Sign-In
Cart
The Funniest People in Books, Volume 3: 250 Anecdotes
Paperback
Series: The Funniest People in Books
Publisher: David Bruce
Published: Oct 3 2022
Pages: 118
Weight: 0.32
Height: 0.28 Width: 5.50 Depth: 8.50
Language: English
This is a short, quick, and easy read.
Some Sample Anecdotes:
- Norman Mailer was an activist, among his many other activities. During the Cold War, he was arrested in New York for civil disobedience when he appeared with 1,000 other citizens to protest a law requiring people to go to fallout shelters whenever an air raid drill was held. When the air raid drill siren sounded, many of the protesters unfurled umbrellas that bore the legend Portable Fallout Shelter. Mr. Mailer was also a parent. At the Elliott Bay Bookstore, he once did a reading. Afterward, he signed many books. In line with a parent was a boy. Mr. Mailer talked to the boy and asked him if he could do something for him. The boy replied, You could help me with my term paper. Mr. Mailer laughed, then said, Oh, no, my son already asked me, and I told him no, too.
- Kingsley Amis enjoyed drinking alcohol a lot, and he drank a lot of alcohol. He even wrote three books about alcohol: On Drink, Everyday Drinking, and How's Your Glass? He once attended a stand-up (not dinner) party at which he was offered his choice of red wine or white wine. However, he explained that drinking wine without eating food upset his stomach, but that he would enjoy spirits. Unfortunately, his host said, Sorry to hear that. I'm afraid there's nothing else in the house. Mr. Amis says, My stomach took five minutes to change its mind.
- Maya Angelou needs a place where she can create for long stretches of time without interruption. When she is away from home, sometimes for long periods of time, she will rent a hotel room to use as a writing space. She tells the hotel management not to interrupt her by having someone change the sheets, as she won't be using them because she will be sleeping elsewhere. At 5:30 a.m. she enters the room and works until early afternoon. Sometimes, she will write after dinner until late at night. During one prolonged stint of creativity, the hotel management slipped this note under her door: Ms. Angelou, please let us get in there and change the sheets. We think they are moldy. She ignored the note.
- Jean-Dominique Bauby, editor-in-chief of French Elle, suffered a massive stroke that left his body almost totally incapacitated although his mind was fine. He was able to control only his left eye, but by blinking he dictated a book to freelance book editor Claude Mendibil, who recited to him the letters of the French alphabet by their frequency of use. When she pronounced the correct letter, Mr. Bauby blinked his left eye. With practice, she was able to guess the word he wanted after learning the first few letters. The title of the book he dictated, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, refers to his life. His mind - the butterfly - was still active, but it was trapped in a body that no longer functioned properly - the diving bell. The book became a best seller, and it was made into a critically acclaimed movie with the same title. The process by which the book was dictated could have been disheartening, but Ms. Mendibil says that she cried only once. It happened when he was dictating a passage about his two young children, Céleste and Théophile. Ms. Mendibil says, I have a child, and I suddenly realized what it would be to be next to her and not be able to take her in my arms. The tears rose, and I had to go outside for five minutes.. When she returned, Mr. Bauby used eye blinks to tell her, You look beautiful when you cry.
Also from
Bruce, David
From the Iliad to the Odyssey: A Retelling in Prose of Quintus of Smyrna's Posthomerica
Bruce, David
Paperback
Jason and the Argonauts: A Retelling in Prose of Apollonius of Rhodes' Argonautica
Bruce, David
Paperback
The Most Interesting People in Politics and History: 250 Anecdotes and Stories
Bruce, David
Paperback
The Most Interesting People in Politics and History, Volume 3: 250 Anecdotes and Stories
Bruce, David
Paperback
The Firkin Saga: Brewing up entrepreneurial adventures and pioneering tales with the Prince of Ales
Bruce, David
Hardcover
Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus: Retellings of the 1604 A-Text And the 1616 B-Text
Bruce, David
Paperback
The Firkin Saga: Brewing up entrepreneurial adventures and pioneering tales with the Prince of Ales
Bruce, David
Paperback
Testeur en 2 Minutes: 33 routines pour devenir un meilleur testeur de logiciels
Bruce, David
Paperback
The David Bruce Winery: Oral History Transcript: Experimentation, Dedication, and Success / 2002
Bruce, David
Hicke, Carole
Hardcover
The Most Interesting People in Politics and History, Volume 2: 150 Anecdotes and Stories
Bruce, David
Paperback
The David Bruce Winery: Oral History Transcript: Experimentation, Dedication, and Success / 2002
Bruce, David
Hicke, Carole
Paperback
Also in
Humor
I Can't Believe I Did That: The Game That Gives You Points for Sharing Awkward, Awesome, and Unforgettable Memories: Card Games
Katcher, Neil
Nadelberg, David
Other
The Science Magpie: Fascinating Facts, Stories, Poems, Diagrams and Jokes Plucked from Science
Flynn, Simon
Paperback
Fixing Flamingos: And Other Solutions to the World's Least Pressing Problems
Rea, Brian
Brown, Lucienne
Paperback
How to Be a Cat: (Cat Books for Kids, Cat Gifts for Kids, Cat Picture Book)
Swerling, Lisa
Lazar, Ralph
Hardcover
Peculiar Questions and Practical Answers: A Little Book of Whimsy and Wisdom from the Files of the New York Public Library
New York Public Library
Hardcover
How to Be Okay When Nothing Is Okay: Tips and Tricks That Kept Me Alive, Happy, and Creative in Spite of Myself
Lawson, Jenny
Hardcover
Bake It Off: An Unofficial Taylor Swift-Inspired Cookbook for Every Era, from Breakfast to Midnights
Smith, Lindsey
Hardcover
Big Fan: Two Friends, 82,490 Miles, and the Wild, Wonderful Sports We Love
Posnanski, Joe
Schur, Michael
Hardcover
Black Out Loud: The Revolutionary History of Black Comedy from Vaudeville to '90s Sitcoms
Bennett, Geoff
Hardcover
We Are the World (Cup): A Personal History of the World's Greatest Sporting Event
Bennett, Roger
Hardcover
Pardon My Book: Ten Years of the Best (and Worst) in Sports from Pardon My Take
Commenter, Pft
Big Cat
Hardcover
How to Grow Up Without Becoming a Grown-Up: Big Lessons from Little Kids
Shapiro-Barnum, Julian
Hardcover
The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Five Novels in One Outrageous Volume
Adams, Douglas
Paperback
The New Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Expert Advice for Extreme Situations
Piven, Joshua
Borgenicht, David
Hardcover
There Are Moms Way Worse Than You: Irrefutable Proof That You Are Indeed a Fantastic Parent
Boozan, Glenn
Hardcover
How to Talk to Your Cat about Gun Safety: And Abstinence, Drugs, Satanism, and Other Dangers That Threaten Their Nine Lives
Auburn, Zachary
Paperback
Not Today, Fascists: The Lies That Got Us Here, and the Truths That Will Reunite Us
Welch, Jennifer
Hardcover
Nobody Wants Your Sh*t: The Art of Decluttering Before You Die (New York Times Bestseller)
Condo, Messie
Hardcover