Essays & Memoirs Audiobooks | Comedy

J.-M. Kuczynski (Author), J.-M. Kuczynski (Narrator)

Audiobook

Beginning at the top of a muddy Gloucestershire slope at the Coopers Hill cheese-rolling contest and traversing a landscape of lawns and queues, coastlines and sporting arenas, Ben Fogle takes us on a journey through the peculiarly English: a country of wax jackets, cricket, boat races and jellied eels, by way of national treasures such as the shipping forecast, fish and chips and the Wellington boot. Not to mention the Dunkirk spirit of relentless optimism in the face of adversity, be it the heroic failure of Captain Scott's doomed Antarctic expedition, or simply the perennial hope for better weather.The archetypal Englishman - lover of labradors and Land Rovers yet holder of two passports - Ben applauds all things quintessentially English while also paying tribute to the history, culture and ideas adopted with such gusto that they have become part of the fabric of the country. Written with Ben's trademark warmth and wit, this is a light-hearted yet touching tribute to all things English.

Ben Fogle (Author), Rupert Farley (Narrator)

Audiobook

Stephen Colbert's Midnight Confessions

Forgive him, Father, for Stephen Colbert has sinned. He knew it was wrong at the time. But he went ahead and did it anyway. Now he's begging for forgiveness. Based on his popular segment from The Late Show, Stephen Colbert and his team of writers now reveal his most shameful secrets to millions (although, actually, he'd like you to not to tell anyone). Midnight Confessions is an illustrated collection of Stephen Colbert at his most brilliant and irreverent.

Stephen Colbert, The Staff of the Late Show With Stephen Colbert (Author), Stephen Colbert (Narrator)

Audiobook

The World's Largest Man: A Memoir

Harrison Scott Key was born in Memphis, but he grew up in Mississippi, among pious, Bible-reading women and men who either shot things or got women pregnant. At the center of his world was his larger-than-life father-a hunter, a fighter, a football coach, "a man better suited to living in a remote frontier wilderness of the nineteenth century than contemporary America, with all its progressive ideas, and paved roads, and lack of armed duels. He was a great man, and he taught me many things: how to fight, how to work, how to cheat, how to pray to Jesus about it, how to kill things with guns and knives and, if necessary, with hammers." Harrison, with his love of books and excessive interest in hugging, couldn't have been less like Pop, and when it became clear that he was not able to kill anything very well or otherwise make his father happy, he resolved to become everything his father was not: an actor, a Presbyterian, and a doctor of philosophy. But when it was time to settle down and start a family of his own, Harrison started to view his father in a new light, and realized-for better and for worse-how much of his old man he'd absorbed. Sly, heartfelt, and tirelessly hilarious, The World's Largest Man is an unforgettable memoir.

Harrison Scott Key (Author), Harrison Scott Key (Narrator)

Audiobook

Not Quite a Genius

From the senior writer at Funny or Die and former artistic director at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, a collection of absurdist, hilarious stories and essays on relationships, technology, and contemporary society. This collection of essays and stories spans a wide variety of topics. There's the open letter to Charles Manson, the report of a brave archeologist's journey into a suburban man cave, and a long overdue missive from Leif Erikson to Christopher Columbus. Walt Whitman even teaches a spin class. Nate Dern's razor-sharp eye examines modern society and technology, man buns, dating apps, and juicing crazes. Anyone who's ever scrunched their eyes at WiFi Terms & Conditions, listened to the reasons that led a vegetarian to give up meat, or looked on in horror at the evolving audacity of reality TV will appreciate Dern's wicked and funny take on modern life.

Nate Dern (Author), Nate Dern (Narrator)

Audiobook

Revenge of the Nerd

This program is read by the author. Risky Business. Revenge of the Nerds. Better Off Dead. Moonlighting. Supernatural. American Dad. New Girl. What do all of these movies and television shows have in common? Curtis Armstrong. A legendary comedic second banana to a litany of major stars, Curtis is forever cemented in the public imagination as Booger from Revenge of the Nerds. A classically trained actor, Curtis began his incredible 40-year career on stage but progressed rapidly to film and television. He was typecast early and it proved to be the best thing that could have happened. But there's more to Curtis' story than that. Born and bred a nerd, he spent his early years between Detroit, a city so nerdy that the word was coined there in 1951, and, improbably, Geneva, Switzerland. His adolescence and early adulthood was spent primarily between the covers of a book and indulging his nerdy obsessions. It was only when he found his true calling, as an actor and unintentional nerd icon, that he found true happiness. With whip-smart, self-effacing humor, Armstrong takes us on a most unlikely journey-one nerd's hilarious, often touching rise to the middle. He started his life as an outcast and matured into...well, an older, slightly paunchier, hopefully wiser outcast. In Hollywood, as in life, that counts as winning the game.

Curtis Armstrong (Author), Curtis Armstrong (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen

Translated by Hester Velmans For fans of A Man Called Ove comes a funny, big-hearted tale about an old man who is young at heart. "Tears were streaming down my face - from laughing so hard. I couldn't stop grinning for three days." - Ouderenjournaal (Holland) Hendrik Groen may be old, but he is far from dead and isn't planning to be buried any time soon. Granted, his daily strolls are getting shorter because his legs are no longer willing and he has to visit his doctor more than he'd like. Technically speaking he is...elderly. But surely there is more to life at his age than weak tea and potted geraniums? Hendrik sets out to write an exposé: a year in the life of his care home in Amsterdam, revealing all its ups and downs--not least his new endeavor the anarchic Old-But-Not-Dead Club. And when Eefje moves in--the woman Hendrik has always longed for--he polishes his shoes (and his teeth), grooms what's left of his hair and attempts to make something of the life he has left, with hilarious, tender and devastating consequences. The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen will not only delight older readers with its wit and relevance, but will charm and inspire those who have years to go before their own expiry date.

Hendrik Groen (Author), Derek Jacobi (Narrator)

Audiobook

Girl Up: Kick Ass, Claim Your Woman Card, and Crush Everyday Sexism

Already an international bestseller, this empowering survival guide provides no-nonsense advice on sex, social media, mental health, and sexism that young women face in their everyday life-from one of the emerging leaders in the feminist movement. They told you that you need to be thin and beautiful. They told you to wear longer skirts, avoid going out late at night, and move in groups-never accept drinks from a stranger, and wear shoes you can run in more easily than heels. They told you to wear just enough make-up to look presentable but not enough to be a slut; to dress to flatter your apple, pear, hourglass figure, but not to reveal too much. They warned you that if you try to be strong, or take control, you'll be shrill, bossy, a ballbreaker. Of course it's fine for the boys, but you should know your place. They told you "that's not for girls"-"take it as a compliment"-"don't rock the boat"-"that'll go straight to your hips." They told you "beauty is on the inside," but you knew they didn't really mean it. Well, screw that. Laura Bates is here to tell you something else. Hilarious, bold, and unapologetic, Girl Up exposes the truth about the pressures surrounding body image, the false representations in media, the complexities of sex and relationships, the trials of social media, and all the other lies society has told us. **Contact Customer Service for Additional Material**

Laura Bates (Author), Arden Hammersmith (Narrator)

Audiobook

I Need a Lifeguard Everywhere but the Pool

This program is read by the authors. "Lisa and Francesca, mother and daughter, bring you the laughter of their lives." -Delia Ephron, bestselling author The bestselling and "perennially hilarious" mother-daughter team is back with a new collection of stories from their real lives, guaranteed to make you laugh out loud. Join Lisa and Francesca as they regret drunk-shopping online, try smell-dating, and explore the freedom of a hiatus from men - a Guyatus. They offer a fresh and funny take on the triumphs and facepalm moments of modern life, showing that when it comes to navigating the crazy world we live in, you're always your own best lifeguard.

Francesca Serritella, Lisa Scottoline (Author), Francesca Serritella, Lisa Scottoline (Narrator)

Audiobook

Nuclear Family: A Tragicomic Novel in Letters

From filmmaker and New Yorker contributor Susanna Fogel comes a comedic novel about a fractured family of New England Jews and their discontents. Told entirely in letters to a heroine we never meet, we get to know the Fellers through their check-ins with Julie over the course of three decades: their thank-you notes, letters of condolence, family gossip, and good old-fashioned familial passive-aggression.Together, their missives-some sardonic, others absurd, others heartbreaking-weave a tapestry of a very modern family trying (and often failing) to show one another they care.The titular "nuclear family" includes, among many others, a narcissistic former-child-prodigy father who has taken up haiku writing in his old age and his new wife, a traditional Chinese woman whose attempts to help her stepdaughter find a man include FedExing her silk gowns from Filene's Basement; their six-year-old son, Stuart, whose favorite condiment is truffle oil and who wears suits to bed; and Julie's mother, a psychologist who never remarried but may be in love with her arrogant Rabbi and overshares about everything, including the threesome she had with Dutch grad students in 1972.

Susanna Fogel (Author), Full Cast (Narrator)

Audiobook

[Russian Edition] Murphy's Laws

This is the most vital and at the same time funny audiobook that you have ever listened to! The famous Murphy law, better known as the law of meanness, was formulated in 1949. And since then, perhaps, each of us has more than once been convinced of the vitality and truthfulness of this rule: "If any trouble can occur, it will happen." But very few people know that in fact the list of Murphy's laws does not exhaust this rule! And meanwhile, they very accurately describe our life! After Murphy's quote became known to the world, new laws began to appear. The authors of many similar rules are famous people. The creators of others remain unknown. But there is something that unites all these laws - they perfectly explain the reasons why something in your life or business goes wrong. Read, listen and laugh! And remember that every joke is just a joke.

John Murphy (Author), Denis Garmash (Narrator)

Audiobook

Screwtape Proposes a Toast

The only official sequel, penned by Lewis himself, to the ever-popular 'Screwtape Letters' - published alongside other short essays.One of the most popular books ever to come from the pen of C.S. Lewis was written in the name of Screwtape, a senior devil, experienced in the art of luring his 'patients' on earth to their own damnation in service of 'our father below' - and training others to do the same.Screwtape's correspondence with his nephew, an apprentice devil, came into Lewis's hands, he said, by a route he would not disclose, and many a reader has finished the collection longing for more of the insights they gained from its wisdom.Much to Lewis's resistance, this after-dinner speech, given by Screwtape to a graduating class of demons at a college in hell, came to light a few years after the publication of the original letters. Now 75 years later, the speech is reproduced in full once more, along with a short collection of Lewis's other lesser-known, but perennial works.Many people will have forgotten about the only official 'sequel' that exists to Screwtape; the 75th anniversary of Screwtape's publication is the perfect opportunity to bring this back.

C. S. Lewis, C.S. Lewis (Author), Peter Noble (Narrator)

Audiobook

Essays & Memoirs Audiobooks in Comedy