Reviews (1)

Area Woman Blows Gasket : And Other Tales from the Domestic
Patricia Pearson's outlook on life and daily events are expressed in this series of essays written on such topics as fast food, therapists, haircuts, social dos and don'ts and much much more.Take a look at the lighter, funnier sometimes sad side of life through the eyes and thoughts of Pearson, a columnist and writer for publications across the nation. This satirical look will leave you wanting the next installment from this brilliant author.You will never look at life the same, which may not be a good thing, if you aren't ready for change.A Must Read!!!! **** ... Read more

Subjects:  1. American Satire And Humor    2. Canadian    3. Canadian wit and humor    4. Essays    5. Family / Parenting / Childbirth    6. Form - Essays    7. Humor    8. Literary Collections    9. Literature: Classics    10. Topic - Family    11. Literary Collections / Essays   

Reviews (4)

Magic Journey from Dusk to Dawn
This highly unusual examination of the phases of night will ensure that never again will you be oblivious of them.The author begins with the three stages of twilight---civil twilight, nautical twilight, and astronomical twilight, and ends with first light, the beginning of dawn.
Nota favourite
Last night I "finished" Enjoyable but...
Ok, I did like this book.There were times, many times however, I wished it would drop the poetics and pick up the pace.There are many interesting FACTS in this book sprinkled through philosophy and poetics.Some of the potics just aren't that interesting to me.I'd say buy the paperback.It's a good decent book but not library worthy...read it and pass it on.
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Subjects:  1. 1951-    2. 20th century    3. American Satire And Humor    4. Biography    5. Dewdney, Christopher,    6. Folklore    7. General    8. Literary Collections    9. Literature - Classics / Criticism    10. Literature: Classics    11. Night    12. Poetry    13. Poets, Canadian    14. Social aspects    15. Special Subjects In Literature   

Reviews (2)

Unexpectedly entertaining.
I bought this book mostly as a kind of joke.Most of my friends and I classify ourselves as starving artists, so I thought this book would, at the very least, be an eery window into our lives.
A must read for anyone who is or knows an artist!
A funny look a the nitty gritty issues of life mixed with facts about what the (now) famous did in similiar situations. Lots of fun (& sometimes helpful) suggestions for handling everything from critiques to living situations.Great fun to read! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. American - General    2. American Satire And Humor    3. Art    4. Arts In General (Multi-Subject)    5. Authorship    6. General    7. Humor    8. Literature - Classics / Criticism    9. Humor / General   

Subjects:  1. Criticism and interpretation    2. Epistolary poetry, Latin    3. General    4. History - General History    5. History and criticism    6. Horace    7. Laudatory poetry, Latin    8. Literature: Classics    9. Verse satire, Latin    10. History / General    11. Latin    12. Poetry & poets: classical, early & medieval    13. Works by individual poets: classical, early & medieval   

Reviews (1)

Amusing, thought-provoking introduction to Renaissance Italy
The Martones have provided clear, graceful, & funny translations of Italian Renaissance tales in the tradition of Boccaccio.Excellent introductory or background reading for the period, plus you may want to retell some of the stories to your friends!Authors whose novellas are in the collection include Bandello and Sermini ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 15th century    2. Italian Novel And Short Story    3. Italian fiction    4. Literature - Classics / Criticism    5. Reference    6. Renaissance    7. Satire And Humor    8. Short stories, Italian    9. To 1400    10. Translations into English   

Subjects:  1. American - General    2. Excuses    3. General    4. Humor    5. Satire And Humor    6. Humor / General    7. Humour    8. LITERATURE - LIT CLASSICS TRD PB   

Reviews (2)

Yes, yes, yes
Thanks Tom for making me snort laugh through my nose.I'll be searching out your other work now.

Don't leave home without this valuable source
A passport is a really necessary item -- most of the time -- but as this book shows, you don't need one all the time.And, for certain places, a passport is not needed at all.But, how far can you go without one?This book gives you details on that and more.It will make your passport even more valuable, and, significantly, it will give you the lowdown on where you should go -- passport or not.Highly recommended. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Alaska    2. American Satire And Humor    3. Bodett, Tom    4. Essays    5. General    6. Humor    7. Literature - Classics / Criticism    8. Social life and customs    9. United States - State & Local - General    10. English    11. Jokes & riddles    12. Literary studies: general    13. USA   

Reviews (1)

Excellent book, hardly any flaws
Overall, this book contains an excellent sampling of Reformation satires, selected by Rummel to communicate the entire spectrum of these writings, both Catholic and reformist. Additionally, Rummel's preface to each work provides outstanding background and commentary on the satire. Her selections provide a good balance of opposing viewpoints, with _The Powers of the Romanists_, _Theologists in Council_, and "A Journey for Religion's Sake" representing the humanist and Lutheran reformers, and "A Reuchlinist's Ascent to Heaven" and _The Great Lutheran Fool_ epitomizing the conservative Catholic theologians. These masterpieces of Reformation literature are extraordinary in many respects, not the least of which is the fact that these writings manage to educate and to entertain, to shock and to please, to generate feelings of abhorrence and of wonderment, all in the period of a single breath. The translations of each of these works more than adequately convey the spirit of the originals-even today they are capable of evoking the same intense emotions within the reader as they must have done in the sixteenth century. Just as Gratius, Rubianus, Murner, and Erasmus directed their writings toward a wide-ranging general audience, so too does Rummel keep the diction and style of her translations faithful to their originals. The remarkable cleverness of language and mastery of technique abundant in these wonderful satires is as evident and enjoyable today was they were nearly five centuries ago.Read more

Subjects:  1. 16th Century Literature - History And Criticism    2. Ancient and Classical    3. Catholic Church    4. Controversial literature    5. History    6. Lutheran Church    7. Reformation    8. Religion    9. Religion - Classic Works    10. Satire, Latin (Medieval and modern)    11. Sources    12. British & Irish history: c 1500 to c 1700    13. England    14. English    15. Humour collections & anthologies    16. Literary studies: 16th to 18th centuries    17. Other prose: 16th to 18th centuries    18. Protestantism & Protestant Churches    19. REFORMATION_SOURCES    20. Religion / Catholicism    21. SATIRE, GERMAN    22. SATIRE, LATIN    23. c 1500 to c 1600   

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Literary Criticism    3. Literature - Classics / Criticism    4. Russia    5. Russian & Former Soviet Union    6. Satire, Russian    7. Short stories    8. Topic - Political    9. Translations into English    10. Fiction anthologies & collections    11. Former Soviet Union, USSR (Europe)    12. Literary Collections / Continental European    13. Literary Criticism & Collections / Russian & Former Soviet Union   

Subjects:  1. Anecdotes, facetiae, satire, etc    2. Dating (Social customs)    3. Interpersonal Relations    4. Literature: Classics    5. Psychology   

Reviews (1)

Scholarly and thought provoking.
Excellent book which manages to chart the ... and (related) invectives, poetry and jokes of the late-republic/early Roman Empire. In contrast to the arid writing style of the New Historians on the classics, this is a breath of fresh air. She also provides good counter arguments to the ideasof Foucault and neo-Foucaultians, although not without problems; for example, she thinks the 'cinaedi', a term of insult roughly translated to today's 'queer', denoted a group of 'passive homosexuals', which she thinks was a (sub)cultural group in the Roman empire (there may well have been ... sub-cultures, but her idea is too reductive). Still, highly enjoyable, scholarly and recommended. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Aggressiveness in literature    2. Ancient and Classical    3. Erotic poetry, Latin    4. Gender Studies    5. History    6. History and criticism    7. History: World    8. Latin wit and humor    9. Literature - Classics / Criticism    10. Military    11. Military - Naval    12. Roman Literature    13. Satire, Latin    14. Ancient Rome    15. Behavioural theory (Behaviourism)    16. Classical Studies | Literary Criticism    17. Feminism    18. Latin    19. Literary Criticism & Collections / Ancient & Classical    20. Literary studies: classical, early & medieval    21. Prose & writers: classical, early & medieval    22. Sexual behaviour   

Reviews (1)

New Yorker pieces: wonderfully entertaining
Mark Singer is a writer for The New Yorker magazine and collected here are 25 relatively short (2-3 pages) "Talk of the Town" pieces as well as 8 much longer "Profiles" written by him during the 1970s and `80s. The Talk articles are quirky human interest stories that spotlight unusual characters in and about the 5 boroughs of New York City: a group of handball players from Brooklyn, a street musician in Manhattan, a fruit seller named Tomato Bob, a "found objects" sculptor in SoHo. The Profiles are of the same mold, but are more leisurely developed and expansive. These include essays on the comic writer Goodman Ace, an art dealer named Graham Arader, a group of "court buffs" who as a hobby attend trials at the State Supreme Court in Brooklyn, and the Brennan brothers who are luxury apartment superintendents. Singer's style is light and humorous, and his goal is to entertain as well as to inform. If you want an inkling on why The New Yorker is often considered America's best-ever periodical, reading this collection of Mark Singer articles will help you get one. Most enjoyable. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Anecdotes    2. Anecdotes, facetiae, satire, e    3. Anecdotes, facetiae, satire, etc    4. Form - Jokes & Riddles    5. Humor    6. Literature: Classics    7. New York (N.Y.)    8. Social life and customs    9. United States - State & Local   

Editorial Review

Trollope's 1875 tale of a great financier's fraudulent machinations in the railway business, and his daughter's ill-use at the hands of a grasping lover (for whom she steals funds in order to elope) is a classic in the literature of money and a ripping good read as well. ... Read more

Reviews (19)

Very Good Introduction to Trollope
So many reviewers remark on how what is described in this book is still the way we live now.But that didn't interest me.Although that may or may not be true, it certainly is not interesting enough to sustain 800 pages.
And the way we still live today
Trollope weaves multiple plot lines with ease and confidence such that the reader is never in doubt. Trollope explores the thin veneer of civility and sophistication that covered society. Those who are decent and upright differ only slightly from the social climbing, or money-hungry. Trollope exposes the foibles of social climbers and get-rich-quick investors.
Fascinating read on the changing of Victorian society!
I just finished this nice long read, and I must say it was very well written: Trollope shows us a fascinating view of how the changes in society can affect the people living in it.We are given a view of all sorts of characters: from the volatile, swindler Melmotte to the swaggering, gambling coward Felix Carbury, to his antithesis, his staid, country cousin Roger Carbury, and Felix's silly & conniving mother Lady Carbury, to his sweet & saintly sister Hetta Carbury...the mousey Marie Melmotte, the marriage schemer Georgiana Longestaffe, the wonderful yet fallible Paul Montague, and the independent & brash American, Mrs. Hurtle.These & many other characters collide to give us a fascinating read, as their lives intertwine again & again, on so many levels.
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Subjects:  1. Capitalists and financiers    2. Classics    3. Commercial crimes    4. Fiction    5. Literature - Classics / Criticism    6. Literature: Classics    7. London (England)    8. Satire    9. 19th century fiction    10. Classic fiction    11. Fiction / General    12. Modern fiction    13. Reading Group Guide   

Reviews (2)

sci-fi satire
Of interest to any admirers of Bulgakov and those interested in science fiction or satirical fiction, The Fatal Eggs is a brilliant satire on Stalinist Russia. Bulgakov lived under Stalin's regime and experienced first-hand suppression and censorship (his most celebrated works were not published in his lifetime), giving this satire a thrilling bite. The story is of an eccentric Russian scientist who discovers a form of light ray that accelerates growth in organisms. But when the ray is shone upon the wrong batch of eggs, he accidentally creates giant hybrids which quickly overun the city, while the propaganda-driven press report on all of this as it spirals further and further out of control. Highly entertaining, and well-translated too.

Slow, predictable with some fantastic moments
The satire element of this story is so oudated that it fails completly to enliven the functional prose, the tedious details and the very thin and predictable plot. But Bulgakov IS a great writer, and his genius shines in some intermitent episodes of the book .. and make it worth the while, it's only 100 pages after all. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Classics    2. Fiction    3. Fiction - Science Fiction    4. Literature: Classics    5. Russian Novel And Short Story    6. Science Fiction - General    7. FICTION_HUMOROUS    8. Humor / General    9. Russian    10. SATIRE    11. Science fiction   

Subjects:  1. American Satire And Humor    2. Essays    3. Literature - Classics / Criticism    4. Sociology   

Subjects:  1. Form - Jokes & Riddles    2. General    3. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    4. Public Speaking    5. Quotations    6. Reference    7. Satire And Humor    8. English    9. Humour collections & anthologies    10. LITERATURE - LIT CLASSICS TRD PB    11. Public speaking / elocution    12. Reference / General   

Editorial Review

This massive (nearly 700 pages) anthology offers a fascinating survey of black women's humor,compiled from folk sources, the blues, and poetry, fiction, anecdotal recollections, and routines by suchcomedians as the late Jackie "Moms" Mabley. The title, editor Daryl Cumber Dance informs, isa "playful entreaty" that black women use to encourage each other or to express disbelief inprivate conversations when swapping jokes and tall tales. Some of the material in Read more

Reviews (6)

Great Collection...a must have.
Very good collection of African American writting.I enjoyed it.

I wish ... had six stars
This books is off the charts! Ive been reading for a long time, and this book just encompasses so much for the African American experience. My favorite parts of each chapter are the anecdotes and sayings found at the end of each respectively. Purchase this book and pass it on other everyone you know who needs a laugh!

Hilarious reading for African American Women and AfrAm. Men!
This book has been the "Hit" of several recent book parties in The San Francisco East Bay and South Bay Areas.Dr. Dance's book evokes memories of Black humor we rarely are exposed to anymore.Theseanthologies are the best I have read in years.We can still laugh atourselves and love the humor in the antidotes. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. African American Literature    2. African American wit and humor    3. African Americans    4. American - African American & Black    5. American Satire And Humor    6. American wit and humor    7. Ethnic Studies - African American Studies - General    8. General    9. Humor    10. Literature - Classics / Criticism    11. Women authors    12. Black studies    13. English    14. Essays, journals, letters & other prose works    15. Humour    16. Literary studies: general    17. Literature: Texts    18. USA   

Subjects:  1. Ancient and Classical    2. General    3. Horace    4. Laudatory poetry, Latin    5. Literary Criticism    6. Literature - Classics / Criticism    7. Rome    8. Translations into English    9. Verse satire, Latin    10. Latin    11. Literary Criticism & Collections / Ancient & Classical    12. Plays & playwrights: classical, early & medieval    13. Works by individual poets: classical, early & medieval   

Reviews (1)

A terrific spoof on sporting art
The author/illustrator has drawn a wry look at the now antique sportingmagazine covers I grew up with...his take on all the ads and hyped text isflat-out hilarious..buy it..keep this man working!! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. General    2. Humor    3. Literature: Classics    4. Satire And Humor    5. Special Subjects In Literature    6. Sports    7. Field sports: fishing, hunting, shooting    8. Sports & Recreation / Outdoor Skills   

Reviews (3)

An American Novelist Attains Stature (II)
This book is the second volume of the Library of America's compilation of the novels of Dawn Powell (1896 - 1965), a writer whose works have attained deserved if belated recognition.The first volume included five novels of Dawn Powell written between 1930 and 1942.This, the second, volume includes four of Powell's novels written between 1944 and 1965. A great find!
I jut read Wicked Pavilion and found it to be so very, very well written, funny, ironic and poignant. She is really a master and a great revealer of a certain part of American life that is hardly ever heard from - postwar NY artists & socialites. Wow! I love Dawn Powell and intend to read all her works.

Satiric, witty, sharply written and observant fiction
An author of immense popularity, Dawn Powell (1896-1965) wrote satiric, witty, sharply written and observant fiction that went out of print following her death. Then in the early 1990s a renewed awareness of this major literary figure saw the reissuing of her work, only to have it fall back into obscurity once again. Now The Library Of America has brought her work back into print again and in a format that will insure that her fiction will continue to be available to both scholarship and the general reading public for decades to come. Volume 1: Novels 1930-1942 includes Dance Night; Come Back to Sorrento; Turn, Magic Wheel; Angels on Toast; and A Time To be Born. Volume 2: Novels 1944-1962 features My Home Is Far Away; The Locusts Have No King; The Wicked Pavilion; and The Golden Spur. Dawn Powell: Volumes 1 & 2 is a very highly recommended addition to both academic and community library literary fiction collections. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. American Literature - Individual Core Authors    2. American Satire And Humor    3. Fiction    4. Humorous    5. Literary    6. Literature - Classics / Criticism    7. Literature: Classics    8. New York (N.Y.)    9. Ohio    10. Fiction / Classics