One of Canada’s top comedians shares the funniest stories from his life and career in this collection of hilarious essaysFor more than two decades, Gerry Dee has made audiences laugh, first as a hard-working stand-up comedian, and then as the star of his own CBC television program, Mr. D. Dee became a physical education teacher, thinking he would have it made: coaching, summers off and a good pension. But he found himself dreaming of a career in comedy, un...

Gerry Dee, a rising comic star, spent ten years working as a teacher and survived (barely) to tell his tales. Told from the honest point-of-view of a not-so-good, often-very-bad public school teacher--the kind who teaches hungover (and lies about it), loses his students' exams (and lies about it), and stages an impromptu baseball game in the middle of history class just to kill some time, Teaching: It's Harder Than It Looks is Mr. D at his best.This book collects Gerry's f...

One of Canada’s top comedians shares the funniest stories from his life and career in this collection of hilarious essaysFor more than two decades, Gerry Dee has made audiences laugh, first as a hard-working stand-up comedian, and then as the star of his own CBC television program, Mr. D. Dee became a physical education teacher, thinking he would have it made: coaching, summers off and a good pension. But he found himself dreaming of a career in comedy, un...

An all-new collection of furiously funny rants from the most recent seasons of the Rick Mercer Report plus three brilliantly written, previously unpublished pieces by Rick. Illustrated throughout with photos and snatches of dialogue from Rick’s encounters and exploits across Canada.“[Mercer’s] trademark one-camera rants against the Canadian parliamentary machine are more concise, and more believable, than any campaign ads.” —The Globe and Mail“The comedian of choic...

From the acclaimed author of Miss You Most of All comes a heartfelt, wonderfully affirming novel of sisterhood, healing, and new beginnings.No one could blame Bev Putterman for becoming estranged from her sister. No one but Bev, anyway. Growing up, Diana was difficult and selfish yet always their mother's favorite. And then came the betrayal that took away the future Bev dreamed of.Yet if Diana caused problems while alive, her death leaves Bev in a maelstrom of rem...

Top Ten Things You’ll Learn When You Read This Book:Jay was beaten up by an MMA fighter on live televisionInterviewing Will Ferrell can be a harrowing experienceJay once ruined a perfectly good pair of underwear on Christmas EveFailing as a stand-up comedian can lead to a job in broadcastingJay ran a marathon to get a ticket for the 2010 men’s Olympic gold-medal hockey game

Every young hockey player dreams of one day playing in the NHL, of skating on a line with his hero and drinking champagne in the dressing room after winning the Stanley Cup. But kids should watch what they wish for. They may make it to the pros, like Sean Pronger, only to end up playing for sixteen teams over eleven seasons. They may end up on a team with a guy like the Great One, but skate on his line only in practice when the bona fide first-line centre has the flu. And they may end up d...

The inspiration for the Sofia Coppola film. The true story of the privileged teenagers who stole millions of dollars worth of valuables from celebrities.With a list of victims that reads like a "Who's Who" of young Hollywood, including Lindsay Lohan, Orlando Bloom, Paris Hilton, and Rachel Bilson, The Bling Ring is the stuff of writers' imaginations—with one exception—it's a true story.The media asked: Why would a group of kids who already had designer clothe...

**In the tradition of Kitchen Confidential and Waiter Rant, a rollicking, eye-opening, fantastically indiscreet memoir of a life spent (and misspent) in the hotel industry.“Highly amusing."—New York Times**Jacob Tomsky never intended to go into the hotel business. As a new college graduate, armed only with a philosophy degree and a singular lack of career direction, he became a valet parker for a large luxury hotel in New Orleans. Yet, ri...

The view 16-year-old Thomas Osborne first had of Muskoka was at night, trudging alone with his even younger brother along unmarked primitive roads to find their luckless father who, in 1875, had decided to make a new start for his beleaguered family on some "free land" in the bush east of the pioneer village of Huntsville, Ontario. The miracle is that Thomas lived to tell the tale.For the next five years Thomas endured starvation, falling through the ice and freezing, accidents wit...

Kelly Oxford is . . .A wunderkind producer of pirated stage productions for six-year-oldsNot the queen of the worldAn underage schnitzel-house dishwasherThe kid who stood up to a bully and almost passed out from the resulting adrenaline rushA born salesmanCapable of willing her eyesight to be 20/20That girl who peed her pants in the gas station that one timeTotally an expert on strep throatIncapable of making Leonardo ...

Jim Gaffigan never imagined he would have his own kids.Though he grew up in a large Irish-Catholic family, Jim was satisfied with the nomadic, nocturnal life of a standup comedian, and was content to be "that weird uncle who lives in an apartment by himself in New York that everyone in the family speculates about." But all that changed when he married and found out his wife, Jeannie "is someone who gets pregnant looking at babies."Five kids later, the comed...