I’m the author of The Dirty Parts of the Bible, which has
been a #1 Kindle bestseller in Humorous Literary Fiction on several occasions. In school, I hated the sorts of novels we were assigned. Unable to connect
with them, I read Cliff’s Notes instead. Then we were given The Catcher in the Rye. It was a
revelation—literature can be relatable, engaging, and funny?! The next novel to grab me this way was The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn. Like Catcher, it was gritty and often dark,
addressing serious concerns—but it did so with humor. These books were
my gateway into enjoying fiction—and, ultimately, to writing my own story in
the same category of serious-yet-funny.
In college, my friend David Michelson introduced me to many new authors, including G. K. Chesterton (best known for his Father Brown mysteries), who mixed philosophy and humor in his fiction.
My favorite of his works is The Man Who Was Thursday, first published in 1908—a madcap, surreal romp through London, where undercover police are battling bomb-throwing anarchists and nothing is as it seems.
On a long car trip, I recently listened to the audiobook of Thursday as performed by Nigel Peever, and laughed and thrilled all over again.
Can you trust yourself when you don't know who you are? Syme uses his new acquaintance to go undercover in Europe's Central Anarchist Council and infiltrate their deadly mission, even managing to have himself voted to the position of 'Thursday'. In a park in London, secret policeman Gabriel Syme strikes up a conversation with an anarchist. Sworn to do his duty, When Syme discovers another undercover policeman on the Council, however, he starts to question his role in their operations. And as a desperate chase across Europe begins, his confusion grows, as well as his confidence in his ability to…
This is a little-known gem by three-time Pulitzer Prize winner Thornton Wilder (best known for his play Our Town). Published in the 1935, it’s a contemporaneous account of Depression-era America, following the misadventures of traveling salesman and religious zealot, George Brush.
Coming off as preachy and self-righteous, George sparks ire and outrage wherever he goes. Yet, he’s a sincere and decent person. At the end of his misadventures, George is humbled and begins to broaden his views, making him a complex, sympathetic character.
Though renowned during his lifetime, Wilder has been largely forgotten in favor of flashier contemporaries. All of his works are worth rediscovering, but Heaven’s My Destination is closest to my heart as it was a major inspiration for my own book.
The law of contract is ripe for feminist analysis. Despite increasing calls for the re-conceptualisation of neo-classical ways of thinking, feminist perspectives on contract tend to be marginalised in mainstream textbooks. This edited collection questions the assumptions made in such works and the ideologies that underpin them, drawing attention to the ways in which the law of contract has facilitated the virtual exclusion of women, the feminine and the private sphere from legal discourse.
Contributors to this volume offer a range of ways of thinking about the subject and cover topics such as the feminine offeree, feminist perspectives on contracts…
I’m glad I didn’t read A Confederacy of Dunces till after I finished writing my book, or I might have tried to match it—and given up in despair. To my mind, this is the greatest comic novel ever written.
The story’s climax—involving a burlesque show, a parrot, and a copy of Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy—is sheer genius.
It’s hard to fathom that Dunces was actually written during the 1960s, decades ahead of its time. And the saga of how it came to be published in 1980, after years of rejection and John Kennedy Toole’s tragic death, is nearly as stunning as the book itself.
'This is probably my favourite book of all time' Billy Connolly
A pithy, laugh-out-loud story following John Kennedy Toole's larger-than-life Ignatius J. Reilly, floundering his way through 1960s New Orleans, beautifully resigned with cover art by Gary Taxali _____________
'This city is famous for its gamblers, prostitutes, exhibitionists, anti-Christs, alcoholics, sodomites, drug addicts, fetishists, onanists, pornographers, frauds, jades, litterbugs, and lesbians . . . don't make the mistake of bothering me.'
Ignatius J. Reilly: fat, flatulent, eloquent and almost unemployable. By the standards of ordinary folk he is pretty much…
A Confederacy of Dunces might have never seen the light of day if Toole’s mother hadn’t mailed the only existing typescript to Walker Percy, the one person in the world best suited to appreciate it, because Percy (like Toole) was a brilliant comic novelist from Louisiana.
No author frustrates me more than Percy. Of his six novels, there are three I love, and three I hate—and I have issues even with the ones I love. But I keep coming back to Percy because he writes like no one else (in large part, I think, due to his background as a physician and psychiatrist).
Love in the Ruins is my favorite of his novels—and it’s the funniest. Written during the turmoil of the late ’60s / early ’70s, it’s set in a futuristic America torn apart by political polarization and racial tensions—in other words, America today. It’s full of weirdness and wisdom.
A pair of profound dystopian novels from the “brilliantly breathtaking” New York Times–bestselling and National Book Award–winning author of The Moviegoer (The New York Times Book Review).
Winner of the National Book Award for The Moviegoer, the “dazzlingly gifted” Southern philosophical author Walker Percy wrote two vividly imagined satirical novels of America’s future featuring deeply flawed psychiatrist and spiritual seeker Tom More (USA Today). Love in the Ruins is “a great adventure . . . so outrageous and so real, one is left speechless” (Chicago Sun-Times), and its sequel The Thanatos Syndrome “shimmers with intelligence and verve” (Newsday).
"The only real and abiding pleasure in life,” P. G. Wodehouse once said, “is to give pleasure to other people.” If that’s the case—and I believe it is—Wodehouse must have been supremely satisfied.
In my early 30s, at the lowest point in my life thus far, I discovered the joy of Jeeves—indomitable butler to layabout gentleman Bertie Wooster—and all the other delightful inhabitants of Wodehouse’s world. Amidst life’s worries and stresses, Wodehouse offers balm for the weary.
Unlike the other books on this list, Right Ho, Jeeves doesn’t address any serious issues (except for the romantic troubles of Gussie Fink-Nottle, which are quite serious). Nonetheless, Wodehouse’s mastery of language and plot elevate his work to the highest levels of literature.
_________________________________________ 'If comedy is your thing, it's hard to match PG Wodehouse and his classic characters Jeeves and Bertie Wooster for hilarious farce.' Irish Daily Mail
'P.G. Wodehouse wrote the best English comic novels of the century' Sebastian Faulks
'Heaven is Right Ho, Jeeves' Hugh Johnson
'Jeeves, I'm engaged.' 'I hope you will be very happy, sir.' 'Don't be an ass. I'm engaged to Miss Bassett.'
Bertie is feeling most put out when he finds that his friend Gussie is seeking relationship advice from Jeeves. Meanwhile Aunt Dahlia has asked Bertie to present awards at a school prize-giving ceremony. In…
The Dirty Parts of the Bible has been called “a riotous tale of Americana in the vein of O Brother, Where Art Thou? ” (Bookbub) and “a rich and soulful novel steeped in wanderlust and whimsy” (Publishers Weekly).
It's 1936, and Tobias Henry is stuck in the frozen hinterlands of Michigan. Tobias is obsessed with two things: God and girls. Mostly girls, of course. But being a Baptist preacher's son, he can't escape God. When his father is blinded in a bizarre accident (involving hard cider and bird droppings), Tobias must ride the rails to Texas to recover a long-hidden stash of money.
What Happened to Frank? is the first book in the Meg Sheppard Mystery Series. Meg is an amateur sleuth who owns racehorses and lives on a horse farm. Her beloved border collie, Kelly, is usually at Meg's side as she investigates murders and solves other mysteries. The books are action-packed and fast-paced, and set in the world of thoroughbred horse racing and country life.
Meg's first investigation starts on the dreaded anniversary of Frank's untimely death. Meg's conviction that it was no accident turns into a keen determination to find out who killed her husband. As she follows the bends…
"What Happened to Frank?" is a fast-paced, action-packed mystery that unfurls within the worlds of thoroughbred horse racing and country living.
Meg Sheppard escaped persistent abuse by her stepfather by emigrating to Canada from England. She now lives on a small horse farm. She owns two thoroughbred racehorses, Rose and Speed, and two retired racehorses, Eagle and Bullet.
Meg adores her border collie dog, Kelly, who is usually at her side. On the dreaded anniversary of Frank's untimely death, Meg's conviction that it was no accident turns into a keen determination to find out…
