Other People's Dirt: A Housecleaner's Curious Adventures

My Life in Dog Years

Gary Paulsen · 137 pages

The author describes some of the dogs that have had special places in his life, including his first dog, Snowball, in the Phillippines; Dirk, who protected him from bullies; and Cookie, who saved his life.

I Blame Dennis Hopper: And Other Stories from a Life Lived In and Out of the Movies

Illeana Douglas

"In 1969, Illeana Douglas' parents saw the film Easy Rider. Like many folks of that generation, the groundbreaking film transformed them. Taking Dennis Hopper's words, "That's what it's all about man", to heart, they abandoned what Illeana had hoped would be her comfortable upper middle class life for a childhood filled with hippies, goats, free spirits, and free love. Illeana writes, "Since it wa

The Antelope in the Living Room: The Real Story of Two People Sharing One Life

Melanie Shankle · 262 pages

Theft by Finding: Diaries 1977-2002

David Sedaris · 528 pages

Normally, This Would Be Cause for Concern: Tales of Calamity and Unrelenting Awkwardness

Danielle Fishel · 213 pages

"A romp through Danielle's own imperfections and mild neuroses, [this is] a book for anyone who, like Danielle, has ever tripped and fallen down a flight of stairs in a room full of people, had a romantic moment with their significant other that was ruined by horrendous gas, or taken a Halloween photo without realizing there was a huge chunk of chocolate-covered strawberry in their teeth. Here is

Wildflower

Drew Barrymore · 288 pages

Wildflower is a portrait of Drew's life in stories as she looks back on the adventures, challenges, and incredible experiences of her earlier years. It includes tales of living on her own at 14 (and how laundry may have saved her life), getting stuck in a gas station overhang on a cross country road trip, saying goodbye to her father in a way only he could have understood, and many more adventures

Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith

Anne Lamott · 281 pages

"Anne Lamott takes us on a journey through her often troubled past to illuminate her devout but quirky walk of faith. In a narrative spiced with stories and scripture, with diatribes, laughter, and tears, Lamott tells how, against all odds, she came to believe in God and then, even more miraculously, in herself. She shows us the myriad ways in which this sustains and guides her, shining the light

My Life with Bob: Flawed Heroine Keeps Book of Books, Plot Ensues

Pamela Paul · 256 pages

"Imagine keeping a record of every book you ever read. What would those titles say about you? With humor and warmth, the editor of The New York Times Book Review shares the stories that have shaped her life. For twenty-eight years, Pamela Paul has been keeping a diary that records the books she reads, rather than the life she leads. Or does it? Over time, it's become clear that this Book of Books,

How to Grow Up

Michelle Tea · 287 pages

"A gutsy, wise memoir-in-essays from a writer praised as "impossible to put down" (People) As an aspiring young writer in San Francisco, Michelle Tea lived in a scuzzy communal house; she drank, smoked, snorted anything she got her hands on; she toiled for the minimum wage; and she dated men and women, and sometimes both at once. But between hangovers and dead-end jobs, she scrawled in notebooks a

Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality

Donald Miller · 256 pages

I Shouldn’t Be Telling You This [But I'm Going to Anyway]

Chelsea Devantez · 272 pages

If It's Not One Thing, It's Your Mother

Julia Sweeney · 246 pages

While Julia Sweeney is known as a talented comedienne and writer/performer of her one-woman shows, she is also a talented essayist--and the past few years have provided her with some rich material. Julia adopted a Chinese girl named Mulan and then, a few years later, married and moved from Los Angeles to Chicago. She writes about deciding to adopt her child, strollers, nannies, knitting, being ado

Swish: My Quest to Become the Gayest Person Ever

Joel Derfner · 272 pages

Joel Derfner is gayer than you. Don't feel too bad about it, though, because he has made being gayer than you his life's work. At summer day camp, when he was six, Derfner tried to sign up for needlepoint and flower arranging, but the camp counselors wouldn't let him, because, they said, those activities were for girls only. Derfner, just to be contrary, embarked that very day on a solemn and

Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself

Alan Alda · 247 pages

On the heels of his acclaimed memoir, Never Have Your Dog Stuffed, beloved actor and bestselling author Alan Alda has written Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself, an insightful and funny look at some of the impossible questions he's asked himself over the years: What do I value? What, exactly, is the good life? (And what does that even mean?)Picking up where his bestselling memoir left off-

Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die: Musings from the Road

Willie Nelson · 175 pages

America's greatest traveling bard Willie Nelson muses about the things that are most important to him and celebrates the family, friends, and colleagues who have blessed his remarkable journey.

Lady Parts

Andrea Martin · 352 pages

I Like You Just the Way I Am: Stories About Me and Some Other People

Jenny Mollen · 258 pages

"Jenny Mollen is an actress and writer living in Los Angeles. She is also a wife, married to a famous guy (which is annoying only because he gets free [stuff] and she doesn't). She doesn't want much from life. Just to be loved by everybody: her parents, her dogs, her ex-boyfriends, her ex-boyfriends, dogs, her husband, her husband's ex-girlfriends, her husband's ex-girlfriend's new boyfriends, etc

The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible

A.J. Jacobs · 492 pages

Raised in a secular family but interested in the relevance of faith in our modern world, A.J. Jacobs decides to attempt to obey the Bible as literally as possible for one full year. He vows to follow the Ten Commandments. To be fruitful and multiply. To love his neighbor. But also to obey the hundreds of less publicized rules: to avoid wearing clothes made of mixed fibers; to stone adulterers. The

Pretty in Plaid

Jen Lancaster · 365 pages

The hardcover debut from the New York Times bestselling author the prequel to Bitter is the New Black.In Pretty in Plaid, Jen Lancaster reveals how she developed the hubris that perpetually gets her into trouble. Using fashion icons of her youth to tell her hilarious and insightful stories, readers will meet the girl she used to be.Think Jen Lancaster was always like David Sedaris with pearls and

Has Anyone Seen My Pants?

Sarah Colonna · 278 pages

New York Times bestselling author Sarah Colonna is back with a hilarious, honest look at life in her late thirties--in all its messy, pants-missing glory.

Don't Lick the Minivan: And Other Things I Never Thought I'd Say to My Kids

Leanne Shirtliffe · 282 pages

Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things

Jenny Lawson

"In Furiously Happy, #1 New York Times bestselling author Jenny Lawson explores her lifelong battle with mental illness. A hysterical, ridiculous book about crippling depression and anxiety? That sounds like a terrible idea. But terrible ideas are what Jenny does best.As Jenny says: "Some people might think that being 'furiously happy' is just an excuse to be stupid and irresponsible and invite a

My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One-Night Stands

Chelsea Handler · 213 pages

Accidental Saints: Finding God in All the Wrong People

Nadia Bolz-Weber

What if that person you've been trying to avoid is your best shot at grace today? And what if that's the point? In Accidental Saints, New York Times best-selling au­thor Nadia Bolz-Weber invites readers into a surprising encounter with what she calls “a religious but not-so-spiritual life.” Tattooed, angry and profane, this former standup comic turned pastor stubbornly, sometimes hilariously