Performing Arts

Superstar comedian and Hollywood box-office star Kevin Hart turns his immense talent to the written word by writing some words. Some of those words include: the, a, for, above, and even even. Put them together and you have the funniest, most heartfelt, and most inspirational memoir on survival, success, and the importance of believing in yourself since Old Yeller.

From the elections of Barack Obama and Donald Trump to the tragic events of Ferguson and Charlottesville, the subject of race has come to the forefront of American consciousness. Legendary satirist D. L. Hughley offers his own cutting observations on this contentious issue that continues to traumatize the nation, a wound made more painful by the ongoing comments and actions of the 45th president. Hughley uses humor to draw attention to injustice, sardonically offering advice on a number of lessons, like "How to make cops feel more comfortable while they're handcuffing you".

Richard Pryor journeys from his childhood in a family that worked in whore-houses and bars, through to his years in Hollywood - the money, the women, the drugs - and the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.

The greats of comedy, when they were young and struggling, performing their great early routines.

By the tender age of five, Bernie Mac had found his calling: making others laugh. He has since become the star and cocreator of Fox’s hit sitcom The Bernie Mac Show; a stand-up legend; and a hit movie star in Head of State and Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle. Now, this amazing comedian delves deep down inside to retell the poignant and hilarious story of his childhood and the people who helped shape him into the comedian - and the strong and self-reliant man - he is today.

R. Eric Thomas didn’t know he was different until the world told him so. Everywhere he went - whether it was his rich, mostly White, suburban high school, his conservative Black church, or his Ivy League college in a big city - he found himself on the outside looking in. In essays by turns hysterical and heartfelt, Thomas reexamines what it means to be an "other" through the lens of his own life experience.

Comedian Trevor Noah offers listeners a glimpse into his childhood during apartheid in South Africa in this award-winning memoir.

Before Liz Lemon, before Weekend Update, before Sarah Palin, Tina Fey was just a young girl with a dream: A recurring stress dream that she was being chased through a local airport by her middle-school gym teacher. She also had a dream that one day she would be a comedian on TV....

From a massively successful stand-up comedian and co-host of chart-topping podcasts “2 Bears 1 Cave” and “Your Mom’s House,” hilarious real-life stories of parenting, celebrity encounters, youthful mistakes, misanthropy, and so much more....

In the mid-70s, Steve Martin exploded onto the comedy scene. By 1978 he was the biggest concert draw in the history of stand-up....

Since his first performance at the legendary New York nightclub “Catch a Rising Star” as a 21-year-old college student in fall of 1975, Jerry Seinfeld has written his own material and saved everything....

Authors Keegan-Michael Key and Elle Key build on the popularity of their 2022 Webby Award-winning podcast and delve deeper into the world of sketch, helped along with new essays created expressly for the book by comedy greats.

Bob Odenkirk’s career is inexplicable. And yet he will try like hell to explicate it for you. Charting a “Homeric” decades-long “odyssey” from his origins in the seedy comedy clubs to a dramatic career full of award nominations, it’s almost like there are many Bob Odenkirks....

Outsider. Misfit. Criminal. Convict. . . . Movie star. Family man. Comedy legend. Joey Diaz has been called every name in the book (and then some). Now, for the first time, he shares the story of his unlikely rise to fame in his own words—with no punches pulled....

During the course of a career that began in the late 1940s, Lenny Bruce challenged the sanctity of organized religion and other societal and political conventions; he widened the boundaries of free speech....

James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales raucously and revealingly take the SNL story up to the present, adding a constellation of iconic new stars, surprises, and controversies....

A celebration of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, this carefully curated audiobook features some of comedy’s most iconic voices in excerpts from their appearances on Jerry Seinfeld’s groundbreaking streaming series!

Decades ago, Paul Mooney set out not just make audiences laugh but to make them think. Black Is the New White is his blisteringly funny, no-holds-barred memoir of how he continues to succeed wildly at both....

If you are driving, pull over. If you are at work, close your door, unless you don't mind your colleagues seeing you doubled over, in tears, on your office floor...

Mindy Kaling has lived many lives: the obedient child of immigrant professionals, a timid chubster afraid of her own bike, a Ben Affleck–impersonating Off-Broadway performer and playwright, and, finally, a comedy writer and actress....

The exercises in this book will get you off the couch and onto the stage, helping you develop the skills necessary to envision, and achieve, a successful career in comedy....

Comic Kathleen Madigan delivers new material derived from time spent with her Irish Catholic Midwest family, eating random pills out of her mother's purse, touring Afghanistan, her unparalleled love of John Denver, and more....

The complete uncensored history of the award-winning The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, as told by its correspondents, writers, and host....

As a stay at home mother of three, Leanne was looking for a way to get some grown up time without interfering with her children or her husband’s career....

David Mitchell’s 2014 best seller Thinking About It Only Makes It Worse must really have made people think - because everything’s got worse....

In this definitive joke-writing handbook, learn comedy writing and how to write a joke with a simple comedy-writing and joke-writing formula you can use right now to write your own jokes....

Graham Norton has been entertaining audiences and having fun with some of the world's biggest stars for nearly 20 years....

The entries in this compulsively listenable book bridge past and present with topics like getting ghosted, handling haters, and why dog owners rule (sorry, cat people)....

Millions of viewers know and love Bob Saget from his role as the sweetly neurotic father on the smash hit Full House, and as the charming wisecracking host of America's Funniest Home Videos....

From 1962 to 1992, Johnny Carson and his Tonight Show dominated the American consciousness. Henry Bushkin was Carson’s best friend and lawyer during that period, and his book is a tautly rendered and remarkably nuanced portrait of Carson, revealing not only how he truly was, but why....

Get a look into the mind of Cheech Marin - one half of the renowned Cheech and Chong comedic duo - and follow through the highs and lows of his personal and professional lives. An unborn baby with a fatal heart defect...a skier submerged for an hour in a frozen Norwegian lake....

Master the Art of Improv: Unleash Your Creativity, Build Confidence, and Transform Your Skills! Does performing in front of others make you nervous, yet you dream of becoming a skilled improviser full of creativity and confidence? Searching for dynamic activities to energize participants of all skill levels? New to improv and need a welcoming guide to get started? If any of these resonate, The Complete Improv Playbook is your comprehensive guide to unlocking creativity and confidence with over 70 games and techniques for every skill level.

Alright, let’s get one thing straight: if you’ve picked up this book, there’s a good chance you’re at least curious about this whole “nudist” thing. Maybe you’ve considered stripping off your clothes and throwing caution (and fabric) to the wind. Or maybe you’ve just clicked on this book because the title The Naked Laugh made you wonder if we’re about to embark on some naked shenanigans—well, spoiler alert: we are. I’m Kristin, and let me tell you right now: going nude is way more than just an excuse to sunbathe without worrying about tan lines. It’s a lifestyle that...

Okay, let’s cut to the chase: your skin is begging for freedom. If you’ve ever spent a summer day feeling trapped in your clothes, itching to rip off your jeans, or wishing your shirt wasn’t hugging you a little too tight, then you know exactly what I’m talking about. We wear clothes because society tells us we have to, but what if we didn’t? What if we gave our bodies—and our skin—the chance to breathe, stretch, and just be? That’s where nude living comes in. No, I’m not talking about running around the city stark naked (unless that’s your thing, go for it), but what if...

Alright, let’s just get this out of the way right now: yes, I’m talking about being naked with your friends. Now, before you start squirming in your seat and thinking, "Kristin, what in the world are you suggesting?" hear me out. It’s not as weird as you think. In fact, it's pretty liberating. And trust me, once you strip down and embrace the absurdity of being bare-skinned with your closest pals, you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it sooner. Before you say it—no, I’m not advocating for full-on nudist colonies or spontaneous naked meetups at your local coffee shop. I’m talking ...

Alright, let’s talk about something that’s both a little uncomfortable and incredibly liberating: exposing yourself in the nude. I know, I know—you probably just squirmed a little. You might be thinking, “Kristin, there’s no way this is going to be as fun as you’re making it sound.” But hear me out, because living life without clothes—truly exposing yourself—might be one of the most freeing, fun, and unexpectedly life-changing experiences you can have. Let’s break it down. We live in a world where clothes are the first thing we put on in the morning and the last thing we...

Travel Logged by Brian Jackson is a riotously funny, heartwarming, and unexpectedly poignant romp through Europe that blends romantic comedy, adventure, and ensemble chaos into one unforgettable novel. It's a passport-stamped ticket to self-discovery, complete with mistaken arrests, whirlwind weddings, Mediterranean misadventures, and a cast of eccentric companions you'll miss when you turn the final page. When Owen Beyer signed up for a European group tour, he wasn’t looking for trouble—he was trying to outrun it. But what started as a simple escape spiraled into an epic journey ...

In HodgePodge, best-selling author Robert Urban once again shows his mastery of blending his authenticity, irreverent humor, brilliance and unique perspective to create a book about the realities of life. Robert shares his most intimate sometimes uproarious, sometimes tragic, but always poignant experiences and thoughts about parenting, death, god, groupies, dating, drug addiction and other topics. Critics have described this book as an "R rated version of Chicken Soup for the Soul".

Rodney Dangerfield's fidgety delivery, self-deprecating humor, and catchphrase, "I don't get no respect," made him a comedy icon in nightclubs, on television, and in movies. But Rodney's long road to stardom was as rocky as his real life. That's when he decided to give comedy one last shot . . . Back in the clubs and thanks to a fortuitous prime-time set on The Ed Sullivan Show, at the age of forty-five, the newly christened Rodney Dangerfield was an "overnight" success. It was the greatest second act in the history of show business.

Alright, let’s just get this out of the way: Yes, I’ve been naked outside. A lot. And I mean a lot. If you’re reading this, you’re probably thinking, “Why on earth would anyone want to be naked in the outdoors?!” And trust me, I’ve asked myself the same question at least a hundred times—mostly while I’m standing there, naked as the day I was born, in some ridiculously awkward situation. But here’s the thing: There’s something magical about being naked in nature. Something freeing. Like, the second you strip away those layers of clothing, you shed all the other layers ...

A season-ending party is to be held at Highfart Hall. To his surprise, Dr Platupous, a quietly suffering, quietly balding, always anxious private practitioner of medicine, receives an invitation. Once inside the hall, his bravery, perseverance and gelatinous backbone will be put to the test as never before. There, within its walls, he is subjected to the mad whims, snobbery and open hostility of the Highfarts and their guests amidst the backdrop of inexplicable disruptions to the space-time continuum. In a place where madness reigns and his senses are left reeling, Dr Platupous comes to an ...

When Maximus Profitt, CEO of Joyful Health Care, is abducted during the Bay to Breakers race, retired SFPD Detective John Morgan is reluctantly pulled back onto the force. Meanwhile, when his next-door neighbor, Sara Darby, an overstressed Jessica Fletcher wannabe, and her misfit friends: Vivian Char, a food truck chef, Ivy Drip, a retired nurse drowning in medical debt, and Gloria Wright, an 82-year-old feminist and recovering lawyer, find themselves at the end of their ropes, do what any rational woman would do when faced with injustice. They cover up a murder. What begins as a series of ...

Let’s be real for a second—there’s something incredibly freeing about being naked. You know, that feeling of shedding every layer and just existing in your natural state. It’s not about vanity or trying to make some bold statement; it’s about pure, unfiltered freedom. But let’s face it, we can’t all live in a nudist colony (as fun as that sounds) or have a private beach to run wild on. So what’s the next best thing? Finding sneaky, unexpected places to ditch the clothes and enjoy being you. In this book, I’m about to take you on a wild, hilarious, and slightly rebellious ...

Alright, let’s be real—buying a house is a big deal. And when I say "big deal," I mean stressful, overwhelming, and let's face it, occasionally a bit terrifying. We spend months, maybe years, pinning down what we want, scouring listings, attending open houses, signing piles of paperwork, and going through all the ups and downs that come with finding a new home. But let’s take a moment and ask: What if you did all of that, but without the clothes? Yeah, I’m talking about doing it all, from house hunting to signing that final offer, in the most liberating way possible: naked. Why? ...

Ready for a night you’ll never forget? Dive into Nude Jacuzzi Fiasco, the hilariously chaotic and heartwarming tale of Kristin and her wild hot tub adventure. What starts as a seemingly relaxing evening with friends quickly spirals into a night of unexpected chaos, body positivity, and unforgettable moments. When Kristin agrees to join her friends Tanya and Susan for a low-key hot tub party, she never imagines she’s about to step into a whirlpool of laughter, awkwardness, and self-discovery. Surrounded by naked strangers and unexpected guests, Kristin quickly learns that the real ...

The Boomer Crew's biggest gamble yet! The lads go to Monaco to make their fortune in the casinos; what’s the worst that could happen? Well, Blakey’s car might get trashed, Finley might lose all his money, Geoff and Daisy might break up and Johnny might not make it back to Blighty. Will their wildest gamble yet pay off – or leave them broke and broken? Double Up or Quit is the third laugh-out-loud installment in Peter Seddon’s cozy crime series, packed with his signature wit and the misadventures of the Boomer Crew – Britain’s unlikeliest criminals. Perfect for fans of The ...

The Underwear Uprising Nobody Asked For (But Everyone Needs): EPIC EXITS III is Here There are books. There are bold books. And then there’s EPIC EXITS III — The Story of an Underwear Revolution: a chaotic, sweat-drenched, lion-roaring, menopause-powered masterpiece that somehow—against all odds —makes perfect sense. This is not just a book. This is a movement. (And in some cases, a pelvic one—see: **Spuddle Man Pants™**.) Bollocky & Buff, once a forgotten relic of bargain bins and uncomfortable gussets, has risen like a phoenix in properly ventilated knickers—and you’re ...

Laughing Through the Stink: Fart Humor for the Humorless dives into the surprisingly sophisticated world of flatulence comedy. From the science behind farts to their place in literature, workplace pranks, and viral social media moments, this book offers a hilarious yet insightful look at why passing gas has universal appeal. Whether you’re the life of the party or someone who needs a little push to embrace your silly side, this guide will have you giggling through every pfft and blarp. Perfect for anyone who’s ever wondered, “Why are farts so funny?”—even if they won’t admit it!

Ultimately, this is the book’s purpose: How “these days” are different from “those days”. I am a GenXer. That means I was born between 1965 and 1980. Each generation has different characteristics and different world views than the one before and the one after. This is VERY true for us GenXers. We experienced the world differently as kids than the generations around us. And, as adults, we think differently about how things should be done and what makes sense. We are pragmatic, probably above all. We do things because it “makes sense.” Common sense is a hallmark of the ...

With a rich tapestry of experience across 15 countries, Jorge’s global footprint would make most travel bloggers green with envy. But it’s his writer’s hat that truly makes Jorge’s story a blockbuster. His passion for weaving words has not only produced captivating narratives, but it has also equipped him with a unique cinematic flair, turning the drab world of trading into a riveting screenplay.

It began with a stone. Not Ancient, Not Marked, Just there, Half buried in the cold sand, glowing faintly like it knew it had been seen. Rochelle wasn’t looking for anything. She was walking to clear her head, the way you do when life gets too loud. A wind-swept beach. A stretch of grey sky. The silence made you feel both small and alive. That’s all she wanted. Then the Stone Warm to the touch, like I had a pulse. Gold veining through it, alive in a way rock shouldn’t be. She picked it up, and the world moved, Shifted, unlatched. And just like that, Rochelle wasn’t in Normandie ...