Running Humor

In late 2003, in his column in Entertainment Weekly, Stephen King called The Memory of Running "the best novel you won't read this year." This glowing endorsement of the audiobook resulted in Ron McLarty receiving a $2 million two-book deal from Viking Penguin. Also, Warner Brothers has shelled out big bucks for the movie rights to The Memory of Running, for which McLarty will write the script.

Running with Scissors is the true story of a boy whose mother (a poet with delusions of being Anne Sexton) gave him away to be raised by her psychiatrist, a dead ringer for Santa and a lunatic in the bargain.

THE RUNNER NEXT DOOR is the amusing, enlightening account of one man’s transition from unhealthy couch potato to successful ultra-runner, all in the space of a year. When Barry moves in next door to Martin, the middle-aged running veteran is far from impressed by the morose, overweight southern bloke who looks so out of place in the affluent seaside town of St Anne’s. The somewhat snobbish narrator assumes Barry to be an incorrigible slob until his astute wife Caroline sees the newcomer marching towards the beach in his vintage tracksuit and trainers. From that moment on Martin is eager...

When twelve-year-old Eddie Gordon Holloway and his friends are left home from Beach Bash, aka the greatest party of the year, only to realize that everyone in town has disappeared without a trace, they do what any smart, responsible kids would do . . . have the best day ever! No parental supervision sounds fun for a while, but forever is a long time. And soon the gang starts to notice strange things happening around town, and they're only getting stranger. They have to figure out what happened to their families.

Running with Scissors is the true story of a boy whose mother (a poet with delusions of being Anne Sexton) gave him away to be raised by her psychiatrist, a dead ringer for Santa and a lunatic in the bargain.

If there was one piece of advice Olive Crisp always followed, it was that "one should never attempt to solve a crime on an empty stomach..." 1970s. Cambridge, England. A LIZARD, A MONKEY & A MURDER: When a tyrannical businessman is murdered Olive discovers that half the citizens of Cambridge wanted him dead. And finding which one actually killed him is like trying to find a poisonous needle in a murderous haystack. A COSY COMMUNITY: Events take a turn for the bizarre when the victim’s son begs Olive to rescue his kidnapped lizard. Are the two crimes connected? As Olive delves deeper into ...

Smart-mouthed Keane and feared warrior Sarah escape the mercenaries of Wallace’s Company to start somewhere fresh, where no one is trying to kill them. Keane steals the company’s wages in return for his attempted murder, and Sarah agrees to the plan. Unfortunately, Keane doesn’t have one. On the run from the vengeful lord marshal and his wicked mercenary cutthroats, Sarah and Keane hop from danger to disaster.

She's a take-no-prisoners fireball. He's a sweet-talking charmer. It could be love...if they don't kill each other first. Hotshot lawyer Luanne Price may not believe in happily ever after, but she'd do just about anything to earn her absentee father's love. So when he waltzes back into her life with a plan for her to marry his business associate, she foolishly agrees. But on the wedding day things go south. Fast. Luanne's desperate to get away, even if that means hitching a cross-country ride with the infuriating Jack Avery. Jack needs to get Luanne out of his system. He'll watch her tie the knot and forget about her. Once she's married to another man, then she'll be off-limits forever. Solid plan. Until he spots her army-crawling through the bushes to escape the Wedding of the Season. He knows he should let someone else deal with the runaway bride. But if there's one thing Jack has never been able to do, it's resist Luanne. Will their romance rev up on the open road, or will Jack and Luanne crash and burn? Running With a Sweet Talker is the second book in a series of comedic contemporary romance novels. If you like zany characters, razor-sharp wit, and unlikely love stories, then you'll love the first book in Jami Albright's Brides on the Run series.

Ageing as a runner is no joke. Paul Tonkinson discovers that in running, as in life, you are gradually overtaken by a stream of young people wearing clothes you couldn't get into and in shoes you don't recognize. He observes that your relationship with running changes – you no longer run as fast as you can, you run as fast as your body can handle, which is slow. So, embrace it. Why not the toughest footrace on earth? The Marathon Des Sables, a week-long, 250 km self-sufficient sweat fest across the Sahara Desert. What could possibly go wrong?

Good girl Leah’s tidy world pivoted off course when bad-boy Ryan flashed his smile. For the first time, Leah feels needed and has a purpose. Keep Ryan in line. Once the give-and-take of married life became difficult, Ryan turned abusive to his wife and evidently to his young child. Leah made the courageous decision to keep her son safe. She takes a position as a home schoolteacher and nanny in the Sandhills of western Nebraska which she hoped would be the last place her husband would look. Tom Anderson fell in love with Susie in the third grade. They believed that their life was perfect, ...

Scarlett Kelly is the poster child for responsible living. Growing up as the daughter of the town floozy, she's made it her mission to be the exact opposite of her mother. So when she wakes up naked and hung over in bed with a bad-boy rock star, she bolts immediately. There's only one problem: Scarlett's bedmate is her new husband. Gavin needs to repair his image, or his music career will go down the tubes. He's also just learned he has a son he never knew existed. He needs to settle down, and bribing his new wife to stay married may just fit everything into place.

The year is 1995, and Gina leaves a failed relationship for a California Dream, only to find she can’t afford rent in the promised land. That’s OK, she’s not alone; the nonprofit social service agency that hires her into an entry level mental health job is dominated by a gang of sophomoric slackers, who literally spend 24/7 on the job; since they don’t get paid enough to pay rent, they simply don’t. It’s a makeshift commune of sorts, evolved of necessity. This fictional biography is a darkly comic, social services satire; the action has moved off the grounds of the State ...

In the heart of Aleppo, under the cloak of a sweltering summer night, Um Hussam and her family face an unexpected twist. Their tranquil boredom is interrupted by a break-in which triggers a series of suspenseful events and unexpected twists. Another witty tale by Anna Halabi, author of Syrian Brides, about life in Syria. Dead Man Running tells the gripping tale of their unexpected encounter with a desperate thief, whose intrusion unravels a tapestry of secrets and lies.

If there was one piece of advice Olive Crisp always followed, it was that "one should never attempt to solve a crime on an empty stomach..." 1970s. Cambridge, England. A BODY IN THE GRAVEYARD: When Olive stumbles upon a dead body while walking Biscuit one morning, she decides to investigate. The bumbling police force aren't making much progress with the local community but Olive, with a combination of her charm and delicious baked goods, manages to persuade potential witnesses to open up and reveal secrets about the victim and clues that could lead to the catching of his killer. A COSY ...

Can you trust a god they call Oathbreaker? Vervain Lavine needs a little time to figure things out. Things like how to control the multiple beasts and magics inside her. Or how to lead a Pride of werelions who act more like a bunch of frat boys than grown men. She needs to work out her relationship with Trevor, the werewolf Prince bonded to her, and figure out if his grandfather, Loki, is serious in his repentance or is just up to more of his tricks. Demeter's still on the run after her attempt on Trevor's life and it'd be great if Vervain could figure out where she's hiding before the ...

The hilarious trials and tribulations of stand-up comedian Paul Tonkinson as he attempts to beat the much lauded three-hour mark at the London Marathon. With a supporting cast of fellow comedians, this is a warmly written and wonderfully honest adventure-through-sport that will both entertain and inspire. Along the way, we are introduced to the characters helping Paul with his quest. Celebrity names such as Bryony Gordon, Russell Howard, Roisin Conaty and Vassos Alexander pop up with wit and wisdom....

Former child star Charlie Klein is in a world of trouble. She's broke, jobless, and no longer famous - except with the IRS. She's ready to run, so an emergency call from Texas is all the excuse she needs to get out of Hollywood. But she doesn't expect to crash into the sheriff of her hometown - the boy she loved and lost. One look at Hank Odom confirms what her heart has always known: She never stopped loving him.

"If there was one piece of advice Olive Crisp always followed, it was that “one should never attempt to solve a crime on an empty stomach..."' 1970s. Cambridge, England. A MYSTERIOUS MURDER AT MIDNIGHT: When a student falls from the turrets of King’s College, Cambridge and the police rule his death as accidental, Olive consults her tarot cards - which confirm her suspicions of murder - and decides to take the investigation into her own hands. A COSY COMMUNITY: Fortunately, the college porter is a loyal customer of Olive’s cafe, The Biscuit Tin, and when she plies him with his ...

Full of wry humor and deep compassion for our modern vulnerabilities, the stories in Frog and Toad Are Doing Their Best perfectly capture the heartwarming authenticity of Lobel’s famous amphibian friends while revealing razor-sharp truths about the world we live in today. Through Frog and Toad, we see the anxieties that are woven throughout our everyday existence, from our well-meaning but often failed attempts at practicing self-care to our struggle to balance the gifts and burdens of technology.

Jack, a retired police officer, decides he and Toby, his oversized orange tabby, need a holiday after their last big case so Jack rents a lake cottage in the Kingston area.Violet is lonely and tired of being everyone's go-to. having wanted to write a novel for years, she decides the only way she will be able to is to "run away." She also rents a lake cottage not far from Kingston.Syd has escaped from the Kingston Penitentiary and is looking for a place to hide out. Thinking the cottage he comes across might be empty, he enters, only to be confronted by Violet. He knows there is an ...