Life Satire

Based on his widely read columns for The New Yorker, Ian Frazier’s uproarious first novel, The Cursing Mommy’s Book of Days, centers on a profoundly memorable character, sprung from an impressively fertile imagination. Structured as a daybook of sorts, with the Cursing Mommy - beleaguered wife of Larry and mother of two boys, twelve and nine - trying (more or less) valiantly to offer tips on how to do various tasks around the home, only to end up on the ground, cursing, surrounded by broken glass.

When death shows up at a crowded park, pandemonium reigns.

*BERYL AND FRED IN SPAIN now available, containing this book plus Beryl, Fred and a Dog called Ted at a reduced price.* Beryl and Fred Pedley, doyens of the Spanish travelling scene since the publication of Fred’s poignant memoir of their maiden voyage with their faithful dog Ted, are hitting the road in Vernon the camper van once again. Ted, sadly, is no longer with us, but in his place we meet Cheryl, a remarkably talented cat and the author of this volume. After selling their unwanted cottage on the Isle of Lewis, we follow their journey to the isolated village of Puebla de Don ...

When Mr Alec Quigley, superannuated insurance clerk, leaves the Bedfordshire bungalow of his indomitable niece Angela and makes his way to the Spanish village that he once read about in a history book, things are unlikely to go smoothly. A man with many foibles, not least his tendency to fantasise, his guardian Angela wants him home before he can get into any of the frequent scrapes that have dogged his – and, of late, her – existence. He is, however, intent on carving out a new life for himself in the Spanish interior and soon enlists the help of Fernando the fireman, Jorge the ...

Don’t get me wrong. I love the manicured lawns and symmetrically planted flower beds in our beautiful neighborhood. There’s something undeniably picturesque about the row of houses, their paint colors all meticulously approved by a committee of self-appointed taste experts who seem to be more worried about the shade of beige than actual world problems. However, all this beautifully decorated façade comes at a great price—putting up with the HOA board members. Now, if you're unfamiliar with the phenomenon that is an HOA (Homeowners Association), allow me to enlighten you. You either ...

The big things in life look after themselves. Birth, love, death: they're all terrifically exciting, but they happen whether we like it or not. It's the little things in life that cause the most trouble. How do you deal with the million and one everyday challenges?

Catherine Sloper, the heroine of this tragicomic tale set in mid-19th century New York, is absolutely ordinary in every way except for her exceptional capacities in love and loyalty. These latter qualities are of no interest to her father, the successful society Doctor who is constantly disappointed by his daughter's failure to be brilliant, either physically or intellectually. For this reason, he is highly suspicious when Morris Townsend begins to woo her and is convinced the handsome young man's interest is only in the fortune Catherine will eventually inherit.

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.

If all goes according to plan, tonight will be Jack Current’s last. The young engineer is at the end of his emotional rope and plans to take his own life. But first, a bar crawl through his downtown Cincinnati neighborhood is in order. Accompanying him during his final hours is a dollar store notebook. The Drunk Log. In it, he documents the evening, ruminates on his existence and remembers his 7-year-old nephew, who died exactly a year earlier. It is a loss for which Jack feels responsible—a lapse in judgement for which there is no forgiveness. Buckling under the weight of oppressive ...

Esther Wells goes on a diet and the scales fall from her eyes. Depriving themselves of fatty foods, both husband and wife have new perspectives on each other, and the process is one of slow destruction of their marriage. Esther tells in flashback, from the depths of her basement apartment in Earls Court, the history of her marital disaster - in between her consumption of chocolate cake, tinned fruit, sweet sherry and a host of other high-calorie goodies.

Alyssa Weyland was on the brink of sixteen when she ran away from home into the arms of Drew Michaels. She didn't think twice; this was finally her chance to be free. The next six months were a challenging time for the Weyland household as they struggled to pull together as a family unit while desperately attempting to save their own souls. Alyssa's absence cut deep into each family member and exposed sides of their innermost beings that had never surfaced. Her decision created permanent wrinkles in the family she left behind and her own life, wrinkles she wouldn't be able to see or ...

Sloane Jacobsen is the most powerful trend forecaster in the world (she was the foreseer of "the swipe"), and global fashion, lifestyle, and tech companies pay to hear her opinions about the future. Her recent forecasts on the family are unwavering: the world is overpopulated, and with unemployment, college costs, and food prices all on the rise, having children is an extravagant indulgence. So it's no surprise when the tech giant Mammoth hires Sloane to lead their groundbreaking annual conference, celebrating the voluntarily childless.

Accidents happen. Especially around zombie turkeys. Then you add zombie humans, and problems proliferate. Mix in some ill-planned genetic engineering, and things get crazy. The insanity continues, from the story where zombies are merged with cucumbers to the one where two basement-dwelling nerds gain access to all video content from the past two hundred years - from aliens. Andy Zach pulls out all the stops on his imagination as he serves up this smorgasbord of silliness. Try it. Laughter is good for your soul.

This short novel follows the fate of Sissy Jupe, a warm-hearted circus child, and the family that adopts her. Deserted by her ailing father, Sissy is taken into the cold household of the Gradgrind family, which operates a school. The "eminently practical" Thomas Gradgrind believes only in facts and figures and has raised his children accordingly, thoroughly suppressing the imaginative side of their nature, and the consequences are devastating.

The hilarious tale of a newly full-time dad and awards-show "plus one" whose TV-writer wife has hit the big time. Christopher Noxon's debut novel Plus One is a comedic take on breadwinning women and caretaking men in contemporary Los Angeles. Alex Sherman-Zicklin is a mid-level marketing executive whose wife's 14th attempt at a television pilot is produced, ordered to series, and awarded an Emmy.

Poetry speaks for me when I cannot easily or thoroughly articulate what I’m feeling and experiencing. Thus my poetry emerges from “the depths” of me, where symbols, metaphors, and emotions surge and become words. My life journeys include being a psychic counselor, spiritual seeker, abused child, recovering adult, many love relationships gained and lost, an activist, philosopher, astrologer, writer, disabled person who miraculously healed after forty years, mother, grandmother, organic gardener, permaculture farmer, world traveler and senior citizen. My book is divided my book into ...

Schmucks! combines Mason's and Felder's nails-to-the-wall political satire. They combine impeccable timing with insightful observations on the foibles of modern life to create material that will leave you crying with laughter.

Life is going pretty well for Raymond "Stick" Hart. He's happily married to the former Ponkaquogue Municipal Golf Club assistant pro, the beauteous Cajun firecracker Dannie, raising his rambunctious son, Charlie, and getting by writing smart-mouthed greeting cards for 50 bucks a pop. Then, one disaster of a day, Stick's world does a 10-car pile-up. Luckily, Stick has a solution to all his problems. He'll qualify for the British Open.

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.

We’ve all met them—the self-declared gurus, the self-taught “experts,” the confidently oblivious office heroes, and the life coaches whose biggest accomplishment is remembering their Instagram password. In I Have No Idea What I’m Doing, we shine a painfully bright spotlight on twenty gloriously unqualified characters who charge boldly into the world, armed with buzzwords, blind faith, and absolutely no clue. From clueless consultants to motivational speakers who can’t find the stage, this book celebrates the gloriously chaotic people who remind us all that sometimes the only ...