In 1988, a band of University of Wisconsin–Madison undergrads and dropouts began publishing a free weekly newspaper with no editorial stance other than "You Are Dumb." Just wanting to make a few bucks, they wound up becoming the bedrock of modern satire over the course of twenty years, changing the way we consume both our comedy and our news. The Onion served as a hilarious and brutally perceptive satire of the absurdity and horrors of late twentieth-century American life and grew into a global phenomenon.
A portrait of postcrash Ireland, a tragicomic family saga, and a dazzling story about the struggle to be good at the end of the world that asks where did it all go wrong? A patch of ice on the tarmac, a casual favor to a charming stranger, a bee caught beneath a bridal veil--can a single moment of bad luck change the direction of a life? And if the story has already been written--is there still time to find a happy ending?
My last couple reviews have been books with darker theme and tone, so I thought I should switch it up. Now, if you've seen the book cover and title, Fangs, you may be thinking, how is a book about a vampire (and a werewolf, btw) going to lighten things up? Here's how: throw in a sweet, quirky romance and about as many (sometimes groanworthy) dad-type jokes poking fun at paranormal stereotypes and you have a graphic novel that will have you smiling (for sure) from first to last, and likely giggling often along the way.
A warm and deeply funny novel about a once-famous gay sitcom star whose unexpected family tragedy leaves him with his niece and nephew for the summer.
A harrowing and ferociously funny retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, told from the enslaved Jim's point of view, showing his agency, intelligence and compassion in a radically new light.
I call them winners!
No joke, this book is sensational and worthy of all the accolades. Recipient of the 2024 Newbery Award given to the author of the most distinguished children's book of the previous year, The Eyes and the Impossible is funny, smart and unusual. I loved it.
The small English township of Swampshire provides a most agreeable setting for murder, mystery, mayhem and mayhap a little melding of hearts. Too much? Well, that's what A Most Agreeable Murder excels at. The residents of Swampshire head to an autumn ball at the largest local estate in order to meet an eligible bachelor named Croaksworth. The guests must pass through swamps that boast of glowing frogs and squelch holes in order to join a group of friends and enemies at the seemingly lavish, but actually crumbling estate.
A deliciously funny, sharply observed novel of family, wealth, love and tennis, this zeitgeisty debut follows three women in an old Brooklyn Heights clan: one who was born with money, one who married into it, and one, the millennial conscience of the family, who wants to give it all away.
Just like any toddler or things-that-go enthusiast in your life, our narrator knows that cars and trucks are always cool - and Greenlight used to think she was cool too. She thought she was bright and sparkly, but every time she tries to shine, the traffic speeds off! She is left alone, envious of the attention that Yellowlight and Redlight get as vehicles slow and stop for them.
Louise left Charleston behind when she moved away for college at sixteen and returning to her childhood home after the unexpected death of her parents sends her into the same negative space and patterns she escaped from decades before. Louise's estranged brother Mark notifies her of their parents' fatal accident nearly two days after it takes place. The decisions he's made in the time between their death and Louise's arrival sends her into a spiral of anger and confusion. And then there's the house.
