Random House New Releases - Humor - Between June 18, 2012 and July 18, 2013.

More Letters from a Nut by Ted L. Nancy

2013-07-17T00:30:00-05:00

More Letters from a Nut
Written by Ted L. Nancy

Seinfeld. For more than 33 million viewers, the Emmy Award-winning television show has become a Thursday night ritual. Now, even though the show has ended, Jerry Seinfeld's distinct brand of humor can still be yours.

Ted L. Nancy's first book, Letters from a Nut, with an introduction by Jerry Seinfeld, now has more than 225,000 copies in print. In More Letters From a Nut, master-prankster Nancy shares even more sidesplittingly funny letters he has written and the unbelievable true responses he has received.

Garfield Pulls His Weight by Jim Davis

2013-07-16T00:30:00-05:00

Garfield Pulls His Weight His 26th Book
Written by Jim Davis

Another helping of hilarity, please!

Garfield, the lovable feline who never met a lunch he didn’t like, dishes up another book full of his heavy hijinx and weighty wit. Garfield’s put on a few pounds over the years, but he’s not just getting fatter, he’s getting better! So keep the comedy and calories coming! Whether he’s painting Odie or chowing down on Jon’s favorite fern, Garfield proves he’s still a ton of fun!

The GARFIELD CLASSICS series collects the early years of the GARFIELD comic strip in a larger, full-color format. Garfield may have gone through a few changes, but one thing has stayed the same: his enormous appetite for food and fun. So laugh along with the classic cat, because classics are always in style.

Crazy Salad and Scribble Scribble by Kathe Mazur

2013-07-09T00:30:00-05:00

Crazy Salad and Scribble Scribble Some Things About Women and Notes on Media
Written by Nora Ephron
Read by Kathe Mazur

Wallflower at the Orgy by Kathe Mazur

2013-07-09T00:30:00-05:00

Wallflower at the Orgy
Written by Nora Ephron
Read by Kathe Mazur

From her Academy Award—nominated screenplays to her bestselling fiction and essays, Nora Ephron is one of America’s most gifted, prolific, and versatile writers. In this classic collection of magazine articles, Ephron does what she does best: embrace American culture with love, cynicism, and unmatched wit. From tracking down the beginnings of the self-help movement to dressing down the fashion world’s most powerful publication to capturing a glimpse of a legendary movie in the making, these timeless pieces tap into our enduring obsessions with celebrity, food, romance, clothes, entertainment, and sex. Whether casting her ingenious eye on renowned director Mike Nichols, Cosmopolitan magazine founder Helen Gurley Brown—or herself, as she chronicles her own beauty makeover—Ephron deftly weaves her journalistic skill with the intimate style of an essayist and the incomparable talent of a great storyteller.

Me the People by Kevin Bleyer

2013-07-02T00:30:00-05:00

Me the People One Man's Selfless Quest to Rewrite the Constitution of the United States of America
Written by Kevin Bleyer

The United States Constitution promised a More Perfect Union. It’s a shame no one bothered to write a more perfect Constitution—one that didn’t trigger more than two centuries of arguments about what the darn thing actually says.

Until now.

Perfection is at hand. A new, improved Constitution is here. And you are holding it.

But first, some historical context: In the eighteenth century, a lawyer named James Madison gathered his friends in Philadelphia and, over four long months, wrote four short pages: the Constitution of the United States of America. Not bad.

In the nineteenth century, a president named Abraham Lincoln freed an entire people from the flaws in that Constitution by signing the Emancipation Proclamation. Pretty impressive.

And in the twentieth century, a doctor at the Bethesda Naval Hospital delivered a baby—but not just any baby. Because in the twenty-first century, that baby would become a man, that man would become a patriot, and that patriot would rescue a country . . . by single-handedly rewriting that Constitution.

Why? We think of our Constitution as the painstakingly designed blueprint drawn up by, in Thomas Jefferson’s words, an “assembly of demigods” who laid the foundation for the sturdiest republic ever created. The truth is, it was no blueprint at all but an Etch A Sketch, a haphazard series of blunders, shaken clean and redrawn countless times during a summer of petty debates, drunken ramblings, and desperate compromise—as much the product of an “assembly of demigods” as a confederacy of dunces.

No wonder George Washington wished it “had been made more perfect.” No wonder Benjamin Franklin stomached it only “with all its faults.” The Constitution they wrote is a hot mess. For starters, it doesn’t mention slavery, or democracy, or even Facebook; it plays favorites among the states; it has typos, smudges, and misspellings; and its Preamble, its most famous passage, was written by a man with a peg leg. Which, if you think about it, gives our Constitution hardly a leg to stand on.

[Pause for laughter.]

Now stop laughing. Because you hold in your hands no mere book, but the most important document of our time. Its creator, Daily Show writer Kevin Bleyer, paid every price, bore every burden, and saved every receipt in his quest to assure the salvation of our nation’s founding charter. He flew to Greece, the birthplace of democracy. He bused to Philly, the home of independence. He went toe-to-toe (face-to-face) with Scalia. He added nightly confabs with James Madison to his daily consultations with Jon Stewart. He tracked down not one but two John Hancocks—to make his version twice as official. He even read the Constitution of the United States.

So prepare yourselves, fellow patriots, for the most significant literary event of the twenty-first, twentieth, nineteenth, and latter part of the eighteenth centuries. Me the People won’t just form a More Perfect Union. It will save America.

Praise for Me the People

“I would rather read a constitution written by Kevin Bleyer than by the sharpest minds in the country.”—Jon Stewart

“Bleyer takes a red pencil to democracy’s most hallowed laundry list. . . . Uproarious and fascinating.”—Reader’s Digest

“I knew James Madison. James Madison was a friend of mine. Mr. Bleyer, you are no James Madison. But you sure are a heck of a lot more fun.”—Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Team of Rivals

From the Hardcover edition.

William Shakespeare's Star Wars by Ian Doescher

2013-07-02T00:30:00-05:00

William Shakespeare's Star Wars
Written by Ian Doescher

Return once more to a galaxy far, far away with this sublime retelling of George Lucas’s epic Star Wars in the style of the immortal Bard of Avon. The saga of a wise (Jedi) knight and an evil (Sith) lord, of a beautiful princess held captive and a young hero coming of age, Star Wars abounds with all the valor and villainy of Shakespeare’s greatest plays. ’Tis a tale told by fretful droids, full of faithful Wookiees and fearstome Stormtroopers, signifying...pretty much everything.

Reimagined in glorious iambic pentameter—and complete with twenty gorgeous Elizabethan illustrations--William Shakespeare’s Star Wars will astound and edify Rebels and Imperials alike. Zounds! This is the book you’re looking for.

William Shakespeare's Star Wars by Ian Doescher

2013-07-02T00:30:00-05:00

William Shakespeare's Star Wars
Written by Ian Doescher

Dear Girls Above Me by Charles McDowell

2013-06-04T00:30:00-05:00

Dear Girls Above Me Inspired by a True Story
Written by Charles McDowell

Based on the wildly popular Twitter feed Dear Girls Above Me, a roman à clef about how thinking like a couple of girls turned one single guy into a better man.

When Charlie McDowell began sharing his open letters to his noisy upstairs neighbors—two impossibly ditzy female roommates in their mid-twenties—on Twitter, his feed quickly went viral. His followers multiplied and he got the attention of everyone from celebrities to production studios to major media outlets such as Time and Glamour. Now Dear Girls breaks out of the 140-character limit as Charlie imagines what would happen if he put the wisdom of the girls to the test.

After being unceremoniously dumped by the girl he was certain was “the one,” Charlie realized his neighbors’ conversations were not only amusing, but also offered him access to a completely uncensored woman’s perspective on the world. From the importance of effectively Facebook-stalking potential girlfriends and effortlessly pulling off pastel, to learning when in the early stages of dating is too presumptuous to bring a condom and how to turn food poisoning into a dieting advantage, the girls get Charlie into trouble, but they also get him out of it—without ever having a clue of their impact on him.

Dear Girls Above Me by Charles McDowell

2013-06-04T00:30:00-05:00

Dear Girls Above Me Inspired by a True Story
Written by Charles McDowell

Dear Girls Above Me by Kirby Heyborne

2013-06-04T00:30:00-05:00

Dear Girls Above Me Inspired by a True Story
Written by Charles McDowell
Read by Kirby Heyborne

Make 'Em Laugh by Steve Allen

2013-05-24T00:30:00-05:00

Make 'Em Laugh
Written by Steve Allen

eBook | Prometheus Books | Humor | $11.99 | May 24, 2013 | 978-1-61592-851-4 (1-61592-851-0)

The success of Steve Allen's How To Be Funny led first to the republication of that book, and now occasioned a companion volume, Make 'Em Laugh. This new how-to book about the art of comedy includes an even richer assortment of examples of the author's unique humor.

In Make 'Em Laugh, Allen laces his formal instruction with hilarious ad-libs, written jokes, TV comedy sketches, satires, song parodies, humorous essays, amusing autobiographical reminiscences, one-act plays, witty speeches, and stand-up monologues from his comedy concerts.

Noel Coward called Steve Allen the most talented man in America, and he is probably the most borrowed-from comedian of all time. The perceptive reader will recognize many of the comic ideas that Allen originated during the "Golden Age" of television comedy - ideas that are still influential in the 1990's.

If there were a college course in creating and performing comedy, Make 'Em Laugh would be the ideal textbook.

Garfield Hits the Big Time by Jim Davis

2013-05-21T00:30:00-05:00

Garfield Hits the Big Time His 25th Book
Written by Jim Davis

Trade Paperback, 96 pages | Ballantine Books | Humor - Cartoons; Comics & Graphic Novels; Humor - Topic - Animals | $14.00 | May 21, 2013 | 978-0-345-52589-5 (0-345-52589-2)

Garfield—Eat, Sleep, and Be Flabby!

Garfield, the world’s favorite feline, marks the 25th book in his series with this special silver volume, full of side-splitting classic comics! And after all this time, Garfield’s earned some extra sleep. But he’ll still move a muscle for meals and mayhem! Whether he’s hogging Jon’s chair or hog-tieing Odie, Garfield shows us how to grow old disgracefully!

The GARFIELD CLASSICS series collects the early years of the GARFIELD comic strip in a larger, full-color format. Garfield may have gone through a few changes, but one thing has stayed the same: his enormous appetite for food and fun. So laugh along with the classic cat, because classics are always in style.

Teaching by Gerry Dee

2013-05-14T00:30:00-05:00

Teaching It's Harder Than It Looks
Written by Gerry Dee

Trade Paperback, 288 pages | Anchor Canada | Humor | $19.95 | May 14, 2013 | 978-0-385-67747-9 (0-385-67747-2)

Hilarious, cringe-inducing stories about teachers, students and parents, from CBC star of Mr. D, one of Canada's hottest comedic talents.

Gerry Dee is a rising comic star whose humour has been compared to Bill Cosby's. He spent ten years working as a teacher and survived (barely) to tell his tales. Told from the honest point-of-view of a not-so-good, often-very-bad public school teacher--the kind who teaches hungover (and lies about it), loses his students' exams (and lies about it), and stages an impromptu baseball game in the middle of history class just to kill some time, Teaching: It's Harder Than It Looks is Mr. D at his best.

This book collects Gerry's funniest anecdotes about teaching, about students and about their parents. As Gerry's ode to school life, it's sure to bring back a memory or two, whether you were the teacher's pet or the class clown. Throughout, he offers tongue-in-cheek "Teacher Tips and Tricks," uncomfortable notes to parents, awkward report cards and all manner of memorabilia of school days.

He's extremely funny, on the page as well as in person, and he's the kind of personality who will reach out beyond his own core comedy audience to a broad demographic of educators, parents and students who relate to his humour and experiences.

Earn Your MBA on the Toilet by Kasper Hauser

2013-05-07T00:30:00-05:00

Earn Your MBA on the Toilet Unleash Unlimited Power and Wealth from Your Bathroom
Written by Kasper Hauser

Hardcover, 128 pages | Ten Speed Press | Humor - Topic - Business & Professional; Humor - Form - Trivia; Humor - Parodies | $12.99 | May 7, 2013 | 978-1-60774-424-5 (1-60774-424-4)

Move over Harvard, Stanford, and Wharton--there's a new top-ranking MBA program in town! With the Kasper Hauser Continuing Education Academy, all it takes is a few minutes and a roll of bathroom tissue to earn a fully-accredited executive business degree.

For the hundreds of millions of Americans who are looking for better, more successful, and more fulfilling lives--but don't have the time and money to invest in a full-on graduate degree--comes this revolutionary new system that turns crap into gold!

With Earn Your MBA on the Toilet, the Kasper Hauser Continuing Education Academy offers readers a complete business education, on subjects ranging from Accounting to Widgets to Business Ethics to Ethical Pickles. Why spend $100,000 and two years on an MBA when you can simply read this book? Written for the busy professional, the unemployed CEO, or the motivated alcoholic, this incredible course condenses thousands of hours of business wisdom into a 72-minute crash course, chunked into 3-minute "jam sessions." After a mere 8 trips to the toilet, readers will be able to hold their own with a finance professor at a cocktail party; after 15, they will be qualified to work as a management consultant for a Bass Pro shop; and by the end they will have a certificate of completion that is definitely, literally an MBA degree on par with the big guys, basically.

Earn Your MBA on the Toilet by Kasper Hauser

2013-05-07T00:30:00-05:00

Earn Your MBA on the Toilet Unleash Unlimited Power and Wealth from Your Bathroom
Written by Kasper Hauser

eBook, 128 pages | Ten Speed Press | Humor - Topic - Business & Professional; Humor - Form - Trivia; Humor - Parodies | $9.99 | May 7, 2013 | 978-1-60774-425-2 (1-60774-425-2)

Attempting Normal by Marc Maron

2013-04-30T00:30:00-05:00

Attempting Normal
Written by Marc Maron

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

People make a mess.

Marc Maron was a parent-scarred, angst-filled, drug-dabbling, love-starved comedian who dreamed of a simple life: a wife, a home, a sitcom to call his own. But instead he woke up one day to find himself fired from his radio job, surrounded by feral cats, and emotionally and financially annihilated by a divorce from a woman he thought he loved. He tried to heal his broken heart through whatever means he could find—minor-league hoarding, Viagra addiction, accidental racial profiling, cat fancying, flying airplanes with his mind—but nothing seemed to work. It was only when he was stripped down to nothing that he found his way back.

Attempting Normal is Marc Maron’s journey through the wilderness of his own mind, a collection of explosively, painfully, addictively funny stories that add up to a moving tale of hope and hopelessness, of failing, flailing, and finding a way. From standup to television to his outrageously popular podcast, WTF with Marc Maron, Marc has always been a genuine original, a disarmingly honest, intensely smart, brutally open comic who finds wisdom in the strangest places. This is his story of the winding, potholed road from madness and obsession and failure to something like normal, the thrillingly comic journey of a sympathetic f***up who’s trying really hard to do better without making a bigger mess. Most of us will relate.

Praise for Marc Maron and WTF

“The stuff of comedy legend.”—Rolling Stone

“Marc Maron is a startlingly honest, compelling, and hilarious comedian-poet. Truly one of the greatest of all time.”—Louis C.K.

“I’ve known Marc for years and I can tell you first hand that he’s passionate, fearless, honest, self-absorbed, neurotic, and screamingly funny.”—David Cross

“Revered among his peers . . . raw and unflinchingly honest.”—Entertainment Weekly

“Devastatingly funny.”—Los Angeles Times

“For a comedy nerd, this show is nirvana.”—Judd Apatow

Attempting Normal by Marc Maron

2013-04-30T00:30:00-05:00

Attempting Normal
Written by Marc Maron

Attempting Normal by Marc Maron

2013-04-30T00:30:00-05:00

Attempting Normal
Written by Marc Maron
Read by Marc Maron

The Essential Max Brooks by Max Brooks

2013-04-30T00:30:00-05:00

The Essential Max Brooks The Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z
Written by Max Brooks

“Brooks [is] America’s most prominent maven on the living dead…Gripping reading.” —Hartford Courant

This collection, available exclusively as an ebook, brings together two New York Times bestselling titles from Max Brooks: The Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z. Fully illustrated and exhaustively comprehensive, The Zombie Survival Guide is the key to survival against the hordes of undead who may be stalking you right now. In World War Z, Brooks delivers an invaluable chronicle of the Zombie War, told in the haunting and riveting voices of the men and women who witnessed the horror firsthand.

Henri, le Chat Noir by William Braden

2013-04-30T00:30:00-05:00

Henri, le Chat Noir The Existential Musings of an Angst-Filled Cat
Written by William Braden

This gift book is a collection of photos and quotes from Henri, the existential cat whose ennui has captivated people all over the world. Through his series of short films and interactions with an enthusiastic online community, Henri's contemplation and disillusion with the world has struck a chord with millions of fans. Now, finally, we have a collection of Henri's musings in his own words featuring never-before-seen photos and quotes. This book is a window into the tortured soul of the world's first feline philosopher.

Random House New Releases - Humor - Between June 18, 2012 and July 18, 2013.

More Letters from a Nut by Ted L. Nancy

More Letters from a Nut Written by Ted L. Nancy

Garfield Pulls His Weight by Jim Davis

Garfield Pulls His Weight His 26th BookWritten by Jim Davis

Crazy Salad and Scribble Scribble by Kathe Mazur

Crazy Salad and Scribble Scribble Some Things About Women and Notes on MediaWritten by Nora Ephron Read by Kathe Mazur

Wallflower at the Orgy by Kathe Mazur

Wallflower at the Orgy Written by Nora Ephron Read by Kathe Mazur

Me the People by Kevin Bleyer

Me the People One Man's Selfless Quest to Rewrite the Constitution of the United States of AmericaWritten by Kevin Bleyer

William Shakespeare's Star Wars by Ian Doescher

William Shakespeare's Star Wars Written by Ian Doescher

William Shakespeare's Star Wars by Ian Doescher

William Shakespeare's Star Wars Written by Ian Doescher

Dear Girls Above Me by Charles McDowell

Dear Girls Above Me Inspired by a True StoryWritten by Charles McDowell

Dear Girls Above Me by Charles McDowell

Dear Girls Above Me Inspired by a True StoryWritten by Charles McDowell

Dear Girls Above Me by Kirby Heyborne

Dear Girls Above Me Inspired by a True StoryWritten by Charles McDowell Read by Kirby Heyborne

Make 'Em Laugh by Steve Allen

Make 'Em Laugh Written by Steve Allen

Garfield Hits the Big Time by Jim Davis

Garfield Hits the Big Time His 25th BookWritten by Jim Davis

Teaching by Gerry Dee

Teaching It's Harder Than It LooksWritten by Gerry Dee

Earn Your MBA on the Toilet by Kasper Hauser

Earn Your MBA on the Toilet Unleash Unlimited Power and Wealth from Your BathroomWritten by Kasper Hauser

Earn Your MBA on the Toilet by Kasper Hauser

Earn Your MBA on the Toilet Unleash Unlimited Power and Wealth from Your BathroomWritten by Kasper Hauser

Attempting Normal by Marc Maron

Attempting Normal Written by Marc Maron

Attempting Normal by Marc Maron

Attempting Normal Written by Marc Maron

Attempting Normal by Marc Maron

Attempting Normal Written by Marc Maron Read by Marc Maron

The Essential Max Brooks by Max Brooks

The Essential Max Brooks The Zombie Survival Guide and World War ZWritten by Max Brooks

Henri, le Chat Noir by William Braden

Henri, le Chat Noir The Existential Musings of an Angst-Filled CatWritten by William Braden

More Letters from a Nut
Written by Ted L. Nancy

Garfield Pulls His Weight His 26th Book
Written by Jim Davis

Crazy Salad and Scribble Scribble Some Things About Women and Notes on Media
Written by Nora Ephron
Read by Kathe Mazur

Wallflower at the Orgy
Written by Nora Ephron
Read by Kathe Mazur

Me the People One Man's Selfless Quest to Rewrite the Constitution of the United States of America
Written by Kevin Bleyer

William Shakespeare's Star Wars
Written by Ian Doescher

William Shakespeare's Star Wars
Written by Ian Doescher

Dear Girls Above Me Inspired by a True Story
Written by Charles McDowell

Dear Girls Above Me Inspired by a True Story
Written by Charles McDowell

Dear Girls Above Me Inspired by a True Story
Written by Charles McDowell
Read by Kirby Heyborne

Make 'Em Laugh
Written by Steve Allen

Garfield Hits the Big Time His 25th Book
Written by Jim Davis

Teaching It's Harder Than It Looks
Written by Gerry Dee

Earn Your MBA on the Toilet Unleash Unlimited Power and Wealth from Your Bathroom
Written by Kasper Hauser

Earn Your MBA on the Toilet Unleash Unlimited Power and Wealth from Your Bathroom
Written by Kasper Hauser

Attempting Normal
Written by Marc Maron

Attempting Normal
Written by Marc Maron

Attempting Normal
Written by Marc Maron
Read by Marc Maron

The Essential Max Brooks The Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z
Written by Max Brooks

Henri, le Chat Noir The Existential Musings of an Angst-Filled Cat
Written by William Braden