‘My name is Michael Pennington, and I am not a comic character. I’m often mistaken for one though. You might know him by another name. Johnny Vegas.’ From BBC Dickens adaptations to Benidorm and Ideal to the PG Tips ads, Johnny Vegas has become one of Britain's best-loved comic actors. But before he'd ever drunk tea with a knitted monkey or made himself the exception that proves the rule in terms of the predictability of TV panel game regulars, Johnny Vegas was perhaps the mo...
"A large portion of this money, we of course have now learned, was put toward the scientific enterprise of discovering a new planet in the solar system and then, no other way to describe it, blowing it up." A fun and poignant collection of real reviews of fake movies by some of today's best and brightest writers. What seems like a funny, whimsical book, is actually an acute look at how cultural criticism works, what we find important or unimportant, and how movies help shape our world. Featur...
Lena Dunham, acclaimed writer-director-star of HBO and Sky Atlantic’s `Girls’ and the award-winning movie `Tiny Furniture’, displays her unique powers of observation, wisdom and humour in this exceptional collection of essays. “If I could take what I’ve learned and make one menial job easier for you, or prevent you from having the kind of sex where you feel you must keep your sneakers on in case you want to run away during the act, then every misstep of mine was worthwhile. I’m already...
In A Field Guide to the English, Lyall strides her way readably, eloquently and perceptively across the social, political and cultural landscape of contemporary England. In a narrative studded with memorable anecdote and rich in humour, she explores themes as diverse as peers, politics, the media, understatement, the weather, and England's relationship with animals, alcohol and sex. She ponders such matters as the missing link between the famous British reserve and our equally famous predilectio...
The star of the Harold and Kumar franchise, House, and Designated Survivor recounts why he rejected the advice of his aunties and guidance counselors and, instead of becoming a doctor or “something practical,” embarked on a surprising journey that has included confronting racism in Hollywood, meeting his future husband, and working in the Obama administration, in this “incredibly joyful and insightful” (Kiefer Sutherland) memoir. You Can’t Be Serious is a series of funny, consequential, awkward...
Prepare to treat yo self! Parks and Recreation: The Official Cookbook is the ultimate way for fans to visit the kitchens, restaurants, and Harvest Festivals of Pawnee, IN, without ever leaving their homes. And though “there has never been a sadness that can’t be cured by breakfast food,” home cooks of every skill level will be able to recreate meals for any time of day, including: Leslie Knope’s Favorite JJ’s Diner WafflesEagleton CrepesRon Swanson’s Meat Tornado BurritoPaunch Burger’s Dou...
Do we dare go after the holiest of institutions, that bastion of reverence known as Motherhood and Fatherhood? Do we take a chance ticking off the entire world? After all, we're either a mother or a father or a son or a daughter. . . . Are we, indeed, on "Shaky ground?" Have we finally gotten to the one thing that we shouldn't poke fun at? Is the sanctity of our home life the one untouchable? Nah Throughout the ages, the one constant in literature, music, film, politics, and life has been the...
Is your ’90s knowledge da bomb? Are your crossword skills all that and a bag of chips? The 411 is that these puzzles are filled with clues that blossom with rad ’90s trivia and pop culture references, from the Spice Girls to Troll dolls to Clueless and beyond. Plus, the puzzles progress from easy to hard, which makes this book perfect for ’90s kids of all skill levels and those looking to take a step-by-step approach to solving. If you get stuck, the answer section explains it all for you.
The best jokes, gags and scenes from a true British comedy classic. ‘Cheer up, could be worse. State the country's in, we could be free.’ ‘Doctor: I want you to fill one of those containers for me.Fletcher (other side of the room): What, from 'ere?’ You can count the number of truly classic British sitcoms on one hand – well, perhaps two. But however many hands you use, Porridge will be one of the first programmes to register for inclusion. Undoubtedly one of the re...
The QI Annuals are the nearest things to having the hit BBC1 TV show live in your living room. Top comedians and brainiacs, from Stephen Fry and Alan Davies to guests such as Phill Jupitus, Jo Brand, Clive Anderson, Jeremy Clarkson and Rowan Atkinson, have joined top cartoonists and illustrators, and the estimiable QI elves themselves in the first three QI Annuals, covering the letters E, F and G (starting at A is so overrated). Collected by the writers of the BBC show, QI, and authors of the w...
Fully loaded with John McClane sarcasm, Alan Rickman as a German terrorist, and Nakatomi Plaza blowing up on Christmas Eve, Die Hard is often cited as the film that took action blockbusters to the next level, but what has earned the film its fiercely devoted fan base? That's the question that Why We Love Die Hard seeks to answer. This is the first and only guide that combines entertaining information about the history and making of the film with a celebratory look at all the different aspects th...
It's a bird. It's a plane. No, it's the POW! Stamp Kit. Get ready to file reports, defeat villains, and entertain yourself at work with the latest instalment to the Dare You Stamp line. Featuring a comic book-inspired slogan and graphic, this stamp will help you clear that pile of reports in a single bound. Gone are the days of messing with the ink pads of traditional stamps. With this self-inking stamp, you can dish out comic book justice without staining your super suit. Whether you're upgra...
A “beautiful and eye-opening” (Jacqueline Woodson), “hilarious and heart-rending” (Celeste Ng) graphic memoir about American identity, interracial families, and the realities that divide us, from the acclaimed author of The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing. NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Chicago Tribune • The New York Public Library • Publishers Weekly AND ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • Time • BuzzFeed • Esquire • Library Journal • Kirkus Re...
The Porcelain Throne, set at the heart of the smallest room and witness to our dark business, can also be the seat of reflection and self-improvement. With that aim, this book contains more than one hundred dilatory games, tricks, puzzles, projects and pranks. Learn to make toilet roll tube gargoyles and an origami dragon, gain deep knowledge of toilet roll telekinesis, and discover the secret of the vanishing toothbrush trick. Many more amusing diversions and exciting challenges jostle for you...
Gordy LaSure's passionate about film. He eats film, he drinks film, and sometimes he'll even watch a film. But most of all he loves talking to people about film: whether a comely student with low confidence and a father complex, a Studio 'development' exec who doesn't trust his own judgement, or the countless people Gordy LaSure's encountered in his capacity as the web moderator on an Excessive Sweating Discussion Forum. Gordy LaSure's alwaystalking about films and how they'd be a shit ton bette...
"In the fall of 1925, young Allan Odell conceived the idea of using consecutive signs along the roadside. . . . In 1963 the last signs were taken down, ending the most famous outdoor advertising venture ever.”—1977 Minnesota Almanac The whole story is in this book, plus all the jingles used. The signs are gone now, except for one set on permanent display at The Smithsonian. You can have them all, always, in your own library with this book. “Rowsome’s volume indexes each of the 600 jingles ....
Red Green was recycling material long before the green revolution got underway. Look at the autmobiles he's driven over the years. Many of those were assembled using the same basic method employed for The Green Red Green: by welding together the surviving bits of some old wrecks. In this case, we're talking about the three Red Geen books published long ago by other, inferior publishers: Duct Tape Is Not Enough, a collection of newspaper columns by Red Green's alter-ego Steve Smith on surviving m...
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Driving, wild and hilarious” (The Washington Post), here is the incredible “memoir” of the actor, gambler, raconteur, and Saturday Night Live veteran. Don’t miss Norm’s new Netflix special, Hitler’s Dog, Gossip & Treachery! When Norm Macdonald, one of the greatest stand-up comics of all time, was approached to write a celebrity memoir, he flatly refused, calling the genre “one step below instruction manuals.” Norm then promptly took a two-year hiatus from stand-up...
The Unofficial Donald Trump Yearbook
by Adam G. Goodwin, Jonathan Parkyn, and Dicken Goodwin
Another all-new instalment of the sidesplitting and bestselling Donald Trump Yearbook, packed with Trump-related games, puzzles and fun. 'No way', they said – 'he won't last 100 days'! But steaming into his final year of office the POTUS with the mostest has reigned supreme, and he wants more (pending rubber-stamping of his nomination). The run-in to the 2020 election will be a rollercoaster, and the answer to the question of who will be sitting next to the Donald in the front car as t...