Banish awkward silences, boring weather talk, or (worst of all) the embarrassing conversation gaff with this pithy, hilarious guide to effortless party banter. We’ve all been there. You’re at a party, surrounded by the most important people in your life. You’re cool. You’re casual. You’re witty and urbane. Until suddenly, quite unexpectedly, things take a turn for the worse when a subject thought to be common knowledge is lobbed your way. A hush falls over the room and every head seems to swivel expectantly in your direction. [ART: SET THESE OFF IN A DIFFERENT COLOR?] “Rasputin. Sure, Rasputin. The Russian guy, right? Who . . . who . . . whooooo was Russian.” “Che Guevara? You mean the dancer?” “Oh my God! Mao Tse-tung? They have the best chicken with cashews!” The Concise Guide to Sounding Smart at Parties was written with just this moment in mind. In fourteen pain-free, laughter-filled chapters, authors David Matalon and Chris Woolsey brush away years of cobwebs on subjects as wide-ranging as the typical round of Jeopardy: war, science, politics, philosophy, the arts, business, literature, music, religion, and more. Armed with The Concise Guide to Sounding Smart at Parties, you’ll know that Chicago Seven wasn’t a boy band, Martin Luther never fought for civil rights, and Franz Kafka isn’t German for “I have a bad cold.” You’ll be the smart one who’s the center of conversation—and nothing beats that feeling.

The Concise Guide to Sounding Smart at Parties: An Irreverent Compendium of Must-Know Info from Sputnik to Smallpox and Marie Curie to Mao

Matalon, David

Woolsey, Chris

Reference

Crown

Hey, hey, kiddos, and welcome to the most deliriously insane circus-carnival roadshow you've ever laid eyes on! Well, maybe not so much a roadshow as a several-hundred-page book, but what a book! It's got thrills, chills, spills (as in blood), mills (I'm sure there's a windmill to be found in here somewhere), and plenty of other words that rhyme, too! I am your undead host Uncle Aberrant coming to you straight from the underworld, and I'm honored to be your guide through these twelve twisted tales of zany cosmic horror, which is possibly not an established genre but let's just pretend it is, k? Truth is, I've always been half-risk taker, half-innovator, and half-down and dirty scoundrel, so this is totally my vibe. Just ask about one of my sordid Andy Warhol stories sometime....IF YOU DARE! (scared, yet?) So what exactly is Zany Cosmic Horror(TM)? Well, it's just like it sounds. Take one part HP Lovecraft and another part Jim Carrey (or other relevant funnyman if you're reading this in the future), then sprinkle liberally with oodles of bat-guano crazy ideas that probably aren't suitable for publishing. (uhhhhhh...don't tell my publisher, yeah? I really need this deal to go through. The Underground Mafia (and I mean WAY underground) is days away from breaking my thumbs. Which are in bad shape as it is, being undead and all.) I know, I know, you're like, "Unkie Abs, baby, what's the haps daddy-o, just give it to me straight." And to this, I say, "just jive, baby, just jive!" Which is another way of telling you not to overthink this. These are fun, scary, crazy, zany, creative, larger-than-life stories, well-written and designed to bring you an insanely good time-emphasis on insane. From sentient space potatoes to galaxy-consuming fluffballs, no idea is too out-there for this collection. So crack open the book and join the madness, everyone, with Uncle Aberrant's Compendium of Cosmic Delights!

Uncle Aberrant's Compendium of Cosmic Delights

Literature & Fiction

Peters, Jason

Macaulay, Ashton

Kurland, Daniel

Roberts, M.T.

Jun, Emma

Mariner, Ben

Krauss, Vanessa

Literature, Aberrrant

Dorsey, Nick

Genre Fiction

Aberrant Literature

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