Audiobooks by Alan Zweibel

Laugh Lines: My Life Helping Funny People Be Funnier; A Cultural Memoir

With his tender, funny memoir of four decades in the business, Alan Zweibel traces the history of American comedy. Alan Zweibel started his comedy career selling jokes for seven dollars apiece to the last of the Borscht Belt standups. Then one night, despite bombing on stage, he caught the attention of Lorne Michaels and became one of the first writers at Saturday Night Live, where he penned classic material for Gilda Radner, John Belushi, and all of the original Not Ready for Prime Time Players. From SNL, he went on to have a hand in a series of landmark shows-from It's Garry Shandling's Show to Curb Your Enthusiasm. Throughout Laugh Lines, Zweibel weaves together his own stories and interviews with his friends and contemporaries, including Richard Lewis, Eric Idle, Bob Saget, Mike Birbiglia, Sarah Silverman, Judd Apatow, Dave Barry, Carl Reiner, and more. The book also features a charming foreword from his friend of forty-five years, Billy Crystal, with whom he cowrote and coproduced the film Here Today starring Crystal and Tiffany Haddish. Laugh Lines is a warmhearted cultural memoir of American comedy.

Alan Zweibel (Author), Alan Zweibel (Narrator)

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Benjamin Franklin: You've Got Mail

If the Future has any remedy for this situation, do not hesitate to provide it. That is to say, Ike and Claire Wanzandae, HELP! HELP HELP HELP. I am (perhaps not for long),Benjamin Franklin Ike Saturday has seen better days. For one thing, his pen pal, Benjamin Franklin (yes, that Benjamin Franklin), is the target of an angry mob after Ike's plan to help the Founding Fathers with some intel from the future seriously backfired. For another, he's decided to mail himself back in time with the help of his girlfriend, Claire Wanzandae, and it's not a particularly comfortable way to travel. Once Ike tracks B-Freezy down in 1776, it becomes clear that his pal is less than impressed with the irritating, modern-day rescuer, partially because Ike has a habit of making things worse for Ben, and partially because Ben is incredibly cranky when not in the presence of numerous meat pies. Which speaks to another issue for the pair: they have no money, no food, and basically no plan for saving the country. But Claire won't be able to cover for Ike back home in the future forever, and the British are looking pretty impatient, so Ike and B-Freezy will have to come up with something quickly if they want to avoid an epic, history-destroying disaster. In this hilarious sequel to Benjamin Franklin: Huge Pain in My . . . , Adam Mansbach and Alan Zweibel take Ike and B-Freezy's antics to the next level as this ill-paired (and sometimes actually ill) duo hold the future of the world in their not-so-capable hands.

Adam Mansbach, Alan Zweibel (Author), Lauren Ezzo, Nick Podehl, Tom Parks (Narrator)

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For This We Left Egypt?: A Passover Haggadah for Jews and Those Who Love Them

If you’ve ever suffered through a Passover Seder, you’re well aware of the fact that the entire evening can feel like we’re still in bondage. There are endless stories, frequent hand washing, and not enough eating. The book you hold before you is no ordinary Haggadah. For This We Left Egypt? is a hilarious and entertaining parody from the comedic minds of Dave Barry, Alan Zweibel, and Adam Mansbach. These award-winning comedy writers take you through every step of the Seder, from getting rid of all the chametz in your house by setting it on fire with a standard blowtorch (preferably outdoors), to breaking the middle matzah—that is, if you can find a piece that isn’t already broken, to a hilariously absurd retelling of the Passover story featuring Pharaoh Schmuck, a burning bush that sounds kind of like Morgan Freeman, and the Promised Land which turned out not to be a land of milk and honey but rather one of rocks and venomous scorpions the size of Yorkshire terriers. Also included are useless commentary and thought-provoking discussion questions throughout such as: Is Manischewitz considered a plague? Publishing just in time for Passover, this book will be the perfect gift book from G-d that you’ll want to share and laugh over with friends and family.

Adam Mansbach, Alan Zweibel, Dave Barry (Author), Adam Mansbach, Alan Zweibel, Dave Barry (Narrator)

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Benjamin Franklin: Huge Pain in My...

FRANKLIN ISAAC SATURDAY HAS PROBLEMS. His name is Franklin, for one thing. His father's been relocated across the country, for another; and his mother's remarried to Dirk the Jerk. Middle school is proving to be one big weird popularity contest, and Ike doesn't know the rules-but it seems like everyone else sure does. The only bright spot in Ike's life is his beautiful and brilliant lab partner, Claire Wanzandae, his cherry blossom-scented longtime crush. But an extra-credit assignment changes everything. The assignment is simple: write a letter to a Famous Historical Person. Ike picks Benjamin Franklin, the dude he's named after. He even steals an old-timey stamp from Dirk the Jerk's collection for "bonus authenticity." Done. An easy-peasy five points added to his history grade. Then, to make Claire laugh, Ike mails the letterand Ben Franklin writes back! Thus begins a most unlikely friendship. Ben's having problems with the other Founding Fathers similar to those Ike's having at school-maybe they can help each other. Or maybe Ben's wisdom will screw up Ike's life even more, and maybe Ike's advice will destroy the United States before the Declaration of Independence even gets signed. Forget being grounded and getting in with the in crowd-Ike has bigger problems now, like accidentally changing the course of history.

Adam Mansbach, Alan Zweibel (Author), Lauren Ezzo, Nick Podehl, Tom Parks (Narrator)

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Lunatics: A Novel

One of them is a bestselling Pulitzer Prize-winning humorist. The other is a winner of the Thurber Prize for American Humor. Together, they form the League of Comic Justice, battling evildoers in the name of . . . Okay, we made that line up. What they do form is a writing team of pure comic genius, and they will have you laughing like idiots. Philip Horkman is a happy man-the owner of a pet store called The Wine Shop, and on Sundays a referee for kids' soccer. Jeffrey Peckerman is the sole sane person in a world filled with goddamned jerks and morons, and he's having a really bad day. The two of them are about to collide in a swiftly escalating series of events that will send them running for their lives, pursued by the police, soldiers, terrorists, subversives, bears, and a man dressed as Chuck E. Cheese. Where that all takes them you can't begin to guess, but the literary journey there is a masterpiece of inspiration and mayhem. But what else would you expect from the League of Comic Justice? AUTHOR BIOS: Dave Barry's recent bestselling books include his Peter Pan prequels, written with Ridley Pearson; Dave Barry's History of the Millennium (So Far); and I'll Mature When I'm Dead. He lives in Coral Gables, Florida. To learn more about Dave Barry, please visit www.davebarry.com. Alan Zweibel is one of the original Saturday Night Live writer, the winner of multiple Emmy Awards for his television work and the Thurber Prize for his novel The Other Shulman, and collaborator with Billy Crystal on the Tony Award-winning play 700 Sundays. He lives in Short Hills, New Jersey. To learn more about Alan Zweibel, please visit www.alanzweibel.com.

Alan Zweibel, Dave Barry (Author), Alan Zweibel, Dave Barry, Marc Thompson, Orlagh Cassidy, Sean Kenin (Narrator)

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