It S A Funny Thing How The Professional Comedy Business Made Me Fat Bald Hardback

In this chronicle of one person's poignant and harrowing road to fulfillment, Mike celebrates his chosen life in the comedy business with personal tales of romantic calamities, celebrity run-ins, professional misfortunes, and triumphs. He reinforces the notion that you can accomplish (almost) anything you want if you're willing to get your ass kicked along the way. It's a Funny Thing solidifies Michael Rowe's reputation as not just an all around nice guy, but also a skilled observer in self, the human condition, and dogged perseverance. MICHAEL ROWE, a former comedian now comedy writer/producer, has been nominated for six Emmys for his work on Futurama and Family Guy, earning one along the way. Mike's also been nominated for two Annie Awards, earning two; a Writers Guild Award, and a Gemini Award. He has earned a Webby Award for his original animated series The Paranormal Action Squad. His writing has also appeared in Vanity Fair magazine. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, twin sons and a silly dog named Marty Allen. "If you've ever had any interest in comedians, like what went wrong in our lives to make us so deeply disturbed, you will devour Mike Rowe's insightful, personal, and yes, very funny book. Such a great read for smart people-and morons will like it, too." - Larry David "During long, grueling nights working way too late in the writers' room, when everyone had grown snarly and surly and silent, Mike would continue to pepper us with hilarious jokes. He was that cruel. And now he's written a book that's not only funny, but also sweet and sensitive. What is it with this guy?" - Matt Groening "Why would I want to read Mike's book that highlights the struggles of coming up the ranks in the New York comedy club scene? I was there with him! I could write that book myself!! Then I read it and realized...I can't write like this! Son of a bitch." -Ray Romano

In this chronicle of one person's poignant and harrowing road to fulfillment, Mike celebrates his chosen life in the comedy business with personal tales of romantic calamities, celebrity run-ins, professional misfortunes, and triumphs. He reinforces the notion that you can accomplish (almost) anything you want if you're willing to get your ass kicked along the way. It's a Funny Thing solidifies Michael Rowe's reputation as not just an all around nice guy, but also a skilled observer in self, the human condition, and dogged perseverance. MICHAEL ROWE, a former comedian now comedy writer/producer, has been nominated for six Emmys for his work on Futurama and Family Guy, earning one along the way. Mike's also been nominated for two Annie Awards, earning two; a Writers Guild Award, and a Gemini Award. He has earned a Webby Award for his original animated series The Paranormal Action Squad. His writing has also appeared in Vanity Fair magazine. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, twin sons and a silly dog named Marty Allen. "If you've ever had any interest in comedians, like what went wrong in our lives to make us so deeply disturbed, you will devour Mike Rowe's insightful, personal, and yes, very funny book. Such a great read for smart people-and morons will like it, too." - Larry David "During long, grueling nights working way too late in the writers' room, when everyone had grown snarly and surly and silent, Mike would continue to pepper us with hilarious jokes. He was that cruel. And now he's written a book that's not only funny, but also sweet and sensitive. What is it with this guy?" - Matt Groening "Why would I want to read Mike's book that highlights the struggles of coming up the ranks in the New York comedy club scene? I was there with him! I could write that book myself!! Then I read it and realized...I can't write like this! Son of a bitch." -Ray Romano

“Smart, fast, clever, and funny (As f*ck!)” (Tiffany Haddish), this collection of side-splitting and illuminating essays by the popular stand-up comedian, alum of Chelsea Lately and The Mindy Project, and host of truTV’s Talk Show the Game Show is perfect for fans of the New York Times bestsellers Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling and We Are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby. From a young age, Guy Branum always felt as if he were on the outside looking in. From a stiflingly boring farm town, he couldn’t relate to his neighbors. While other boys played outside, he stayed indoors reading Greek mythology. And being gay and overweight, he got used to diminishing himself. But little by little, he started learning from all the sad, strange, lonely outcasts in history who had come before him, and he started to feel hope. In this “singular, genuinely ballsy, and essential” (Billy Eichner) collection of personal essays, Guy talks about finding a sense of belonging at Berkeley—and stirring up controversy in a newspaper column that led to a run‑in with the Secret Service. He recounts the pitfalls of being typecast as the “Sassy Gay Friend,” and how, after taking a wrong turn in life (i.e. law school), he found stand‑up comedy and artistic freedom. He analyzes society’s calculated deprivation of personhood from fat people, and how, though it’s taken him a while to accept who he is, he has learned that with a little patience and a lot of humor, self-acceptance is possible. “Keenly observant and intelligent, Branum’s book not only offers uproarious insights into walking paths less traveled, but also into what self-acceptance means in a world still woefully intolerant of difference” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review). My Life as a Goddess is an unforgettable and deeply moving book by one of today’s most endearing and galvanizing voices in comedy.

From Senator Al Franken - #1 bestselling author and beloved SNL alum -- comes the story of an award-winning comedian who decided to run for office and then discovered why award-winning comedians tend not to do that. "Flips the classic born-in-a-shack rise to political office tale on its head. I skipped meals to read this book - also unusual - because every page was funny. It made me deliriously happy." -- Louise Erdrich, The New York Times This is a book about an unlikely campaign that had an even more improbable ending: the closest outcome in history and an unprecedented eight-month recount saga, which is pretty funny in retrospect. It's a book about what happens when the nation's foremost progressive satirist gets a chance to serve in the United States Senate and, defying the low expectations of the pundit class, actually turns out to be good at it. It's a book about our deeply polarized, frequently depressing, occasionally inspiring political culture, written from inside the belly of the beast. In this candid personal memoir, the honorable gentleman from Minnesota takes his army of loyal fans along with him from Saturday Night Live to the campaign trail, inside the halls of Congress, and behind the scenes of some of the most dramatic and/or hilarious moments of his new career in politics. Has Al Franken become a true Giant of the Senate? Franken asks readers to decide for themselves.

IN WHAT WOULD SUSIE SAY?, Susie Essman sheds the crasser layers to reveal how she went from an anxiety-ridden, struggling stand-up comic to being one of the funniest women on television, playing Susie Greene on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm. Emerging as one of the most successful performers in her field, Essman goes behind the scenes of a life in comedy with her funny cohorts, including Joy Behar, Rodney Dangerfield, and, of course, Jeff Garlin and Larry David, while also providing sidesplittingly funny wisdom on a range of topics that she's highly unqualified to expound upon, including men, sports, hypochondria, and stepparenthood. WHAT WOULD SUSIE SAY ABOUT... MARRIAGE? "It took me a long time to find the man I was willing to commit myself to. Even the word commit is troublesome. One is committed to a mental institution." MEN WITH DOGS? "As a dog lover, I've researched many different breeds and I've begun to realize that you can tell a lot about a person by what breed of dog they choose to associate with. A bit self-conscious about your cellulite? A guy with a shar-pei is for you. They're hard to find, but cheaper than lipo." THE BEAUTY OF MENOPAUSE? "I guess I just have to accept the fact that I'm going to end up a bald, fat, sweaty, irritable woman with a dry vagina and a full beard who never sleeps and has memory loss so I won't even be able to remember how hot I used to look!" STEPPARENTHOOD? "My mother used to tell me 'you can't buy your kids' love.' Bullshit. You can, and it's exponential. They're like Russian mail-order brides -- the more you spend, the more they love you." WHAT WOULD SUSIE SAY? is Essman's irreverent, refreshingly candid, and hilarious retort to the dubious facts of life that we all face.

Smart, darkly funny, and life-affirming, How Not to Die Alone is the bighearted debut novel we all need, for fans of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, it's a story about love, loneliness, and the importance of taking a chance when we feel we have the most to lose. "Off-beat and winning...Gives resiliency and the triumph of the human spirit a good name." --The Wall Street Journal All Andrew wants is to be normal. That's why his coworkers believe he has the perfect wife and two children waiting at home for him after a long day. But the truth is, his life isn't exactly as people think . . . and his little white lie is about to catch up with him. Because in all of Andrew's efforts to fit in, he's forgotten one important thing: how to really live. And maybe, it's finally time for him to start. "Roper illuminates Andrew's interior life to reveal not what an odd duck he is, but what odd ducks we all are." --The New York Times Book Review

This book describes the living-room artifacts, clothing styles, and intellectual proclivities of American classes from top to bottom.

Readers fell in love with teenage waitress Hope Yancey when Joan Bauer’s Newbery Honor–winning novel was published ten years ago. Now, with a terrific new jacket and note from the author, Hope’s story will inspire a new group of teen readers.