Entertainment Comedy

Alan Zweibel started his comedy career selling jokes for seven dollars apiece to the last of the Borscht Belt standups. Then one night, despite bombing on stage, he caught the attention of Lorne Michaels and became one of the first writers at Saturday Night Live, where he penned classic material for Gilda Radner, John Belushi, and all of the original Not Ready for Prime Time Players. From SNL, he went on to have a hand in a series of landmark shows - from It’s Garry Shandling’s Show to Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Demonstrating once again why he is one of Canada's most loved jokesters, Black masterfully captures the laughter that often bursts out of the seams of everyday life. From an unexpected drag race to a Google search for a picture of the illusive "Arthur the Meek", you just never know when a regular day is going to turn into comedic genius. Black provides uproarious insight into uses a matador might have for a teacup, mango, or simply some paper towel....

Born in Chicago, February 14, 1894, Benjamin Kubelsky would later become known as Jack Benny. As a boy, he was encouraged by his Jewish immigrant parents from Poland to become a concert violinist. He learned to play quite well and hit the vaudeville stage, where he played popular songs and honed a suave-but-fragile personality, telling self-deprecating jokes. Benny guested on the "Ed Sullivan" radio show March 19, 1932 and was an instant success.

A Stake Through the Heart When a tornado devastates the small town of Paint Creek, it reveals more than just debris. A patron of the Old School Diner is discovered, shockingly, with a stake driven through his heart. Could it be a mere accident involving a beam from his shattered barn? Or, as suggested by a pair of conspiracy theorists frequenting the diner, was the unfortunate victim, in fact, a vampire, now hunted down by an undercover vampire slayer within their midst? Join us in this captivating and humorous mystery series, where the diner's proprietor, Mercy, must juggle her ...

John Cleese describes his nerve-racking first public appearance, at St Peter's Preparatory School at the age of eight and five-sixths; his endlessly peripatetic homelife, with parents who seemed incapable of staying in any house for longer than six months; his first experiences in the world of work, as a teacher who knew nothing about the subjects he was expected to teach; his hamster-owning days at Cambridge; and his first encounter with the man who would be his writing partner for over two decades, Graham Chapman.

At the age of 9, Romesh Ranganathan delivered his first ever stand-up set at a Pontin's Holiday Camp talent competition, smashing the only other competitor, a young girl playing the kazoo. The gig went so well that Romesh retired his comic genius for 22 years, hiding behind the guise of a maths teacher, before finally revealing himself again (no, not like that) at the tender age of 31. In 2010, Ranganathan staged his epic comeback gig to an almost silent room, and has since gone on to earn his place as the most in-demand overweight vegan Sri Lankan comedian in Britain.

***This book was part of a Christmas Box Set Collection, Mistletoe & Murder*** The festive season is in full swing, and the Old School Diner crew is eager to join in the holiday merriment. However, their joyful anticipation is punctured when a visiting news anchor is brutally murdered on the cusp of Christmas. The killer leaves a distinctive calling card - a candy cane, but this is no ordinary festive ornament. What hidden meaning does this unconventional murder weapon hold? Meanwhile, a touch of enchantment fills the air as Mercy and Junior discover a remote workshop, tucked away from the ...

Ben is having a difficult week. After five whole years of “drinking from Mommy’s boobies”, he suddenly has to step aside for his new baby sister, Beatrice, who may or may not be human. Mommy says he has to “support her appearance no matter how humiliating it is for us as family”, but that’s hard to do when your sister has branches for arms and legs.

Is there a more sociable province than Newfoundland and Labrador? Or anywhere in Canada with a greater reputation for coming to the rescue of those in need? At this time of Covid, singer, songwriter and best-selling author Alan Doyle is feeling everyone's pain. Off the road and spending more days at home than he has since he was a child hawking cod tongues on the wharfs of Petty Harbour, he misses the crowds and companionship of performing. We're all experiencing our own version of that deprivation, and Alan, one of Newfoundland's finest storytellers, wants to offer a little balm.

While she laid on what she thought was her deathbed, my hilarious, Colombian-American Grandma finally shared the tragedy of her life. I learned that her dad abandoned her at birth, her mom sold her to be an indentured servant at 8 years old, her sisters outcasted her, and much to my surprise, I learned that my Grandpa beat the sh$t out of her, cheated on her, and verbally abused her for their entire marriage.

Prepare yourself for a dose of quintessential British humor seasoned with modern deadpan cynicism. If the phrase "Can't be bothered" resonates with you, you're in for a riotous journey through the misadventures of the master of minimal effort and the Sultan of staying under the radar. Meet Ben, whose philosophy in life is to choose the path of least resistance. But alas, even the most indifferent hipster can't escape the curse of a Friday that unfolds like a tragicomedy. Maybe he should have declared "CBB" before emerging from the sanctuary of his bed. London's public transport grinds to a ...

>Born into the violence of South Bronx ghetto life, the comic pioneer of TV’s Good Times fame offers a hilarious and politically charged review of his career as one of television’s first hugely successful Black stars. From opening for the Black Panthers and getting his first Tonight Show spot to becoming the first “Black” TV sitcom star, having comedians David Letterman and Jay Leno writing jokes for him, recording number-one comedy albums, and opening for rock n’ roll bands in 50,000 seat stadiums, Walker’s career hit all the highs.

Award-Winning Finalist in the Narrative: Non-Fiction category of the 2020 Best Book Awards sponsored by American Book FestIn 1988, a young, mid-level employee named Art Bell pitched a novel concept - a television channel focused 100 percent on just one thing: Comedy - to the chairman of HBO. The station that would soon become Comedy Central, with celebrated programs like South Park, Chapelle’s Show, The Daily Show, and The Colbert Report, was born.

Living On Air is a coming of age tale about a small town boy who makes it to the top of his profession in the world of radio and voice-over. It's a heart-warming, funny story filled with the ups and downs people face on the roller-coaster ride to success, including some laughable encounters with major celebrities. Living On Air is narrated by author, Joe Cipriano, considered one of the top voice-over talents in America. Instantly recognizable as the voice of TV networks, award shows, games shows and more.

In Planet Funny, Ken Jennings explores this brave new comedic world and what it means - or doesn’t - to be funny in it now. Tracing the evolution of humor from the caveman days to the bawdy middle-class antics of Chaucer to Monty Python’s game-changing silliness to the fast-paced meta-humor of The Simpsons, Jennings explains how we built our humor-saturated modern age, where lots of us get our news from comedy shows and a comic figure can even be elected president of the United States purely on showmanship.

Truly the voice of a generation, George Carlin gave the world some of the most hysterical and iconic comedy routines of the last 50 years. He perfected the art of making audiences double over with laughter while simultaneously making people wake up to the realities (and insanities) of life in the 20th century. Few people glimpsed the inner life of this beloved comedian, but his only child, Kelly, was there to see it all.

It’s been 20 years since Mean Girls hit theaters, winning over critics and audiences alike with its razor-sharp wit, star-making turns for its then unknown cast, and obsessively quotable screenplay by Tina Fey. Fast forward two decades and Mean Girls remains as relevant as ever. Arguably, no other movie from the 2000s has had as big of an impact on pop culture. In So Fetch, New York Times bestselling author of Seinfeldia, Jennifer Keishin Armstrong, offers the first ever authoritative book about this beloved classic that shaped an entire generation

Arianna Warsaw-Fan Rauch’s life-long fascination with classical music has taken her through Juilliard and into the shiny world of symphony halls and international concert tours. She’s loved classical music her whole life. But she’s also hated classical music her whole life. After all, if you can like Beyoncé without liking Bieber, you can certainly like Brahms without liking Bach—especially since they were born 148 years apart and the thing we call “classical music” is really just centuries of compositions shoved into one hodge-podge of a genre.

In Why We Suck, Dr. Denis Leary uses his common sense, and his biting and hilarious take on the world, to attack the politically correct, the hypocritical, the obese, the thin - basically everyone who takes themselves too seriously. He does so with the extra oomph of a doctorate bestowed upon him by his alma mater Emerson College. "Sure it's just a celebrity type of thing - they only gave it to me because I'm famous." Leary explains.

In "The Importance of Being Roger," prepare to embark on a riotous journey alongside Roger Sidebottom, a man whose life seems to be a magnet for chaos. From his tumultuous childhood to his disastrous forays into adulthood, Roger's path is paved with mishaps, misadventures, and the occasional stroke of luck. Haunted by the spectre of an indifferent father and the scars of lost love, Roger stumbles through school, university, and the working world, leaving a trail of uproarious incidents and near-misses in his wake. As he grapples with the absurdities of everyday existence, readers will find ...