African Humor

Few television shows revolutionized comedy as profoundly or have had such an enormous and continued impact on our culture as In Living Color. Inspired by Richard Pryor, Carol Burnett, and Eddie Murphy, Keenen Ivory Wayans created a television series unlike any that had come before it. In Living Color shaped American culture in ways both seen and unseen. Now, Homey Don't Play That! reveals the complete, captivating story of how In Living Color overcame enormous odds to become a major, zeitgeist-seizing hit.

A collection of humorous boyhood stories from the 1950s and 1960s in pre-independent Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Because of the era about which the book has been written, the author has stayed with the historical names of the towns in the country's eastern border region, where he grew up. Growing up in a farming community afforded ample opportunity for mischief and naughtiness, and it is served up on the pages of this hysterically funny book in large amounts. The book starts off with a story about how at age seven, the author and his indomitable friend 'Carshy' stalked the farm's stud dairy ...

They come from different worlds, but they were meant for each other... She’s an activist who hates the rich. He’s a billionaire with a heart of gold. Both of their worlds are changed when they meet, but will it be for the better? Alisha He’s not like anyone I’ve ever met before – rich or poor. We come from different worlds, but I can’t control my feelings when we’re together. I fall for him mind, body, and soul, but will that be enough to crack his defensive shell and prove my love to him? Ivan She’s a pretentious activist who acts like a child most of the time, but I ...

Jacobi spotted me on the prison yard wandering around like a pet with no owner. And once we hit the showers, he decided to claim me as his. On the outside, I would have never taken the bait from someone like him. It would be a stain on my masculinity. I'd be alienated from everyone for being such a sissy. But prison has different rules. Here is where a man like me, who'd bend to another man, belongs. Word is spreading that the biggest man in our wing has claimed the smallest. Even the guards know--do they look at me funny because they want in? Regardless, I'm about to abandon all shame to ...

According to Max Disher, an ambitious young black man in 1930s New York, someone of his race has only three alternatives: "Get out, get white, or get along." Incapable of getting out and unhappy with getting along, Max leaps at the remaining possibility. Thanks to a certain Dr. Junius Crookman and his mysterious process, Max and other eager clients develop bleached skin that permits them to enter previously forbidden territory. What they discover in white society, however, gives them second thoughts.

This freewheeling black comedy features a bizarre cast of characters, including a Japanese man with a ball floating six inches in front of his head, an American CEO with three arms, and a Brazilian peasant who discovers the art of healing by tickling one’s earlobe with a feather. By the end of this hilarious tale, they each have risen to the heights of wealth and fame, before arriving at disasters—both personal and ecological— that destroy the rain forest and all birds of Brazil.

It’s another murder in the little town of Roble. But not to worry, Romaine and Auntie Zanne are on it! It’s the 100th Boule of the Distinguished Ladies’ Society of Voodoo Herbalists. They’ve gotten together to eat, drink, be merry and vote for the next Lesser Mambo, a lifetime appointment second only to the Most High (bet you’ll never guess who holds that position). But the second in command spot keeps becoming vacant—that’s because the women who fill it keep dying off. This time though, it looks like murder. During an alcohol-infused dinner and a tall glass full of absinth, a...

June 1957. One hot afternoon in the backwaters of the Deep South, a young black farmer named Tucker Caliban salts his fields, shoots his horse, burns his house, and heads north with his wife and child. His departure sets off an exodus of the state’s entire black population, throwing the established order into brilliant disarray. Told from the points of view of the white residents who remained, A Different Drummer stands, decades after its first publication in 1962, as an extraordinary and prescient triumph of satire and spirit.

Weighing in at 320 pounds, Winston "Tuffy" Foshay, is an East Harlem denizen who breaks jaws and shoots dogs and dreams of millions from his idea, Cap'n Crunch: The Movie, starring Danny DeVito. His best friend is a disabled Muslim who wants to rob banks, his guiding light is an ex-hippie Asian woman who worked for Malcolm X, and his wife, Yolanda, he married from jail over the phone. Shrewdly comical as this dazzling novel is, it turns acerbically sublime when the frustrated Tuffy agrees to run for City Council.

He wrestled with Abraham Lincoln, invented the game of baseball, and taught Stevie Wonder how to sing. A reporter’s hunt to find and interview the oldest man in the world comes to an abrupt halt at a facility for seniors when he meets Obadiah Short, and hears the intricate, funny, and mesmerizing yarns that Obadiah weaves. The reporter instantly realizes that he has found a better story than the one he had initially been pursuing. But Obadiah’s story is more significant than the reporter could ever begin to imagine. Enjoy The Tall Tales of Obadiah Short.

Welcome to the warm, wild savanna—home to towering elephants, cheeky monkeys, and one remarkably determined dung beetle named Donald J. Dungbuster. With a heart as big as his favorite poop ball and a family that rolls right along beside him, Donald shows us that life, love, and legacy can all be built on even the messiest of foundations. From monsoon floods to beetle bake-offs, elephant encounters to poop-powered parades, this is a story of resilience, laughter, and one quirky beetle’s quest to feed his family, win big, and always roll with purpose. Perfect for young readers with ...

No more pretending to be someone you’re not. Emily Bawler has only been interested in women since high school. Then why does she keep having this undeniable yearning for a man? But not just any man. These yearnings are for someone she considers a dear friend; a brother even. She believes she should let the feeling pass and try to move on. Yet, her heart won't let her. The fear of rejection can cause you to miss out on happiness. Daniel Tase was stuck between a rock and a hard place. For years he’s been in love with someone he shouldn’t. It was a secret he’d kept from his family and ...

Venus Johnston has a great job and a long-term, live-in boyfriend who happens to be a drop-dead gorgeous doctor. She also has a weekly beauty-parlor date to keep her long, nappy hair slick and straight. But the tedious hours and harsh chemicals in the salon have long grated on Venus. One frustrating day, she trades in the long hair for a dramatically short, natural cut and sends her commitment-balking boyfriend packing. It's a bold declaration of independence and one that has effects she never could have imagined.

In this trickster tale from Africa, Annasi learns the value of being a good host. He also learns the truth of the old saying, "What goes around comes around."

"You can be beautiful, even more beautiful than before." This is the seductive promise of Dr. Nzinga’s clinic, where anyone can get their lips thinned, their skin bleached, and their nose narrowed. A complete demelanization will liberate you from the confines of being born in a Black body - if you can afford it. In this near-future Southern city plagued by fenced-in ghettos and police violence, more and more residents are turning to this experimental medical procedure. Like any father, our narrator just wants the best for his son, Nigel, a biracial boy.

Framed as a reference work of humorous “entries” that offer trenchant social commentary, Everything Abridged presages a dark vision of the near future but tells jokes in the face of it: An intelligence agency operative uncovers a conspiracy to generate conspiracies and realizes his participation in the scheme. A Caribbean monarch meets four decades of American presidents and adjusts his country’s foreign policy accordingly. Experiment participants are asked to bring back a gun as quickly as possible.

A testament to the importance of imagination, trusting oneself, and making space for your creativity, Did Everyone Have an Imaginary Friend (or Just Me)? is a memoir of a '90s kid who confided in his imaginary sidekick to navigate everything from parallel pop culture universes, like watching Fresh Prince alongside John Hughes movies or listening to Ja Rule and Dave Matthews, to a lifetime of birthday disappointment (being a Christmas season Capricorn will do that to you) and hoop dreams gone bad.

Alex se oupa het grys hare, dra valstande en kyk graag na reis-programme op TV. Maar op ’n dag raak hy skielik mal oor...BREIIINNNSSS! Dit is duidelik dat Oupa besig is om in ’n zombie te verander. As Alex hom van dr. Zuurman en die zombiepolisie wil red, gaan hy ’n paar briljante planne, goeie vriende en hope broccoli nodig hê. En miskien kan hulle op die koop toe ook hulle droom bewaarheid om die Victoriawatervalle en Egipte te siene kry!

Bick Kidd and his globe-trotting siblings Beck, Storm and Tommy may have completed their first treasure hunt after their father was lost at sea, but their kidnapped mother is still in the hands of nasty pirates. Their search for a rescue plan takes them down the Nile river in Africa, where they'll have to navigate everything from Egyptian pyramids in the desert to wet-and-wild jungles—not to mention life-threatening encounters with wilderness diseases, angry hippos and some seriously bad guys—in order to find the treasure and save the day.

In South Africa, the future looks promising. Personal robots are making life easier for the working class. The government is harnessing renewable energy to provide infrastructure for the poor. And in the bustling coastal town of Port Elizabeth, the economy is booming thanks to the genetic engineering industry that has found a welcome home there. Yes, the days to come are looking very good for South Africans. That is, if they can survive the present challenges.