Paperback (1 to 2 lbs)

Michigan

A Novel

Venice, a long time ago. Three prominent Venetians await their most loathsome and foul dinner guest, the erstwhile envoy from the Queen of Britain: the rascal-Fool Pocket. This trio of cunning plotters—the merchant, Antonio; the senator, Montressor Brabantio; and the naval officer, Iago—have lured Pocket to a dark dungeon, promising an evening of sprits and debauchery with a rare Amontillado sherry and Brabantio's beautiful daughter, Portia. But their invitation is, of course, bogus. The wine is drugged. The girl isn't even in the city limits. Desperate to rid themselves once and for all of the man who has consistently foiled their grand quest for power and wealth, they have lured him to his death. (How can such a small man, be such a huge obstacle?). But this Fool is no fool . . . and he's got more than a few tricks (and hand gestures) up his sleeve. Greed, revenge, deception, lust, and a giant (but lovable) sea monster combine to create another hilarious and bawdy tale from modern comic genius, Christopher Moore. Note: The book, too, is a veritable work of art. Rich creamy stock is enhanced by two-color printing, featuring part/chapter titles, running heads, and folios printed in red ink. The text block has blue-stained edges. The book opens to reveal two-page spread endpapers decorated with a sepia-toned antique map of Venice; an antique map of Italy graces the book’s front matter, printed in red. The jacket sports a matte finish with embossed author and title type; gold foil embellishes the title and illustration detail.

The Serpent of Venice (ARC)

2e9471c4-e14b-4eee-ae47-4715000908c3-1

Chuck Palahniuk

Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

Indiana

Medical school dropout Victor Mancini comes up with a complicated but ingenious scam to pay for his mother's elder care, cruises sex addiction groups for action, and visits his zany mother, whose Alzheimer's disease hides the bizarre truth about his parentage.

Choke

edac03bd-446e-426f-9206-48f0a346311c-1

Langston Hughes

Texas

Stories

A collection of vibrant and incisive short stories depicting the sometimes humorous, but more often tragic interactions between Black people and white people in America in the 1920s and ‘30s. One of the most important writers to emerge from the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes may be best known as a poet, but these stories showcase his talent as a lively storyteller. His work blends elements of blues and jazz, speech and song, into a triumphant and wholly original idiom. Stories included in this collection: "Cora Unashamed" "Slave on the Block" "Home" "Passing" "A Good Job Gone" "Rejuvenation Through Joy" "The Blues I'm Playing" "Red-Headed Baby" "Poor Little Black Fellow" "Little Dog" "Berry" "Mother and Child" "One Christmas Eve" "Father and Son"

The Ways of White Folks

75e1f671-5ce5-47ad-97f7-9a926affcc7b-0

Connecticut

Animal Farm

#humor #hardcover #classic #jonathanswift #satire

Light Hardcover (1 lb or less)

Alabama

" Good God ! What a genius I had when I wrote that book ! " observed Swift when, towards the end of his life, he looked at A Tale of a Tub once again, the first great satire of his youth. That hilarious history of the Christian churches appears here with The Battle of the Books, the Argument against Abolishing Christianity and three further razor-edged products of Swift's savage indignation. Foremost among them is A Modest Proposal, in which a seemingly rational voice outlines a plan for remedying the economic miseries of Ireland, a plan to which there can surely be no sensible objection... The author of Gulliver's Travels (also available in Könemann Classics) was the greatest satirist the British Isles have ever produced, and in this selection his formidable gifts are seen to the full.

A Modest Proposal and Other Satires

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Idaho

Pygmy--a young adult from a totalitarian state, disguised as an exchange student--plans a terrorist attack and depicts U.S. Midwestern life through the eyes of a hateful, indoctrinated little killer, in this double-edged satire of American xenophobia by the best-selling author of Fight Club. Reprint. A best-selling novel.

Pygmy

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Ben Purkert

Minnesota

"I laughed more times than I can count . . . A phenomenal debut novel by one of my favorite writers." --CLINT SMITH "Nails down the hypocrisies of modern masculinity and capitalism with the graceful hand of poet." --ALEXANDRA KLEEMAN "Purkert's writing is a gift and it shines through these pages." --HANIF ABDURRAQIB A knockout debut novel that tackles a haunting question: What do our jobs do to our souls? Seth is a junior copywriter whose latest tagline just went viral. He's the agency's hottest new star, or at least he wants his coworker crush to think so. But while he's busy drooling over his future corner office, the walls crumble around him. When his job lets him go, he can't let go of his job. Thankfully, one former colleague can't let him go either: Robert "Moon" McCloone, a skeezy on-the-rise exec better suited to a frat house than a boardroom. Seth tries to forget Moon and rediscover his spiritual self; he studies Kabbalah with an Orthodox rabbi by day while popping illegal prescription pills by night. But with each misstep, Seth strays farther from salvation--though he might get there, if he could only get out of his own way. In his debut novel, Purkert incisively peels back the layers of the male ego, revealing what's rotten and what might be redeemed. Brimming with wit, irreverence, and soul-searching, The Men Can't Be Saved is a startlingly original examination of work, sex, addiction, religion, branding, and ourselves.

The Men Can't Be Saved

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This is the only copy available on Pango! It's like a magical unicorn! Buy it posthaste! 😁

In a satirical, Faustian tale of life in academia, Nelson Humbolt, an adjunct English lecturer at Midwest University, is abruptly fired, only to lose his finger in a freakish accident only minutes later, but after doctors successfully reattach his severed finger, Nelson discovers that he has acquired the ability to force his will on others with a touch of his finger. Reprint. 25,000 first printing.

The Lecturer's Tale

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One of the most bitterly funny works in the language. #fiction #classicists #paperback #catch-22 #classic #satire #humor #classic

New York

Catch-22

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Evan Mandery

Ex-library copy with typical internal stamps/markings

New Jersey

Or, It's Later Than You Think

A satirical joyride in the tradition of Kurt Vonnegut and Douglas Adams, First Contact introduces us to the hyper-intelligent Rigelians, who admire Woody Allen movies and Bundt cake, and who urge the people of Earth to mend their ways to avoid destruction of their planet. But the president of the United States, a God-fearing, science-doubting fitness fanatic, is skeptical of the evidence presented to him and sets in motion a chain of events that will change the lives of his young attachÉ, an alien scam artist, several raccoons, and a scientist who has predicted the end of the universe. Parrot sketch excluded.

First Contact

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Kage Baker

K. J. Bishop

Cory Doctorow

Delaware

In a humorous compilation of imaginative short stories, masters of speculative fiction--including Cory Doctorow, Kage Baker, Richard Calder, Neil Gaiman, China Miéville, and others--provide detailed descriptions, symptom guides, complete histories, and suggested treatments for a marvelous assortment of fantastical diseases, ranging from Pentzler's Lubriciousness to Printer's Evil. Reprint. 30,000 first printing.

The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric and Discredited Diseases

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David Sedaris

Hardcover (1 to 2 lbs)

Massachusetts

Stories and Essays

Barrel Fever

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Evelyn Waugh

California

The Loved One

53e859ea-8c49-4989-ac28-c66218b65a6e-1

Leigh Stein

"Highbrow, brilliant." --The Approval Matrix, New York magazine One of Cosmopolitan's 12 Books You'll Be Dying to Read This Summer A Publishers Weekly Best Book of Summer 2020 A Vulture Best Book of Summer 2020 One of Refinery29's 25 Books You'll Want to Read This Summer An Esquire Must-Read Book of Summer 2020 A Book Riot Best Book of 2020 *so far The female cofounders of a wellness start-up struggle to find balance between being good people and doing good business, while trying to stay BFFs. Maren Gelb is on a company-imposed digital detox. She tweeted something terrible about the President's daughter, and as the COO of Richual, “the most inclusive online community platform for women to cultivate the practice of self-care and change the world by changing ourselves,” it's a PR nightmare. Not only is CEO Devin Avery counting on Maren to be fully present for their next round of funding, but indispensable employee Khadijah Walker has been keeping a secret that will reveal just how feminist Richual’s values actually are, and former Bachelorette contestant and Richual board member Evan Wiley is about to be embroiled in a sexual misconduct scandal that could destroy the company forever. Have you ever scrolled through Instagram and seen countless influencers who seem like experts at caring for themselves—from their yoga crop tops to their well-lit clean meals to their serumed skin and erudite-but-color-coded reading stack? Self Care delves into the lives and psyches of people working in the wellness industry and exposes the world behind the filter.

Self Care

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Terry Pratchett

A Novel of Discworld

The thirteenth novel in the Discworld series from New York Times bestselling author Terry Pratchett.

Lost in the chill deeps of space between the galaxies, it sails on forever, a flat, circular world carried on the back of a giant turtle-- Discworld --a land where the unexpected can be expected. Where the strangest things happen to the nicest people. Like Brutha, a simple lad who only wants to tend his melon patch. Until one day he hears the voice of a god calling his name. A small god, to be sure. But bossy as Hell.



Small Gods

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Joseph Heller

Christopher Buckley

50th Anniversary Edition

Fifty years after its original publication, Catch-22 remains a cornerstone of American literature and one of the funniest—and most celebrated—books of all time. In recent years it has been named to “best novels” lists by Time, Newsweek, the Modern Library, and the London Observer. Set in Italy during World War II, this is the story of the incomparable, malingering bombardier, Yossarian, a hero who is furious because thousands of people he has never met are trying to kill him. But his real problem is not the enemy—it is his own army, which keeps increasing the number of missions the men must fly to complete their service. Yet if Yossarian makes any attempt to excuse himself from the perilous missions he’s assigned, he’ll be in violation of Catch-22, a hilariously sinister bureaucratic rule: a man is considered insane if he willingly continues to fly dangerous combat missions, but if he makes a formal request to be removed from duty, he is proven sane and therefore ineligible to be relieved. This fiftieth-anniversary edition commemorates Joseph Heller’s masterpiece with a new introduction by Christopher Buckley; a wealth of critical essays and reviews by Norman Mailer, Alfred Kazin, Anthony Burgess, and others; rare papers and photos from Joseph Heller’s personal archive; and much more. Here, at last, is the definitive edition of a classic of world literature.

Sebastian Faulks

Maryland

London, the week before Christmas, 2007. Over seven days we follow the lives of seven major characters: a hedge fund manager trying to bring off the biggest trade of his career; a professional footballer recently arrived from Poland; a young lawyer with little work and too much time to speculate; a student who has been led astray by Islamist theory; a hack book-reviewer; a schoolboy hooked on skunk and reality TV; and a Tube train driver whose Circle Line train joins these and countless other lives together in a daily loop. With daring skill, the novel pieces together the complex patterns and crossings of modern urban life. Greed, the dehumanising effects of the electronic age and the fragmentation of society are some of the themes dealt with in this savagely humorous book.

A Week in December

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#hardcover #satire #memoir #literary #murder #mystery #clever #Nabokov #funny

Iowa

A profound comic novel cum love story in which a troubled young man attempts to fake a one-hundred-year-old woman's memoir in a single frantic night, and fails--meaningfully[okay calm down time now is 29-Aug 9:45 pm 45 years done in 6 hrs 8.2 years per hour. 55 years left/so ahead of sched; a way to explain why what happened happened and thereby getting self off hook. don't forget are genius, but NO NAPPING.]From the moment you meet our heroine as she recalls her rural childhood and struggles with the world around her, you know something is amiss. Just as you begin to suspect that the author of this "memoir" knows A) next to nothing about rural England at the turn of the century, and B) nothing at all about women, you discover the root cause of the heroine's difficulties is that this "memoir" is actually being improvised at breakneck speed by a young man named Bruno Maddox in a single night. Typing frantically, Bruno struggles to keep his narrative sounding plausible, but as dawn approaches and exhaustion takes hold he is forced to confront the obvious: that his threadbare, TV-taught understanding of world history is entirely to blame for the debilitating holes in his personality. A novel that begins like a turn of the century Judy Blume coming-of-age story turns into a harrowing, brutal satire of the New York media scene, a candid generational cri de coeur, a murder mystery, and, in fact, a love story.How this young man found himself in such a ludicrous predicament, why he's so desperate to finish before morning, who has put him up to thischallenge, and why he undertakes it, are just some of the ingenious surprises in this hugely entertaining, brilliantly conceived satire.

My Little Blue Dress

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Alaska

Pennsylvania

Holidays on Ice

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A wedding weekend spirals out of control in this bold, electrifying, hilarious novel about the complexities of female friendship 

Robin and Ellie have been best friends since childhood. When Robin came out, Ellie was there for her. When Ellie's father died, Robin had her back. But when Ellie asks Robin to be her maid of honor, she is reluctant. A queer academic, Robin is dubious of the elaborate wedding rituals now sweeping the nation, which go far beyond champagne toasts and a bouquet toss. But loyalty wins out, and Robin accepts. 

Yet, as the wedding weekend approaches, a series of ominous occurrences lead Robin to second-guess her decision. It seems that everyone in the bridal party is out to get her. Perhaps even Ellie herself. 

Manically entertaining, viciously funny and eerily campy, So Happy for You is the ultimate send-up to our collective obsession with the wedding industrial complex and a riveting, unexpectedly poignant depiction of friendship in all its messy glory.

so happy for you 

Georgia

Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls

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#hardcover #thewasties #darkcomedy #fiction #frederickreuss #satire 

North Carolina

The Wasties is a compassionate, darkly comic novel about a man who is slowly losing his ability to understand the adult world. In Frederick Reuss’s highly praised novels,Henry of Atlantic CityandHorace Afoot,we have the stories of people who find themselves strangely isolated from everyone around them. InThe Wasties, Reuss takes us to a new level, giving us the story of Michael “Caruso” Taylor, a man who has lost his ability to speak and is gradually reverting to infancy. All of his most intimate relationships are redefined: His wife, Gina, must assume the role of mother; his day nurse becomes his nanny; and “Caruso” is reduced to drinking tomato juice through sippy straws and observing the world from a radically skewed perspective. Once a professor of literature, Michael’s predicament is compounded by a deteriorating memory of his adult self, and he begins to “see” the famous—and often dead—denizens of his former learning in everyone from a bum in the park to a doctor in the hospital. Walt Whitman, John Muir, Ralph Ellison, and a host of others materialize before him as he tries to comprehend and articulate his plight. He calls his condition “the wasties”—but what kind of malady is it? Physical? Psychological? Or some sort of higher madness? Humane, funny, and deeply affecting,The Wastiesis a satiric work of unique vision and voice about one man whose infantilization plays out a secret fantasy many of us share: to shun the responsibilities of life as an adult.

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Christopher Moore

The Serpent of Venice (ARC)

Chuck Palahniuk

Choke

Langston Hughes

The Ways of White Folks

George Orwell

Animal Farm

Jonathan Swift

A Modest Proposal and Other Satires

Chuck Palahniuk

Pygmy

Ben Purkert

The Men Can't Be Saved

James Hynes

The Lecturer's Tale

Joseph Heller

Catch-22

Evan Mandery

First Contact

Kage Baker; K. J. Bishop; Cory Doctorow

The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric and Discredited Diseases

David Sedaris

Barrel Fever

Evelyn Waugh

The Loved One

Leigh Stein

Self Care

Terry Pratchett

Small Gods

Joseph Heller; Christopher Buckley

Catch-22

Chuck Palahniuk

Choke

Sebastian Faulks

A Week in December

Bruno Maddox

My Little Blue Dress

Chuck Palahniuk

Choke

David Sedaris

Holidays on Ice

celia laskey

so happy for you

David Sedaris

Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls

Frederick Reuss

The Wasties