Comedy Essays

Tom Segura is known for his twisted takes and irreverent comedic voice. But after a few years of crazy tours and churning out podcasts weekly, all while parenting two young children, he desperately needs a second to himself. It’s not that he hates his friends and family — he’s not a monster — he’s just beat, which is why his son’s (ruthless) first full sentence, “I’d like to play alone, please,” has since become his mantra.

A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland From Being a Burden to Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Public, commonly referred to as A Modest Proposal, is a Juvenalian satirical essay written and published anonymously by Jonathan Swift in 1729. Swift suggests in his essay that the impoverished Irish might ease their economic troubles by selling children as food. By doing this he mocks the authority of the British officials.

When Harold Ross founded The New Yorker in 1925, he described it as a “comic weekly.” And although it has become much more than that, it has remained true in its irreverent heart to the founder’s description, publishing the most illustrious literary humorists of the modern era. This anthology gathers together, for the first time, the funniest work of more than seventy New Yorker contributors.

I Strongly Believe in Incredible Things is a book of poetic prose, musings, short stories and biro drawings detailing a selection of the Earth’s incredible things by award-winning writer, comedian, artist and podcaster Rob Auton. Unique, enchanting and utterly life-affirming, this is a collection that comes together to create the opposite of the news, becoming the tonic for the complicated gin that is the world we find ourselves in today.

Lane Moore is a rare performer who is as impressive onstage - whether hosting her iconic show Tinder Live or being the enigmatic front woman of It Was Romance - as she is on the page, as both a former writer for The Onion and an award-winning sex and relationships editor for Cosmopolitan. But her story has had its obstacles, including being her own parent, living in her car as a teenager, and moving to New York City to pursue her dreams. Through it all, she looked to movies, TV, and music as the family and support systems she never had.

Growing up, Jena Friedman didn’t care about being likable. And she never wanted to be a comedian, either. She wouldn’t discover her knack for the funny business until research for her college thesis led her to take an improv class in Chicago. That anthropology paper, written on race, class, and gender in the city’s comedy scene, was, in Jena’s own words, “just as funny as it sounds.” But it did lay the groundwork for a career that has seen her write and produce for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, the Late Show with David Letterman, and the Oscar-nominated Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.

While on a year of study in Paris in 1927, Liebling acquired the friendship and tutelage of Yves Mirande, 'one of the last great Gastronomes of France', beginning a joyous apprenticeship in the fine art of eating. Told with gluttonous joie de vivre, Between Meals expounds on the delights and pitfalls of a life dedicated to food, from bad rosé ('a pinkish cross between No-Cal and vinegar') to lobster a l'Américaine, to a memorable stay at a Swiss slimming-clinic with a masseur named Sprudli.

In this self-portrait by an American genius, Kurt Vonnegut writes with beguiling wit and poignant wisdom about his favorite comedians, country music, a dead friend, a dead marriage, and various cockamamie aspects of his all-too-human journey through life. This is a work that resonates with Vonnegut's singular voice: the magic sound of a born storyteller mesmerizing us with truth.

In Nothing Is Wrong and Here Is Why, acclaimed satirist Alexandra Petri offers perfectly logical, reassuring reasons for everything that has happened in recent American politics that will in no way unsettle your worldview. In essays both new and adapted from her viral Washington Post columns, Petri reports that the Trump administration is as competent as it is uncorrupted, white supremacy has never been less rampant, and men have been silenced for too long. The "woman card" is a powerful card to play! Q-Anon makes perfect sense!

Little did the obscure novelist Edward Bulwer-Lytton know in 1830 when he penned that most relished, imitated, and lampooned opening sentence in English literature, "It was a dark and stormy night..." that his words would inspire countless aspiring writers struggling incessantly like boats against the current to emulate his unparalleled style and that his name would grace "The Bulwer-Lytton Contest" honoring his most successful followers. Get it? Abounding in shameless sentences, this audio rendition of the original contest is a hilarious - even perversely instructive - collection of skilled, inept writing. Compiler Scott Rice is a professor of English at San Jose State University and the creator of the contest. The narrators include Marni Webb, Ray Nakamoto, Rachel Songer, and Bob Nathan.

P.J. O'Rourke traces his development from hippie protester to conservative grouch to jaded humorist. Along the way, we are privy to his strange, twisted days as editor in chief of National Lampoon, as well as the in-depth looks at appropriate sports for middle-aged Republicans, namely those which can be engaged in with a smuggled Havana between the teeth - fly-fishing, bird hunting, deep-sea fishing, and of course, golf. Plus, you'll hear O'Rourke's take on the Virtues of Automobiles - because what good was oil doing sitting in the ground for millions of years? - and many other hilarious rants in this off-the-wall collection by America's premier political humorist.

Writing comes down to turning your hazy mind into crystal-clear words. In this book, you will learn the different types of essays out there, the basics of research and development, use of logical reasoning and critical thinking skills, rough draft creation, editing, proofreading, and building an empire with your words. An essay is a remarkable way to spread your philosophy and grow your brand. Learn the basics of how to effectively write essays in Get to the Point....

For everyone who's had their fill of politicians, TV trials and the daily events seen on the evening news, Simon & Schuster Audio offers some relief with this collection of the funniest opening monologues from Comedy Central's hit show, Politically Incorrect starring Bill Maher.

A collection of 23 of Twain's funniest stories and essays, ranging from tongue in cheek to the fantastic.

Not everyone has to be dragged kicking and screaming through adulthood. Dave Barry will help through this process - with his hilarious takes on parenting, changing self-image, the battle of the sexes, technology, health care, celebrityhood, and even vampires!

Michael Heide beschreibt mit "schönster Tag" eine besondere Begegnung an der S-Bahn im Haubtbahnhof, der er liebevoll den schönsten Tag des Lebens wünscht. Allerdings mit nicht unerheblichen Folgen.
Florian Hoffmann erzählt in seinem Text "Fruchtfliegen" mit überzeugendem Einsatz seiner Stimme, wie man die lästigen Obstbegleiter schnell loswerden kann.
Andrej Schindhelm gibt mit seinem Text "Warmluftfront" eine wunderbare Performance, die nicht nur heiße Luft verbreitet.
Jacinta Nandi lebt seit zehn Jahren in Deutschland. Sie macht herrliche Beobachtungen über die Merkwürdigkeiten der Deutschen, die sie in Ihrem Text "Beginners Guide to Deutsche Hobbys" zusammen gefasst hat.
Regina Mengel hat sich einmal intensiv Gedanken über Gedanken gemacht und kommt dabei zu einem überraschendem Schluss.
Andrea Meyer lässt Schauder über den Rücken jagen. Ihr Text spricht Bände: "Ich liebe dich zu Tode".
Luisa Joyce hat es geschafft, mit "Verlorengegangen" eine berührende Meldung zu schreiben, die zeigt, das auch kurze Texte sehr stark sein können.

"Kuttay" as narrated by Mustaq Ahmed Yusufi, Ptaras Bukhari, and Saadat Hasan Manto.

Step into my world as I share a collection of stories and essays that offer an intimate glimpse into my life. I wear many hats—Man of God, Husband, Father, Grandfather, Comedian, and more—but all are worn with pride. Through these reflections, I invite you to see the world as I do, through the lens of a Black man living in today's United States. In this book, I open up about my journey—celebrating successes, confronting challenges, and navigating the complexities of life.

The stark and inhospitable high-elevation landscape of Nevada’s Great Basin Desert may not be an obvious (or easy) place to settle down, but for self-professed desert rat Michael Branch it’s home. Of course, living in such an unforgiving landscape gives one many things to rant about. Fortunately for us, Branch—humorist, environmentalist, and author of Raising Wild—is a prodigious ranter.

Was haben wir denn hier für ein Buch? Es sollte eigentlich "Zum Scheißen reicht's" heißen, aber so ein Titel führt zu sehr in die Irre. Gereon Klug beschäftigt sich ja richtig mit den Menschen und schreibt jeden Tag Reisewarnungen, Glückskekszettelpoeme, Kriegserklärungen und Latrinenpredigten. Also daraus ein Buch machen? Seine Psychiaterin riet ab.