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Recommendations based on The Partly Cloudy Patriotby Sarah Vowell
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Assassination Vacation
by Sarah Vowell
A comedic travelogue exploring the history of presidential assassinations in the United States.
Sarah Vowell exposes the glorious conundrums of American history and culture with wit, probity, and an irreverent sense of humor. With Assassination Vacation, she takes us on a road trip like no ... (Goodreads)
The Wordy Shipmates
by Sarah Vowell
A humorous and insightful look at the Puritan settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and their impact on American history.
The Wordy Shipmates is an exploration of the Puritans and their journey to America to become the people of John Winthrop's "city upon a hill"—a shining example, a "city that cannot be hid." To this ... (Goodreads)
Holidays on Ice
by David Sedaris
Collection of humorous essays, exploring the absurdities of the holiday season.
David Sedaris's beloved holiday collection is new again with six more pieces, including a never before published story. Along with such favorites as the diaries of a Macy's elf and the annals of two ... (Goodreads)
Unfamiliar Fishes
by Sarah Vowell
A humorous and insightful look at the history of Hawaii and its annexation by the United States.
Many think of 1776 as the defining year of American history, when we became a nation devoted to the pursuit of happiness through self- government. In Unfamiliar Fishes, Sarah Vowell argues that 1898 ... (Goodreads)
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
by David Sedaris
A humorous collection of autobiographical essays reflecting on family relationships.
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 ... (Goodreads)
Naked
by David Sedaris
Collection of humorous essays exploring the absurdities of everyday life.
Welcome to the hilarious, strange, elegiac, outrageous world of David Sedaris. In Naked , Sedaris turns the mania for memoir on its proverbial ear, mining the exceedingly rich terrain of his life, ... (Goodreads)
I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence
by Amy Sedaris
A hilarious guide to entertaining and living with style, grace, and a generous spirit.
The inspiration for the TV show, At Home with Amy Sedaris,, here is a hilarious, helpful, and informative guide on how to entertain.,Are you lacking direction in how to whip up a swanky soiree for ... (Barnes & Noble)
America
by Jon Stewart
A satirical take on American politics and democracy, filled with humor and wit.
Jon Stewart, host of the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning The Daily Show , and his coterie of patriots, deliver a hilarious look at American government. American-style democracy is the world's most ... (Goodreads)
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
by Marjane Satrapi
Autobiographical account of a young girl's experience of the Iranian Revolution.
Note: The summary of the English editions of the novel is divided into two sections, one for each book. Persepolis 1 begins by introducing Marji, the ten-year-old protagonist. Set in 1980, the novel ... (Wikipedia)
Nickel and Dimed: On
by Barbara Ehrenreich
A journalist's exploration of poverty in the U.S., exposing the struggles of low-wage workers.
Millions of Americans work full-time, year-round, for poverty-level wages. In 1998, Barbara Ehrenreich decided to join them. She was inspired in part by the rhetoric surrounding welfare reform, which ... (Goodreads)
Lies & the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair & Balanced Look at the Right
by Al Franken
Satirical look at the right, exposing their lies and hypocrisies.
Al Franken, one of our savviest satirists ( People ), has been studying the rhetoric of the Right. He has listened to their cries of slander, bias, and even treason. He has examined the Bush ... (Goodreads)
The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
by Michael Pollan
Exploration of the modern food chain, examining the impact of food choices on our health and the environment.
What should we have for dinner? The question has confronted us since man discovered fire, but according to Michael Pollan, the bestselling author of The Botany of Desire , how we answer it today, at ... (Goodreads)
Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void
by Mary Roach
Exploring the science, technology and culture of human space travel.
The best-selling author of Stiff and Bonk explores the irresistibly strange universe of space travel and life without gravity. From the Space Shuttle training toilet to a crash test of NASA’s new ... (Goodreads)
Don't Get Too Comfortable: The Indignities of Coach Class, The Torments of Low Thread Count, The Never-Ending Quest for Artisanal Olive Oil, and Other First World Problems
by David Rakoff
A collection of humorous essays on the absurdities of modern life, consumerism, and the pursuit of luxury.
A bitingly funny grand tour of our culture of excess from an award-winning humorist. Whether David Rakoff's contrasting the elegance of one of the last flights of the supersonic Concorde with the ... (Goodreads)
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
by Mary Roach
An exploration of the strange and often unknown history of cadavers, and their uses in science and medicine.
Okay, you're thinking: ,"This must be some kind of a joke. A humorous book about cadavers?", Yup — and it works. Mary Roach takes the age-old question, "What happens to us after we die?" quite ... (Goodreads)
I'm a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America After Twenty Years Away
by Bill Bryson
A humorous and insightful collection of essays about Bryson's experiences returning to America after living in England for two decades.
After living in Britain for two decades, Bill Bryson recently moved back to the United States with his English wife and four children (he had read somewhere that nearly 3 million Americans believed ... (Goodreads)
Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War
by Tony Horwitz
Investigative report into the legacy of the American Civil War and its lingering presence in modern culture.
When prize-winning war correspondent Tony Horwitz leaves the battlefields of Bosnia and the Middle East for a peaceful corner of the Blue Ridge Mountains, he thinks he's put war zones behind him. But ... (Goodreads)
Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto
by Chuck Klosterman
An exploration of pop culture and its influence on contemporary life.
Countless writers and artists have spoken for a generation, but no one has done it quite like Chuck Klosterman. With an exhaustive knowledge of popular culture and an almost effortless ability to ... (Goodreads)
Just Kids
by Patti Smith
Chronicles of two young artists in New York City, finding friendship and inspiration in each other.
In Just Kids , Patti Smith's first book of prose, the legendary American artist offers a never-before-seen glimpse of her remarkable relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe in the epochal ... (Goodreads)
Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith
by Jon Krakauer
An exploration of the fundamentalist Mormon faith, its history, and the power of religious extremism.
A Story of Violent Faith A multilayered, bone-chilling narrative of messianic delusion, savage violence, polygamy, and unyielding faith. This is vintage Krakauer, an utterly compelling work of ... (Goodreads)
Earth
by Jon Stewart
A humorous and satirical look at human history, culture, and behavior.
The eagerly awaited new book from the Emmy-winning, Oscar-hosting, Daily Show-anchoring Jon Stewart–the man behind the megaseller America (The Book). Where do we come from? Who created us? Why are we ... (Goodreads)
A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail
by Bill Bryson
A humorous account of a man's attempt to hike the Appalachian Trail, reflecting on the beauty and history of the American wilderness.
The book starts with Bryson explaining his curiosity about the Appalachian Trail near his house. He and his old friend Stephen Katz start hiking the trail from Georgia in the South , and stumble in ... (Wikipedia)
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
by John Berendt
A journalist's exploration of a mysterious murder in Savannah, Georgia.
A sublime and seductive reading experience. This portrait of a beguiling Southern city was a best-seller (though a flop as a movie). ~ Shots rang out in Savannah's grandest mansion in the misty, ... (Goodreads)
Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened
by Allie Brosh
A humorous and candid account of the author's life, exploring the highs and lows of everyday life.
#1, New York Times, Bestseller “Funny and smart as hell” (Bill Gates), Allie Brosh’s, Hyperbole and a Half, showcases her unique voice, leaping wit, and her ability to capture complex emotions with ... (Barnes & Noble)
Between the World and Me
by Ta-Nehisi Coates
A letter to his son, exploring the realities of racism in America.
“This is your country, this is your world, this is your body, and you must find some way to live within the all of it.” In a profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American ... (Goodreads)
Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly
by Anthony Bourdain
A humorous and unflinching account of life in restaurant kitchens, exploring the culture and camaraderie of the culinary world.
A deliciously funny, delectably shocking banquet of wild-but-true tales of life in the culinary trade from Chef Anthony Bourdain, laying out his more than a quarter-century of drugs, sex, and haute ... (Goodreads)
Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table
by Ruth Reichl
A memoir of a food critic's childhood, filled with eccentric characters and culinary adventures that shaped her love for food and writing.
At an early age, Ruth Reichl discovered that "food could be a way of making sense of the world. . . . If you watched people as they ate, you could find out who they were." Her deliciously crafted ... (Goodreads)
In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
by Nathaniel Philbrick
True account of a whaling ship's disastrous voyage and the survivors' struggle for survival.
"With its huge, scarred head halfway out of the water and its tail beating the ocean into a white-water wake more than forty feet across, the whale approached the ship at twice its original speed - ... (Goodreads)
Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith
by Anne Lamott
A memoir of the author's journey towards faith, filled with humor, honesty, and raw emotion.
Despite–or because of--her irreverence, faith is a natural subject for Anne Lamott. Since Operating Instructions and Bird by Bird , her fans have been waiting for her to write the book that explained ... (Goodreads)
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?
by Mindy Kaling
Humorous memoir reflecting on Mindy Kaling's life and career.
Mindy Kaling has lived many lives: the obedient child of immigrant professionals, a timid chubster afraid of her own bike, a Ben Affleck - impersonating Off-Broadway performer and playwright, and, ... (Goodreads)
