To overhear is human. If someone wants to shoot their mouth off in public about their private life, it’s not your fault if your ear gets in the way. Overhearing is an accidental, victimless pleasure; it arrives by happenstance, free of charge, opening a door to the messy, funny life of an anonymous nobody.

For more than ten years, illustrator Oslo Davis has eavesdropped on the conversations of hundreds of these nobodies as they publicly whine, rave, gush and rabbit on about their lives, then drawn them up into a weekly newspaper cartoon. Overheard: The Art of Eavesdropping collects the best, juiciest and downright weirdest of Oslo’s Overheards, all embarrassingly, and deliciously, true.

About the author: Oslo Davis is an illustrator, artist and cartoonist whose work appears in newspapers, magazines and various other media worldwide. His weekly cartoon Overheard has been published in The Age newspaper since 2007.

An insightful and funny look at some of the impossible questions Alan Alda has asked himself over the years: What do I value? What, exactly, is the good life? (And what does that even mean?) Picking up where his bestselling memoir left off–having been saved by emergency surgery after nearly dying on a mountaintop in Chile–Alda finds himself not only glad to be alive but searching for a way to squeeze the most juice out of his new life. Looking for a sense of meaning that would make this extra time count, he listens in on things he’s heard himself saying in private and in public at critical points in his life–from the turbulence of the sixties, to his first Broadway show, to the birth of his children, to the ache of September 11, and beyond. Reflecting on the transitions in his life and in all our lives, he notices that “doorways are where the truth is told,” and wonders if there’s one thing–art, activism, family, money, fame–that could lead to a “life of meaning.” In a book that is candid, wise, and as questioning as it is incisive, Alda amuses and moves us with his unique and hilarious meditations on questions great and small. Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself is another superb Alan Alda performance, as inspiring and entertaining as the man himself. Praise for Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself “Engagingly thoughtful and thought-provoking . . . [Alan Alda] candidly shares many stories of his life, so easily and wittily you can hear him speak as you read.” –Sydney Sun Herald “Alda is chatty, easygoing and humble, rather like a Mr. Rogers for grownups. His words of inspiration would be a perfect gift for a college grad or for anyone facing major life changes.” –Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Smart, engaged, funny and observant.” –San Antonio Express-News

In the Irish country town of Kinvara, the fabulous Miller girls are generally reckoned to have it all, but nothing in the lives of Rose and her daughters is as it seems. As plans are made for the party of the decade, the secret heartaches the four women have kept hidden begin to emerge.

A goblin is happily making salt-crystal "bling" for himself, until he spots the nymph's green glass beads and is overwhelmed by desire for them. He asks for the beads, he demands the beads, he whines and begs for the beads. But the nymph has her own purpose for the beads, using them to do her science-magic ... Marcia Santore's colorful pictures retell the story of Overheard on a Saltmarsh, introducing Harold Monro's beloved poem to a new generation of children, while raising an important question: Just because some guy asks you for something, does that mean you have to give it him? Children (and adults!) will identify with the envy and desire of the tantruming goblin on the one hand, and with the serious-minded work of the gentle but firm nymph. The book also provides an opportunity to talk with children about when sharing is important and when maintaining personal boundaries is important, as well as the difference between "want" and "need." And that sometimes the right answer is "No." Don't miss the salt crystal-making activity in the back!

Listen in as museum-goers talk about art.

Updated with sixteen new pages of quips, remarks and exchanges from the creators of overheardinnewyork.com. The streets of New York are full of characters who don't mince words-or care who hears them. This collection presents some of the most outlandish real life conversations overheard on the sidewalk, in the subway, and at the next table. It's the Big Apple peeled, a hysterically unvarnished portrait of the city that never sleeps-and often neglects to think before it speaks in public.