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<p>Entries in Books (21)</p>
<p>Wednesday Aug 03 2011  Is This the Oldest and Best Joke Book in the World?</p>
<p>Wednesday, August 3, 2011 at 2:12PM</p>
<p>I guess I could've just Googled "oldest joke book" instead of asking you guys, but this looks really old, right? I know for a fact though it's THE BEST because it's called "The World's Best Jokes." I found it at an estate sale in Ohio. Copyright 1941. Should I open it? Kind of afraid of what's inside...</p>
<p>To be continued!</p>
<p>The Apiary | 1 Comment | 19 References tagged best jokes , world's oldest joke book in Books Wednesday Feb 23 2011  Traveling Funnypants: Michael Showalter Embarks on National Book Tour</p>
<p>Wednesday, February 23, 2011 at 5:28PM Just a reminder that Michael Showalter will be reading from his new book Mr. Funnypants and signing copies TOMORROW evening at the Barnes and Noble in Union Square. Neko Case will be there as well for some reason (did she ghost write it??). Mr. Funnypants is currently #2 on Amazon's Bestsellers List for Comedy behind another Chelsea Handler book.</p>
<p>Here's a sample.</p>
<p>Showalter then heads to Philly and DC before coming back to Brooklyn on Sunday for the official Mr. Funnypants release party atThe Bell House. Tickets are SOLD OUT already. :(</p>
<p>PREVIOUSLY ON THE APIARY</p>
<p>* Michael Showalter may have put a ring on it</p>
<p>* Sho's mysterious connection to We are Scientists</p>
<p>* The Truth About Hecklers</p>
<p>The Apiary | Post a Comment tagged Mr. Funnypants in Books Friday Feb 04 2011  Jon Glaser's Upcoming Book Release Party Sounds Awesome</p>
<p>Friday, February 4, 2011 at 12:29PM</p>
<p>John Glaser has a book coming out next week and it's all about the SHOCKING true stories behind the biggest bands in rock and roll. And if I can borrow a metaphor from the book, it sounds like the release party just might blow the doors off your dick.</p>
<p>> MY DEAD DAD WAS IN ZZ TOP with an evening of readings and music!</p>
<p>Paul Rudd, Scott Adsit, John Hodgman, Zoe Lister-Jones, Ira Kaplan, Jon Hamm, Jon Glaser and other guests scheduled to appear.</p>
<p>Tuesday February 8th</p>
<p>The Bell House</p>
<p>149 7th St (btw 2nd and 3rd Aves.)</p>
<p>8 PM, Free, 21+</p>
<p>Books will be available!</p>
<p>*The first 25 people to purchase books receive a special, free, un-named gift!</p>
<p>The Apiary | 1 Comment | 1 Reference tagged My Dead Dad Was in ZZ Top in Books Monday Oct 18 2010  The Wit of The Onion's Jean Teasdale, Now in Book Format</p>
<p>Monday, October 18, 2010 at 11:00PM Hey Jeanketeers--The Onion's cherished human interest columnist, Jean Teasdale, wrote a book.</p>
<p>Here's a paragraph from the intro of A Book of Jean's Own! that cracked me up:</p>
<p>> "Should I call myself an average, humble homemaker who lives at 1567 Blossom Meadows Drive, Apartment 4B? I could, but it would mean leaving so much out, because this homemaker has worn many hats in her day. It's true: if you live in my area, you've probably known me at various times as your supermarket cashier, your drugstore cashier, your liquor store cashier, your truck-stop waitress, your bowling-alley shoe booth clerk, your junior shampooist, your assistant florist-trainee, your soft-serve ice cream server, your advertising-flyer deliverer, your discount clothing-store calse associate, your indoor flea-market vendor, and your data-entry clerk. You may also know me as one of the Pamida's best customers. Or you may know me as the woman who dresses up in bunny ears every Easter and waves to cars from the balcony-porch of her apartment. For it's true, I am all those things."</p>
<p>A book release party was thrown Monday night at Kettle of Fish, a West Village bar that shares a Wisconsin heritage with The Onion. Tucked in the back corner of the tavern, the mind behind Jean, Maria Schneider, mingled alongside Onion staffers Joe Garden, Joe Randazzo, Seth Reiss, Todd Hanson, graphic artist Bob Fingerman, and the UK's #1 Friend of Jean, Peter Serafinowicz. Jackie Harvey and Jim Anchower were no-shows; maybe they're too busy drafting their own manuscripts? A Book of Jean's Own! is available now from St. Martin's Press.</p>
<p>RELATED</p>
<p>* The OFFICIAL ABoJO! Page</p>
<p>* Jean Teasdale on Twitter</p>
<p>The Apiary | Post a Comment | 1 Reference tagged A Book of Jean's Own! , Maria Schneider , the onion in Books Friday Sep 10 2010  Brooklyn Book Festival 2010 Highlights Guide</p>
<p>Friday, September 10, 2010 at 1:33PM</p>
<p>The 2010 Brooklyn Book Festival is this Sunday--it's a daylong gathering of great authors chit-chatting about ISSUES in a panel formation. Autograph hounds: bring your Kindles! Here are the highlights:</p>
<p>> 12PM</p>
<p>Me . . . In The World. When the world around you seems impossible, and you know there’s nothing you can do about it, the literary result is often wry, biting, and funny, as authors respond to yearnings for or against normalcy with disgruntlement, amazement, or amusement. Featuring novelists Kate Christensen (Trouble), Sam Lipsyte (The Ask), and Rakesh Satyal (Blue Boy). Moderated by Greg Cowles of the New York Times.</p>
<p>ST. FRANCIS READING ROOM</p>
<p>3PM</p>
<p>Sarah Silverman and David Rakoff in Conversation. Humorists Sarah Silverman (The Bedwetter) and David Rakoff (Half Empty) discuss their work.</p>
<p>MAIN STAGE</p>
<p>Finding the Funny: The Humor of the Everyday. Humorists John Hodgman (The Areas of My Expertise), Sloane Crosley (How Did You Get This Number), and Kristen Schaal and Rich Blomquist (The Sexy Book of Sexy Sex) discuss their work.</p>
<p>BOROUGH HALL COURTROOM</p>
<p>The Body Electric: The Cult and Culture of Movement in America. Stefanie Syman, author of a new history of yoga (The Subtle Body), humorist and yoga-foe-turned-zealot Neal Pollack (Stretch), and choreographer Elizabeth Streb (How to Become an Extreme Action Hero)discuss the mind/body split and how our approach to stillness and movement shapes who we are—and who we can be.</p>
<p>NORTH STAGE</p>
<p>4PM</p>
<p>Cabaret BBF Style. Four notorious authors shake up the Brooklyn Book Festival with song and comedy. Singing by Rakesh Satyal (Blue Boy) and Melvin Van Peebles (Confessions of a Ex-Doofus-ItchyFooted Mutha), mixed with a comic presentation by Sam Anderson (New York Magazine) and David Rees (Get Your War On).</p>
<p>MAIN STAGE</p>
<p>5PM</p>
<p>Border Crossings. Three writers with hyphenated identities and whose work crosses and bridges cultural boundaries read from their most recent books. Featuring Gary Shteyngart (Super Sad True Love Story), Luis Alberto Urrea (Into the Beautiful North), Maaza Mengiste (Beneath the Lion’s Gaze).</p>
<p>INTERNATIONAL STAGE</p>
<p>All of this year's panels and events</p>
<p>PREVIOUSLY</p>
<p>* Simon Rich at The Brooklyn Book Festival @ Borough Hall - 9.14.8</p>
<p>The Apiary | Post a Comment tagged Brooklyn Book Festival in Books Monday Aug 23 2010  Inside With: Mike Sacks, Writer and Co-Author of "Our Bodies, Our Junk"</p>
<p>Monday, August 23, 2010 at 3:51PM By: Nate Sloan</p>
<p>Perhaps a sex manual--even a hilarious one--isn't public reading material. I kept inadvertantly flashing neighboring straphangers with the graphic words (Masturbation!) and imagery (malformed penises!) contained within Our Bodies, Our Junk (Available in book stores August 24th!). I'm lucky someone didn't take a grainy cell phone photo of me and alert some editor of Newsday about a hapless subway perv on the loose. Anyways, I sent some q's over to Mike Sacks, who you may know from the pages of Vanity Fair or last year's stellar interview collection, And Here's the Kicker. He's one of the book's five esteemed co-authors and is a top researcher for The Association For the Betterment of Sex.</p>
<p>Since you purport to be a sexpert in Our Bodies, Our Junk, I assume you'll be pretty open to answering some erotic gotcha questions to start us off: tell us Mike, what is your darkest sexual fantasy? What is the exact # of partners you've had? And who is the 'biggest' expert amongst the 5 of you (if you know what I mean)?</p>
<p>That would be me. Among the group I'm known as "Doc." Not for my intelligence, but because I legally had my name changed to "Doc." My darkest sexual fantasy would involve duct tape, a used Futon and AC/DC's "Highway to Hell" blasting in the background. You have to admit, that's very sexy. As for my number of partners, I don't remember. But I did use to live in New Orleans and I've been to about ten Mardi Gras. So maybe the answer could be "a lot of middle-aged women from Houston, Texas."</p>
<p>How did you come to team up with the other writers? Are you all friends from somewhere?</p>
<p>We've written together for a few magazines, such as Esquire, Radar and Vanity Fair. But we wanted to work on a larger project like a book, and sex seemed like a, burp, juicy enough topic to cover. Collectively we call ourselves The Pleasure Syndicate. Individually, Todd Levin writes for Conan O'Brien. Scott Jacobson's a four-time Emmy winner for The Daily Show. He's now working out in LA, writing for a very funny new FOX show called Bob's Burgers. It'll debut in September. Jason Roeder is a contributing writer for The Onion, and the author of a hilarious book called Oh, the Humanity. Ted Travelstead is on the editorial staff of Vanity Fair. And then there's me, "Doc."</p>
<p>We've just started work on our next project, another book, which should hopefully be out in 2011. It's going to be about the workplace. Sort of Dilbert meets GG Allin.</p>
<p>Since the writing style seems to have one unified voice, I'm curious--how was the writing split up? Was there a meeting where one of you would go, "Me me me! I want to write about masturbation! I'll take that section."</p>
<p>We came up with a pretty detailed outline for each chapter. Anyone could really write on any subject they wanted. We sort of just fell into this voice pretty easily. I think we've all written in this dry manner before, either for advertising, or for academic journals, or for associations. For the book, we wrote in a very authoritative style, but needless to say, we don't know what the hell we're talking about. For instance, we're absolutely convinced that the clitoris looks like a plum left overnight in the rain. Also, we're 100% convinced that there are exactly five acts of sexual intercourse that take place on a daily basis across the globe. This sounds about right.</p>
<p>Is there a release party or a tour happening in support of the book?</p>
<p>Yes! There will be a few readings, but the main reading will be at Greenlight Bookstore in Brooklyn on September 23rd. Also, there will be a reading in Los Angeles on September 15th at Book Soup. Andy Richter and Sarah Thyre (the husband and wife team who wrote the book's forewords) will also be appearing with us. All of the information is listed on our site: http://hq.ourbodiesourjunk.com/press_events/</p>
<p>Have you had a chance to compare and contrast your work with Kristen Schaal's Sexy Book of Sexy Sex? According to Amazon, the two are frequently bought together. You know, you could have combined your efforts and created one mega-textbook. Any Spy vs. Spy antics around that?</p>
<p>I haven't heard of that other book; I'm not familiar with it. With that said, if you buy our book before October 1st, you will receive a free beaver shot of all five of us authors, posing in a parking lot of a northern Virginia Wal-Mart.</p>
<p>Your last book, And Here's the Kicker--a treasure trove of deep dive interviews with the most influential comedic artists and writers of our lifetimes--is a must-read. Thanks for writing it. Did you have any takeaways or lessons to share from that experience?</p>
<p>Thanks. Yes, I learned quite a few things. First of all, I was just happy to talk with a lot of authors I've always respected. A few have since passed away, and I feel lucky to have been able to speak with them. I mean, talking to Irv Brecher about the Marx Brothers was like talking to someone about Babe Ruth. It was a real bridge to another time and place, long since disappeared. Also, Larry Gelbart was a real class act, as well as a brilliant comedy writer. He's really missed. He was the gold standard.</p>
<p>The Apiary | 1 Comment | 4 References tagged Mike Sacks , Our Bodies Our Junk in Books , EXCLUSIVELY at The Apiary , Interviews Thursday Aug 12 2010  2010 Thurber Prize Finalists Announced</p>
<p>Thursday, August 12, 2010 at 4:07PM Three finalists have been selected for the 2010 Thurber Prize for American Humor, a prize that's one of the highest recognitions of the art of humor writing. Now celebrating its 26th year, the award will be presented at a ceremony at New York’s Algonquin Hotel, once home to James Thurber, on October 4. Keith Olbermann of Countdown with Keith Olbermann and a Thurber admirer who often quotes the author on his show, will serve as the evening's emcee.</p>
<p>The three finalists for 2010 are:</p>
<p>Rolling Stone journalist and former MTV2 veejay, Jancee Dunn, for WHY IS MY MOTHER GETTING A TATTOO?, a collection of essays about family and friends inspired by her 67-year-old mother who announced after Thanksgiving that she was getting a tattoo.</p>
<p>Steve Hely, a writer for The Late Show with David Letterman, American Dad, and 30 Rock, for his debut novel HOW I BECAME A FAMOUS NOVELIST, a literary satire about a slacker who sets out to write a best-selling novel—for reasons having nothing to do with literature.</p>
<p>And Rhoda Janzen, for the #1 New York Times bestseller MENNONITE IN A LITTLE BLACK DRESS, a poignant collection of musings on the Mennonite culture and her marriage that ended when her husband left her for a man he met on Gay.com.</p>
<p>The Apiary | Post a Comment tagged 2010 Thurber Prize , Jancee Dunn , Rhoda Janzen , Steve Hely in Books , General Interest Thursday May 27 2010  Sara Benincasa Snags Multi-Figure Book Deal</p>
<p>Thursday, May 27, 2010 at 9:52PM  Comedian, radio personality, and rabble rousing vlogger Sara Benincasa was handed a book deal today. She tells us:</p>
<p>> It is in fact true! It's a deal for AGORAFABULOUS!, my one-woman show about agoraphobia and panic attacks. It's with Harper Collins (the William Morrow imprint) and it's due to come out in 2012. I have to write it now that I've signed the contract, aaaaak!</p>
<p>The Apiary | 3 Comments | 8 References tagged Agorafabulous , Sara Benincasa in Books Page 1 2 3 Next 8 Entries » Copyright © 2011, [theapiary.org]. All rights reserved.</p>