An Essay on Comedy and the Uses of the Comic Spirit is the most extensive work on the nineteenth century comic genre. It was initially presented as Meredith's first and only public lecture in London in 1877, and published separately as a book in 1897. In it, Meredith defines comedy as a "humour of the mind," not prevalent in the British society of his day, which he saw as fraught with "Unreason and Sentimentalism." The work had a strong influence...

A happy-go-lucky secretary must find true meaning in her life after her one true friend, her dog Pencil, unexpectedly dies. "...a very low-key, well-acted dramedy."--New York Post "...engaging..."--USA Today "...comedy intended for lovers of both the beast and/or sophisticated laughs."--Variety "There's an undeniable sweetness to the movie's celebration of surrendering to one's best self"--Washington Post

Following the Equator (sometimes titled More Tramps Abroad) is a non-fiction social commentary in the form of a travelogue published by Mark Twain in 1897. Throughout the novel, Twain uses the opportunity of visiting the various locations on his tour to espouse "perceptive descriptions and discussions of people, climate, flora and fauna, indigenous cultures, religion, customs, politics, food, and many other topics". The novel contains a significant...

The fictional Mr. Dooley expounded upon political and social issues of the day from his South Side Chicago Irish pub and he spoke with the thick verbiage and accent of an Irish immigrant from County Roscommon. Dunne's sly humor and political acumen won the support of President Theodore Roosevelt, a frequent target of Mr. Dooley's barbs. Indeed Dunne's sketches became so popular and such a litmus test of public opinion that they were read each week...

Resolving to become the world's greatest stand-up comedian despite less-than-funny challenges in his life, wheelchair-bound middle school student Jamie Grimm endures bullying from his mean-spirited cousin and hopes he will be fairly judged when he enters a local comedy contest.

Recently graduated Elle Woods is a sassy lawyer who postpones her wedding and heads off to Washington to get an anti-animal testing bill passed.

A Parody Outline of History. (1920). Donald Ogden Stewart; (1894-1980) was a well known writer, playwright and critic, and a member of the famed Algonquin Round Table. The Round Table met for lunch and drinks (mostly drinks) in New York at the Algonquin Hotel, and was composed of a varied assortment of writers and wits, including Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley, George Kaufman, Ernest Hemingway, and Groucho Marx, among others. (Excerpt from Goodreads)...

When a blonde sorority queen is dumped by her boyfriend, she decides to follow him to law school to get him back. Once there, she learns she has more legal savvy than she ever imagined. Based on the book by Amanda Brown.

"Anna Green thought she was marrying Liam "West" Weston for access to subsidized family housing while at UCLA. She also thought she'd signed divorce papers when the graduation caps were tossed, and they both went on their merry ways. Three years later, Anna is a starving artist living paycheck to paycheck while West is a Stanford professor. He may be one of four heirs to the Weston Foods conglomerate, but he has little interest in working for the...

It's a long way from a basement apartment in a Montreal suburb to a new life on a fictional planet, but that's the destination our unnamed narrator has set his sights on, bringing readers with him on an off-beat and often hilarious journey. Along the way, he writes poems, buys groceries at the dollar store, and earns minimum wage at a dead-end supermarket job. In between treatments for his cystic fibrosis and the constant drip-drip-drip of disappointment,...