Editorial Review

"A is for Amy who fell down the stairs. B is for Basil assaulted by bears. C is for Clara who wasted away. D is for Desmond thrown out of a sleigh..." The rhyming couplets of this grim abecedarian are familiar, of course, to devotees of macabre humor, but the darkly crosshatched drawings are (as Poe put it) "the soul of the plot." Several years went by during which Read more

Reviews (80)

Satisfied customer!
I was very pleased with the product that I ordered as well as the time it took to receive it - hardly any time at all!

Great book - fast read ;o)
One of the most imaginative books I've ever read - I put it out when friends come over so we can laugh and talk about the images.I'll definitely be getting Gorey's other books!

A childs' first ABC book
What can you say about the quintessential Edward Gorey book that hasn't already been said?
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Subjects:  1. Alphabet    2. American wit and humor, Pictor    3. American wit and humor, Pictorial    4. Art & Art Instruction    5. English language    6. General    7. Humor    8. Individual Artist    9. Techniques - Cartooning    10. Techniques - Pen & Ink Drawing    11. Art / Cartooning    12. Cartoons & comic strips   

Reviews (486)

Apparently punctuation lessons have to funny or clever to be useful?
A spotlight review for this product is titled "It's not clever and it's not funny." Fine, well, this completely invalidates all of her arguments about punctuation usage, then. As Lynne Truss might say: "Bloody idiot!"
Saucy and clever frolic through punctuation!
It's easy to see how the book's breezy run through "the notations of music of the spoken language" has made it a bestseller. It's a memorable reminder of the purpose of punctuation in the first place: to clarify syntax and meaning. Ms. Truss does that with élan!
It is clever and it is funny
I realised I needed to read this book recently when a student in China told me that there is no apostrophe in the possessive "its".
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Subjects:  1. English Grammar    2. English language    3. Grammar    4. Language Arts & Disciplines    5. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    6. Punctuation    7. Reference    8. Humor / Essays   

Reviews (1)

I've been using the Far-Side Desk Calendar for 3 years now
This is a great way to organize yourself. This calendar is spiral bound, has an annual theme for its cartoons (which are very funny!), and is divided into weekly pages (and each month has its own page as well). This is convenient because sometimes you want to look at your month at a glance, and sometimes you want to make more specific daily plans. There is space to write notes for the month and space for daily notes. There is a small section for phone numbers, for a yearly plan, and each week comes with its own color cartoon.
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Subjects:  1. Calendar    2. Calendars & Diaries    3. Calendars - Humor / Comics / Games    4. Comics & Cartoons    5. General    6. Non-Classifiable    7. Humor / General   

Reviews (13)

Exactly what I was looking for
I was looking for and needing simple and clear self-improvement / enlightenment.My life had grown so stagnant and mediocre.I knew I was missing something but couldn't put my finger on it.It is not enough to start listening to classic music or just reading more novels.It is about looking within. How easy it is to overlook or forget how much power and control we have over our own lives. I plan to give this book out as gifts to my friends and family.

Best spiritual text ever written
I have quoted and underlined and re-read this book so many times that it is falling apart.If you can overcome the politically incorrect masculine form of writing, the material is as true to today as it was when it was written.James Allen was truely an enlightened soul.His writing is so packed with spiritual truths that the reader will want to read the text slowly and repeatedly to allow it to linger in the mind.This is my favorite book of all time.

Awesome book
This books will change the way you think! Find it!
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Subjects:  1. General    2. Humor    3. New Thought    4. Philosophy    5. Religion - Commentaries / Reference    6. Humour    7. Spirituality   

Subjects:  1. Calendar    2. Calendars & Diaries    3. Comics & Cartoons    4. Non-Classifiable    5. Humor / General   

Reviews (135)

phenominal
Bill Bryson is a genius. This book is absolutely hilarious. I was never much of a reader, but i got this book for a present and when i started reading it i couldnt put it down. This is a must read. Bill Bryson, please right more (italy, islands, etc.)!!!

Bill Bryson is no Mark Twain, but who is?
Why not just read Mark Twain's Innocents Abroad instead? Bryson's account reads like a bad rip-off at many points, and while Twain's mockery of a typical American tourist in Europe is clearly coming from love of and respect for his fellow Americans, Bryson comes off as snobbish and superior, wishing to distance himself from all things American, quick to point out that he is an ex-pat. Also, Twain is funnier. Of course.

Bill Bryson is always great
You must know by now that I never write a bad review about this guy. In this book, we take a whirlwind tour of Europe. You can read the cover blurbs about how funny and perceptive he is, and how skillful he is with the language, and how eminently readable he is. I agree with every word. But I'd like to mention that this isn't some snooty tour guide or gushing forth bubblehead. He's an average guy who won't hesitate to tell you what sucks, or leave a place that he doesn't like, or bend over backwards to say nice things. He'll bash anybody, himself included. He's refreshingly honest.
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Subjects:  1. Essays & Travelogues    2. Europe - General    3. Europe - Western    4. Form - Essays    5. Travel    6. Travel - Foreign    7. Travel / Essays & Travelogues   

Reviews (35)

If You Don't Use - You Loose It!
I already knew that as you age and your memory starts to go, it is not too late to regain mental strength. Our brain is like a muscle - if you don't use it, you lose it! This book offers highly effective exercises that help you fight memory loss and bulk up that brain of yours. I really enjoyed the concept of "neurobics", which are simple and fun exercises that stimulate neurons in your brain and incorporate all five of your senses.
Consider it for the increase in focus
I did a google on the concept of neurobics first. It's a concept developed solely by Dr.Katz with no actual physical evidence that it works. All the articles I found were related to the book, not any new research on this theory. In the opening chapters, Katz builds his case for how the brain wastes away in the absence of full sensory usage , how neurobics (could) make a difference and then proceeds to the excercises.
Decent start for exercising the brain.
I am actually 30 years old, and the book says it caters to 40+, but I find it a great start to opening neural pathways by seemingly simple exercises. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Age factors    2. Aging    3. Cognition    4. General    5. Health & Fitness    6. Memory    7. Personal Growth - Memory Improvement    8. Problems, exercises, etc    9. Psychology    10. Self-Help    11. Popular psychology    12. Self-Help & Practical Interests    13. Self-Help / Personal Growth / Memory Improvement   

Reviews (1)

Holy Moley!!
I knew this book would be great, but I didn't quite imagine it would be THIS amazing.
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Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. American wit and humor, Pictorial    3. Anthologies    4. Art & Art Instruction    5. Cartooning    6. Comic books, strips, etc.    7. Comics & Graphic Novels    8. General    9. Graphic Novels    10. History    11. Humor    12. Techniques - Cartooning    13. United States    14. Art / Cartooning    15. Cartoons & comic strips    16. Other graphic art forms   

Reviews (19)

Become the funniest person in print with this basic comedy writing handbook for humor writers
Become the funniest person in print with this basic comedy writing handbook for humor writers, Mel Helitzer & Mark Schatz's Comedy Writing Secrets, 2nd Edition which offers up exercises, details on differences between different types of comedy writing, and tips for writing for specific markets, from sitcom and television to greeting cards and T-shirts. Tips are blocked in sidebars of at-a-glance information, discussions are filled with comedy quotes throughout, and insights on what makes something funny offers up a fine pairing of exercises and insights on humor.

A book to get you started
I have the first edition of this book (figures they'd release a second edition after I buy the first) and learned a lot from it. It reads like a college textbook and the joke examples aren't funny in the least, but the formulas you learn here are used by comedians and sitcom writers all the time. Just turn on your favorite sitcom one night and count the various joke formulas used over the course of a half hour show if you doubt Helitzer's knowledge. You'll find that he describes nearly every one in this book.
A guide for humor writers who want to master the basics to become professionals
Mel Helitzer works with Mark Schatz on the second edition of Comedy Writing Secrets, a guide for humor writers who want to master the basics to become professionals. This is an expanded new edition which includes more humor writing exercises, more details on how to write for sitcoms and standup alike, more sources for paying positions, and more markets. Anecdotes and tips from top comics supplement information writers will find specific and essential to honing their craft. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Authorship    2. Comedy    3. Composition & Creative Writing - General    4. General    5. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    6. Pop Arts / Pop Culture    7. Reference    8. Wit and humor    9. Writing Skills    10. Creative writing guides    11. English   

Reviews (32)

Caught my eye, then I washed it out
Really wished I could have liked this story. It had a good beginning and lead to some really great expectations. Unfortunately, it lead me the wrong way as I was severly disappointed in the ending. Just not my cup of tea. Friends of Marv, ask a friend to borrow first.

always with the superheroes
I care strongly about stories.However, I am not skilled at appreciating graphic novels or comics as such--that is, when I read something like Ronin, I come away with strong feelings about its characters and plot, but with only a vague impression of the quality of its visuals.The story in this book frustrated me.It is angsty and epic in the way of so many other works that I, as a clever person who programs computers and enjoys science fiction, am supposed to love:Ender's Game, for instance.I have my own share of angstful memories and heroic fantasies, but I believe that there is much more to life.Geek entertainment feels stunted to me--it's always about urgent quests, just-off-the-mainstream gimmickry, and simplistic sentimentality cloaked in ugly cynicism.As far as I can tell, there is no reason for the protagonist in Ronin to appear as a samurai, except that the author thought feudal Japan was cool.It's unclear how the villainous power in this story could possibly have come into being.The author's rendering of the handicapped hero's formative angstful experience is hauntingly grotesque, but that character's eventual redemption is comparatively shallow and silly.Of course good wins over evil in a burst of something or other.Of course there is a girl; of course she is good, and of course someone falls in love with her and makes a huge sacrifice for her and refrains from sticking around to deal with the little messy details of a relationship with her.All of this is lame.
I wish I enjoyed it as much as the others
I did not know what to expect when I bought the comic, which is a good thing.Frank Miller is one of my favorite writers and I loved his other novels such as the Sin City series, The Dark Knight, Hard Boiled, etc.I was dissapointed reading this book.
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Subjects:  1. Comics & Cartoons    2. Comics & Graphic Novels    3. Fiction - Fantasy    4. Graphic Novels    5. Graphic Novels - General    6. Humor    7. Fiction / Graphic Novels   

Reviews (1)

Sinning again
Call it "noir meets Kill Bill." Frank Miller stripped comic art to the bone in his "Sin City" series, which takes place in the fictional "Basin City," where corruption is the rule and life is cheap.
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Subjects:  1. Comics & Graphic Novels    2. General    3. Graphic Novels    4. Graphic Novels - General    5. Humor    6. Comics & Graphic Novels / General   

Reviews (283)

Funny
The Sweet Potato Queens' Book of Love is a fun, easily read little book. It is about being a woman, and it is about making most of life. It is about love, life, men, marriage and being prepared as it says on the cover of the book.
Fresh and laugh out loud funny
This was a great book.I thoroughly enjoyed it.Gotta love a tarnished Southern Belle. The author gets a bit risque with language but I didn't find its use offensive.I would heartily recommend this book to anyone.

Did I Miss Something Here, Y'All?
Maybe I grew up on the wrong side of the Mason-Dixon line (that would be north of Jackson, Mississippi) to appreciate the humor in this book, but I didn't find it all that funny.With the exception of a few ancedotes this book was disappointing and did not live up to the rave reviews I'd heard about it.
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Subjects:  1. American wit and humor    2. Form - Parodies    3. Humor    4. Interpersonal Relations    5. Love & Romance    6. Topic - Relationships    7. Humor / General    8. Humour   

Reviews (2)

Readers involved in comic history, evolution and art simply must have
Any involved in the comics must have ART OUT OF TIME: UNKNOWN COMICS VISIONARIES, 1900-1969: it celebrates the lesser-known work of Bob Powell, Astan MacGovern, Boody Rogers and others who proved eccentric but influential comic visionaries before the rose of underground comics in the late 1960s. These artists created their own versions of western, romance, humor and horror genres and worked within the confines of popular comics of their times to provide visionary works. Some became famous, others remained obscure. ART OUT OF TIME reprints complete comic book and strip stories: many appear here for the first time since their first appearance. A thematic organization allows for quick access while surveys of pre-underground stars makes for a winning collection. Another big plus: the strips appear in full color, capturing all the nuances of the originals and losing nothing in translation. Readers involved in comic history, evolution and art simply must have ART OUT OF TIME.
VERY GOOD COMPILATION OF UNKNOWN ARTISTS
The edition and compilation of material is brilliant, and also is the reproduction of old pages. It's a fantastic purchase for comic lovers. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Comic books, strips, etc    2. Comics & Cartoons    3. Comics & Graphic Novels    4. Fiction - General    5. General    6. Graphic Novels    7. Humor    8. Comic book & cartoon art    9. History of art & design styles: from c 1900 -    10. Humor / Cartoons   

Reviews (15)

Life's Little Instruction Book
I had previously purchased this book several years ago.As a former high school teacher I shared the "One" line notes with my students. This sharing became a routine my students looked forward to see when I posted them.With that in mind, I purchased a copy for my granddaughter for a graduation present.
Any Book With A Tartan Cover Can't Be Bad...
Advice of both the common sense variety and the kind based on bitter experience is offered here in this pocket-sized volume. Non-controversial, cutesy-but-true helpful hints make up the bulk of its alleged 511 suggestions.
Hope in a book!
This little book is just full of those positive affirmations people keep telling you to tell yourself to improve your own life. I picked out several new sayings that I really loved and I also noticed several old sayings that I have always cherished. Positive affirmations are a positive tool when you feel down and out, or just a little gray.I recommend this book to kids of all ages. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Inspirational    2. Inspirational - Gifts    3. Self-Help    4. Spiritual    5. Collections & anthologies of various literary forms    6. Humour    7. Mind, body, spirit: disciplines & techniques    8. Self-Help / General   

Reviews (3)

Highly recommended
Featuring a foreword by General Richard B. Myers (USAF, Ret., Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff) The War Within: One More Step At A Time is a unique collection of G. B. Trudeau's Doonesbury newspaper comics that is not only humorous, but also cutting-edge relevant . The strips follow the daily life Vietnam, Gulf War, and Iraq War veteran B.D., whose tour of duty was cut short by a near-death experience, the loss of his leg, and perhaps most shockingly, the loss of his iconic helmet. Far more life-altering than the physical damage is the post-traumatic stress disorder that leaves him increasingly disoriented, hostile, withdrawn, and turning to alcohol to self-medicate. When B.D. is on the verge of mistaking friends and family for mortal enemies, the turning point comes when he overhears his own daughter say that she has become afraid of him. Help comes in the form of the local Vet Center, and the skillful aid of counselor and fellow Vietnam vet Elias. The War Within brims with classic Trudeau wit, yet also reveals the author's resolve to accurately portray the harrowing pressures America's armed forces are subject to during and after risking their lives in the service. Highly recommended. Proceeds from "The War Within" are to benefit Fisher House, a "home away from home" for families of patients receiving medical care at major military and VA medical centers.

Worth the wait!
Received and read "The War Within" last week but find it hard to characterize this one.While BD was the central figure in "The Long Road Home" I think this one has a cast offigures with equally important stories to tell.BD continues his journey but one gets a much deeper understanding of his pain and struggles as well as those of his family.
A service to our country's fighting men and women
These are some most heart-rending yet funny cartoons I have ever read. For a man who has never "been there" Trudeau does an outstanding job of showing the long road that a miltary man has to walk to "recover" from war. B.D. is wounded both on the outside and the inside and as Trudeau shows in a daily comic strip, sometimes it's the hidden wounds that are the worst. If any comic strip is worthy of a Pulitzer, it is the current run of Doonesbury with the ongoing journey of B.D. If you have any empathy for the American fighting man/woman these strips will bring tears to your eyes. They are Art with a capital A. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Comics & Cartoons    2. Comics & Graphic Novels    3. Graphic Satire And Humor    4. Humor    5. Topic - Political    6. Comic book & cartoon art    7. Comics & Graphic Novels / Comics & Cartoons   

Reviews (4)

A New York Snob Speaks
Nora Ephron is quite sure of herself and her friends, and laughs heartily at the yahoos in the Midwest who cook and love their husbands. While her writing is often amusing, her attitude of condescension and wearying self-glorification is grotesque. And to see her way back at the beginning of the Women's Movement equally sure of how circumstances would improve for women is especially painful. She poo-poohs those who wonder if women's life will actually improve, (and her own "Encounter Group" partners certainly cast doubt upon that) and lives in a world where people such as herself need not be troubled by real life. Funny at times but some material very dated
I enjoyed part of this book.I laughed at a few of her stories but some of the chapters were so dated that I didn't know what she was talking about let alone whether it was funny.Maybe I was a bit too young to appreciate it all.

Love this book
I read this book years ago and bought it again for my daughter.The piece on breasts is just as hilarious and relevant today (sad to say) as it was when I first read it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Feminism    2. Feminism & Feminist Theory    3. Form - Essays    4. General    5. Humor    6. Social Science    7. Sociology Of Women    8. United States    9. Women    10. Women's Studies - General    11. English    12. Humor / General    13. Humour collections & anthologies   

Reviews (18)

A fun, sensible set of routines are presented for any struggling with weight issues.
Author Janice Taylor is a weight loss coach and has written much on her lifetime project of losing weight, so Our Lady of Weight Loss represents the voice of experience. She's now fifty pounds lighter and here shares her gospel truths on how to stop cravings, move away from weight gain routines, and use healthy recipes which taste good in place of more fattening choices. A fun, sensible set of routines are presented for any struggling with weight issues.
You've got to read this book!
I received this book as a gift. There are quite a few books on this subject on the market and this one is the best. I too could not put it down and finished it in 3 days. It's a huge book, a great resource that is well researched and written.. I have a few friends who've purchased this book and really loved it too. I can highly recommend this book.
Lose Weight Without also Loosing your Humor

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Subjects:  1. Anecdotes    2. Consumer Health    3. Diet Therapy    4. General    5. Health & Fitness    6. Health/Fitness    7. Humor    8. Inspirational    9. Motivational & Inspirational    10. Satire And Humor    11. Weight Loss    12. Diets & dieting    13. Health & Fitness / Weight Loss   

Editorial Review

Take your average guide for new mothers, chuck most of the stuff about breast feeding and ditch the deep background research and stats, then generously pepper with illustrations and burley humor and what do you have? Your average guide for new fathers. Read more

Reviews (41)

Good, Fun Book for Beginnner Dads
This book is a great starting place if you are like me and are a first time Dad with absolutely zero experience dealing with babies. It presents really useful information and tidbits in an entertaining format for guys. The illustrations are quite amusing as well. Who knew that Bob Marley's 'Buffalo Solider' has a perfectly soothing rhythym that matches the baby's heartbeat and helps them relax? It is also contains tidbits on how to leverage your bundle of joy psychologically on others - catching relief at work etc. Things that guys need to know that they would never learn from your typical baby books. I particularly like the bit on how to powernap to minimize fatigue.
Hilarious and informative
Read this book 3 times before the baby was born, because it was so funny. Several of the nurses in the hospital saw it and wrote down the name of the book so that they could recommend it to other new fathers. I've bought another copy for my bro in law so that he can enjoy it and learn as much as I have. I haven't found any other source of information more valuable and humorous for a new father then this book.

Teaches you a lot.. Even if you think you know it all...
I was a single mom before I met my husband.. I wish I had read this book! Now we are going to start trying in January and I read this book hoping to find something that wouldn't sound condescending, protaganistic, or droll. I found it informative, funny and interesting to read. It really taught ME a lot. I left in the bathroom for my husband to read.. :) He read a couple of pages and found it interesting. Trust me you won't be dissapointed! BTW.. I have bought almost every book out there for fathers.. This is by far one of the best! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Family & Relationships    2. Family / Parenting / Childbirth    3. Family/Marriage    4. Father and child    5. Father-child relationship    6. Fatherhood    7. Fathers    8. Marriage    9. Parenting - Fatherhood    10. Parenting - General    11. Sociology Of Men    12. Topic - Family    13. Family & Relationships / General   

Reviews (8)

The History of Wally
In the introduction Scott Adams talks about his time at Pacific Bell and the management decisions that resulted in the real-life Wally, an employee that worked hard to be in the bottom 10% so that he could be laid off with a substantial severance package.From there we move to the strips which cover most of the range of the Dilbert Years right from the early, unpolished days of Wally.Reading the collection we can see hoe the coffee mug carrying character has developed over the years.
Another wonderful collection
Fans of the cartoon strip Dilbert have another wonderful collection packed with black and white and color cartoons alike. This is the author's 26th Dilbert book, but it doesn't lesson the impact of describing office politics, ironies, and inconsistencies. Cubicle cartoons are hilarious and continue to remark on work life with its favorite characters joined by a few new faces.
More Great Dilbert
What makes it funny is that everyone knows a Wally where they work? It is funny because there is so much truth in it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Comics & Cartoons    2. Form - Cartoons & Comics    3. Graphic Satire And Humor    4. Humor    5. Non-Classifiable    6. Nonfiction    7. Topic - Business and Professional    8. Comics & Graphic Novels / Comics & Cartoons   

Editorial Review

The fifth volume in Fantagraphics Books' Read more

Reviews (14)

The best comic strip ever written
The best ever written. It's very difficult not to relate to Charlie Brown. He is Joe Everyman. I can't wait for the rest of the strips to come out. A big mistake for a "Peanuts" fan not to own them.

Charlie Brown and Snoopy Are For Everyone, Not Just Christians
Eric Paddon said in his review that Whoopi Goldberg's "specialty is foul-mouthed hate diatribes toward anyone who isn't a raving leftist like her."
Great Cartoons - Ignore the Introduction
It's a joy to watch the continuing development of the Peanuts characters through this, the fifth volume in the continuing series.You can safely ignore the 'introduction' - an interview with Whoopi Goldberg that casts little light on the Peanuts Gang or Charles Schulz.I have no axe to grind as far as Ms. Goldberg is concerned - she's a fine actress and an interesting person, but for a volume such as this, part of a complete collection, I'd expect a more relevant essay or perhaps some additional information on Mr. Schulz or his work.
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Subjects:  1. Comics & Cartoons    2. Comics & Graphic Novels    3. General    4. Humor    5. Comics & Graphic Novels / Comics & Cartoons