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The soul of Irish wit is captured in this unique tale of a barstool philosopher, the concluding story from 'Here Are Ladies' by James Stephens. (Introduction by iremonger)...

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Comedy, Humor

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The Expedition of Humphry Clinker was the last of the picaresque novels of Tobias Smollett, and is considered by many to be his best and funniest work. Published in London on 17 June 1771, it is an epistolary novel, presented in the form of letters written by six different characters: Matthew Bramble, a Welsh Squire; his sister Tabitha; their niece and nephew, Jery and Lydia Melford; Tabitha's maid Winifred Jenkins; and Lydia's suitor, Wilson. Much of the comedy arises from differences in the descriptions of the same events by different participants. Attributions of motives and descriptions of behavior show wild variation and reveal much about the character of the teller. The setting, amidst the high-society spa towns and seaside resorts of the 18th century provides his characters with many opportunities for satirical observations on English life and manners....

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Fiction, Humor, Satire

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The Wheels of Chance - A Bicycling Idyll follows the adventures of a Drapers Assistant who, having brought an ancient bicycle, sets off on a 2 week tour of the countryside. And his world will never be the same again.(Summary by annise)...

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Humor

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Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874–1936) has been called the “prince of paradox.” Time magazine observed of his writing style: “Whenever possible Chesterton made his points with popular sayings, proverbs, allegories—first carefully turning them inside out.” His prolific and diverse output included journalism, philosophy, poetry, biography, Christian apologetics, fantasy and detective fiction. The title of Chesteron’s 1910 collection of essays was inspired by a title given to him two years earlier by The Times newspaper, which had asked a number of authors to write on the topic: “What’s wrong with the world?”. Chesterton’s answer at that time was the shortest of those submitted - he simply wrote: “Dear Sirs, I am. Sincerely yours, G.K. Chesterton”. In this collection he gives a fuller treatment of the question, with his characteristic conservative wit. (Summary by Wikipedia and Carl Manchester)...

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Politics, Humor, Essay/Short nonfiction

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A man and his three children leave the “Little Mother” at home in the city and set up temporary housekeeping in a country cottage to supervise the remodeling of the house he has just purchased there. The story is narrated by the father. His interactions with his children, interspersed with his own recollections of past events, make for hilarious reading. This is Jerome at his best, IMHO, although this is apparently one of this lesser known novels. (Summary by Debra Lynn)...

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Humor

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Set in Victorian times, the novel concerns business man Paul Bultitude and his son Dick. Dick is about to leave home for a boarding school which is ruled by the cane wielding headmaster Dr. Grimstone. Bultitude, seeing his son's fear of going to the school, foolishly says that schooldays are the best years of a boy's life, and how he wished that he was the one so doing.At this point, thanks to a handy magic stone brought by an uncle from India which grants the possessor one wish, they are now on even terms. Dick, now holding the stone, is ordered by his father to turn him back into his own body, but Dick refuses, and decides instead to become his father, and so the fun begins. Mr. Bultitude has to begin the new academic term at his son's boarding school, while Dick gets a chance to run his father's business in the City. In the end, they are both restored to their own bodies, with a better understanding of each other. ≤...

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Humor

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De Camera Obscura is een verzameling verhalen en beschouwingen van Hildebrand, pseudoniem voor Nicolaas Beets. De Camera, zoals het boek gemeenzaam is gaan heten, verscheen in 1839. Beets schreef de meeste stukken in 1837 als student Godgeleerdheid in Leiden. Het boek geeft een beeld van het Nederland van de trekschuit en de postkoets, waar rond die tijd gewerkt wordt aan de eerste spoorlijn. Het bekendste gedeelte van het boek is dat over de familie Stastok. Hierin gaat Hildebrand logeren bij een oom en tante die de vleesgeworden burgermensen zijn uit het begin 19e eeuw. Schrijnend is Het diakenhuismannetje vertelt zijn verhaal, dat blijk geeft van inzicht van de schrijver in de wantoestanden in zijn tijd. [Wikipedia – might be changed later]...

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Humor

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8 great spoofs of 'types' of fiction by the premier Canadian humorist Leacock, taken from his book Nonsense Novels. The title of each parody gives away it's genre: Soaked in Seaweed or, Upset in the Ocean; Maddened by Mystery: or, The Defective Detective; Q. A Psychic Pstory of the Psupernatural; Guido the Gimlet of Ghent: A Romance of Chivalry; The Man in Asbestos: an Allegory of the Future; Sorrows of a Super Soul: or, The Memoirs of Marie Mushenough; A Hero in Homespun: or, The Life Struggle of Hezekiah Hayloft and Caroline's Christmas: or, The Inexplicable Infant. If you enjoy take offs and parodies, the stories in this collection are for you. See how many types you recognize as you listen and laugh. (Summary by phil chenevert)...

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Humor

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Part I. The Story of Rollo; Mr. Holliday knows all there is to know about raising children, or at least he thinks he does. His attempts to train his son, Rollo, in the way he should go, are well-meant, but hilariously unsuccessful--or are they? I believe this is a sort of spoof of the “Rollo” series for children, that was written by Jacob Abbot in the mid 19th century. The characters have the same names and the chapters have a little Q&A at the end like the Abbot books, except these are definitely tongue-in-cheek. These Rollo stories use humor (and a bit of pathos) to teach plain home truths to parents, rather than children. Part II. Stories and Sketches; It is difficult to give this part a better description than the title implies. It is an assortment of short works. Some are humorous, some thought-provoking, some have a bit of both, and some are, I think, just a tad demented (but in a good way.) (Introduction by Debra Lynn)...

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Humor

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The curious Case of Benjamin Button, a 1921 short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, now a major motion picture, features Benjamin Button, who, born as an old man much to the dismay and chagrin of his father and family Doctor, ages backwards until he leaves this world as a newborn. (Summary by Mike Vendetti)...

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Humor

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Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven is a short-story written by American writer Mark Twain and published in 1909. The story follows Captain Stormfield on his extremely long cosmic journey to heaven, his accidental misplacement, his short-lived interest in singing and playing the harp, and the obsession of souls with the celebrities of heaven, like Adam and Moses, whom, according to Twain, become as distant to most people in heaven as living celebrities are on Earth. Twain uses this story to show his view that the common conception of heaven is ludicrous and points out the incongruities of such beliefs. (from Wikipedia)...

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Humor

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This book is a collection of humorous short stories about ordinary instances in daily life. We learn many interesting things about life, such as how to court women successfully, what it feels like to be a god, and why sometimes it would be a good idea to exchange one's own newborn baby for a better one at the hospital. (Summary by Carolin)...

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Humor

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A collection of funny poems and silly verse written and illustrated by Frank Anthony

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A passing flying lizard hit a wizard in the gizzard The wizz he fell down flat and turned quite blue I helped him to his feet and fixed his robe so it looked neat And so he magicked up this book to give to you!...

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"Bil je nadvse običajen četrtek. Meglice so si nadele turobne sive plašče. Deževalo je. V takih dneh je Pepeta navadno trgalo po starih kosteh, shujšano betico pa so mu z nadzvočno hitrostjo preletavale depresivne misli tipa mig 29." V pripovedi, ki se dogaja na tej in oni strani življenjske črte, elementi ustvarjajo svojevrstno napetost, dramatičnost, celo humornost in situacijsko komičnost. ...

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A collection of jokes.

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My improbable life, the early years. Polio, disability, crime, academic excellence, university. California 1968, LSD, police

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Lunch break, and Mr. McDonalds’s Physics lab is almost full, mostly girls, an’ definitely no teachers. I’m standing behind the front bench, a fish-tank on the right, my trusty assistant John on the left. Grabbing a large goldfish from the tank, I stuff it in my mouth, and swallow. It’s wiggly and a somewhat gritty, but down she goes. Just takes concentration, and a little practice. The girls start screaming. A few break for the door. When things settle down we all leave. Seems nobody’s too keen on lunch. The next day, McDonald puts a sign on the fish-tank. Please Do Not Eat The Fish Just a minute. What really happened here? Nope, there was no slight of hand. The fish truly did go down, albeit with difficulty. However, we’d prepared carefully. Several days before I had a test run, ate a few, and knew I could do it. John went ‘round the school taking bets. The money was more or less an admission fee. I wonder why so many girls, and did they get their 50 cents worth? Gotta smile just thinking about it. Bloody outrageous! By the way, why didn’t someone confront me? The story must have shot ‘round the school. Probably too bizarre. An...

Table of Contents Details
Polio at age 1 Hospitals Mystical Insights Crime Eating Goldfish, Killing Robins University, LSD, California Attacking Police with Frisbee ...

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First Part[edit] It describes the naive Parvateesam running away from home in Mogaliturru, a small town that he calls a "famous historical city" in the West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, to become a barrister.[1] The novel depicts the troubles he faced in dealing with other languages, and the naive way he behaves with people from the outside world. It ends with his reaching the shores of England. With the struggle for independence barely beginning in south India, Parvateesam decides to leave for England because of the way he is taunted by his teacher and friends; he thinks becoming a barrister is the only way to redeem himself. He runs away from home without much money. He knows no language other than Telugu (spoken in Andhra Pradesh), and believes that once he reaches Madras (the capital city of Tamil Nadu; now Chennai) he can take a ship to England. He knows nothing of the hardships of this journey. Second Part[edit] The second part begins with him reaching the shores of England. After spending a few days in London, he travels to Edinburgh in Scotland on the advice of a recent acquaintance to study at university th...

Table of Contents Details
Barrister Parvateesam part 1 Barrister Parvateesam part 2 Barrister Parvateesam part 3 Barrister Parvateesam part 4 Barrister Parvateesam part 5 Barrister Parvateesam part 6 Barrister Parvateesam part 7...

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Sometimes funny, sometimes thoughtful, and sometimes slyly satirical, Sam's work centers around themes of renewal, social responsibility, understanding of history, and the wonders of daily life....

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If poets laughed dishonestly As people laugh and talk in crowds, If writers wept for private loss And never said a word aloud – In short if they felt as we feel (And who denies their human lives?) Then we can never really know Except for fictions left behind What makes a mind as bright as brass And our life seem as clear as glass. -- From "Little Known Facts"...

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John Smith just died as a comedian but may have been reborn as a prophet of the present moment. Dr Hazel Cole has written a self-help book so good that it might even work on daytime TV presenters. Behind the scenes, billionaire press baron Eric Hayle seems to be pressing all the buttons. But will this mysterious man spoil everything? God only knows. And what happens if you ask 644 professional philosophers about the meaning of life, the universe and everything? Caspar knows because he tried it. The results are included in this edition at no extra cost to you. But knowledge comes with its own price. You will have to put up with some of Caspar's ranting at the universe....

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Humorous, ironic, and sometimes cynical observations of life in 1915 from Canadian humourist Stephen Leacock. (Summary by TriciaG)

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Fiction, Humor, Satire