Beach read season may officially end with the start of Labor Day furniture sale ads on TV, but it's never too late for a good belly laugh. Kicking back with these page-turners will keep you in stitches -- even if you don't have sand between your toes.
When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
Public radio favorite David Sedaris is back with his sixth collection of uproarious personal essays you have to read to believe. From rural North Carolina to New York City to the beautiful French countryside of Normandy, which he now calls home, Sedaris suffers the simple challenges of everyday life in ways you can't quite imagine if you've never tried to make coffee using the water from a vase of flowers. Reading about his journey to Tokyo to quit smoking will leave you huffing and puffing...from laughter.
The Miracle Letters of T. Rimberg by Geoff Herbach
This darkly comic debut novel speaks to the insecure underachiever in all of us. T. Rimberg has lost his wife, his kids and his girlfriend. But when he receives a large inheritance check from the estate of his Holocaust survivor father, T. commences upon a quixotic voyage to Europe to make sense of it all. What "it" is, unfortunately, isn't immediately clear to our hero. A story told in a series of letters and suicide notes shouldn't be so hilarious -- or, in the end, so heartfelt.
The Idiot Girl and the Flaming Tantrum of Death: Reflections on Revenge, Germophobia, and Laser Hair Removal by Laurie Notaro
The Cleveland Plain Dealer says that Laurie Notaro is "a scream, the freak-magnet of a girlfriend you can't wait to meet for a drink to hear her latest story." The over-the-top stories in Notaro's latest collection may not suit everyone's tastes, but they will leave sympathetic readers crying to keep from laughing out loud. Open mouth coughers, the newest ex-con to move to her neighborhood and her unlikely fear that a parasite the size of a python is on its way to see her all fall into Notaro's tell-it-like-it-is comedic crosshairs.
The Levity Effect: Why it Pays to Lighten Up by Adrian Gostick & Scott Christopher
Gostick and Christopher offer a serious examination of the powerful impact of humor and fun in business. Case studies from some of the world's most successful organizations -- including Boeing, Nike, Yamaha and Zappos -- demonstrate that lighthearted leaders earn more than their dour competitors and that work environments that are more public park than private cube farm inspire loyalty in employees and customers. And there's no laughing at results like that.
Reviews Courtesy of Amazon.com
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