Download or read book The Wicked Wit of Ireland written by Myles Byrne and published by Michael O'Mara Books. This book was released on 2019-02-21 with total page 159 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'An Irishman will always soften bad news, so that a major coronary is no more than "a bad turn" and a near hurricane that leaves thousands homeless is "good drying weather".' Hugh Leonard The people of Ireland are renowned for their wit, and they have migrated from Ireland to most corners of the world, taking that famous sense of humour with them. Modern comedians and comic writers as varied as Dylan Moran, Sharon Horgan, Tommy Tiernan, Alison Spittle, Graham Linehan and Ed Byrne have their own distinctive ways of celebrating and mocking their origins while still occasionally acknowledging the traditional 'paddywackery' (meaning the rain-soaked, Guinness-sodden Oirish stereotype of old). The roots of Irish humour are much more complex: for centuries classic Irish writers have used black humour and sarcasm, ranging from the satires of Jonathan Swift, George Bernard Shaw and Oscar Wilde through to the hilarity of J.P. Donleavy and the sublime nonsense of Flann O'Brien and Spike Milligan ('Many people die of thirst but the Irish are born with one.') This collection combines a pinch of traditional Irish humour, from shamrocks to limericks, and blarney stones to drinking stories, mixed with distinctly modern one-liners, quips and quotes from the best of the current crop of humorists, along with sections on the Irish mammy, literary feuds and putdowns and epitaphs.
Download or read book The Wicked Wit of England written by Geoff Tibballs and published by Michael O'Mara Books. This book was released on 2018-11-01 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nobody does irony or sarcasm like the English. The Wicked Wit of England is celebration of British humour, featuring a collection of stories, anecdotes, quips and quotes that capture the various idiosyncrasies of the English character.
Download or read book Brevity Is the Soul written by Kevin Gildea and published by Liberties Press. This book was released on 2021-02-27 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When Ireland (along with much of the rest of the world) went into lockdown last spring, we scratched our heads and wondered what to do to help lift people's spirits.* We joined forces with Irish Pensions & Finance and ran a competition celebrating Irish people's love of a good story – and a good laugh. There were only two requirements: make it funny, and make it (fairly) short. We were overwhelmed by the response: we received hundreds of entries, from all over the island (and further afield), written by people from all walks of life. Comedian (and now bookseller) Kevin Gildea agreed to judge the entries. There could only be three winners (well four, in fact: the top prize was split between two outstanding stories) – but the entries were so good, we decided to gather the best of them into a book. And here they are – from the sublime to the ridiculous. Think Graham Norton's Big Red Chair to Samuel Beckett's humour – and all points in between. The result is: Wit from Lockdown Ireland. The contributors are Alan Brady, Sam Windrim, Fiona Whyte, Alan Howley, Noel Dillon-Daly, Eamonn Colfer, Mark Manning, Maria O'Rourke, Rebecca Kennedy, Shane McDonnell, Dan McKenna, Adrian Martin, Brendan Caldwell, A. J. McCallion, Gary Arkins, Steve Coronella, T. K. Vaughan, James Woods, David Butler, Sue Divin, Gabrielle Fogarty, Cathy Conlon, Declan Toohey, Gráinne Enright, Eamann Breen, Daniel O'Keeffe, Edward O'Neill, Cathal Holden, Rachel Fehily, Jim O'Meara, Darragh McManus, Dermot Lane, Anthony Kelly, Yvonne Roche-Harth, Steve Wade, Joseph Joyce, Keith Martin, John Anderson, Tony Clayton-Lea
Download or read book The Wicked Wit of Cricket written by Mike Haskins and published by Michael O'Mara Books. This book was released on 2023-04-27 with total page 175 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Welcome to The Wicked Wit of Cricket, a compendium packed with the game's greatest stories from both on and off the field. 'The English,' as George Bernard Shaw once remarked, 'are not very spiritual people, so they invented cricket to give them some idea of eternity.' Some might call it eternity. Others might instead regard it as heaven. The world of cricket is nevertheless one that is filled with larger than life characters - be they the great players, the unforgettable commentators, the legendary umpires or the most enthusiastic and barmiest fans. The contest between leather and willow is, after all, only challenged by soccer as the world's most popular sport. The Wicket Wit of Cricket is a sumptuous feast of cricket's greatest tales, legends and anecdotes all spread out across the clubhouse table in bite-sized pieces. Bringing together the sport's most famous quips, insults, pranks, mishaps, incredible facts, outrageous incidents, plus all those great moments of commentary where the words did not come out quite as intended. This is a book packed not just with wicked wit but with wicket wit as well!
Download or read book The Wicked Wit of Queen Elizabeth II written by Karen Dolby and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2017-11-14 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A charming collection of quotes and anecdotes celebrating England's Queen Elizabeth II, the incomparable British monarch. When we think of the queen, we probably picture a serious, dignified personage complete with majestic hat and matching handbag. But The Wicked Wit of Queen Elizabeth II reveals a side of the monarch the public rarely sees, her healthy sense of humor: sometimes silly, sometimes sarcastic—and occasionally unintentional (to guitar legend Eric Clapton: “Have you been playing long?”)! This is a delightful celebration of the queen’s humor revealed through her own words on topics from family and travel to pets and hobbies, as well as stories from the royal household of Britain’s longest-serving monarch. In addition to the queen, other royals get in their two cents, including the famously filterless Prince Philip and the acerbic Princess Margaret, as well as Prince Charles and Princess Anne.
Download or read book The Wicked Wit of Princess Margaret written by Karen Dolby and published by Michael O'Mara Books. This book was released on 2018-05-17 with total page 157 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Celebrate the rapier-like wit of the royal rebel, the late, great Princess Margaret - or 'Ducky' as she was known behind closed doors.
Download or read book The Sellout written by Paul Beatty and published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. This book was released on 2015-03-03 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the Man Booker Prize Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award in Fiction Winner of the John Dos Passos Prize for Literature New York Times Bestseller Los Angeles Times Bestseller Named One of the 10 Best Books of the Year by The New York Times Book Review Named a Best Book of the Year by Newsweek, The Denver Post, BuzzFeed, Kirkus Reviews, and Publishers Weekly Named a "Must-Read" by Flavorwire and New York Magazine's "Vulture" Blog A biting satire about a young man's isolated upbringing and the race trial that sends him to the Supreme Court, Paul Beatty's The Sellout showcases a comic genius at the top of his game. It challenges the sacred tenets of the United States Constitution, urban life, the civil rights movement, the father-son relationship, and the holy grail of racial equality—the black Chinese restaurant. Born in the "agrarian ghetto" of Dickens—on the southern outskirts of Los Angeles—the narrator of The Sellout resigns himself to the fate of lower-middle-class Californians: "I'd die in the same bedroom I'd grown up in, looking up at the cracks in the stucco ceiling that've been there since '68 quake." Raised by a single father, a controversial sociologist, he spent his childhood as the subject in racially charged psychological studies. He is led to believe that his father's pioneering work will result in a memoir that will solve his family's financial woes. But when his father is killed in a police shoot-out, he realizes there never was a memoir. All that's left is the bill for a drive-thru funeral. Fueled by this deceit and the general disrepair of his hometown, the narrator sets out to right another wrong: Dickens has literally been removed from the map to save California from further embarrassment. Enlisting the help of the town's most famous resident—the last surviving Little Rascal, Hominy Jenkins—he initiates the most outrageous action conceivable: reinstating slavery and segregating the local high school, which lands him in the Supreme Court.
Download or read book The Wicked Wit of the Royal Family written by Karen Dolby and published by Michael O'Mara Books. This book was released on 2019-11-07 with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Wicked Wit of the Royal Family celebrates the flashes of fun and brilliance of the most famous family in the world. There is no doubt that the British royal family is THE most famous family in the world. Watched and picked over in the media for everything from fashion choices to baby bumps, sporting achievements to nightclub preferences, there doesn't seem to be a moment when they can escape public scrutiny. But, somehow, they still manage to maintain a sense of humour - and it's those flashes of fun and brilliance that this book celebrates. From Prince Philip's gaffe-prone remarks (most of which appear ON camera rather than off) to the 'in' jokes shared by the knowing smiles of the younger royals and the Queen's wickedly dry and often bitingly funny remarks; from Prince Charles's asides to the Duchess of Cornwall to the self-deprecating smile of the Duchess of Cambridge and the belly laughs that appeal to Prince Harry. This book presents the other side of royal protocol and perhaps gives a glimpse of the real lives of this much-loved clan.
Download or read book Wicked Fantasy written by Nina Bangs and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2007-05-01 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From New York Times bestselling author Nina Bangs comes the third novel in the Castle of Dark Dreams series. Goddesses kick butt when you tick them off—Conall O’Rourke learned this the hard way after killing an Irish deity’s favorite in battle. His punishment? He’s cursed to protect Kavanagh descendants down to the last arrogant jerk. Now there’s only one left, and Conall thirsts to claim his freedom after centuries of servitude. But who knew the remaining Kavanagh would be so beautiful... Gerry Kavanagh has dedicated herself to tracking down bad guys of the nonhuman variety. Unfortunately, she finds more than the wereweasel she’s after at the Castle of Dark Dreams. The most despised member of the O’Rourkes expects to shadow her every step so he can “serve and protect” her. Nope. Never going to happen. Too bad he takes hot way beyond sizzling...
Download or read book The Wicked Wit of Scotland written by Rod Green and published by . This book was released on 2024-02 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This funny and beautifully observed book pulls together humorous stories, funny quotes, quips and anecdotes about this small but remarkable country. While the Scots are proud of their friendly reputation, loud about their many contributions to the world - such as whisky, penicillin and television - and fiercely protective of Scottish delicacies such as haggis and Irn Bru, they are also celebrated for their famously dry and dark humour. Featuring wit and wisdom from writers such as Armando Iannucci, Compton Mackenzie, Stanley Baxter and Neil Munro, this light-hearted book celebrates Scottish wit at its best while looking at the culture, folklore, politics and sport that make up Scotland.
Download or read book I m Not One To Gossip But written by John McEntee and published by Biteback Publishing. This book was released on 2016-07-14 with total page 138 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From an embarrassing encounter with Jim Callaghan (and his impressive member) in the gentlemen's toilet of the Savoy Hotel to the time he was almost throttled by Angela's Ashes author Frank McCourt, John McEntee's career has been nothing if not colourful. After reporting on the IRA terror campaign while a correspondent for the Irish Press, John soon found his home on London's gossip circuit. With one ear always on the alert for scandalous remarks and titillating tit-bits of conversation, John was launched into a world of endless cocktail parties, book launches and openings, first as the author of the Mail's spiky Wicked Whispers gossip column and then as what turned out to be the last ever William Hickey columnist on the Daily Express. Glamour and celebrity encounters aside, whoever said the job of a gossip columnist was easy has obviously never had to pick up the bill at El Vino after a drunken Kingsley Amis has spent the afternoon working his way through the whisky menu. Gloriously entertaining and wonderfully indiscreet, John McEntee's enchanting autobiography is a veritable goldmine of anecdotal gems from one of the true denizens of Fleet Street.
Download or read book Untold written by Sarah Rees Brennan and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2013-08-29 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this second book in the Lynburn Legacy, the sorcerous roots of Sorry-in-the-Vale have been exposed. Now no one in the town is safe, and everyone has to choose sides. Will the townspeople (magical and not) become "owned" by the sorcerers who believe it is their right to rule? Or will it continue in a more modern vein, with the presence of the sorcerers playing a quieter--and much less violent--role. If Kami Glass has anything to say about it, evil will not win. Despite having given up her own piece of magic, she is determined to do everything she can to make a difference. And whether they want to or not, her circle of friends (and potential boyfriends) will not be able to help but follow her and go along with her unusual schemes and battle tactics.
Download or read book We Don t Know Ourselves A Personal History of Modern Ireland written by Fintan O'Toole and published by Liveright Publishing. This book was released on 2022-03-15 with total page 788 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER NEW YORK TIMES • 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR NATIONAL BESTSELLER The Atlantic: 10 Best Books of 2022 Best Books of the Year: Washington Post, New Yorker, Salon, Foreign Affairs, New Statesman, Chicago Public Library, Vroman's “[L]ike reading a great tragicomic Irish novel.” —James Wood, The New Yorker “Masterful . . . astonishing.” —Cullen Murphy, The Atlantic "A landmark history . . . Leavened by the brilliance of O'Toole's insights and wit.” —Claire Messud, Harper’s Winner • 2021 An Post Irish Book Award — Nonfiction Book of the Year • from the judges: “The most remarkable Irish nonfiction book I’ve read in the last 10 years”; “[A] book for the ages.” A celebrated Irish writer’s magisterial, brilliantly insightful chronicle of the wrenching transformations that dragged his homeland into the modern world. Fintan O’Toole was born in the year the revolution began. It was 1958, and the Irish government—in despair, because all the young people were leaving—opened the country to foreign investment and popular culture. So began a decades-long, ongoing experiment with Irish national identity. In We Don’t Know Ourselves, O’Toole, one of the Anglophone world’s most consummate stylists, weaves his own experiences into Irish social, cultural, and economic change, showing how Ireland, in just one lifetime, has gone from a reactionary “backwater” to an almost totally open society—perhaps the most astonishing national transformation in modern history. Born to a working-class family in the Dublin suburbs, O’Toole served as an altar boy and attended a Christian Brothers school, much as his forebears did. He was enthralled by American Westerns suddenly appearing on Irish television, which were not that far from his own experience, given that Ireland’s main export was beef and it was still not unknown for herds of cattle to clatter down Dublin’s streets. Yet the Westerns were a sign of what was to come. O’Toole narrates the once unthinkable collapse of the all-powerful Catholic Church, brought down by scandal and by the activism of ordinary Irish, women in particular. He relates the horrific violence of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, which led most Irish to reject violent nationalism. In O’Toole’s telling, America became a lodestar, from John F. Kennedy’s 1963 visit, when the soon-to-be martyred American president was welcomed as a native son, to the emergence of the Irish technology sector in the late 1990s, driven by American corporations, which set Ireland on the path toward particular disaster during the 2008 financial crisis. A remarkably compassionate yet exacting observer, O’Toole in coruscating prose captures the peculiar Irish habit of “deliberate unknowing,” which allowed myths of national greatness to persist even as the foundations were crumbling. Forty years in the making, We Don’t Know Ourselves is a landmark work, a memoir and a national history that ultimately reveals how the two modes are entwined for all of us.
Download or read book The Wicked Wit of Prince Philip written by Karen Dolby and published by Michael O'Mara. This book was released on 2017-11-02 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This joyous and timely book celebrates Prince Philip's supremely wicked wit - from his notorious one-liners to less newsworthy witticisms and wry humour.
Download or read book Small Things Like These written by Claire Keegan and published by Grove Press. This book was released on 2021-11-30 with total page 79 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize "A hypnotic and electrifying Irish tale that transcends country, transcends time." —Lily King, New York Times bestselling author of Writers & Lovers Small Things Like These is award-winning author Claire Keegan's landmark new novel, a tale of one man's courage and a remarkable portrait of love and family It is 1985 in a small Irish town. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Bill Furlong, a coal merchant and family man faces into his busiest season. Early one morning, while delivering an order to the local convent, Bill makes a discovery which forces him to confront both his past and the complicit silences of a town controlled by the church. An international bestseller, Small Things Like These is a deeply affecting story of hope, quiet heroism, and empathy from one of our most critically lauded and iconic writers.
Download or read book Red written by Jacky Colliss Harvey and published by Black Dog & Leventhal. This book was released on 2015-06-09 with total page 363 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Red is a brilliantly told, captivating history of red hair throughout the ages. A book that breaks new ground, dispels myths, and reinforces the special nature of being a redhead, with a look at multiple disciplines, including science, religion, politics, feminism and sexuality, literature, and art. With an obsessive fascination that is as contagious as it is compelling, author Jacky Colliss Harvey (herself a redhead) begins her exploration of red hair in prehistory and traces the redhead gene as it made its way out of Africa with the early human diaspora to its emergence under Northern skies. She goes on to explore red hair in the ancient world; the prejudice manifested against red hair across medieval Europe; red hair during the Renaissance as both an indicator of Jewishness during the Inquisition and the height of fashion in Protestant England, under the reign of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I; the modern age of art and literature, and the first positive symbols of red hair in children's characters; modern medicine and science and the genetic and chemical decoding of red hair; and finally, red hair in contemporary culture, from advertising and exploitation to "gingerism" and the new movement against bullying.
Download or read book Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog written by Lisa Scottoline and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2010-10-12 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At last, together in one collection, are Lisa Scottoline's wildly popular Philadelphia Inquirer columns.
