorded Ha Ha" picks.
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"American Gods" by Neil Gaiman
Gaiman's second novel contains all of the mystery and mythology that made his award-winning comic book series The Sandman a cult classic. Plus, he's friends with Tori Amos, which depending on who you are is either a really good thing or a really bad thing. |
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"The Recognitions" by William Gaddis
Post-modern novel by inscrutable genius Gaddis. Not for the faint-of-heart or stupid. It's about art forgery and meaning of life.
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"Songs from Nowhere Near the Heart" by Jonathan Baird
Rock and roll fantasia from real-life indy rocker. Three-song CD included.
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"Savage Love" by Dan Savage
Like Dear Abby if Abby were cynical gay man. Achieves moments of pure hilarity.
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"High Fidelity" by Nick Hornby
Ladies: Read this to understand the twitchy slacker music fan in your life. Good movie, great book.
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"Women" by Charles Bukowski
Intensely honest and darkly funny. Hard-drinking poet and novelist writes about sex-filled period of his life and fails to answer age-old question, "What is love and why does it make us so crazy?"
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"I'm Losing You" by Bruce Wagner
Taboo sexuality, terminal illness, and cell phones take center stage in exquisitely wrought modern parable about life, love and loss. Bath will be necessary after chapter four.
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"Growing Up Brady" by Barry Williams with Chris Kreski
Tell-all alert! Greg Brady recounts trying to get into pants of both on-set mom and sister.
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"Bonobo, The Forgotten Ape" by Frans De Waal and Frans Lanting
"Any tension within a bonobo group is normally resolved by a quick orgy, in which they all have sex with one another, in all positions and combinations." —New York Times
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"Municipal Bondage" by Henry Alford
Nude housekeeper stacks wood in living room, lipstick put on dog to pass groomer's exam. Just two of the improbable essays in this great great collection.
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"A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again" by David Foster Wallace
We dare you to find a better piece of comic journalism than DFW's epic account of his week aboard a cruise ship. If you do, keep it to yourself, lest we have to revise this text.
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"Mental Hygiene" by Ken Smith
Everything you ever wanted to know about those creepy social guidance films you saw in high school, like "Highways of Agony," "Lunchroom Manners," and "The Story of Menstruation." Last one is animated by Disney. We're not kidding.
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"Coyote v. Acme" by Ian Frazier
Contains essay about being Stalin's personal comedian. Title piece is a delight for fans of Warner Bros. cartoons and lawsuits.
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"The Fran Lebowitz Reader" by Fran Lebowitz
Essays by self-avowed procrastinator are extremely short and extremely funny.
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"The Thurber Carnival" by James Thurber
James Thurber graced the pages of the New Yorker with his cartoons and comic
prose. Now, he will grace your shelves in book form.
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"Without Feathers" by Woody Allen
Before the movies, before the scandals, Woody Allen was an absurdist without peer.
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"The Book of Horrible Questions" by Smith & Doe
Endorsed by both Modern Humorist and Howard Stern. Sick, vulgar and surprisingly fun. Would you make sweet love to your parents for ten million dollars? Find out how many people said yes.
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"Mirth of a Nation: The Best Contemporary Humor"
This volume of "The Best Contemporary Humor" includes essays by Modern Humorist Co-Editor John Aboud, Senior Editor Daniel Radosh and contributors Jay Jennings, David Rakoff, Bill Scheft and Mark O'Donnell. Plus Daves Eggers and Barry in the same book for the first and last time ever.
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"Let Nothing You Dismay" by Mark O' Donnell; Also: "Getting over Homer"
If you like Mark O'Donnell's cartoons, that's no indication at all that you'll also like his tragicomic novels of New York life. But you should.
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"Hair: The Quest to End Baldness" by Gersh Kuntzman
Gersh Kuntzman, better known to MH readers as ace political reporter Pseudonymous wants bald people to know that there is hope. Or at least that there is a funny new book they can buy.
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"Body Slam: The Jesse Ventura Story" by Jake Tapper
When Jake Tapper isn't drawing "The Adventures of Clintin" he puts actual full sentences together as political reporter for Salon, and also writes books like this one.
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"The Error of Our Ways" by David Carkeet
Novel by the author of the MH piece on surviving a fall from an airplane. No such tips in the novel, just enjoyment of the first order.
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