Humour Essays

To overcome a crisis of melancholy after the death of his father, Montaigne withdrew to his country estates and began to write, and in the highly original essays that resulted he discussed themes such as fathers and children, conscience and cowardice, coaches and cannibals, and, above all, himself.

Brought to you by Penguin. The articles collected in George Orwell's Essays illuminate the life and work of one of the most individual writers of this century - a man who elevated political writing to an art. This outstanding collection brings together Orwell's longer, major essays and a fine...

Francis Bacon (1561-1626), 1st Viscount St Albans, Attorney General and then Lord Chancellor of England, was an immensely learned, clever and ambitious man, with considerable political influence. However, he was also a philosopher with a wide interest in science, medicine and the classification of knowledge. Throughout his life he wrote a series of essays - following the manner set particularly by Montaigne, though extending back to Aristotle and others - the first 10 of which appeared in 1597.

Do you hate gambling ads, pre-ripped jeans and pedestrians who walk five abreast? Do you also have a problem with plastic-wrapped fruit, climate-change deniers and take-away sandwiches priced at $14.95? And, most of all, do you think the world would be a better place if people got back their sense of humour? Here's proof you are not alone. Heartfelt and hilarious, serious but sly, Best Wishes is the Encyclopedia of 'Can Do Better'. It's a plea for a better world – one wish at a time.

A luminous and deeply relatable essay collection about the transformative first decade of motherhood, for readers of Mary Laura Philpott and Maggie Smith. I may not have had a job, but I had never had more work to do. With humor, vulnerability, and lyrical precision, Caroline Langerman...

Davy Rothbart is looking for love in all the wrong places. Constantly. He falls helplessly in love with pretty much every girl he meets—and rarely is the feeling reciprocated. Time after time, he hops in a car and tears across half of America with his heart on his sleeve. He's continually...

Hilarious and bawdy musings on disability, sex, family, and Hollywood, from Emmy-winning writer and creator of the Netflix series Special. This program is read by the author. "[Ryan] O’Connell’s high-spirited reading makes this one of the most entertaining audiobooks of the year." —Library...

From one of Australia's most wryly funny writers comes an original and utterly hilarious memoir of reaching for the stars while lying in a ditch. Quiet Quitting. The Great Resignation. Sometimes a literary sensibility catches the spirit of the times. In I'd Rather Not, Robert Skinner has it all...

A bitingly funny memoir of growing up in a dysfunctional Jewish family and wrestling with a vengeful God...

“Koul reads the audiobook edition of her essays, her performance highlighting her sharp-witted humor and emotional vulnerability.” —Book Riot This program is read by the author. The long-awaited follow-up from one of the most original and hilarious voices writing today. Scaachi Koul’s...

A candid and irreverent look at the ridiculous ways we all try to make ourselves look better online—from a popular standup and internet comedian whose videos have been viewed over one billion times. “John is one of my top-three all-time favorite comedians, next to me and Foxworthy. Buy this...

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR From the renowned author of “The Lottery” and The Haunting of Hill House, a spectacular volume of previously unpublished and uncollected stories, essays, and other writings. Features “Family Treasures,” nominated for the Edgar Award for...

After reading The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook, did you ever wonder what it s like to be struck by lightning? To run with the bulls in Pamplona? To ride the crushing swell of an avalanche? Extreme Encounters describes these adventures and 37 others with endlessly addictive you-are-there...

From acclaimed poet and creator of the popular twitter account @SoSadToday comes the darkly funny and brutally honest collection of essays that Roxane Gay called "sad and uncomfortable and their own kind of gorgeous." Melissa Broder always struggled with anxiety. In the fall of 2012, she went...

An extraordinary wide-ranging collection of essays with “distinctive wordplay and quirky opinions…Christopher Buckley is good company whether you’re looking for two quick pages and a smile, or want to linger” (The New York Times Book Review). Christopher Buckley, like his terrific volume...

"I've been single for my entire life. Not one boyfriend. Not one short-term dating situation. Not one person with whom I regularly hung out and kissed on the face." So begins Katie Heaney's memoir of her years spent looking for love, but never quite finding it. By age 25, equipped with a college...

From the renowned comedian, creator, star and executive producer/multiple title-holder of Comedy Central's Important Things with Demetri Martin comes a bold, original, and rectangular kind of humor book. Demetri's first literary foray features longer-form essays and conceptual pieces (such as...

This program is read by the author. “You’re Doing Great! is your no-nonsense go-to collection of essays to get you through the increasing noise and chatter of self-doubt and confusion in the new millennium. Tom Papa is a funny, empathetic guide and your new best friend." — Patton Oswalt...

A cross-cultural tale of two women brought together by the intersections of television and industrial agriculture, fertility and motherhood, life and love—the breakout hit by the celebrated author of A Tale for the Time Being and The Book of Form and Emptiness Ruth Ozeki’s mesmerizing debut...

From the author of the sensational bestseller I Was Told There'd Be Cake comes a new book of personal essays brimming with all the charm and wit that have earned Sloane Crosley widespread acclaim, award nominations, and an ever-growing cadre of loyal fans. In Cake readers were introduced to the...