"In uproarious, brand-new pieces, Barry tackles everything from family trips, bat mitzvah parties and dating (he's serious about that title: "When my daughter can legally commence dating--February 24, 2040--I intend to monitor her closely, even if I am deceased") to funeral instructions ("I would like my eulogy to be given by William Shatner"), the differences between male and female friendships, the deeper meaning of Fifty Shades of Grey, and a father's...

The best-selling author offers a new collection of satirical and humorous essays that chronicle his own life and ordinary moments that turn beautifully absurd, including how he coped with the pandemic, his thoughts on becoming an orphan in his seventh decade, and the battle-scarred America he discovered when he resumed touring.

"The Wall Street Journal's popular columnist Jason Gay delivers a hilarious and heartfelt guide to modern living. Four times a week, millions of men and women turn to Jason Gay's column in The Wall Street Journal. Why is Gay so celebrated? It starts with his amusing, fan's-eye-view of the sports world, which he loves but doesn't take too seriously. But his most celebrated features are his "Rules" columns, which provide untraditional, highly amusing...

For more than 25 years, David Sedaris has been carving out a literary space. A Sedaris story may seem confessional, but it is also highly attuned to the world outside. It opens our eyes to what is absurd and moving about our daily existence. And it is almost impossible to read without laughing. Now, for the first time collected in one volume, the author brings us his funniest and most memorable work. In these stories, Sedaris shops for rare taxidermy,...

"A funny, warm, original memoir in which a grandmother speaks to her granddaughter from beyond the grave, telling, with candor and humor, stories from both their lives--of kinship, loyalty, tenacity, and love." -- Irrepressible, glamorous, unapologetically opinionated, Bobby Bell doted on her granddaughter. Kalb saved every voicemail her grandmother Bobby Bell ever left her. Here, Bobby is speaking to Kalb once more, in a voice as passionate as it...

"Having sanctified himself in The Year of Living Biblically and sharpened his mind in The Know-It-All, A. J. Jacobs had one feat left in the self-improvement trinity: to become the healthiest man in the world. He didn't want just to lose weight, or finish a triathlon, or lower his cholesterol. His ambitions were far, far greater: Maximal health from head to toe.The task was massive. He had to tackle a complicated web of diet and exercise advice, much...

A practical handbook for modern moms outlines recommendations for avoiding impossible standards of perfection, sharing real-world suggestions for breaking burnout cycles and protecting children from the damage of overwhelmed-parenting dynamics. "Women today are fed up. What used to be the stuff of comedy--the harried mom in sweatpants and the messy bun--just isn't funny anymore. Being everything to everyone is just too much pressure and the cracks...

"A language barrier is no match for love. Lauren Collins discovered this firsthand when, in her early thirties, she moved to London and fell for a Frenchman named Olivier--a surprising turn of events for someone who didn't have a passport until she was in college. But what does it mean to love someone in a second language? Collins wonders, as her relationship with Olivier continues to grow entirely in English. Are there things she doesn't understand...

In brand-new, never-before-published pieces, Dave passes on home truths to his new grandson and to his daughter Sophie, who will be getting her learner's permit in 2015 ("So you're about to start driving! How exciting! I'm going to kill myself."). He explores the hometown of his youth, where the grown-ups were supposed to be uptight fifties conformists, but seemed to have a lot of un-Mad Men-like fun, unlike Dave's own Baby Boomer generation, which...

One morning, Kim Brooks made a split-second decision to leave her four-year old son in the car while she ran into a store. What happened would consume the next several years of her life and spur her to investigate the broader role America's culture of fear plays in parenthood. In Small Animals , Brooks asks, Of all the emotions inherent in parenting, is there any more universal or profound than fear? Why have our notions of what it means to be a good...