Kevin Smith

Light Hardcover (1 lb or less)

Washington

Life Advice from a Fat, Lazy Slob Who Did Good

The director of "Clerks" offers advice culled from his successful career of rule-breaking, sharing observations on what can be learned from the character Ferris Bueller, the highs and lows of overeating, and how to manage judgmental people.

Tough Sh*t

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Shari Lapena

Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

A Novel

Anne and Marco Conti seem to have it all--a loving relationship, a wonderful home, and their beautiful baby, Cora. But one night when they are at a dinner party next door, a terrible crime is committed. Suspicion immediately focuses on the parents. But the truth is a much more complicated story. Inside the curtained house, an unsettling account of what actually happened unfolds. Detective Rasbach knows that the panicked couple is hiding something. Both Anne and Marco soon discover that the other is keeping secrets, secrets they've kept for years.

The Couple Next Door

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Paperback (1 to 2 lbs)

Rob Garland is getting married in two months. Oddly, however, this is the least of his problems. More vexing than the seating arrangements, the choice of wedding stationery - more even that the savagely obscene expense of everything - is the fact that Rob should be dead: and he knows it. Faced with an ultimatum from his girlfriend to either sort himself out, or call the wedding (and the whole relationship) off, he sets about trying to come to terms with how it is that, somehow, he's still inexplicably breathing. After pouring his heart out to the listeners on his late-night radio jazz show, he soon finds himself teamed up with others who really ought not to be alive, but who - for random, meaningless and, frankly, stupid reasons - unaccountably are. And that's when things become yet more worrying: because it turns out that their search to understand why they've each remained oddly alive might very well end up killing them all.
Love, death, religious beliefs, existential angst - Love and Other Near-Death Experiences is a jack-knifing comedy about those things which should be no laughing matter.

Love and Other Near-Death Experiences

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Pel Dalton's life is uneventful. He spends his days bluffing through an IT job in the university library, pillow-fighting with his two sons and finding new things to argue about with Ursula, his German girlfriend. But all this is about to change. When his boss suddenly disappears, and Pel steps reluctantly into his shoes, his life begins to spiral out of control. Stolen money, missing colleagues, ominous calls from Hong Kong, and something nasty beneath the university foundations are only the beginning of Pel's problems. Faced with embarrassing PTA meetings and a fridge that really needs defrosting, Pel is about to learn that sometimes the things that drive you crazy can be the only things that keep you sane.

For fans of Tony Parsons and Mike Gayle, this is a hilarious and heartwarming story that will strike a chord with anyone who has ever had an argument with their partner...

Things My Girlfriend and I Have Argued About

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Hardcover (1 to 2 lbs)

Charlie Asher is a pretty normal guy. A little hapless, somewhat neurotic, sort of a hypochondriac. He's what's known as a Beta Male: the kind of fellow who makes his way through life by being careful and constant -- you know, the one who's always there to pick up the pieces when the girl gets dumped by the bigger/taller/stronger Alpha Male. But Charlie's been lucky. He owns a building in the heart of San Francisco, and runs a secondhand store with the help of a couple of loyal, if marginally insane, employees. He's married to a bright and pretty woman who actually loves him for his normalcy. And she, Rachel, is about to have their first child. Yes, Charlie's doing okay for a Beta. That is, until the day his daughter, Sophie, is born. Just as Charlie -- exhausted from the birth -- turns to go home, he sees a strange man in mint-green golf wear at Rachel's hospital bedside, a man who claims that no one should be able to see him. But see him Charlie does, and from here on out, things get really weird. . . . People start dropping dead around him, giant ravens perch on his building, and it seems that everywhere he goes, a dark presence whispers to him from under the streets. Strange names start appearing on his nightstand notepad, and before he knows it, those people end up dead, too. Yup, it seems that Charlie Asher has been recruited for a new job, an unpleasant but utterly necessary one: Death. It's a dirty job. But hey, somebody's gotta do it. Christopher Moore, the man whose Lamb served up Jesus' "missing years" (with the funny parts left in), and whose Fluke found the deep humor in whale researchers' lives, now shines his comic light on the undiscovered country we all eventually explore -- death and dying -- and the results are hilarious, heartwarming, and a hell of a lot of fun.

A Dirty Job

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In San Francisco, the souls of the dead are mysteriously disappearing—and you know that can’t be good—in New York Times bestselling author Christopher Moore’s delightfully funny sequel to A Dirty Job. Something really strange is happening in the City by the Bay. People are dying, but their souls are not being collected. Someone—or something—is stealing them and no one knows where they are going, or why, but it has something to do with that big orange bridge. Death Merchant Charlie Asher is just as flummoxed as everyone else. He’s trapped in the body of a fourteen-inch-tall “meat puppet” waiting for his Buddhist nun girlfriend, Audrey, to find him a suitable new body to play host. To get to the bottom of this abomination, a motley crew of heroes will band together: the seven-foot-tall death merchant Minty Fresh; retired policeman turned bookseller Alphonse Rivera; the Emperor of San Francisco and his dogs, Bummer and Lazarus; and Lily, the former Goth girl. Now if only they can get little Sophie to stop babbling about the coming battle for the very soul of humankind . . .

Secondhand Souls

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#paperback #fiction #historicalfiction #historical #pulitzer #bestseller #thetreasureshop-historicalfiction #slowread 

The winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, compared by critics to the works of Graham Greene, Denis Johnson, and George Orwell,The Sympathizer is a blistering exploration of identity, politics, and America, wrought in electric prose. The narrator, a Vietnamese army captain, is a man of divided loyalties, a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist sleeper agent in America after the end of the Vietnam War. A powerful story of love and friendship, and a gripping espionage novel,The Sympathizer examines the legacy of the Vietnam War in literature, film, and the wars we fight today.

The Sympathizer

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Sharing a difficult relationship with his father, Sam struggles to come to terms with his life in the process and aftermath of making his first film while juggling with complicated ambitions and his feelings for eccentric family members and friends.

Double Feature

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With Prince of Thieves soon to be a movie under the title The Town starring Ben Affleck and Mad Men ’s Jon Hamm, and Hogan’s recent vampire novel The Strain, coauthored with Guillermo del Toro, an instant New York Times bestseller, Chuck Hogan is a star on the rise. Now, with Devils in Exile, he displays his trademark gift for pulse-pounding action and strong characterization in a gripping drama that is sure to further raise his profile and give him the audience he so richly deserves. When Neal Maven and a crew of fellow Iraq War veterans begin ripping off Boston-area drug dealers for profit, their lives are quickly put into jeopardy. As Maven’s involvement deepens, two worrisome things happen: he begins to suspect that their leader has a sinister ulterior motive, and he lusts after the leader’s girl—a tough former model with a drug problem. As the rip-off jobs get riskier, Maven and his crew are soon pursued by both a smart federal DEA agent and by a pair of psychopathic Jamaican hit men on a drug lords’ payroll. When everything goes bad—and it goes very bad—Maven embarks on a one-man crusade to right the wrongs in which he unwittingly participated. Not everyone will survive his crusade, and Maven himself may not live to see the final outcome…. Vividly told and featuring a stunningly complex plot, Devils in Exile is Chuck Hogan’s most satisfying and powerful thriller yet.

Devils in Exile

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The Hush

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Prepare yourself for a journey through the world of Patton Oswalt, one of the most creative, insightful, and hysterical voices on the entertain­ment scene today. Widely known for his roles in the films Big Fan and Ratatouille, as well as the television hit The King of Queens, Patton Oswalt—a staple of Comedy Central—has been amusing audiences for decades. Now, with Zombie Spaceship Wasteland, he offers a fascinating look into his most unusual, and lovable, mindscape. Oswalt combines memoir with uproarious humor, from snow forts to Dungeons & Dragons to gifts from Grandma that had to be explained. He remem­bers his teen summers spent working in a movie Cineplex and his early years doing stand-up. Readers are also treated to several graphic elements, includ­ing a vampire tale for the rest of us and some greeting cards with a special touch. Then there’s the book’s centerpiece, which posits that before all young creative minds have anything to write about, they will home in on one of three story lines: zom­bies, spaceships, or wastelands. Oswalt chose wastelands, and ever since he has been mining our society’s wasteland for perversion and excess, pop culture and fatty foods, indie rock and single-malt scotch. Zombie Spaceship Wasteland is an inventive account of the evolution of Patton Oswalt’s wildly insightful worldview, sure to indulge his legion of fans and lure many new admirers to his very entertaining “wasteland.”

Zombie Spaceship Wasteland

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And Other Painfully True Stories

Hello, I am Mike Birbiglia and I want you to read my book. Too on the nose? Sorry. Let me dial it back. I’m Mike Birbiglia and I’m a comedian. You may know me from Comedy Central or This American Life or The Bob & Tom Show, but you’ve never seen me like this before. Naked. Wait, that’s the name of another book. Also I’m not naked as there are no pictures in my book. Also, if there were naked pictures of me, you definitely wouldn’t buy it, though you might sneak a copy into the back corner of the bookstore and show it to your friend and laugh. Okay, let’s get off the naked stuff. This is my first book. It’s difficult to describe. It’s a comedic memoir, but I’m only 32 years old so I’d hate for you to think I’m “wrapping it up,” so to speak. But I tell some personal stories. Some REALLY personal stories. Stories that I considered not publishing time and time again, especially when my father said, “Michael, you might want to stay away from the per­sonal stuff.” I said, “Dad, just read the dedication.” (Which I’m telling you to do too.) Some of the stories are about my childhood, some are about girls I made out with when I was thirteen, some are about my parents, and some are, of course, about my bouts with sleepwalking. Bring this book to bed. And sleepwalk with me.

Sleepwalk with Me

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#paperback #nonfiction #fiction #humor #comedy #davidsedaris #essays #enjoyable 

A recent transplant to Paris, humorist David Sedaris, bestselling author of "Naked", presents a collection of his strongest work yet, including the title story about his hilarious attempt to learn French. A number one national bestseller now in paperback.

Me Talk Pretty One Day

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#paperback #comedy #nonfiction #essays #fiction #family #davidsedaris #lgbtq 

David Sedaris plays in the snow with his sisters. He goes on vacation with his family. He gets a job selling drinks. He attends his brother's wedding. He mops his sister's floor. He gives directions to a lost traveler. He eats a hamburger. He has his blood sugar tested. It all sounds so normal, doesn't it? In his newest collection of essays, David Sedaris lifts the corner of ordinary life, revealing the absurdity teeming below its surface. His world is alive with obscure desires and hidden motives -- a world where forgiveness is automatic and an argument can be the highest form of love. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim is another unforgettable collection from one of the wittiest and most original writers at work today.

Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim

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#hardcover #nonfiction #satire #humor #newyorker #davidsedaris #comedy #essays 

Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls

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#paperback #nonfiction #americanculture #essays #smart #socialcommentary #music 

A Low Culture Manifesto

Explores a range of modern cultural phenomenon, including Internet pornography, tribute bands, baseball rivalries, and reality television.

Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs

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The irreverent writer's long lost novel, written before his nonfiction became popular, chronicles a journalist's enthusiastic, drunken foray through 1950s San Juan.

The Rum Diary

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In his classic caper novels, Donald E. Westlake turns the world of crime and criminals upside down. The bad get better, the good slide a bit, and Lord help anyone caught between a thief named John Dortmunder and the current object of his intentions. Now Westlake's seasoned but often scoreless crook must take on an impossible crime, one he doesn't want and doesn't believe in. But a little blackmail goes a long way in... WHAT'S SO FUNNY?
All it takes is a few underhanded moves by a tough ex-cop named Eppick to pull Dortmunder into a game he never wanted to play. With no choice, he musters his always-game gang and they set out on a perilous treasure hunt for a long-lost gold and jewel-studded chess set once intended as a birthday gift for the last Romanov czar, which unfortunately reached Russia after that party was over.
From the moment Dortmunder reaches for his first pawn, he faces insurmountable odds. The purloined past of this precious set is destined to confound any strategy he finds on the board. Success is not inevitable with John Dortmunder leading the attack, but he's nothing if not persistent, and some gambit or other might just stumble into a winning move.



What's So Funny?

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Meehan, a career thief staring at life without parole, is awaiting sentencing at the Manhattan Correctional Center when he is called to a meeting by someone masquerading as his lawyer. The man, it turns out, represents the presidential re-election campaign committee -- now finding itself in need of a little professional help. So they "outsource" Meehan in return for a walk from all pending criminal charges. All he has to do is steal a compromising video tape before the other side springs an "October Surprise" on the president. A shrewd burglar, Meehan bites, and shows just how easy Watergate would have been had they left it to the professionals.

Put a Lid on It

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#paperback #fiction #football #sports #highschool

A Town, a Team, and a Dream

The classic, best-selling story of life in the football-driven town of Odessa, Texas, with a new afterword that looks at the players and the town ten years later

Friday Night Lights

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A True Story of Men Against the Sea

The number-one New York Times best-seller recounts the dramatic story of the fishing boat, Andrea Gail, which was lost in the North Atlantic during an extraordinarily violent storm. Reprint. National ad/promo. Tour. NYT.

The Perfect Storm

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#hardcover #fiction #bestsellingauthor #firstedition #cjbox #detective #killer #lizardking 

For three years, Investigator Cassie Dewell has been on a hunt for a serial killer known as The Lizard King. He works as a long haul trucker. His prey are the "lot lizard" prostitutes who frequent truck stops. And she almost caught him...once. Working for the Bakken County, North Dakota sheriff's department, Cassie has set what she believes is the perfect trap and she has lured him and his truck to a depot. Standing by, ready to close the net are half a dozen undercover officers, including Cassie's fiance Ian. But the plan goes horribly wrong, and the blame falls to Cassie. Disgraced, she loses her job and investigation into her role is put into motion. At the same time, Kyle Westergaard, a troubled kid whom Cassie has taken under her wing, has disappeared, telling everyone he is going on a long-planned adventure. Kyle's grandmother begs Cassie to find him and with nothing else to do, she agrees--all the while planning a new trap for The Lizard King. But Cassie is now a lone wolf. And in the same way that two streams converge into a river, Kyle's disappearance may have a more sinister meaning than anyone realizes. With no allies, no support,and only her own wits to rely on, Cassie must take down a killer who is as ruthless as he is cunning. But can she do it alone, without losing her own humanity or her own life?

Paradise Valley

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#hardcover #horrorfiction #zombieapocalypse #fiction #bookofthemonth #botm #maxbrooks #zombie 

An Oral History of the Zombie War

An account of the decade-long conflict between humankind and hordes of the predatory undead is told from the perspective of dozens of survivors who describe in their own words the epic human battle for survival.

World War Z

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#paperback #historicalfiction #fiction #africanamericans #history #undergroundrailroad #historical #colsonwhitehead 

#1 New York Times Bestseller - Winner of the Pulitzer Prize - Winner of the National Book Award - Winner of the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction - Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize One of the Best books of the Year: The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, The Boston Globe, The Seattle Times, HuffPost, Esquire, Minneapolis Star Tribune Look for Whitehead's acclaimed new novel, The Nickel Boys, available now Cora is a young slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia. An outcast even among her fellow Africans, she is on the cusp of womanhood--where greater pain awaits. And so when Caesar, a slave who has recently arrived from Virginia, urges her to join him on the Underground Railroad, she seizes the opportunity and escapes with him. In Colson Whitehead's ingenious conception, the Underground Railroad is no mere metaphor: engineers and conductors operate a secret network of actual tracks and tunnels beneath the Southern soil. Cora embarks on a harrowing flight from one state to the next, encountering, like Gulliver, strange yet familiar iterations of her own world at each stop. As Whitehead brilliantly re-creates the terrors of the antebellum era, he weaves in the saga of our nation, from the brutal abduction of Africans to the unfulfilled promises of the present day. The Underground Railroad is both the gripping tale of one woman's will to escape the horrors of bondage--and a powerful meditation on the history we all share.

Browse by categories

Kevin Smith

Tough Sh*t

Shari Lapena

The Couple Next Door

Mil Millington

Love and Other Near-Death Experiences

Mil Millington

Things My Girlfriend and I Have Argued About

Christopher Moore

A Dirty Job

Christopher Moore

Secondhand Souls

Viet Thanh Nguyen

The Sympathizer

Owen King

Double Feature

Chuck Hogan

Devils in Exile

John Hart

The Hush

Patton Oswalt

Zombie Spaceship Wasteland

Mike Birbiglia

Sleepwalk with Me

David Sedaris

Me Talk Pretty One Day

David Sedaris

Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim

David Sedaris

Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls

Chuck Klosterman

Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs

Hunter S. Thompson

The Rum Diary

Donald E. Westlake

What's So Funny?

Donald E. Westlake

Put a Lid on It

H. G. Bissinger

Friday Night Lights

Sebastian Junger

The Perfect Storm

C. J. Box

Paradise Valley

Max Brooks

World War Z

Colson Whitehead

The Underground Railroad

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