Comedy Essays

One part memoir, one part comedy special, one part crazy first date. Just you and Matt between the covers. What could be better? Matt Rife is well aware that he’s both the most loved and the most controversial comic in America today. And honestly, he thinks that’s your problem. Matt reveals...

With great originality and wit, Orwell unfolds his views on subjects ranging from a revaluation of Charles Dickens to the nature of Socialism, from a comic yet profound discussion of naughty seaside postcards to a spirited defense of English cooking. Displaying an almost unrivalled mastery of English plain prose, Orwell’s essays created a unique literary manner from the process of thinking aloud and continue to challenge, move, and entertain.

Francis Bacon (1561-1626), 1st Viscount St Albans, Attorney General and then Lord Chancellor of England, was an immensely learned, clever and ambitious man, with considerable political influence. However, he was also a philosopher with a wide interest in science, medicine and the classification of knowledge. Throughout his life he wrote a series of essays - following the manner set particularly by Montaigne, though extending back to Aristotle and others - the first 10 of which appeared in 1597.

INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER Known for his sharp-witted skits on CBC’s This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Mark Critch uses his keen observational skills to explore Canadian identity and the new wave of Canadian patriotism. In Sorry, Not Sorry, Critch delves into the heart of what it means to be Canadian...

The beloved New York Times bestselling author reflects on home, family, friendships and writing in this deeply personal collection of essays. "The elegance of Patchett’s prose is seductive and inviting: with Patchett as a guide, readers will really get to grips with the power of struggles...

Comedian and author of Birdie & Harlow @thedailytay shares an honest and hilarious essay collection on parenting young children, navigating social anxiety, and being a millennial woman. "It's just a busy season," we say to ourselves after a chaotic morning (that we've had every day for the past...

A 2020 Audie Award Finalist From nationally bestselling author, YouTube star, and Facebook Video sensation Laura Clery comes a collection of comedic essays that paint “an honest, complicated portrait of how your life can change” (SheKnows). Laura Clery makes a living by sharing inappropriate...

“Genius ... It is miraculous to read these pieces ... You must read The Best of Me.” —Andrew Sean Greer, New York Times Book Review For more than twenty-five years, David Sedaris has been carving out a unique literary space. A Sedaris story may seem confessional, but is also highly attuned...

David Sedaris returns with his first collection of personal essays since the bestselling Calypso. Back when restaurant menus were still printed on paper, and wearing a mask—or not—was a decision made mostly on Halloween, David Sedaris spent his time doing normal things. As Happy-Go-Lucky...

2017 Man Booker Prize Longlist 2018 Women's Prize for Fiction Longlist The Ministry of Utmost Happiness is a dazzling new novel by the internationally celebrated author of The God of Small Things. It takes us on an intimate journey of many years across the Indian subcontinent—from the cramped...

“Roxane Gay is so great at weaving the intimate and personal with what is most bewildering and upsetting at this moment in culture. She is always looking, always thinking, always passionate, always careful, always right there.” — Sheila Heti, author of How Should a Person Be? A New York...

Instant New York Times bestselling author Gwenna Laithland, aka Momma Cusses, is back with a collection of Thinky Thoughts (essays, memories, poems and more!) perfect for fans of Jenny Lawson, Samantha Irby and KC Davis. This program is read by the author. Before I was a mom who cusses, I was a...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A GLAMOUR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR A hilarious new essay collection from Samantha Irby "engages readers with her characteristic combination of laugh-out-loud moments, heartfelt passages and plenty of awkward experiences.... Quietly Hostile will delight established...

A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland From Being a Burden to Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Public, commonly referred to as A Modest Proposal, is a Juvenalian satirical essay written and published anonymously by Jonathan Swift in 1729. Swift suggests in his essay that the impoverished Irish might ease their economic troubles by selling children as food. By doing this he mocks the authority of the British officials.

**National Bestseller **A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice **A Globe and Mail Best Book of 2017 **A National Post Best Book of 2017 **A CBC Best Book of 2017 **An Amazon Best Book of 2017 **A Popsugar Best Book of 2017 **A Kobo Best Book of 2017 **An NPR Best Book of 2017 **A...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER This essay collection from the “bitches gotta eat” blogger, writer on Hulu’s Shrill and HBO's And Just Like That, and “one of our country’s most fierce and foulmouthed authors” (Amber Tamblyn, Vulture) is sure to make you alternately cackle with glee and...

Named a Novel Everyone Will Be Talking About in 2026 by the New York Times One of Literary Hub's Most Anticipated Books of 2026 From the “most talented writer of his generation” (The New York Times), a lightning flash of a novel that is at once a gripping emotional drama and a brilliant...

#1 New York Times bestseller! In this unforgettable collection of essays, acclaimed humorist David Sedaris lifts the corner of ordinary life, revealing the absurdity teeming below its surface. Sedaris plays in the snow with his sisters. He goes on vacation with his family. He gets a job selling...

"Sedaris is a remarkably skilled storyteller and savvy essayist ... And based on this collection, he's getting only better." —Los Angeles Times A guy walks into a bar car and ... From here the story could take many turns. When the guy is legendary essayist David Sedaris, the possibilities are...

Bestselling author and renowned professor Mary Karr offers a master class in the essential elements of great memoir delivered with her signature wit, insight, and candor. Credited with sparking the current memoir explosion, Mary Karr s The Liars Club spent more than a year at the top of the...