Publisher: Reading Essentials
A brightly appealing collection of inimitable comic essays by a whimsical master of American humor. Originally published in 1921, Of All Things! was the first book by a true American original, one whose charming wit and dry humor, and wry, befuddled, gently exasperated outlook on life can never go out of date.
In this classic satire of English gentry and their servants, romantic intrigue collides with the hunt for a stolen artifact at a lord’s country house. When struggling author Ashe Marson and former chorus girl Joan Valentine decide to make a fresh start of their lives, they don’t expect to meet again at Blandings Castle—each under an assumed identity, hoping to find a priceless stolen scarab. Posing as servants to various guests, they decide to team up rather than compete. But their covert search is child’s play compared to the complicated etiquette of a lord’s domestic staff, let alone the intricate intrigues of the families they serve. With the earl’s son Freddie engaged to the daughter of an American millionaire, a fixer has been hired to recover compromising love letters Freddie once sent to a chorus girl named Joan. But Freddie’s soon-to-be father-in-law has an embarrassing secret of his own: he accidentally pocketed one of the earl’s prized scarabs while on a tour of the house. The ensuing ruckus will shuffle the fates and fortunes of all involved before two lovers may unite in this uproarious comedy of manners by the beloved master of British farce.Show book
Broadcast live from Radio City Music Hall, the 2nd Farewell (June 4, 1988) was a joyous reunion heard by millions of fans.This complete original radio broadcast stars Keillor and friends Chet Atkins, Leo Kottke, the Everly Brothers, and more.Contents: Hello LoveBuster PreviewSmall SongsPeanut ButterChaplin in New ShoesGreetingsIt's a Lonesome RoadWhen I Wake Up to Sleep No MorePowdermilk BiscuitsYou're the TopBroadway BabyBuster The Show DogThe First to GoBertha's Kitty Boutique Lemon MeringueMamie's BluesEverly Brothers MedleyGreetingsTell Me WhyJazznochracyThe Duet of Bill & MarilynAcross the Blue MountainsNews from Lake WobegonRemember MeBye Bye LoveI'll See You in My DreamsThe Lord Will Make a WayShow book
A Dutchman seeks his fortune in hilarious, ironical, maritime, historical romp that’s Master and Commander by way of Monty Python. Inspired by a shotgun blast in the seat of his breeches, young Karli Van Cleef quits his native Holland to seek his fortune. He arrives in early Victorian London and soon he is turning a pretty profit. But Karli sees that true opportunity flowers in India’s fields of opium poppies and the treaty ports of the China coast. So, he takes a berth in an opium clipper hell-bent for the Indies. It is a journey beset with perils. Karli is confronted by the mountainous seas, high-piled plates of curry, and the ferocious penalties of the Articles of War. He survives the malice of the Boers, the hospitality of anthropophagi, and the horrors of Lancashire cooking. En route he acquires some interesting diseases, dangerous friends and enemies, a fortune, and a wife almost as good as new.Praise for All the Tea in China“Bonfiglioli . . . offers a surfeit of delights in this historical romp, first published in 1978. . . . Bonfiglioli colors his picaresque with an abundance of wit and narrative verve. Indeed, the novel often reads like an unapologetically bawdy Pirates of the Caribbean.” —Publishers Weekly“This swashbuckling, mildly ribald adventure will appeal to teens who like historical fiction with a strong plot. With pirates continuing to be popular and the unlikelihood that libraries still own this—or ever did—for teens, young adult collection developers should take note.” —School Library JournalShow book
“A funny, sexy, far-fetched coming-of-age story” from the award-winning, New York Times–bestselling author of City of Night (The Washington Post). John Rechy—described by Gore Vidal as “one of the few original writers of the last century”—delivers a riotous bildungsroman that pays homage to the classic eighteenth-century picaresque. Loosely inspired by Fielding’s Tom Jones, The Life and Adventures of Lyle Clemens follows the journey of handsome Lyle Clemens as he travels through the religious fundamentalist world of Texas to the gambling palaces of Las Vegas and the enticing traps of Los Angeles’s mythologies. As Lyle approaches adulthood, everyone wants him to be something he’s not. His beautiful mother wants to make him into a reflection of the cowboy who abandoned her; a group of avaricious fundamentalists plot to convert him into “the Lord’s Cowboy” to rouse their televangelical empire to new frenzied heights; and the lovely Maria wants him to fulfill her varying fantasies of “true love.” When Lyle leaves home to make his own destiny, he encounters a gallery of charlatans and wistful souls, quirky gamblers, aging starlets, and wily pornographers. The Life and Adventures of Lyle Clemens is “a potent compound of both sex and rapture . . . sly, smart, sexy and laugh-out-loud funny, but it is also tinged with sorrow and ultimately elevated into the realm of magic” (The Los Angeles Times Book Review). “Ambitious and very funny . . . a tall tale, a simultaneously sweet and vicious satire of contemporary America . . . a comic tour de force and, at the same time, a truly heartfelt book.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)Show book
I've rounded up a rowdy assemblyOf my own Consequential DogsAs counterparts to Eliot's mogs.Mine are a rough and ready bunch:You wouldn't take them out to lunch . . .But if they strike you as friendly, funny,Full of bounce and fond of a romp,Forgetful of poetic pomp,I trust you'll take them as you find themAnd, at the very least, not mind them. T. S. Eliot's best-selling collection of practical cat poems has been one of the most successful poetry collections in the world. For the first time in company history a companion volume will be published. Originally conceived by Eliot himself, Old Toffer's Book of Consequential Dogs' poems are a witty, varied and exquisitely compiled as Eliot's cats.Show book
