Heartbreak, alcoholism, dead people, religion and military bureaucracy: We know we’re not supposed to laugh about that stuff, but we can’t help it when we read the books by the writers in this week’s list (not to mention class issues, recluses, self-improvement and choking—real gut-busters!). Some books are just funny but these books make us feel all over again like we’re in the back row of 7th-grade science class tittering after the teacher discusses human anatomy. So bring on the dire news headlines—we’ll be laughing all week long.
NONFICTION
Released: Feb. 12, 2013
"A young writer finds once more that it isn't too early to look back on his life and laugh out loud."
Mulgrew (
Everything Is Wrong with Me, 2010) returns to his formative years at an exclusive prep school for bright boys and finds a ton of absurdist comedy gold to mine.
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NONFICTION
Released: Oct. 29, 2012
"An amusing homage to reading that contains something to offend even (especially?) the most ardent book lover."
A journalist shares his obsession with books, swinging his machete through the fields of literature.
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FICTION
Released: Sept. 4, 2012
"Sardonic and poignant. Funny and bitter. Ribald and profane. Confirmation for the anti-war crowd and bile for Bush supporters."
IEDs, VBIEDs, EODs, G-3 and even CNN contrive a constant Catch-22 as Fobbit Chance Gooding Jr. fights the acronym war in Abrams' debut novel.
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FICTION
Released: Sept. 1, 2011
"Offbeat exploration of the human need to connect with others."
An enigmatic British man locks himself indefinitely in a guest room during a party, altering forever the lives of four people who barely know him.
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FICTION
Released: Sept. 17, 2008
"Could be the most compelling and provocative work from either collaborator."
NONFICTION
Released: Jan. 2, 2008
"Funny, perceptive and surprisingly open-hearted under the cynicism."
A delightful, Plimptonesque exercise in immersive journalism exploring the strange world of "self-help."
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