Cool, Calm & Contentious: Essays

Merrill Markoe

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Do you recommend this book?

Yes!

"This is so well written. [When a book like this] comes along, it's, like, 'Thank you!' What a great way to spend an afternoon, an evening, reading these essays. . . . Absolutely great."--Jon Stewart

"[Merrill] Markoe is easily as funny as David Sedaris. She's capable of manic riffs and acerbic skewering. Still, her good nature shines through."--The Washington Post

In this hilarious collection of candid essays, including two pieces new to this edition, New York Times bestselling author Merrill Markoe reveals much about her personal life--as well as the secret formula for comedy: Start out with a difficult mother, develop some classic teenage insecurities, add a few relationships with narcissistic men, toss in an unruly pack of selfish dogs, finish it off with the kind of crystalline perspective that only comes from years of navigating a roiling sea of unpleasant and unappeasable people, and--voilà--you're funny! Cool, Calm & Contentious is honest, unapologetic, sometimes heartbreaking, but always shot through with Merrill Markoe's biting, bracing wit.

"This has been a great year for funny women. . . . Let's call Tina Fey and Mindy Kaling exhibits A and B. Both owe a debt to those who came before, including Merrill Markoe."--The Boston Globe

"Markoe's goal is to find the absurdity in everyday life. That, coupled with her sharp wit, makes her writing sublime."--BookPage

"Laugh-out-loud humor."--Tampa Bay Times

"Not only crazy-funny, but crazy-heartbreaking."--The New York Times

Book Details

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Publish Date: Aug 7th, 2012
Pages: 304
Language: English
Edition: undefined - undefined
Dimensions: 8.02in - 5.24in - 0.61in - 0.51lb
EAN: 9780345518927
Categories: • Form - Essays• Memoirs• Topic - Marriage & Family

About the Author

Emmy Award-winning writer Merrill Markoe lives in Los Angeles, California, the garden spot of America, with four dogs and a man. She has authored three books of humorous essays and the novels Nose Down, Eyes Up; Walking in Circles Before Lying Down; and It's My F---ing Birthday and co-authored (with Andy Prieboy) the novel The Psycho Ex Game. A lot of additional information about her--including a long bio, goofy videos, etc.--can be found at merrillmarkoe.com. After great amounts of hesitation, she is also on Facebook. But since she thinks about pulling the page down on a daily basis, check fast.

Praise for this book

Advance praise for Cool, Calm & Contentious

"Now that I've read Merrill Markoe's latest book, I've learned a lot--about virginity, fetishism, sociopaths and narcissists, and how she explained the BP oil spill to her dogs. Also that Merrill is funnier, smarter, and more honest than anyone any of us knows. Just accept it--I have."--Winnie Holzman, creator of My So-called Life, co-author of Wicked

"Alarming and reassuring . . . Wait, that's impossible."--George Meyer, writer, The Simpsons

PRAISE FOR MERRILL MARKOE

Nose Down, Eyes Up

"Read this novel for its nose-to-the-ground wisdom, for its unsentimental take on family, and for the funniest, furriest pack of jokesters this side of the Marx Brothers."--O: The Oprah Magazine

"Whimsical . . . an ideal place to bury your nose."--Los Angeles Times

"Hilarious."--Publishers Weekly

Walking in Circles Before Lying Down

"Bound to make you laugh out loud."--People (four stars)

"Fun and charming . . . So spin around three or four times, curl up with your four-legged friend and enjoy."--Fort Worth Star-Telegram

"A delight."--Boston Sunday Globe