Nicholas Jon Paul Martin William Annabelle Tydings is a curious young daredevil who walks to the beat of his own drum. His sensible side also yearns for respect. Why do people often tell him things that he knows cannot be true? Young Nicholas brushes off the hype in his matter-of-fact way, silently longing for the love and admiration of the people he holds dear. Will energetic curiosity and a daredevil attitude keep Nicholas from learning the truth about the world around him?
A 2022 Best Comedy Book, Vulture A rousing call for liberals and progressives to pay attention to the emergence of right-wing comedy and the political power of humor. "Why do conservatives hate comedy? Why is there no right-wing Jon Stewart?" These sorts of questions launch a million tweets, a thousand op-eds, and more than a few scholarly analyses. That's Not Funny argues that it is both an intellectual and politically strategic mistake to assume that comedy has a liberal bias. Matt Sienkiewicz and Nick Marx take readers––particularly self-described liberals––on a tour of contemporary conservative comedy and the "right-wing comedy complex." In That's Not Funny, "complex" takes on an important double meaning. On the one hand, liberals have developed a social-psychological complex—it feels difficult, even dangerous, to acknowledge that their political opposition can produce comedy. At the same time, the right has been slowly building up a comedy-industrial complex, utilizing the humorous, irony-laden media strategies of liberals such as Jon Stewart, Samantha Bee, and John Oliver to garner audiences and supporters. Right-wing comedy has been hiding in plain sight, finding its way into mainstream conservative media through figures ranging from Fox News's Greg Gutfeld to libertarian podcasters like Joe Rogan. That's Not Funny taps interviews with conservative comedians and observations of them in action to guide readers through media history, text, and technique. You will find many of these comedians utterly appalling, some surprisingly funny, and others just plain weird. They are all, however, culturally and politically relevant—the American right is attempting to seize spaces of comedy and irony previously held firmly by the left. You might not like this brand of humor, but you can't ignore it.
Logan St. James is a smoldering, sexy beast. Sure, he can be a little broody at times—but Ellie Hammond’s willing to overlook that. Because, have you seen him?? Sexy. As. Hell. And Ellie’s perky enough for both of them. For years, she’s had a crush on the intense, protective royal security guard—but she doesn’t think he ever saw her, not really. To Logan, Ellie was just part of the job—a relative of the royal family he’d sworn to protect. Now, at 22 years old and fresh out of college, she’s determined to put aside her X-rated dreams of pat-downs and pillow talk, and find a real life happily ever after. The Queen of Wessco encourages Ellie to follow in her sister’s footsteps and settle down with a prince of her own. Or a duke, a marquis…a viscount would also do nicely. But in the pursuit of a fairy tale ending, Ellie learns that the sweetest crushes can be the hardest to let go. *** Logan St. James grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, in a family on the wrong side of the law. But these days, he covers his tattoos and scars with a respectable suit. He’s handsome, loyal, brave, skilled with his hands and…other body parts. Any woman would be proud to bring him home to her family. But there’s only one woman he wants. For years he’s watched over her, protected her, held her hair back when she was sick, taught her how to throw a punch, and spot a liar. He dreams of her. Would lay down his life for her. But beautiful Ellie Hammond’s off-limits. Everybody knows the bodyguard rules: Never lose focus, never let them out of your sight, and never, ever fall in love.
