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Party Like It's 2044
Finding the Funny in Life and Death
by Joni B. Cole
Published by: University of New Mexico Press
240 Pages, 5.50 x 8.50 in
Author Joni B. Cole worries that Vlad the Impaler may be a distant cousin. She feuds with a dead medium. She thinks (or overthinks) about insulting birthday cards, power trips, and the real reason writers hate Amazon. And she wishes, really wishes, all those well-meaning people would stop talking about Guatemala. At once irreverent and thought provoking, Cole's collection is a joy ride through eclectic essays that arrive smack on that sweet spot between soul searching and social commentary, between humor and heft.
Joni B. Cole teaches creative writing and is a frequent speaker at academic programs, conferences, and social-service organizations across the country. She is the author of seven books, including Good Naked: How to Write More, Write Better, and Be Happier, Revised and Expanded Edition and Toxic Feedback: Helping Writers Survive and Thrive, Revised and Expanded Edition (both from UNM Press). She is a contributor to The Writer and the host of the podcast Author, Can I Ask You?
"Here is a voice giving us a welcome break: vibrant, provocative, funny, and flavorful--Cole's self-ironic, audacious wit both cheers and consoles. Showing a delicate compassion for her subjects and 'toastees' while never letting herself off the hook, Cole's deep and generous thinking makes room for fresh air: worth breathing deeply."--Joan Frank, author of Late Work: A Literary Autobiography of Love, Loss, and What I Was Reading
"Fabulously readable and thoroughly engaging, it is Cole's voice that makes her stories sing. Whether she's leading us into laughter or holding our hand through dazzling moments of emotional recognition, Cole takes writing seriously while taking herself lightly, and thereby illuminating the world with these brief, memorable essays."--Gina Barreca, author of They Used to Call Me Snow White . . . But I Drifted: Women's Strategic Use of Humor
"Full of wit, honesty, and hilarious tangents, Joni's writing makes me feel like I'm sitting in a cozy corner of a coffee shop listening to my funniest friend spill her guts. Party Like It's 2044 had me laughing and gasping--'I can't believe you just said that!'--and had everyone else in the coffee shop wondering, Why is that girl in the corner laughing and talking to herself?"--Kristen Mulrooney, coauthor of Gilmore Girls: The Official Cookbook
"Cole writes what so many of us are secretly thinking, from the insecurity to the snark. With keen observation and irresistible wit, she is the Seinfeld of single authors of a certain age."--Leslie Lehr, author of A Boob's Life: How America's Obsession Shaped Me . . . and You
We'll Never Have Guatemala
The Other Woman
Our Old House
Dear Mr. Impaler
Winning Women
Let It Lie
Party Like It's 2044
But Enough about Me
Spirit Animal Tricks
Like a Punch to the Kidneys
Recalculating . . . Recalculating . . . Recalculating
The Seven-Year Bitch
Why Cotton Mather Was a Hero: A Five-Paragraph Essay
FLAWSOME!
Hot as Hell
The Grandpa Robe
Dear Ex (Ex?) Friend
Clearing the Air
No Podium for Old Men: A Transcript of the Introductory Remarks at the "Diversity Enhancement Award" Ceremony at Walter S. Walters College
Conversation Interruptus
Lambies in Jammies!
Testing Negative
My Four-Mile Run: The Official, Ordinary Tour
Queen Be
120 Seconds: A Too-Short Movie
Will Work For . . .
One Day at a Time
Save the Date
The Weird Place
The Real Reasons Writers Hate Amazon
The Age of Authenticity
Social Grooming
Appreciations
About the Author
The Other Woman
Our Old House
Dear Mr. Impaler
Winning Women
Let It Lie
Party Like It's 2044
But Enough about Me
Spirit Animal Tricks
Like a Punch to the Kidneys
Recalculating . . . Recalculating . . . Recalculating
The Seven-Year Bitch
Why Cotton Mather Was a Hero: A Five-Paragraph Essay
FLAWSOME!
Hot as Hell
The Grandpa Robe
Dear Ex (Ex?) Friend
Clearing the Air
No Podium for Old Men: A Transcript of the Introductory Remarks at the "Diversity Enhancement Award" Ceremony at Walter S. Walters College
Conversation Interruptus
Lambies in Jammies!
Testing Negative
My Four-Mile Run: The Official, Ordinary Tour
Queen Be
120 Seconds: A Too-Short Movie
Will Work For . . .
One Day at a Time
Save the Date
The Weird Place
The Real Reasons Writers Hate Amazon
The Age of Authenticity
Social Grooming
Appreciations
About the Author
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