From the founding editor of The Idler, the celebrated magazine about the freedom and fine art of doing nothing, comes not simply a book, but an antidote to our work-obsessed culture. In How to Be Idle, Tom Hodgkinson presents his learned yet whimsical argument for a new universal standard of living: being happy doing nothing. He covers a whole spectrum of issues affecting the modern idler--sleep, work, pleasure, relationships--while reflecting on the writing of such famous apologists for it as Oscar Wilde, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Nietzsche--all of whom have admitted...

A smart, hilarious parody of Malcolm Gladwell's bestselling Blink.

Stop Don't think You already know what this book is about. That is the power of Blank: the power of not actually thinking at all. Using what scientific researchers call 'Extra-Lean Deli Slicing' (or would, if they actually bothered to research it), your brain has already decided whether you're going to like Blank, whether its cover goes with your shirt, and whether it will make you look smart if somebody sees you reading it on the train.

Chances are you and your shirt are both liking it a lot, you're going...

Universal and timeless, Delia Ephron's How to Eat Like a Child is a delightful revisiting of the joys -- and tricky ploys -- of childhood. Made into a children's television special and a musical theater revue performed across the country each year, How to Eat Like a Child offers advice beyond the artful etiquette of food consumption. Ephron also teaches us "How to Laugh Hysterically," "How to Have a Birthday Party," "How to Torture Your Sister," and much, much more. As the Washington Post Book World noted, After the giggles of recognition have subsided, one thing...

James Pinocchio wakes up in the back of a New York City taxi with a combination lock piercing his left ear and no idea how it got there, or what the combination is.

The following day, his wealthy parents decide they've had enough, and they send him off to Sleepy Hollow, the famous rehab facility in Upstate New York. While there, Mr. Pinocchio meets all sorts of Fascinating Characters, one more Unbelievable and Amazing than the next, and they challenge him to confront his Deepest, Darkest Fears. The experience leads Mr. Pinocchio to the very edges of despair, but at a critical...

In the English language, swearing is essential to effective communication. In this hilarious and illuminating guide, you will learn just how to do it - no f*cking problem.

Whether you want to succeed in business, school, or social circles, a strong command of vocabulary is absolutely necessary. Just imagine a stranger to our shores, trying to comprehend the following conversation:

John: Mary, would you like to attend the opera this evening?
Mary: F*cking-A. should I wear my black dress?
John: Why the f*ck not?
Mary: F*cked if I...

So you've heard that lesbians are chic, hot, and the "next big thing" but you still wonder what is all the fuss about a Middle Eastern country? Well, So You Want to Be a Lesbian? is here to rescue America from its confusion. It is the essential travel guide to the Sapphic landscape, illustrating key terms, "coming out" (how to do it without having your aunt collapse in the strudel), and much more. A mix of history, culture, little-known facts about the lesbian nation (hint: don't look for it in an atlas), and dating tips for the confirmed, the soon-to-be-out, and just plain-curious,...

Congratulations, man By picking up The Complete A**hole's Guide to Handling Chicks, you are just pages away from finally understanding:

- How a five-dollar date can get you laid
- How to stop being friends with girls and start getting them in the sack
- Where you'll have the best odds of finding a one-night stand, and how to get rid of the chick the next morning
- How to trick a woman into thinking you're classy, even if you have holes in your underwear
- Why fat chicks always try to keep you from banging their hot friends, and how to finally stop these evil...

We live in an Age of Anxiety. The events of modern life have overwhelmed the average homo sapiens until getting from Point A to Point B without being overcome by neuroses is a practical impossibility. Enter: the comic safety valve. Encyclopedia Neurotica is a delightful garden of the ills that beset modern man. Entries include excerpts from both popular and arcane published works, as well as original definitions, essential terms and the occasional cutting-edge concept, such as "celebriphilia, the pathological desire to sleep with a celebrity, suffered chiefly by groupies."
Some...

Today is Saturday.

Jane has an open house.

She must schlep the Open House signs to the car.

See Jane schlep.

Schlep, Jane. Schlep.

Schlep, schlep, schlep.

In text that captures the unque rhythms of the original Dick and Jane readers, and in 35 all-new illustrations, a story unfolds in which Dick and Jane--hero and heroine of the classic books for children that generations of Americans have used when learning to read--manage to express shades of feeling and...

"Someone's values are going to prevail. Why not ours? Whose country is it, anyway? Whose moral code says we may interfere with a man's right to be a practicing bigot, but must respect and protect his right to be a practicing sodomite?"--Right from the Beginning, Pat Buchanan's autobiography

"My good friend Bob Dole, basically, is the bellhop of the Business Roundtable."--Campaign appearance, Clearwater, SC, February 28, 1996

"I think God made all people good, but if we had to take a million immigrants in, say,...

Your mother never told you these stories.

She didn't want to scare you.

But Angus Oblong is not your mother.

If Edgar Allan Poe and David Lynch wrote a book, it might be as warped, wicked, and perversely funny as this treasury of twisted tales from childhood's Twilight Zone. So don't be alarmed if you find yourself screaming . . . with laughter . . . until the day you die. Which may be very soon . . .

From the Hardcover edition.

Take a hilarious, healing journey with Stuart Smalley as he careens down the road to Recovery. For one entire year Stuart recorded an affirmation a day...except when he had taken to his bed (but that's Okay)...and the result is the most entertaining and indispensable meditation book ever.

From program wisdom (Denial Ain't Just a River in Egypt December 1) to survival tips (When I Go Home to Visit My Family I Will Stay in a Motel September 26) to some good sound practical advice (I am entitled to file for an Extension on my Income...