Comedy Development

Approaching his 30th birthday, Sopan Deb had found comfort in his day job as a writer for the New York Times and a comedian. But his stage material highlighting his South Asian culture only masked the insecurities borne from his family history. Sure, Deb knew the facts: His parents, both Indian, separately immigrated to North America in the 1960s and 1970s. They were brought together in a volatile and ultimately doomed arranged marriage and raised a family in New Jersey before his father returned to India alone. But Deb had never learned who his parents were as individuals.

Shakespeare’s plays and poems remain as beloved in the twenty-first century as they were in the sixteenth. For all the years between us, the world he inhabited was much like our own—afflicted by political turmoil, divisiveness, war, extreme weather, recurrent plagues, the fouling of natural resources on which everyone relied, and discrimination against people who were different. The bard’s remedy for these troubles was to offer respite and inspiration to his audience through his writing.

Hear Dickens' gift for social commentary in this classic story of the poor orphan, Oliver. In this time-tested classic, Dickens aimed to expose the filth of the London underworld as well as attack the inhumanity of the New Poor Law of 1834. This audiobook is a stunning performance by the award-winning Miriam Margolyes, who is considered one of the most knowledgeable and brilliant actors and interpreters of Dickens.

Today's parents are navigating a new frontier in child-rearing: raising "digital natives" in a world where "screen time" is ever-present. It's a journey strewn with questions, doubts, and persistent pings. But fear not. Parenting Unplugged turns these challenges into opportunities for humor, wisdom, and a screen savvy family life.

Adam cannot understand Eve - her penchant for naming everything in the garden irks him, as does her boundless curiosity, but he learns, in time, that he cannot live happily without her. And Eve finds that she loves Adam above all things.

Are you too busy to breathe, let alone meditate? Overwhelmed by the idea of self-care routines that require hours, expensive candles, or pretending to like kale smoothies? Self-Care(ish) Sanity Hacks is here to help. This hilarious and practical guide skips the fluff and gets straight to self-care hacks that actually fit into a busy life—because you deserve to feel human, even if your schedule disagrees.

Both a hysterical tell-all memoir of the author's stumbles and triumphs in becoming mindfully masculine, as well as a practical drivers manual for navigating the twists and turns of mature manhood, Mindful Masculinity is a joy to read or to listen to. Scott Grace, once a prolific recording artist and stand-up comedian who opened for Robin Williams and many other legends, brings his comic touch to a very serious subject.

Based on the column of the same name that appeared in The Toast, Hey Ladies! is a laugh-out-loud listen that follows a fictitious group of eight 20- and-30-something female friends for one year of holidays, summer house rentals, dates, brunches, breakups, and, of course, the planning of a disastrous wedding. This instantly relatable story is told entirely through emails, texts, DMs, and every other form of communication known to man.

Outrageously confident and sweetly indignant, The Honest Toddler tackles everything from preferred toddler foods (unbroken crackers and undiluted juice), unconditional love (accept them as they are-pants or no pants), sleep and potty training methods (none), play date etiquette (mi casa es not su casa), and the proper response to random aggression at the playground (embrace it, park justice is messy but swift).

A smart, funny, and essential survival guide that you didn't know you needed. But you do. As any current or former 20-something knows, adult life can get a bit weird because no one tells you what to expect. Many of us spend a decade or more figuring out how the world works, hoping that by age 30 our friends are too old to remember what happened. Unfortunately, Andy Boyle does not have it all figured out. But the funny and useful advice and observations in this engaging audiobook will help any newly minted adult get through the hard parts.

Coming from one empathetic parent to another, the tips in this book are real, clever, honest, and designed to make life with a terrible two- or three-year-old a little bit more manageable. Hilarious, helpful, and handy, this book will be appreciated by any parent who has asked: "Why didn't anybody warn me that unconditional love would be so much work?"

In her hit Netflix comedy special Baby Cobra, an eight-month pregnant Ali Wong resonated so strongly that she even became a popular Halloween costume. Wong told the world her remarkably unfiltered thoughts on marriage, sex, Asian culture, working women and why you never see new mum comics onstage but you sure see plenty of new dads. The sharp insights and humour are even more personal in this completely original collection.

Dave Barry exposes natural childbirth for what it is: a pop phenomenon of the 1960's that, along with paisley bell-bottoms and creative sideburns, deserves a rest. His new book gives parents-to-be the hard facts they need. He examines the new federal law requiring prospective fathers to free themselves from their self-made macho prison - to laugh, cry, love and just generally behave like certified wimps.

Was it entirely my fault that all my brothers, friends, and former girlfriends all married 20 years before me? I walked around believing I had bad breath, a runny nose, a creepy appearance, or was born undeserving. So, I fixed all those things, and still women deceived me or were murdered. Finally, I confirmed that my life was constantly re-directed through divine intervention. I even found proof, but why was the divinity favoring me with so much personalized torment? And how would I explain it to people who thought I was weird?

Whether you dream of standing in the spotlight as a stand-up comedian, entertaining crowds with your wit and charm, or aspire to infuse humor into your everyday life and professional endeavors, this audiobook is your go-to resource. Prepare to embark on a transformative journey, navigating the intricacies of comedy writing, delivery, timing, and stage presence.

Coach Randy is working mightily to keep it together, and not simply with his vaguely unhappy wife, distant child, and a new boss who's eliminating half the sales force. This season's soccer parents are a demanding bunch. Diane's wine-fueled group emails are almost unintelligible; team mom Jacqui's enthusiasm for the league verges on manic; a divorced couple can barely conceal their murderous rage at each other; and another mom is laser-focused on schooling everyone on what constitutes a healthy snack option.

Improve Your Conversations teaches you how to use the ingenious framework from improv comedy and apply it directly to your everyday social interactions and conversations...and can't we learn something from the greatest improv comedians in the world, like Tina Fey and Will Ferrell? Improv comedy and memorable conversations have almost everything in common, from their premise to what makes them great to their end goals.

Women love men with a sense of humor. The life of the party is the man who cracks the right word in the right moment. The problem is: Where are the good lines when you need them? They are here. The best one-liners to show off in public and in private. All the one-liners are related to sex, women, love, and relationships. Take the lines you'll need to become the life of the party. Dating will never be the same.

LOL es una guía para principiantes sobre la comedia, cómo contar chistes divertidos y cómo aprender a incorporar el humor en las conversaciones cotidianas. Ser divertido es toda una habilidad. Es una habilidad que te permite desarmar situaciones tensas y contagiar alegría.

In love as in comedy, timing is everything. One bad night doesn't mean it's time to quit. Have patience: great marriages, like a successful comedy career, take time. Turns out the cardinal rules of comedy have an uncanny resemblance to the "rules" of building a strong marriage. With humor and grace, writer and comedian Dani Klein Modisett shares a map for navigating your marriage through rough patches, bad jokes, and even nights when you bomb.