Other books that might interest you

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  Why Not? - Lessons on Comedy...

  Mark Schiff, Jerry Seinfeld

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  From master comedian Mark Schiff, a long-time touring partner of Jerry Seinfeld, comes a hilarious account of decades of foolery with comedy and acting legends and how he honed his mensch skills in all of life's arenas. 
   
   
   
  Pursuing a career in comedy has always taken a lot of chutzpah. Today Mark Schiff looks back at his fifty-year career as a stand-up comic, actor, and writer and knows he's laughed with the best of them. His comedy and character have been widely praised by everyone from Jerry Seinfeld to Bill Maher, Paul Reiser, and Colin Quinn—as Seinfeld writes in his foreword, Mark is "the greatest comedy pal a guy could ever wish for"—but it hasn't always been easy. 
   
   
   
  In this brilliantly honest collection of essays inducing both heart tugs and deep belly laughs, Mark recounts growing up Jewish in the outer boroughs of New York City and shares how he survived a harrowing childhood and managed health crises, aging, marriage, parenting, and career highs and lows. With wit and wisdom, Mark reminds us that no matter the troubles at-hand, the show must always go on. The result is an unforgettable and highly relatable account from one of the best humor writers of our time that will leave listeners of all faiths energized and feeling like they've schmoozed with the best of them.

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  Flat Out and Fearless - There's...

  Peter Lindenberg

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  With a racing career spanning more than four decades, coming second is never an option for Peter Lindenberg.
  Troubled by a lack of self-confidence, Peter's 'average' childhood saw a bitter parent who doubted his abilities, a demanding school system that forced him to fit the mould, a younger brother who was better at everything, and brutal, undeserved beatings with a sjambok.
  But when Peter tasted the buzz of barefoot water-skiing he found it impossible to resist, and went on to break records, earn numerous Springbok Colours, and win many world championships.
  This, however, was just the start.
  Little did Peter know the sporting magic that would follow in his life – first as a powerboat racer and then as a race car driver.
  Despite counting on pins and metal to hold his battered body intact, being arrested unjustly, a serious motor racing accident with his car going up in flames, and a brain haemorrhage, Peter keeps going flat out and quickly ranks on the international championship charts, cheats death twice, and presses the reset button to positively influence a failed marriage.
  Flat Out and Fearless is Peter's cut-to-the-chase life journey that has rendered him one bionic man who is proud of his blatant honesty and his courageous quest to uplift and transform the lives of the downtrodden.

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  Living By My Rules

  Simon Ingram

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  Living By My Rules, an eloquent insight into the daily struggles of living with an incurable, degenerative disease such as Parkinson’s disease.Simon’s stories of his early life will transport you back to a far simpler time; the 1970s. Amusing tales which will stir fond memories in all but the youngest readers … Flares, scooters, Mods and of course a nostalgic look back at his beloved football; especially QPR.This book will make you laugh and it will make you cry but, what shines through is Simon’s ability to laugh in the face of adversity and his dogged determination to kick Parkinson’s into touch. - Karen Grant

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  Shadows of Love Shadows of...

  William T. Vollmann

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  In this landmark collection, William T. Vollmann offers a kaleidoscopic retrospective of the visual artwork he has produced over four decades, with new commentary from Vollmann on his process, inspiration, and the many intersections with his writing. 
   
   
   
  The celebrated author of over twenty-five books (among them the National Book Award–winning novel Europe Central; the seven-volume Rising Up and Rising Down, based on Vollmann's career as a war correspondent; and the two-volume climate change investigation Carbon Ideologies), Vollmann's equally ambitious and prolific career as a photographer, printmaker, and painter reflects the artist’s deep interest in people existing on the margins, a profound empathy for his subjects, and the humility and generosity to meet them on their terms. 
   
   
   
  In Shadows of Love, Shadows of Loneliness, a series of essays  commissioned especially for this book lays out Vollmann's views on what photographs can and should say, how he chooses what to represent (beauty, suffering, compassion, love, desire, ideology), thoughts on photographic consensuality, and any number of technical descriptions. Particularly useful for Vollmann fans and scholars are the cross-references between these artistic and photographic projects and his books.

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  My Secret Life Vol 7 Chapter 8

  Dominic Crawford Collins

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  My Secret Life is an anonymously penned memoir written during a period from the 1840s to the 1880s by a wealthy and sex obsessed English gentleman who refers to himself simply as ‘Walter’. Part confessional, part investigative erotic journalism, it meticulously documents every detail of the author’s prolific sexual encounters, offering us in the process an eye and thigh opening account of life behind closed doors in the Victorian age.
  
  Women, in both mind and body, were the all consuming object of Walter’s interest. From early youth through to old age his quest for erotic discovery and adventure with them was never diminished.
  
  Unlike contemporary 19th century erotic texts, such as The Pearl, whose sole object was to titillate, Walter’s interest in his subjects did not end with the extinguishing of the carnal flame. His hunger to understand the circumstances and minds of the women he encountered is never upstaged by the sex. Their potted life histories, their most intimate desires and acts were shared with him and in turn meticulously recorded by him, written down verbatim while still fresh in his mind.
  
  The resulting poignant record of a lost era and the intimate moments of the women who inhabited it offer us a remarkable insight into the 19th century that cannot be gleaned from any other source.
  
  The complete unabridged text is being released as a fully scored audiofilm (an audio book with accompanying music soundtrack) by film composer Dominic Crawford Collins.

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  The Minotaur at Calle Lanza

  Zito Madu

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  A "hauntingly effective" surrealist travel memoir about the mysterious transformations that may lurk inside us all (Library Journal, starred review). 
   
   
   
  Venice, 2020. As a pandemic rages across the globe, Zito Madu finds himself in a nearly deserted city, its walls and basilicas humming with strange magic. As he wanders a haunted landscape, we see him twist further into his own past: his family's difficult immigration from Nigeria to Detroit, his troubled relationship with his father, the sporadic joys of daily life and solitude, his experiences with migration, poverty, foreignness, racism, and his own rage and regret. But as it is with all labyrinths, after finding its center, will he come away unscathed, or will he transform into the gripping, fantastical monstrousness that's out to consume him whole? 
   
   
   
  With nods to Italo Calvino and Jorge Luis Borges, this surrealist debut memoir takes us into the labyrinth of memory and the monsters lurking there.

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