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The Grimm legacy (Grimm Legacy Ser.)
By Polly Shulman. 2010
Elizabeth gets an after-school job as a page at the New York Circulating Material Repository, which houses magical objects from…
the Grimm brothers' fairy tales. When items disappear Elizabeth and the other pages are drawn into frightening adventures involving mythical creatures and stolen goods. For grades 6-9. 2010Great presidential wit: I wish I was in this book
By Robert J Dole, Bob Dole. 2001
Former presidential candidate Bob Dole ranks the American presidents in terms of their senses of humor. Gives examples of their…
wit in the forms of one-liners, wisecracks, witticisms, self-deprecations, and quips. 2001Exercises in style (New Directions paperbook #513)
By Raymond Queneau, Barbara Wright. 1981
"A new edition of a French modernist classic - a Parisian scene told ninety-nine different ways - with new material…
written in homage by the likes of Jonathan Lethem, Rivka Galchen, and many more. On a crowded bus at midday, Raymond Queneau observes one man accusing another of jostling him deliberately. When a seat is vacated, the first man appropriates it. Later, in another part of town, Queneau sees the man being advised by a friend to sew a new button on his overcoat. Exercises in Style--Queneau's experimental masterpiece and a hallmark book of the Oulipo literary group--retells this unexceptional tale ninety-nine times, employing the sonnet and the alexandrine, onomatopoeia and Cockney. An "Abusive" chapter heartily deplores the events; "Opera English" lends them grandeur. Queneau once said that of all his books, this was the one he most wished to see translated. He offered Barbara Wright his "heartiest congratulations," adding: "I have always thought that nothing is untranslatable. Here is new proof." To celebrate the 65th anniversary of the 1947 French publication of Exercises de Style, New Directions has asked several writers to contribute new exercises as a tribute. Tantalizing examples include Jonathan Lethem's "Cyberpunk," Harry Mathew's "Phonetic Eros," and Frederic Tuten's "Beatnik" exercises. This edition also retains Barbara Wright's original introduction and reminiscence of working on this book--a translation that in 2008 was ranked first on the Author's Society's list of "The 50 Outstanding Translations of the Last 50 Years."" -- Provided by publisherFakes: an anthology of pseudo-interviews, faux-lectures, quasi-letters, "found" texts, and other fraudulent artifacts
By David Shields, Matthew Vollmer. 2012
Selection of previously published works that parody or satirize common types of writing. Includes a police log showing officers' increasing…
exasperation with their community, a school's alumni newsletter, and a note on typefaces by Jonathan Safran Foer, author of Eating Animals (DB 70373). 2012Everyone gets a say
By Jill Twiss. 2020
Pudding the snail and his friends can't seem to agree on anything. Whatever Jitterbug the chipmunk wants, Geezer the goose…
does not. Whatever Toast the butterfly wants, Duffles and Nudge the otters are absolutely against. And if somehow Toast and Duffles and Jitterbug and Nudge all agree on something, then Geezer is not having it. So when Toast suggests they need a leader, the friends try to figure out the best way to pick someone to be in charge. Should that someone be the fastest? The fluffiest? The squishiest? Or can Pudding show his friends that there just might be a way where everyone gets a say? 2020. For grades K-3The Gentle Art of Making Enemies
By James M. Whistler. 1967
Whistler's Gentle Art, a classic in the literature of insult and denigration, might well be subtitled "The Autobiography of a…
Hater," for it contains the deadly sarcasm and stinging remarks of one of the wittiest men of the nineteenth century. Whistler not only refused to tolerate misunderstanding by critics and the so-called art-loving public -- but launched vicious counterattacks as well. His celebrated passages-at-arms with Oscar Wilde and Swinburne, the terse and penetrating "letters to the editor," his rebuttals to attacks from critics, and biting marginal notes to contemptuous comments on his paintings and hostile reviews (which are also reprinted) are all part of this record of the artist's vendettas.Whistler's most famous battle began when critic John Ruskin saw one of the artist's "Nocturnes" exhibited in Grosvenor Gallery. "I have seen, and heard," wrote Ruskin, "much of cockney impudence before now; but never expected to hear a coxcomb ask two hundred guineas for flinging a pot of paint in the public's face." Whistler was incensed with this criticism, and initiated the famous libel case "Whistler vs. Ruskin." Extracts from the resultant trial record are among the highlights of this book, with Whistler brilliantly annihilating his Philistine critics, but winning only a farthing in damages.The Gentle Art, designed by Whistler himself, is a highly entertaining account of personal revenges, but it is also an iconoclast's plea for a new and better attitude toward painting. As a historical document, it is the best statement of the new aesthetics versus the old guard academics, and it helped greatly in shaping the modern feeling toward art.The Capital: A "House of Cards" for the E.U.
By Robert Menasse. 2017
THE PRIZE-WINNING SATIRICAL BESTSELLER - A "HOUSE OF CARDS" FOR THE EU MORE THAN 500,000 COPIES SOLD WORLDWIDEThis is the…
tale of a continent, a city and its inhabitants as they navigate their way through the confusing tangle of 21st-century life. The Capital is a brilliantly entertaining satire, a crime story, a comedy of manners . . . and a wild pig chase. "First-class satire" Guardian""A deliciously vicious and timely satire" Financial Times"Mischievous yet profound" Economist"Thoroughly entertaining" Spectator"A romp" Politico *************************************Brussels. A hive of tragic heroes, manipulative losers, involuntary accomplices. No wonder the European Commission is keen to improve its image.The fiftieth anniversary of the European Commission approaches, and the Directorate-General for Culture is tasked with organising an appropriate celebration. When Fenia Xenopoulou's assistant comes up with a plan to put Auschwitz at the very centre of the jubilee, she is delighted. But she has neglected to take the other E.U. institutions into account.Meanwhile the city is on the lookout for a runaway pig. And what about the farmers who take to the streets to protest against restrictions blocking the export of pigs to China?**************************************See what the critics are saying about The Capital:"Omniscient" New York Times"An exceptional work" Kirkus Reviews"Deliciously witty" Metro"Elegant... brilliantly constructed" Die Zeit "Robert Menasse is pioneering the genre of Eurolit" Financial Times WINNER OF THE GERMAN BOOK PRIZE 2017The Smash-Up: a delicious satire from a breakout voice in literary fiction
By Ali Benjamin. 2021
AN OF-THE-MOMENT NOVEL FOR READERS OF FLEISHMAN IS IN TROUBLE'Timely, risky and dazzling' Polly Clark, author of Tiger'Sharply funny, perceptive,…
and surprising at every turn, The Smash-Up is a story that's acid-etched and full of heart, intimate, and relevant' Amy Bloom, New York Times bestselling author of White Houses and Away'Every woman should read this book. Every woman, every feminist, every activist' Jane Harris, author of Orange Prize shortlisted The ObservationsAfter years spent in the city, working with his business partner Randy on Bränd media, Ethan finds himself in the quiet, closed-off town of Starkfield. His wife Zenobia is perpetually distracted by the swirling #MeToo politics, the Kavanaugh hearings, and her duties to the feminist activism group she formed: All Them Witches. Ethan finds himself caught between their regular meetings at his home and the battle to get his livewire daughter Alex to sleep.But the new, stilted rhythm of his life is interrupted when he receives a panicked message. Accusations. Against Randy. A slew of them. And Ethan is abruptly forced to question everything: his past, his future, his marriage, and what he values most.Unrelenting in its satire, The Smash-up jolts you into the twisted psyche of successful brand advertising, where historic exploitation is only ever a panicked phone-call away. With magnetic energy and doses of comic wit, Benjamin creates a world of social media algorithms, extreme polarization, the collapsing of identity into tweet-sized spaces, and the spectre of violence that can be found even in the quietest places.Standing Heavy
By Gauz. 2014
"One of those rare, transformative novels" KARIM MISKE"Funny and poignant" TIFFANY TSAO, author of The MajestiesInitially a little intrigued, all…
babies eventually return the security guard's smile.The security guard adores babies. Perhaps because babies do not shoplift.Babies adore the security guard. Perhaps because he does not drag babies to the sales.The 1960s - Ferdinand arrives in Paris from Côte d'Ivoire, ready to take on the world and become a big somebody.The 1990s - It is the Golden Age of immigration, and Ossiri and Kassoum navigate a Paris on the brink of momentous change.The 2010s - In a Sephora on the Champs-Élysées, the all-seeing eyes of a security guard observes the habits of those who come to worship at this church to consumerism.Amidst the political bickering of the inhabitants of the Residence for Students from Côte d'Ivoire and the ever-changing landscape of French immigration policy, Ferdinand, Ossiri and Kassoum, two generations of Ivoirians, attempt to make their way as undocumented workers, taking shifts as security at a flour mill.Sharply satirical, political and poignant, Standing Heavy is a searingly witty deconstruction of colonial legacies and capitalist consumption, an unprecedented and unforgettable account of everything that passes under a security guard's gaze.Translated from the French by Frank Wynne"A formidable keenness of observation and a sarcastic wit" La Croix"Political satire with the air of a poetry slam" StylistThe Capital: A "House of Cards" for the E.U.
By Robert Menasse. 2017
"A deliciously vicious - and timely - satire about the E.U. and the meaning of Europe today" - Frederick Studemann,…
Financial TimesBrussels. A panorama of tragic heroes, manipulative losers, involuntary accomplices. In his new novel, Robert Menasse spans a narrative arc between the times, the nations, the inevitable and the irony of fate, between petty bureaucracy and big emotions.As the fiftieth anniversary of the European Commission approaches, the Directorate-General for Culture is tasked with planning and organising a fitting celebration. The project will serve the wider purpose of revamping the Commission's image at a time of waning public support. When Fenia Xenopoulou's Austrian P.A. Martin Susman suggests putting Auschwitz at the centre of the jubilee, she is thrilled. But she has neglected to take the other E.U. institutions into account.Inspector Brunfaut is in a tricky situation too: his murder case has been suppressed at the highest level. Luckily, he's friends with the I.T. whizz at Brussels' Police H.Q., who gains access to secret files in the public prosecutor's office. Matek, the Polish hitman, knows nothing of this. But he does know that he shot the wrong guy, and for Matek, who would rather have become a priest, this is serious. And what about the pig farmers who take to the streets of the city to protest about existing trade restrictions blocking the export of pigs' ears to China . . .?The Capital is a sharp satire, a philosophical essay, a crime story, a comedy of manners, a wild pig chase, but at its heart it has the most powerful pro-European message: no-one should forget the circumstances that gave rise to the European project in the first place.(P)2019 Quercus Editions LimitedWritten by a scholar of satire and politics, Trump Was a Joke explains why satire is an exceptional foil for…
absurd political times and why it did a particularly good job of making sense of Trump. Covering a range of comedic interventions, Trump Was a Joke analyzes why political satire is surprisingly effective at keeping us sane when politics is making us crazy. Its goal is to highlight the unique power of political satire to encourage critical thinking, foster civic action, and further rational debate in moments of political hubris and hysteria. The book has been endorsed by Bassem Youssef, who has been referred to as the “Jon Stewart of Egypt,” and Srdja Popovic, author of Blueprint for Revolution, who used satirical activism to bring down Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic. With a foreword by award-winning filmmaker, satirist, and activist Michael Moore, this study will be of interest to readers who follow politics and enjoy political comedy and will appeal to the communications, comedy studies, media studies, political science, rhetoric, cultural studies, and American studies markets.The only thing Americans want to read more than Trump's tax returns.Constantly late to work? Caught cheating on your spouse…
again? Can't stop tweeting unhinged rants against your political enemies at three in the morning? Then The Kellyanne Conway Technique is the book you need.Preeminent spin expert and University of Phoenix Online alumnus, Jarret Berenstein, brings you the world's only comprehensive analysis of the tricks, distractions, and outright lies utilized daily by White House advisor Kellyanne Conway and distills her special brand of verbal jujitsu into a spin Bible for the common man.Filled with real transcripts from the esteemed spin-ster herself, The Kellyanne Conway Technique takes the invaluable lessons from her verbal boxing matches with the mainstream media and breaks down, step by step, the mental and rhetorical aerobatics she performs as the talking piece for a president who once wrestled Vince McMahon on the WWE. From alternative facts to the Bowling Green Massacre, take lessons from Kellyanne's greatest hits.The Kellyanne Conway Technique is the perfect guide to outsmarting the Jake Tappers in your own life: whether that is your boss, your husband, or a special hearing of the congressional oversight committee. Never again be held accountable for anything you do with a little help from Kellyanne!In Erewhon, an anagram for "nowhere," sickness is a punishable crime, criminals receive compassionate medical treatment, and machines are banned,…
lest they evolve and take over. Originally published in 1872, the proto-steampunk novel Erewhon won its author immediate recognition as a satirist. SamuelButler followed in the tradition of Voltaire and Swift in creating Erewhon and Erewhon Revisited, which are widely recognized as the nineteenth century's most important works of their kind.Entertaining and provocative, these books are unsparing in their treatment of the hypocrisies of Victorian society, taking aim at the family, church, and mechanical "progress." George Orwell, no stranger to the depiction of futuristic societies, noted that at the time of Erewhon's writing the author needed "imagination of a very high order to see that machinery could be dangerous as well as useful." Today's readers will also find the book remarkably prescient in its anticipation of future sociological trends.