Thursday, March 6, 2014

Readers' Choice Spotlight - Humor

Remember to vote for your pick in each category and to enter the giveaway on this page.

Bad Book by K.S. Brooks, Stephen Hise, JD Mader

The name’s Case. Just Case, that’s all. No first name. He is a man among men and therefore only one name is sufficient. Women want to smack him – men want to smack him, too, just harder. Join Case on his epic travels through multiple literary genres as he ruins horror, space-adventure, noir detective, spy-thriller, westerns, classics of literature, pop culture icons and more with his own unique panache. Never before has a spoof conquered so much with so little.

Laugh's Last by Dylan Brody

There may not be boxes strong enough for the weight of memory, but some books can do the trick. Laughs Last is a rumination on family, legacy, talent, and the fluidity of time, a poignant dream of adulthood coming in fits and starts to our protagonist Damon Blazer. With a quick mind and an instinct to flee (preferably before getting punched, but not before getting in a punchline), Blazer comes from a family whose laughs never mean just one thing. He struggles to glean what lessons he can from his brutish and detached brother, his grieving but understanding mother, and his aloof but proud father, but it’s the inheritance of his grandfather’s lessons that truly form the backbone of Blazer’s biography. In his relationship with the storied comedian and the slow reveal of just what Damon did at his grandfather’s funeral, readers find a gripping narrative that holds our attention from the first page to the last.


The author deftly bobs and weaves through a disjointed timeline that runs like an extended callback, revealing a storyteller who can’t pause for audience reaction because he has something more important to do. By seeing the stages of grief revealed across a lifetime, readers are left to wonder whether memories are enlarged by tunnel vision or by virtue of actual weight. Is that water-colored feeling of nostalgia—available at any age—imparted by the true flow of time, or must we acquiesce to the facts of chronology? Blazer fumbles to avoid feeling foolish, to avoid being a hack, to avoid a lifetime of nothing special. And while he’s at it, we meet a novelist for a new century. Ladies and gentlemen, Dylan Brody.


Satan Loves You by Grady Hendrix

Satan hates his job. 

Managing Hell is the worst job ever invented and after several millenia of listening to the constant whining of damned souls, the Lord of Darkness is completely and totally burnt out. But there are no holidays in Hell, and now, in the face of a power grab by the officious and smarmy Heavenly Host, Satan's got to reach deep and find a way to save his home from corporate takeover. 


Featuring hat-wearing chihuahuas, hyper-violent nuns with poor impulse control, and metaphysical wrestling matches, Satan Loves You is the book for everyone who hates boring books. Do you love romance? Do you adore fantasy epics about anorexic elves who sing? Is your idea of a perfect evening curling up with a cozy mystery and a nice cup of tea? Then go away! Satan Loves You is a high-octane injection of literary adrenaline that annihilates romance, kills elves, and makes hot tea explode into a massive fireball that will melt your face!


Will You Love Me Tomorrow by Danny Gillan

Some aspiring musicians wait a lifetime for that elusive record deal. Bryan Rivers waited three days longer. 

As if dealing with the suicide of her clinically depressed husband wasn’t difficult enough, to Claire Rivers’ amazement one of the biggest record companies in the country suddenly wants to offer him a contract. 
When his ‘status’ is viewed as only a minor inconvenience, she begins to wonder if someone, somewhere, is playing a very distasteful joke on her. 


Set in 2006, Will You Love Me Tomorrow is a comedy about death, depression, grief, loss, friendship, family, haircuts and the music business. 

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