With his wry, observational humor, kitschy, childlike drawings and deadpan delivery, Demetri Martin has become one of most famous comedians for a generation heavy on apathy and irony. Known as a contributor for “The Daily Show” and for his own show “Important Things with Demetri Martin,” Martin has released his first book, aptly titled, “This is a Book.”
There’s been debate about what exactly Tina Fey’s book, “Bossypants,” is. Is it “a sort-of memoir” as The Washington Post describes it? Or is it, as Entertainment Weekly says, a “genially jumbled memoir-esque collection”?
Bureaucracy, as a concept, could be described as otherworldly. In its grip, a bureaucracy has undeniable power, akin to weaponized tediousness, to make you understand both its terrible largeness and your insignificant smallness.
Poet Billy Collins said during an NPR interview with Neal Conan this past week that poets themselves deserve much of the blame for their craft’s waning importance to the average reader. Too often poets show off with obscure verses that lose the reader’s interest.
For years, author Daniel Handler has been entertaining readers of all ages with his darkly humorous “A Series of Unfortunate Events” books, written under his more commonly known pen name: Lemony Snicket.
Fans of the NPR program “This American Life” will recognize Mike Birbiglia from his occasional contributions to the show, including his breakthrough segment, which recounted his time as a sleepwalker and how he would literally act out his dreams.
Judy Collins sat at a table on the third floor of BookPeople Friday afternoon, casually sipping a cold Diet Coke. Known for singing alongside some of the great folk artists of the ’60s like Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell, Collins, 71, prepared herself before going on stage to sing some of her classic songs and talk about her new children’s book, “Over the Rainbow.”