Books with category Witty Reads
Displaying 6 books

Right Ho, Jeeves

2015

by P.G. Wodehouse

Follow the adventures of Bertie Wooster and his gentleman’s gentleman, Jeeves, in this stunning new edition of one of the greatest comic novels in the English language.

Bertie must deal with the Market Snodsbury Grammar School prize giving, the broken engagement of his cousin Angela, the wooing of Madeline Bassett by Gussie Fink-Nottle, and the resignation of Anatole, the genius chef. Will he prevail? Only with the aid of Jeeves!

Rude Bitches Make Me Tired

2013

by Celia Rivenbark

Rude Bitches Make Me Tired is an always sensible and mildly profane etiquette manual for the modern age. Celia Rivenbark addresses real-life quandaries ranging from how to deal with braggy playground moms to wondering if you can have sex in your aunt's bed on vacation to correctly grieving the dearly departed (hint: it doesn't include tattoos or truck decals).

This book will provide answers to all your mannerly questions as Celia discusses the social conundrums of our day and age, including:

  • Navigating the agonies of check splitting ("Who had the gorgonzola crumbles and should we really care?")
  • The baffling aspects of airline travel (such as "Recline Monster" and other animals)
  • The art of the visit (always leave them wanting more . . . much more)
  • Gym and locker etiquette (hint: no one wants to talk to you while you're buck naked)
  • Office manners ("Loud talkers, cake hawkers, and Britney Sue's unfortunate cyst")

Good manners have never been so wickedly funny!

Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls: Essays, Etc.

2013

by David Sedaris

A guy walks into a bar car and...

From here, the story could take many turns. When this guy is David Sedaris, the possibilities are endless, but the result is always the same: he will both delight you with twists of humor and intelligence and leave you deeply moved.

Sedaris remembers his father's dinnertime attire (shirtsleeves and underpants), his first colonoscopy (remarkably pleasant), and the time he considered buying the skeleton of a murdered Pygmy.

With Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls, David Sedaris shows once again why his work has been called hilarious, elegant, and surprisingly moving.

The Fry Chronicles

2010

by Stephen Fry

The Fry Chronicles is the captivating autobiography of Stephen Fry, one of the most beloved figures in British entertainment. Thirteen years ago, Moab Is My Washpot, Stephen Fry's autobiography of his early years, was published to rave reviews and was a huge best seller. In the years since, Stephen Fry has moved into a completely new stratosphere, both as a public figure and a private man.

Stephen Fry arrived at Cambridge on probation—a convicted fraudster and thief, an addict, liar, fantasist, and failed suicide—convinced that at any moment he would be found out and flung away. Instead, university life offered him love, romance, and the chance to stand on a stage and entertain. He met and befriended bright young things like Emma Thompson and Hugh Laurie and emerged as one of the most promising comic talents in the country.

This is the intriguing, hilarious, and utterly compelling story of how the Stephen the nation knows (or thinks it knows) began to make his presence felt as he took his first tentative steps in the worlds of television, journalism, radio, theatre, and film. Shameful tales of sugar, shag, and champagne jostle with insights into credit cards, classic cars, and conspicuous consumption, Blackadder, Broadway, and the BBC.

For all its trademark wit and verbal brilliance, this is a book that is not afraid to confront the aching chasm that separates public image from private feeling. Welcome to The Fry Chronicles, one of the boldest, bravest, most revealing, and heartfelt accounts of a man's formative years that you will ever have the exquisite pleasure of reading.

Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage

At the end of her bestselling memoir Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert fell in love with Felipe, a Brazilian-born man of Australian citizenship who'd been living in Indonesia when they met. Resettling in America, the couple swore eternal fidelity to each other, but also swore to never, ever, under any circumstances get legally married. (Both were survivors of previous bad divorces. Enough said.)


But providence intervened one day in the form of the United States government, which—after unexpectedly detaining Felipe at an American border crossing—gave the couple a choice: they could either get married, or Felipe would never be allowed to enter the country again.


Having been effectively sentenced to wed, Gilbert tackled her fears of marriage by delving into this topic completely, trying with all her might to discover through historical research, interviews, and much personal reflection what this stubbornly enduring old institution actually is.


Told with Gilbert's trademark wit, intelligence, and compassion, Committed attempts to "turn on all the lights" when it comes to matrimony, frankly examining questions of compatibility, infatuation, fidelity, family tradition, social expectations, divorce risks, and humbling responsibilities.


Gilbert's memoir is ultimately a clear-eyed celebration of love with all the complexity and consequence that real love, in the real world, actually entails.

The Uncommon Reader

2008

by Alan Bennett

The Uncommon Reader is a deliciously funny novella that celebrates the pleasure of reading. When the Queen, in pursuit of her wandering corgis, stumbles upon a mobile library, she feels duty-bound to borrow a book. Aided by Norman, a young man from the palace kitchen who frequents the library, the Queen is transformed as she discovers the liberating pleasures of the written word.

The author of The History Boys, Alan Bennett, is one of Britain’s best-loved literary voices. With The Uncommon Reader, he brings us a playful homage to the written word, imagining a world in which literature becomes a subversive bridge between powerbrokers and commoners. By turns cheeky and charming, the novella features the Queen herself as its protagonist.

When her yapping corgis lead her to a mobile library, Her Majesty develops a new obsession with reading. She finds herself devouring works by a tantalizing range of authors, from the Brontë sisters to Jean Genet. With a young member of the palace kitchen staff guiding her choices, it’s not long before the Queen begins to develop a new perspective on the world - one that alarms her closest advisers and tempts her to make bold new decisions.

Brimming with the mischievous wit that has garnered acclaim for Bennett on both sides of the Atlantic, The Uncommon Reader is a delightful celebration of books and writers, and the readers who sustain them.

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