Humour Short

The British, it is often said, have a stiff upper lip and a dry sense of humour. It's true, we usually do, and in the case of this perfect compendium of short stories we absolutely do. Listen to our Scottish raconteur J. M. Barrie and English wits Jerome K. Jerome and Edward Lear for perfect proof of that. But humour is many things and from many places, so we also feature Mark Twain, our very talented American friend, to complete this rather witty and clever volume of short stories.

H.H. Munro (Saki) is one of the undisputed masters of the short story. In this complete compendium, the full gamut of his subjects and themes is experienced. His stories are imbued with humorous satire, biting irony, and often the macabre, all of which have one target: the stupidities and hypocrisies of Edwardian upper-class society.

Brought to you by Penguin. Say 'philosopher,' and someone grand, old and bearded might come to mind. But, as philosophy professor Scott Hershovitz shows in this delightful debut, some of the best philosophers in the world are better described as nasty, brutish and short--that is to say, they're...

Three unlucky New Yorkers. Three shots at love and sanity. Not very smooth—and you wouldn't want it any other way. In the title story, Murray Resnick loses his job, his wife, and very nearly his mind in the same unlucky year, and after some desperate attempts and fantasies is given to seek succor with his brother in Palm Beach where more problems emerge. In "Breakfast Special," a shy, lovestruck novelist becomes consumed by a woman who passes his coffee-shop window each morning while his imagination gets dangerously ahead of the facts.

An NPR Best Book of 2022 * One of Christian Science Monitor's 10 best books of May “This amazing new book . . . takes us on a journey through classic and contemporary philosophy powered by questions like ‘What do we have the right to do? When is it okay to do this or that?’ They explore...

There were times when Bertie Wooster, the fictional narrator of these stories, was thought of as being at least a trifle feather-brained. However, he had a valet who seemed to know everything about everything. These are among more than three hundred short stories written by a man who began a...

It was after living in Hawaii for nearly 20 years that our fortunes took a turn for the worse, much worse. So worse, in fact, that we ended up declaring bankruptcy. Unfortunately, bankruptcy is not an easy process and definitely not a quick one.

Death. It’s a part of life and something we all must accept. Whether it be our own demise or losing a loved one, the experience of death is both sobering and surreal. My Dad Is Dead is a group of related short stories that explore that dichotomy through the eyes of a kid. In George Verongos’ second book, he turns childhood memories into “fictionally enhanced” tales (he made us say that, he’s trying to make it a thing).

A young woman is relocated by the Witness Protection Program to a position as hospital admission director in another state. An illegal Latino immigrant loses his job and becomes homeless, and lives on the street. A young 19-year-old man, with an exceptionally high IQ, joins the US Army and befuddles his sergeant with his amazing knowledge. A married couple buy a cemetery lot in their hometown, planning ahead for the future. A 70-year-old widow is shocked to learn that she is pregnant at a routine medical examination by her doctor.

Satire, Humor and Irony in some cases have been regarded as the most effective source to understand a society, the oldest form of social study. Contents: The Cop and the Anthem by O. Henry; The Ransom of Red Chief by O. Henry; What Stumped the Blue Jays by Mark Twain; The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County by Mark Twain; The Toys of Peace by Saki (H. H. Munro); The Artful Hussar by Johann Peter Hebel; From The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen by Rudolf Erich Raspe; The Golden Honeymoon by Ring Lardner; When I Was a Witch by Charlotte Perkins Gilman; Micromegas: A Philosophical History by Voltaire.

Stan is having a lie in today. Caroline, his long-suffering wife, went to work this morning and left him with a long list of chores to complete around the house. But he'd rather stay in bed and, well, ahem, yes. It would all be just about the perfect day if a vision of Caroline didn't keep waking Stan up, disturbing his lazy idyll. Caroline has news and he needs to listen to her, for just about the first time ever. Wake up, Stan!