Canadian Humor

The author of How to Do Everything and Red Green's Beginner's Guide to Women has never been afraid to take on jobs doomed to failure. This latest project is perhaps the nearest he has come to a triumph. In The Woulda Coulda Shoulda Guide to Canadian Inventions, Red surveys, analyzes, critiques, and in some cases tells you how to re-create at home the best Canadian inventions, from the Wonderbra to the hard-cup jockstrap, by way of insulin, the walkie-talkie, synchronized swimming, and more.

Dutch-American storyteller Hilda Van Stockum provides us with another episode in the life of the Mitchell family, this time taking on life as it comes in a truly unforgettable Canadian summer.

Readers of Patrick Taylor's books know Mrs. Kinky Kincaid as the unflappable housekeeper who looks after two frequently frazzled doctors in the colourful Irish village of Ballybucklebo. She is a trusted fixture in the lives of those around her, and it often seems as though Kinky has always been there.Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Amber Kivinen is moving to Mars. Or at least, she will be if she wins a chance to join MarsNow. She and 23 reality TV contestants from around the world—including attractive Israeli soldier Adam, endearing fellow Canadian Pichu, and an assortment of science nerds and wannabe influencers—are competing for two seats on the first human-led mission to Mars, sponsored by billionaire Geoff Task. Meanwhile Kevin, Amber’s boyfriend of 14 years, was content going nowhere until Amber left him—and their hydroponic weed business—behind.

Some love stories start with fireworks. Theirs began with burnt toast and a snowstorm. Tessa Moore likes her life quiet. Teaching art at the local high school, painting in the evenings, and tuning out the town gossip keeps things safe. Predictable. After one brutal heartbreak, she’s not interested in taking chances again—especially not on anyone like Eli Ward. Once the pride of Maple Hills, Eli was meant for big arenas and bigger headlines. But after a career-ending injury, he’s back where he never thought he’d end up: home. Laying low. And face-to-face with the woman who once saw ...

Norris is clever, cynical, and quite possibly too smart for his own good. A Black French Canadian, he knows from watching American sitcoms that those three things don’t bode well when you are moving to Texas. Plunked into a new high school, Norris finds himself cataloging everyone he meets: the Cheerleaders, the Jocks, the Loners, and even the Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Making a ton of friends has never been a priority for him, and this way he can at least amuse himself until it’s time to go back to Canada, where he belongs. Yet those labels soon become actual people to Norris....

For Westerners, the two words most associated with Japan are probably “strange” and “exotic.” Turns out, you can’t marry the exotic, without accepting the strange, as well. That might have been a good thing for William to know, in advance. Throw in a couple of kids and a Canadian family filled with quirky characters, and you have the makings of epic tragedy or gut-busting comedy, depending upon your point of view. I Married Japan provides a good-natured glimpse into one Canadian-Japanese family and marriage. Get ready to learn as you laugh your way through this collection of Japan...

Wondering what it takes to get into heaven these days? B. Glen Rotchin takes us on one human’s whimsical encounter with his maker. In another story a cynical aging textile salesman's attempt to humor a Lubavitch boy unexpectedly brings him closer to personal truth. In the last story a fateful basketball game brings together two Jewish boys from opposite sides of a cultural divide. The author of two novels, The Rent Collector and Halbman Steals Home, the dark humour and layered meaning that characterize Rotchin's work are on fine display in these three poignant tales.

Demonstrating once again why he is one of Canada's most loved jokesters, Black masterfully captures the laughter that often bursts out of the seams of everyday life. From an unexpected drag race to a Google search for a picture of the illusive "Arthur the Meek", you just never know when a regular day is going to turn into comedic genius. Black provides uproarious insight into uses a matador might have for a teacup, mango, or simply some paper towel....

Tout le monde m’a toujours dit que ma vie pourrait être adaptée en une série télévisée, tellement je me retrouve toujours dans des situations invraisemblables. Pour vrai, même en te les racontant, j’ai de la difficulté à croire que c’est de ma vie qu’il est question. Pas de bon sens, je te dis!

Ken Paulson’s memoir could be described as Hunter S. Thompson “lite.” With a good dollop of Jean Shepherd mixed in. As the son of a federal bureaucrat known as an “office fixer,” he quickly learned that putting down roots was tricky when you regularly moved from town to town. Add to that a slightly-neurodivergent, curious and sharp mind, and you could have guessed how this was likely to go. The path to finding yourself is often bumpy. Sometimes, you will find boulders in the middle of the road. In this coming-of-age story, by turns hilarious, heartbreaking and a little horrifying,...

Mitchell’s novel follows Brian O’Connal, a young boy growing up in Depression-era Saskatchewan. Curious and eager to explore the impossibly vast Canadian prairie, Brian guides the listener through the inner workings of his small, rural town and its quirky characters. As Brian grows up, navigating faith, loss, and his relationships with his grandmother and his friends, we see him evolve alongside the changing landscape of small-town Canadian life.

Vietnamese refugees Debbie and Phil Tran have built a comfortable life for themselves in Toronto with their family nail salon. But when an ultra-glam chain salon opens across the street, their world is rocked. Complicating matters further, their landlord has jacked up the rent and it seems only a matter of time before they lose their business. They enlist the help of their daughter, Jessica, who has just returned home after a messy breakup and a messier firing. Together with their son, Dustin, and niece, Thuy, they devise some good old-fashioned sabotage.

Mon nom est Samuel et, aujourd’hui, c’est ma fête. YI-PIIII! Non... ARK, plutôt... Parce que, dans ma famille, on ne donne pas des cadeaux qui fonctionnent avec des piles. Alors, tu comprends ce que ça veut dire, HEIN? Encore et encore des cadeaux FULL poches. Parmi les niaiseries sans intérêt que j’ai reçues, il y a ce journal. Ma mère m’a dit que ça va être l’fun d’y écrire ce que je vis et TOUT ce qui me passe par la tête.

Tout le monde m’appelle Miss Parfaite et s’imagine que ma vie est géniale, que je possède tous les talents et que j’ai de la chance. La vérité est que je me retrouve toujours dans des situations abracadabrantes. Et que ma vie est loin d’être parfaite. La preuve: c’est la Saint-Valentin et j’ai reçu, en pleine classe, deux roses de deux prétendants. Mais il y a un gros problème. L’un d’eux est Milan, le crush de mon ex meilleure amie, et l’autre est Anthony, le gars que toutes les filles admirent et qui sort avec Chloé, la reine incontestée de l’école.

If you can imagine it, somewhere there’s probably a law against it. Laugh out loud over some of Canada’s strangest laws - but not too loudly, or you might get a ticket: until 2002 in BC, you couldn’t stand up while having a drink in a restaurant; in Halifax, cabbies are required to wear socks; you’re not allowed to dogsled on the sidewalks in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario; and much more.

For more than two decades, Gerry Dee has made audiences laugh, first as a hard-working stand-up comedian, and then as the star of his own CBC television program, Mr. D. Dee became a physical education teacher, thinking he would have it made: coaching, summers off and a good pension. But he found himself dreaming of a career in comedy, until one day, years later, he turned in his teaching certificate and picked up a microphone. He went on to become one of Canada’s top comics.

Otter Lake is a sleepy Anishnawbe community where little happens. Until the day a handsome stranger pulls up astride a 1953 Indian Chief motorcycle - and turns Otter Lake completely upside down. Maggie, the Reserve’s chief, is swept off her feet, but Virgil, her teenage son, is less than enchanted. Suspicious of the stranger’s intentions, he teams up with his uncle, Wayne - a master of aboriginal martial arts - to drive the stranger from the Reserve. And it turns out that the raccoons are willing to lend a hand.

An unforgettable tour de force in the voice of an ordinary-extraordinary woman who has simply had enough. Through the character of Bina, who is writing out her story on the backs of discarded envelopes, Anakana Schofield filters a complex moral universe filled with humour and sadness, love and rage, and the consolations, obligations and mysteries of lifelong friendship. A work of great power, skill, and transformative empathy from a unique and astonishing writer, whose previous book, Martin John, was shortlisted for the Giller Prize.

Red York has seen it all: the Maple Leafs’ 45 consecutive Stanley Cups, Toronto’s designation as a United Nations World Heritage Site, the emergence of the Toronto Telegram as the nation’s greatest newspaper. Now, in response to at least two readers’ requests, and with the aid of a ghostwriter whose name he can’t ever remember, the award-winning columnist has penned a definitive history of the city of Toronto in the back half of the 20th century.