If You Liked David Sedaris…

Does your mother call you in a panic whenever there's a storm warning for your area? Does she act as though it's her duty to alert you to every health story on the news? Have you ever been briefly out of touch with your mother only to find she's phoned everyone short of the National Guard to track you down -- or, just maybe, are you that mother?

Take comfort in knowing you're not alone, as Amy Borkowsky shares more than a decade's worth of maddening phone messages from her hilariously overprotective mom. Based on the hit CD of the same name, "Amy's Answering Machine" features actual messages in which Amy's mom warns her not to wear a red bathrobe because a friend's grandson "said that red is a gang color.,."advises her not to get a cat because "what if you finally found a nice guy and he was allergic?.,."cautions her not to wear crepe-s

After Burroughs was adopted by his mother's shrink at age 13, his childhood took a turn for the bizarre with electroshock machine fun and games; month-long family/patient sleep-overs on the front lawn; a physician-assisted fake suicide attempt to get excused from school forever; and a pedophile living in the barn.

Wry, hilarious, and profoundly genuine, this debut collection of literary essays is a celebration of fallibility and haplessness in all their glory. Crosby's strikingly original voice chronicles the struggles and unexpected beauty of modern urban life.

This first collection from an acclaimed young essayist in the tradition of Joan Didion delves into the center of things while closely examining the detritus that spills out along the way. Daum speaks to questions at the root of the contemporary experience, from the search for authenticity and interpersonal connection in a society defined by consumerism and media to the disenchantment of working in a "glamour profession".

The literary sensation of the year, a book that redefines both family and narrative for the twenty-first century. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius is the moving memoir of a college senior who, in the space of five weeks, loses both of his parents to cancer and inherits his eight-year-old brother. Here is an exhilarating debut that manages to be simultaneously hilarious and wildly inventive as well as a deeply heartfelt story of the love that holds a family together.
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius is an instant classic that will be read in paperback for decades to come. The Vintage edition includes a new appendix by the author.

Written in side-splitting and often cringe-inducing detail, Paul Feig takes you in a time machine to a world of bombardment by dodge balls, ill-fated prom dates, hellish school bus rides, and other aspects of public school life that will keep you laughing in recognition and occasionally sighing in relief that you aren't him. Kick Me is a nostalgic trip for the inner geek in all of us.

From the author of "Kiss My Tiara" comes a funny and poignant collection of true stories about women coming of age that for once isn't about finding a date.

Inventing a son got Will into a single parents support group, but rather than a fabulous new sex life, he found someone else's very real son--a 12-year-old with a lot to teach about being a grown up. From the acclaimed author of "High Fidelity" comes this national bestseller that "GQ" calls "Clever and winning".

Cynthia Kaplan, acclaimed author of "Why I'm Like This," once again casts her gimlet eye upon the current state of her affairs. Also of your affairs, and some other people's affairs as well. Journey with her as she humiliates herself in a variety of locales and fearlessly takes on all the important issues of the day--including her family, intelligent design, Narnia, and New England's deer population.

"Leave the Building Quickly" is a hilarious, moving, bitingly honest, take-no-prisoners incursion into the kind of real-life daily circumstances that inspire us to crouch in the linen closet at three in the morning. But that's okay because Kaplan's there, too. And she's brought snacks.

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The Emmy Award-winning former executive producer of "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" has assembled a stellar lineup of men who have one thing in common: all have been dumped--and all are willing to share their pain and the lessons learned.

She thought she'd have more time. Laurie Notaro figured she had at least a few good years left. But no-it's happened. She has officially lost her marbles. From the kid at the pet-food store checkout line whose coif is so bizarre it makes her seethe "I'm going to kick his hair's ass!" to the hapless Sears customer-service rep on the receiving end of her Campaign of Terror, no one is safe from Laurie's wrath. Her cranky side seems to have eaten the rest of her-inner-thigh Chub Rub and all. And the results are breathtaking.
Her riffs on e-mail spam ("With all of these irresistible offers served up to me on a plate, I WANT A PENIS NOW!!"), eBay ("There should be an eBay wading pool, where you can only bid on Precious Moments figurines and Avon products, that you have to make it through before jumping into the deep end"), and the perils of

From "This American Life alum David Rakoff comes a hilarious collection that single-handedly raises self-deprecation to an art form. Whether impersonating Sigmund Freud in a department store window during the holidays, climbing an icy mountain in cheap loafers, or learning primitive survival skills in the wilds of New Jersey, Rakoff clearly demonstrates how he doesn't belong-nor does he try to. In his debut collection of essays, Rakoff uses his razor-sharp wit and snarky humor to deliver a barrage of damaging blows that, more often than not, land squarely on his own jaw-hilariously satirizing the writer, not the subject. Joining the wry and the heartfelt, "Fraud offers an object lesson in not taking life, or ourselves, too seriously.

How do you conjure a life? Give the truest account of what you saw, felt, learned, loved, strived for?
For Amy Krouse Rosenthal, the surprising answer came in the form of an encyclopedia. In Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life she has ingeniously adapted this centuries-old format for conveying knowledge into a poignant, wise, often funny, fully realized memoir. Using mostly short entries organized from A to Z, many of which are cross-referenced, Rosenthal captures in wonderful and episodic detail the moments, observations, and emotions that comprise a contemporary life. Start anywhere--preferably at the beginning--and see how one young woman's alphabetized existence can open up and define the world in new and unexpected ways.
An ordinary life, perhaps, but an extraordinary book.

An anthology of Sedaris' favorite stories, this volume includes the work of some of the most influential and talented short story writers such as Alice Munro, Tobias Wolff, Lorrie Moore, and Joyce Carol Oates, as well as the author's explanation of why readers should love them as much as he does.

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MICROTHRILLS is a book of candid and profoundly funny essays about the smaller highs in life, by award-winning writer Wendy Spero.

In the bestselling tradition of "Running with Scissors" and "A Girl Named Zippy," Jennifer Traig tells an unforgettable story of youthful obsession.

One of the most popular commentators on public radio's much-loved "This American Life", Vowell explores her own life and the world around her with a discerning eye, quick wit, and a droll sense of humor. "Take the Cannoli" offers readers a great opportunity to discover--or revisit--this remarkable storyteller.

This brilliant and hilarious new collection of essays is offered by the award-winning author of the bestselling "Infinite Jest."

Lauren Weedman's hilarious essays read like a compendium of what "not" to do as a fully-realized, functional adult. Her self-deprecating, confessional, and terribly funny voice finds a special place in the hearts of those who can relate to her -- which, for better or worse, includes all of us. From the uproarious account of her time at the Daily Show, where she developed an entirely one-sided infatuation with Jon Stewart, to the time she read her boyfriend's diary with disastrous results, Lauren's work is filled with the wit, honesty, and personality that make for great personal writing.