These two humor writers look for comedy in turbulent times

<p>If there ever was a time we all could use a good laugh, it’s now — as, all around us, the world seems to be on fire <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/08/04/mediterranean-fires-algeria-greece-tunisa/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">literally</a>, and figuratively. <br> <br> For this special edition of “Bookmarked: Under the Radar Book Club," we’re delving into the world of humor on the written page — through the musings of contemporary humor essayists — those sharp and witty observers of everyday life who find the funny in the mundane. <br> <br> "I get embarrassed for being a person with basic tastes who does not interrogate things very deeply. A person who needs to be smacked in the face with the subliminal message, because I absolutely will not suss it out for myself," Samantha Irby writes in her book, "Quietly Hostile."<br> <br> "The embarrassment usually leads to my second guessing both myself and my interpretation of whatever it is we're talking about," she continues. "This then devolves into an even more embarrassing apology. I'm so sorry for not understanding what, quote, 'good acting' is. And that continues until I shrivel into a husk and die, vowing with my dying breath to never again publicly express joy or excitement."<br> <br> These authors use their own lived experiences as a lens to deconstruct the serious in service of the silly. <br> <br> "I don't have any original thoughts that are going to break the world open. I really just have my day-to-day life, my own stories," Blythe Roberson, author of "America the Beautiful?" told <em>Under the Radar</em>.<br> <br> "I really just wrote this book to make people laugh. Like, I didn't write it hoping I would change the hearts and minds of America. So, I hope they just enjoy it, really."<br> <br> <strong>GUESTS</strong><br> <br> <strong>Samantha Irby</strong>, author of five books including her latest book of essays, “Quietly Hostile”<br> <br> <strong>Blythe Roberson</strong>, author of two books of humorous essays, her latest is