It's a widely accepted fact that fishermen love to spin a yarn. Indeed, fishing and its lifestyle have spawned some of the greatest works of fiction in all of the Western literary canon. Here are collected thirteen humorous short stories, from the pen of authors such as Ernest Hemingway, Lord Edward Dunsany and Jerome K. Jerome.
#1 New York Times Bestseller “Funny and smart as hell” (Bill Gates), Allie Brosh’s Hyperbole and a Half showcases her unique voice, leaping wit, and her ability to capture complex emotions with deceptively simple illustrations. FROM THE PUBLISHER: Every time Allie Brosh posts something new on her hugely popular blog Hyperbole and a Half the internet rejoices. This full-color, beautifully illustrated edition features more than fifty percent new content, with ten never-before-seen essays and one wholly revised and expanded piece as well as classics from the website like, “The God of Cake,” “Dogs Don’t Understand Basic Concepts Like Moving,” and her astonishing, “Adventures in Depression,” and “Depression Part Two,” which have been hailed as some of the most insightful meditations on the disease ever written. Brosh’s debut marks the launch of a major new American humorist who will surely make even the biggest scrooge or snob laugh. We dare you not to. FROM THE AUTHOR: This is a book I wrote. Because I wrote it, I had to figure out what to put on the back cover to explain what it is. I tried to write a long, third-person summary that would imply how great the book is and also sound vaguely authoritative—like maybe someone who isn’t me wrote it—but I soon discovered that I’m not sneaky enough to pull it off convincingly. So I decided to just make a list of things that are in the book: Pictures Words Stories about things that happened to me Stories about things that happened to other people because of me Eight billion dollars* Stories about dogs The secret to eternal happiness* *These are lies. Perhaps I have underestimated my sneakiness!
Actor and passionate fisherman Robson Green is on a mission to discover the weird, the wonderful and the way-off-limits that the angling world has to offer. Working alongside some of the finest in their field, his exhilarating adventure series Extreme Fishing with Robson Greentakes him to the greatest fishing destinations ever seen; chasing the most elusive and terrifying creatures on the planet, learning new tricks, hearing old stories and eating pretty much everything he catches. From ice fishing in Siberia, mining eggs on the side of an active volcano in Papua New Guinea and struggling with the Mekong Giant Catfish in Thailand, to surviving a Force 10 hurricane on a Canadian trawler, catching a thirty-pound King Salmon in Patagonia and dancing the Salsa in Havana, this is an extraordinary modern-day fishing odyssey with tales of victory, defeat, struggle and joy. Complete with exclusive off-camera capers, top locations and best and worst catches, this laugh-out-loud adventure is jam-packed full of facts, fishing tips and, most importantly, fun.
With honesty, wit and erudition, the acclaimed author of Pavlov’s Trout delves into the philosophical lessons learned from a lifetime of fishing. Despite its title, Fishing Lessons will not show readers how to fish. In fact, you don't even have to like to fish to enjoy and appreciate the latest book from renowned psychologist, fisherman, and essayist Paul Quinnett. Fishing Lessons is a rich mix of anecdotes, observations, essays, short stories, one-liners, and personal revelations from Quinnett's rich life and fishing journals. In his straightforward style, Quinnett rounds out the trilogy that began with Pavlov's Trout and Darwin's Bass, the first books ever written on the psychology of fishing. This time he tackles the philosophy of fishing—a philosophy of enjoying life. Over the course of its pages, Fishing Lessons provides satisfying essays that won't so much teach you about fishing as they will teach you about yourself.
If you think fishing is a simple matter of casting off from a river bank with a rod and reel then you are about to find out it is much more than that. Obsessive fisherman Kevin Ireland recounts how the sport is a passionate love affair with the natural world. Since getting hooked as a boy, Ireland has punted on wild Irish lakes, clambered over medieval abbeys, trawled through old texts, and spent several thousand hours actually fishing. This book he says, is the sum total of all he now knows, or will ever know about catching a fish.
God Went Fishing tells the remarkable story of Sigmund, a handsome and kind young man who led an idyllic life until learning the woman he thought to be his mother had stolen him from the hospital where she'd just given birth, leaving her real child behind. This satirical novel follows Sigmund's adventures and catastrophes as he searches for his true identity. While enjoying this cross between Candide and "Family Guy," readers see that a life filled with death, despair, and deceit can be fun. Perhaps the real reason Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden was because it was boring. God Went Fishing is often offensive, sometimes poignant, occasionally edifying-and always funny. Readers will long remember the characters Sigmund encounters during his quest. What more can one ask from any work of fiction than to make you think and make you laugh? God Went Fishing accomplishes both.
More than fish tales in this delightful book, readers will discover stories about the special relationships that develop through fishing-between parents and children, between friends and lovers, between fisherman, nature, and the elusive fish.
Brilliant, witty, perceptive essays about fly-fishing, the natural world, and life in general by the acknowledged master of fishing writers. With his inimitable combination of wit and wisdom, John Gierach once again celebrates the fly-fishing life in Standing in a River Waving a Stick and notes its benefits as a sport, philosophical pursuit, even therapy: “The solution to any problem—work, love, money, whatever—is to go fishing, and the worse the problem, the longer the trip should be.” After all, fly-fishing does teach important life lessons, says Gierach—about solitude, patience, perspective, humor, and the sublime coffee break. Recounting both memorable fishing spots and memorable fish, Gierach discusses what makes a good fly pattern, the ethics of writing about undiscovered trout waters, the dread of getting skunked, and the camaraderie of fellow fishermen who can end almost any conversation with “Well, it’s sort of like fishing, isn’t it?” Reflecting on a lifetime of lessons learned at the end of a fly rod, Gierach concludes, “The one inscription you don’t want carved on your tombstone is ‘The Poor Son of a Bitch Didn’t Fish Enough.’” Fortunately for Gierach fans, this is not likely to happen.
From a grueling 37-hour fight with a Pacific salmon to the maimed fisherman whose severed thumb turned up in the belly of a Mackinaw trout. From extraordinary marlin quests to hair-raising tales of "fish catches man," here are fishing's 80 most unpredictable and spectacular tales. To get them, Shaun Morey-a fanatical fisherman and inveterate story collector-traveled from Alaska to Australia, Mexico, and the Caribbean to interview anglers, boat captains, guides and witnesses; to dig up photographs, and to confirm each tale. You'll read about Captain Jimmy Lewis who, in a moment of sheer bravado (or insanity), speared by hand-and landed-a 1,600-pound hammerhead shark. Or Bob Smith, fulfilling his twenty-year quest to catch all forty species of North America's wild trout on the bitter cold morning after his eighty-first birthday. Or the 800-pound blue marlin that made a final lunge-ripping up the deck and dragging a chair, with Paul Clause strapped in it, to the bottom of the ocean. (Paul survived; so did the marlin.) Truth is stranger than fiction.
Readers of Diary of a Wimpy Kid will love Cheesie's wacky lists, drawings, and made-up words as he tells the story of the weirdest election in the history of the sixth grade! In his third adventure, Cheesie and his best friend, Georgie, are off to middle school, where there will be lots of new kids and new teachers. Cheesie has a terrific idea--what better way to meet all the new kids than to run for class president? Plus, if he wins, it'll drive his evil older sister nuts! Then Cheesie gets bad news. One of his friends from his old school is also running for president. Cheesie has a tough decision to make, one that could affect his entire middle-school career. Should he bow out and support his friend, or go for the glory?
