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[[Category:New Reviews|Humour]] __NOTOC__ <!-- Remove -->{{newreview|authorclass-"wikitable" cellpadding= Kieran Crowley"15" <!-- INSERT NEW REVIEWS BELOW HERE-->|title= Shoot<!-- van LENTE -->|rating= 4-|genrestyle= Crime|summary= I make something of a habit of being late to discover good writers, in this case getting to Crowley after he is no longer with us"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1683690346.jpg|link=http://www.amazon. The result is that what is billed as ''an Fco.Xuk/dp/1683690346/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Con Artist by Fred Van Lente]]=== [[image:4star. Shepherd mystery'' with all the optimism of there being more to come has the poignancy of beingjpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]], if not the last [[:Category:Humour|Humour]] Comic-Cons are a place of a short linewonder and sanctuary for many people, certainly one of a few. F.X. Shepherd – he doesn't like his first name and prefers just "Shepherd" iswhen Comic book artist Mike Mason arrives at San Diego Comic-Con, technically, a columnist. Hehe's been sacked by one New York newspaper looking for both that and sanctuary with other fans and is writing a weekly column for anothercreators, plus the chance of maybe, just maybe reuniting with his ex. I don't know much about journalismHowever, but I'm guessing one column a week doesn't pay much as a rule…which explains why Shepherd's soap-washed-foul-mouthed editor (read the bookwhen his rival is found dead, you'll see what I mean) expects him Mike is forced to turn navigate every dark corner of the con in some genuine journalism as well: front page, seat of your pants stufforder to clear his name – from cosplay flash mobs and intrusive fans to zombie obstacle courses – Mike must prove his innocence and, in doing so, may just unravel a dark secret behind a legendary industry creator. [[The Con Artist by Fred Van Lente|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1783296518</amazonuk>Full Review]]}}{{newreview<!-- Coulton -->|author=Gray Jolliffe-|titlestyle=The First Ever Christmas"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: And Who to Blamecenter;"|rating=5[[image:1473669588.jpg|genrelink=Humour|summaryhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1473669588/ref=If I tell you a secret, will you promise not to tell anyone? Well, I really don't like Christmasnosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: it's my least favourite time of year and whilst some people count down to the day itself, I look forward to that point when I can say that it's all over for another yearleft;"|===[[Falling Short by Lex Coulton]]=== [[image:4star. Itjpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:General Fiction|General Fiction]], [[:Category:Humour|Humour]], [[:Category:Women's all too commercialised for me, with a coating of faux religion. I've never found it in the least funny - that is, until I found Gray JolliffeFiction|Women's ''The First Ever Christmas: And WhoFiction]] Lex Coulton's to Blame''debut novel is a story about mistakes, failures, and relationships. AmazinglyThe main protagonist, I'd never encountered Gray Jolliffe eitherFrances Pilgrim, but I'm is a convert to his skills as sixth form English teacher who has recently fallen out with her best friend Jackson, a cartoonist (if not to work colleague, and is grappling with the idea increasingly eccentric behaviour of Christmas) after reading this collection of Christmas-themed cartoons from his archiveher mother. This relationship is complicated by the fact that Frances's father disappeared at sea when she was five years old. [[Falling Short by Lex Coulton|amazonuk=Full Review]] <amazonuk!-- van LENTE -->1445663503</amazonuk>}}{{newreview|author=Jonathan Pugh-|titlestyle=Pugh's New Year's Resolutions"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1683690346.jpg|ratinglink=4http://www.amazon.co.5uk/dp/1683690346/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] |genre=Humour|summarystyle=If there's one thing that's for certain, it's that the world is changing"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Con Artist by Fred Van Lente]]=== [[image:4star. We're dating onlinejpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]], we're communicating in ways that make email seem redundant[[:Category:Humour|Humour]] Comic-Cons are a place of wonder and sanctuary for many people, and when weComic book artist Mike Mason arrives at San Diego Comic-Con, he're shopping we s looking for both that and sanctuary with other fans and creators, plus the chance of maybe, just tell a website where and maybe reuniting with his ex. However, when it can be deliveredhis rival is found dead, and how much leeway they have Mike is forced to swap our wishes for whatever it is they do bring us. But those changes are also supposed navigate every dark corner of the con in order to be affecting us clear his name – we're supposed from cosplay flash mobs and intrusive fans to use a smart watch to tell us if we're moving or notzombie obstacle courses – Mike must prove his innocence and, we have to keep up with the latest fadsin doing so, and we're supposed to prick our ears up and take note when the proverbial 'they' change their minds about what we're supposed to eat.may just unravel a dark secret behind a legendary industry creator. [[The Con Artist by Fred Van Lente|Full Review]] |amazonuk=<amazonuk>1780722885</amazonuk!-- Curran -->}}{{newreview|author= Luke Rhinehart-|titlestyle= Invasion|rating= 4"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1683690133.5jpg|genrelink=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1683690133/ref=nosim?tag= Humour thebookbag-21]]  |summarystyle=Super"vertical-align: top; text-intelligent furry aliens suddenly appear from another universe. And they've come to earth to have fun. Alien Louie follows fisherman Billy Morton home one day, align: left;"|===[[My Lady's Choosing by Kitty Curran and he and his family quickly come to love the playful alienLarissa Zageris]]=== [[image:4star. But when Louie starts using their computer to hack into government and corporate networksjpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Humour|Humour]], stealing millions from banks to give to others, they realise that Louie and his friends mean trouble. As Billy and his family begin [[:Category:Historical Fiction|Historical Fiction]] You are a roller coaster ride lass of fame twenty eight. Plucky, penniless and fortune, as well in Regency era London the race is on to find a suitable suitor - or else doom yourself to life as an eternal spinster. Along your journey you'll be accompanied by Lady Evangeline Youngblood - a fiesty noble eager to save you from a ranking high on the FBI's most wanted list, the Government soon decides that these aliens are terroristslife alone, and must be eliminatedfired by a rogueish sense for adventure. Whilst the aliens are playing games they hope will help humans When it comes to suitors though, you'll have to see make the insanity of the American politicalultimate decision between witty, pretty and wealthy Sir Benedict Granville, wholesome, economic rugged and military systemscaring Captain Angus MacTaggart, they soon come to realise that or the mad, bad and terrifyingly sexy Lord Garraway Craven. With orphans, werewolves, long lost lovers and ancient Egyptian artifcats along the Powers that Be donway, it's clear this isn't play games: they make wargoing to be an easy decision... [[My Lady's Choosing by Kitty Curran and Larissa Zageris|amazonuk=Full Review]] <amazonuk>1785651757</amazonuk!-- Jester -->}}{{newreview|author=Rod Green-|titlestyle=Only Fools and Horses"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: The Peckham Archivescenter;"|rating=4[[image:Jester_Forever.jpg|genre=Entertainment left|summarylink=We are in the world of one of the country's most famous and wellhttps://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1510704361?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-loved sitcoms – even if it was sort-of killed off for Christmas 2003. Yes, there have been specials since, and more repeats to clog up the BBC schedules than is really pukka, but very few people failed to succumb to its charms at one time or another21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1510704361]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Forever After: a dark comedy by David Jester]]=== [[image:4star. I'm sure there have been books before now celebrating the stony-faced reception of ''that'' drop through the open bar hatchjpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Paranormal|Paranormal]], and ''that'' chandelier scene[[:Category:Horror|Horror]], but this [[:Category:Fantasy|Fasntasy]] Michael Holland is much more meatya cocky and brash young man who dies and gets made the offer of his lifetime; immortality. Purporting to be the family archivesWe follow Michael, found dumped a grim reaper and his friends Chip (a stoner tooth fairy) and Naff (a stoner in Nelson Mandela House, the documents here were passed from pillar to post, from one council worker in a records department ) as they grapple with their long lives and finding a clumsy acronym clean surface to another, from them to the police – and now here they are being published for their social history worthsit on in their flat. Will enough readers find them of worth, as the series quietly celebrates its 35th birthday?[[Forever After: a dark comedy by David Jester|Full Review]] |amazonuk=<amazonuk>1849909245</amazonuk!-- Stibbe -->}}{{newreview|author= Mara Wilson-|titlestyle= Where Am I Now?"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Famecenter;"|rating= 5[[image:Stibbe_Xmas.jpg|genre= Autobiographyleft|summarylink= Mara Wilson has always felt a little young and a little out of placehttps://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0241309824?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=0241309824]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: as the only child on a film set full of adultsleft;"|===[[An Almost Perfect Christmas by Nina Stibbe]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Humour|Humour]], [[:Category:Short Stories|Short Stories]] Christmas – the first daughter in a house full time of boys, traditional trauma. You only have to think about the sole clinically depressed member of turkey for that – once upon a cheerleading squadtime it was leaving it sat on the downstairs loo to defrost overnight, a valley girl in New York and a neurotic in California, and an adult if that failed the world still remembers as a little girlhair-dryer shoved inside it treatment was your next best bet. Tackling everything from how she first learned about sex on the set of Nowadays it's all having to make sure it'Melrose Place,'' to losing her mother at a young ages suitably free-range and organic – but not too organic that you can go and visit it, to getting her first kiss (or was and get too friendly with it kisses?) on a celebrity canoe trip, to not being cute enough want to make eat it in Hollywood. Christmas, though, these essays tell the story is of course also a time of one young womangreat boons. It's journey from accidental fame to relative obscuritycash in hand for a lot of plump people who can hire red suits and beards, but also illuminate it was always a universal struggle: learning godsend for postmen with all the thank-you letters to accept yourself, and figuring out who aunties you are saw twice a decade that your parents made you write out in long-hand as a child, and as for the makers of Meltis Newberry Fruits – well, did they even try and where you belong. sell them any other time of the year? [[An Almost Perfect Christmas by Nina Stibbe|Full Review]] |amazonuk=<amazonuk>0143128221</amazonuk!-- Doescher -->}}{{newreview|-|authorstyle= Tony Stuart"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|title= Writing Lines[[image:Doescher_Will.jpg|rating= 4.5left|genrelink=Humourhttps://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/159474985X?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=159474985X]]  |summarystyle= George Gordon Wentworth (1946"vertical-align: top; text-2011) lived a humdrum life. He was a barely adequate teacher in a fairly world renowned independent school in Kent and kept a copious diary of his quotidian existencealign: left;"|===[[William Shakespeare's the Force Doth Awaken: Star Wars Part the Seventh by Ian Doescher]]=== [[image:4. Most of what he recorded was dross5star. However, amongst all the utterly uninteresting tailings of his life there were some nuggets and grains to catch the attention. Author Tony Stuart has created these amusing anecdotesjpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Science Fiction|Science Fiction]], [[:Category:Humour|Humour]] A long time ago, panning them out over twenty six episodes which give us the best of Wentworth – comedy gold. From losing all the pupils in his charge on a school trip galaxy far away, there was a man called William Shakespeare, who was able to being arrested on suspicion create a series of terrorism; from waking up in bed between the married couple the morning after their wedding, to destroying a ski run; from appearing dramatic histories full-frontal naked in a sheep-farmers' gazette to triggering an air-sea rescue; Wentworth wasof machinations most foul, blinkered rulers most evil and befuddled, the subject – of these rebellious heroes and so many more unlikely but highly amusing eventsheroines most sturdy.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1524634441</amazonuk>}}{{newreview|author=Graham Fulbright|title=Driving Mad: Maniacs, Morons and You may or may not have noticed the Advanced Motoristcinematic version of his original stage play for ''The Force Doth Awaken''s Club|rating=3.5|genre=Humour|summary=I passed my driving test when John F Kennedy was in the White House and I've recently had to reapply for my driving licence having achieved a venerable age. When I started driving , but here at last we get the roads were kinderactual script, more forgiving places complete with annoying- or put another wayin-different-ways-to-before droids anew, returning heroes from elsewhere in his oeuvre, and people keeping it in the idiots were fewer and further betweenfamily til it hurts. I And if you need further encouragement, don't know how long Graham Fulbright has been driving, but he certainly knows his motoring morons and in ''Driving Mad'' he brings us a fictional sample forget his audience only demanded three parts of their eccentricities. Well, I'm pretty certain that theyHenry VI – here the series is so popular we're fictional - but these days you never know...on to part seven – surely making this over twice as good… [[William Shakespeare's the Force Doth Awaken: Star Wars Part the Seventh by Ian Doescher|Full Review]] |amazonuk=<amazonuk>1783062584</amazonuk!-- Goss -->}}{{newreview|-|author=Mario Giordanostyle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Goss_600.jpg|title=Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lionsleft|ratinglink=4|genrehttps://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1785942719?ie=Crime|summaryUTF8&tag=Poldi had not long been widowed when she decided to move from Bavaria to Sicily with the intention of drinking herself to death. She could, of course, have done this in Germany, but she felt that a sea view was essential. Once there, new friends, family already resident on the island thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1785942719]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Doctor Who: Now We Are Six Hundred: A Collection of Time Lord Verse (Dr Who) by James Goss and the corpse of a young man, his face blown off by a shotgun, whom she found on the local beach, intervened to give her life some meaningRussell T Davies]]=== [[image:4.5star. For a while she was a suspectjpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Children's Rhymes and Verse|Children's Rhymes and Verse]], [[:Category:Science Fiction|Science Fiction]], but that ([[:Category:Humour|Humour]] Consider the Doctor. Just how many birthday and her wig) Christmas gifts must he have to hand out each year, were no obstacle he to her falling keep in touch with even half of his companions? He would certainly need a few novelty gifts for some of them, say, for Commissario Vito Montana who was assigned to investigate example, whimsical books of verse that pithily encapsulate the case. Assisting him (or having him assist her) came naturally to Poldi life of a Time Lord and before long there was an investigative that of some of his friends and personal partnershipenemies. At least so far as Poldi was concernedAs luck would have it, he has the space in his TARDIS to stock up in advance, so my advice to him – sorry, her – would be to pop along to his local Earth-based book emporium and get himself ready.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1908524693</amazonuk>}}{{newreview|author= Grady Hendrix|title= My Best Friend's Exorcism|rating= 5|genre= Horror|summary=1988And if you're working on a shorter timescale, Charlestonwith a shorter lifespan, South Carolina. High school sophomores Abby and Gretchen have been best friends since fourth gradethinking perhaps just one gift season ahead, well my advice is pretty much the same. But after an evening [[Doctor Who: Now We Are Six Hundred: A Collection of skinnyTime Lord Verse (Dr Who) by James Goss and Russell T Davies|Full Review]] <!-- Ingram --dipping goes disatrously wrong, Gretchen begins to act...different>|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Ingram_Kammie. She's moodyjpg|left|link=https://www. She's irritableamazon. And bizarre incidents keep happening whenever she's nearbyco. Abby's investigation leads her to some startling discoveries uk/gp/product/1785451995?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag- and by the time their story reaches its terrifying conclusion, the fate of Abby and Gretchen will be determined by a single question: Is their friendship enough to beat the devil?21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1785451995]]  |amazonukstyle=<amazonuk>1594748624</amazonuk>"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|}}{{newreview|author= Kevin MacNeil|title=The Brilliant and Forever|rating= 3.5[[Conversations with Kammie by Annie Ingram]]===|genre= Humour[[image:4star.jpg|summarylink= You know sometimes when someone tells a jokeCategory:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Pets|Pets]], everyone else laughs, and you're sat there wondering what was so funny?[[:Category:Humour|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846973376</amazonuk>Humour]]}}{{newreview|author= Christopher Fowler|title= Bryant It was something of a relief when I encountered Annie Ingram and May: Strange Tide|rating= 3her cocker spaniel Kammie.5|genre= Crime|summary= The thirteenth outing You see, Annie knows something which has been self-evident to me for Bryant a long time: dogs are perfectly capable of communicating with humans and May is looking very much like it not just on a level of food!, walk! or play!. You do require extensive training to become fluent, but most dogs will be perfectly willing to give their last. Arthur Bryant is on compassionate leave whilst tests are continuing, which are likely time to teach you and all you have to confirm that he do is suffering from Alzheimer'slisten. His condition is worsening almost by Annie has studied hard: Kammie has trained her well and the day, memory lapses are morphing into full-scale hallucinationspair have allowed us to share some of their conversations.[[Conversations with Kammie by Annie Ingram|Full Review]] |amazonuk=<amazonuk>0857523422</amazonuk!-- Harris -->}}{{newreview|-|authorstyle=Kevin Smith"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Harris_Glass.jpg|titlelink=The Voyage of the Dolphinhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1908943823/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  |ratingstyle=5"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"||genre=Historical Fiction==[[The Breaking of Liam Glass by Charles Harris]]=== [[image:3star.jpg|summarylink=Dublin 1916Category: Among the unrest {{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]], [[:Category:Humour|Humour]] Teenager Liam Glass is mugged and anti-British feeling worsened by stabbed yards from his Camden flat. As the threat of conscription into a war seen as nothing to do with boy lies comatose, desperate journalist Jason Worthington scrabbles for the Irishinside scoop, Trinity College faculty has other distractions. They'd like tired police officer Andy Rockham searches for a trophy; the skeleton of an Irish 'giant' to be precise. The only glitch is that the main trophy contendermissing tape, harried politician Jamila Hasan fights for re-election, Bernard MacNeill's skeletondistraught mother Katrina Glass waits by her son, is somewhere difficult to access and all seasoned explorers are otherwise engagedgym-owner Royland simply finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. There may be hope though. They turn to FitzmauriceWe follow this host of ensemble characters in a bleak, a student not good enough for anything elsekaleidoscopic satire of modern media. Fitzmaurice agrees, picking his friends Crozier and Rafferty to go with him. So… ''Gentlemen, lace up your strongest boots and pack your warmest underwear – we're all off to the bloody Arctic[[The Breaking of Liam Glass by Charles Harris|Full Review]] <!'' Whether battle cry or epitaph, three men and a dog… and an iguana… are going anyway.-- LENTE -->|-|amazonukstyle=<amazonuk>1910124826</amazonuk>"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Lente_10.jpg|amazonuslink=<amazonus>1910124826<http://amazonus>}}www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1683690222/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] {{newreview|authorstyle=Tony Hawks"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|title=Once Upon a Time in the West… Country|rating=3|genre=Travel|summary=I have often complained in [[Ten Dead Comedians: A Murder Mystery by Fred Van Lente]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Humour|Humour]] Nine comedians are invited to a jokey voice to my partner about life in remote Caribbean island under the sticksguise of working with Dustin Walker, a comedic legend. Each fits neatly into one of the archetypal comic stereotypes: Steve, and the way she moved me washed-up has-been who has fallen far from an inner-city flat to slumming it in his early days; Zoe, the suburbs rising female star with fewer busses, no takeaways within walkinga new stand-and-keeping-food-hot distanceup special coming soon; Dante, and no 'Polish' shops for who went from being a can of beer whenever you fancy one. Things are different with Tony Hawks, as here he has purposefully decided kid on the streets to up sticks from London to Somewherethe hardest working road comic in the business; Oliver, Devon – a tiny village where the people child-like prop comic who can't get any respect from his peers; Janet, the insult comic who built their own homes decades ago still live in themis past her prime; TJ, where slugs are the nightly variety show host with a lot more of a problem reputation for harassing his female colleagues and guest acts; Ruby, the wannabe lettuceultra-grower than they are for the metropolitan commuter, and where village halls have the power to turn you into both feminist YouTuber and Blogger with a Pol Pot dictator if you get chip on their committee her shoulder; and into a quiveringWilliam, bruise-inducing wreck if youwhose redneck character ''re Billy the wrong gender at Contractor'' is a Zumba class…|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444794809</amazonuk>}}{{newreview|author=Marian Keyes|title=Making It Up As I Go Along|rating=4far cry from his real personality as a posh millionaire.5|genre=Entertainment|summary=Oh, how the book reviewing gods like to giveOf course, all nine agree because ''when God almighty walks down on a beam of light and equally like to take away. Here before me is a brandasks for your help, spanking new collection of journalism by what the wonderful Marian Keyes – but it's a proof copy, so therehell else are you going to say?''s no photo of the author. Even if over the years I have stopped reading her novels, I have always turned to the author picture to remind myself such sights exist in this world[[Ten Dead Comedians: A Murder Mystery by Fred Van Lente|Full Review]] <!-- Scott -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Scott_Eliz. Himself is a lucky man, for surejpg|link=http://www.amazon.co. But beyond sounding like a letch, what can I say about this – the beauty's third large dose of essays, web columns and other journalismuk/dp/1788037006/ref=nosim? I can start with agreeing that I am not the target audiencetag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Elizabeth, but it's easy enough to see from these pages exactly what the target isWilliam... So much like that test you do – you know the one, that formulates decisions about the age and commonality of all things in space to come up and Me by S Lynn Scott]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Humour|Humour]] Ally is an ordinary woman with how many billions of planets are likely to have alien life on – you can narrow things down quite readily hereteenage children, a husband and still come up with a huge numberjob.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0718182529</amazonuk>}}{{newreview|author= Jean-Yves Ferri|title= Asterix Then comes the day when ordinariness flies out of the window. It's not a coincidence that it's the same day she finds Queen Elizabeth I in the pantry and the Missing Scroll (Album 36)Bard of Avon in her bath. What's she going to do? Well, Elizabeth and Will have their own ideas about that! [[Elizabeth, William... and Me by S Lynn Scott|rating= 5Full Review]]|genre= For Sharing|summary=Asterix is those rarest of book series<!-- Rodford -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center; one designed for kids which is actually even funnier when you are an adult"|[[image:Rodford_Surgeon. I used to love Asterix as a child, but now that I reread them I can't help but wonder why, because they are so full of hilarious jokes that I definitely wouldn't have understood when I was youngerjpg|link=http://www.amazon. I laughed loud and hard to myself twice within the first two pages of Asterix and the Missing Scroll, so I'd definitely say that this was a hitco.|amazonukuk/dp/178565005X/ref=nosim?tag=<amazonuk>1510100458</amazonuk>thebookbag-21]]}}{{newreview|authorstyle=Spadge Whittaker"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|title=Braver Than Britain, Occasionally|rating=4|genre=Humour|summary=In which Spadge researches Britain[[The Surgeon's top ten fears and faces them all over the course Case: George Kocharyan Mystery 2 by E G Rodford]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]], [[:Category:Humour|Humour]] In the second instalment of a year. We're quite a fearful societythis series, you know. And the things we fear most arePrivate Investigator George Kocharyan has been hired by a well-known local man to track down some missing valuables. Bill Galbraith, in order: heights (acrophobia)a world-famous surgeon at Cambridge's Addenbrooke's Hospital who hosts a popular medical television programme, snakes (ophidiophobia)has had his briefcase stolen by his live-in domestic servant, public speaking (glossophobia)Aurora. According to Galbraith, spiders (arachnophobia)this briefcase contains confidential notes concerning an important patient of his at the hospital. George agrees to look into the theft, small spaces (claustrophobia)assuming it will be a relatively easy and straightforward case – little does he know, mice (musophobia), needles (trypanophobia), flying (pteromerhanophobia), crowds (agoraphobia) he's about to enter a world of deceit and clowns (coulrophobia)dysfunction.[[The Surgeon's Case: George Kocharyan Mystery 2 by E G Rodford|Full Review]] |amazonuk=<amazonuk>0993429904</amazonuk!-- Jordan -->}}{{newreview|-|authorstyle= Mike Bullen"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Jordan_Tiny.jpg|titlelink=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1760293814/ref= Trustnosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] |rating= 4|genrestyle= General Fiction"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"||summary= Greg and Amanda are happy. Unmarried==[[Our Tiny, but together thirteen years and with two young daughters, they are very much in loveUseless Hearts by Toni Jordan]]=== [[image:5star. Dan and Sarah arenjpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Women's Fiction|Women't so fortunate. Their marriage is going through the motionss Fiction]], [[:Category:Humour|Humour]] As predicted by Caroline and theyJanice're staying together for the sake of their troubled teenage son. Following a business conference away from home, one bad decision sends a happy couple into turmoil, s mother on Caroline and turns an unhappy couple into loveHenry's young dream. As secrets wedding day, their marriage is over, albeit 15 years and betrayals threaten to send both relationships out two daughters further along than predicted. Indeed, this is definitely not a good weekend for Janice to be babysitting at Caroline's house. There's the split and the awkwardness of control, the girls' schoolteacher being the other woman for a start. Then there's only one thing that can keep everything from falling apart: Trust|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0751559253</amazonuk>}}{{newreview|author=Dan Rhodes|title=When mistaken identity moment involving the Professor Got Stuck in the Snow|rating=4neighbours.5|genre=General Fiction|summary= Two people are on a train on their way to, of all things, a WI meeting where the ladies of All Bottoms will be lectured on the nonAt least Janice is well adjusted and over her ex-existence of Godhusband Alec. One She still dreams of the two people is Professor Richard Dawkinshim, yes, rampant atheist, hectoring scientist chappie, and all-round devotee of but it's so over! Just as well really… guess who'Deal or No Deal''. The other is Smees at the door? [[Our Tiny, his monoUseless Hearts by Toni Jordan|Full Review]] <!--named assistant, amanuensis or 'male secretary'Taylor -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Taylor_Scilly.jpg|link=http://www.amazon. Smee will come to the fore when the weather sets in and the train journey has to be abandoned some way short of its ultimate destination, Upper Bottomco. Instead the pair fetch up at the isolated yet friendly community of Market Horton, and the only option for accommodation is taken – yes, the dieduk/dp/178475515X/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-in21]]  | style="vertical-thealign: top; text-wool non-believer has to be housed by a retired vicar and his wife. This clash align: left;"|===[[The Life of titanic opinions, peppered with social faux pas aplenty will provide for a particularly English kind of farcical comedy, but one with the legs to go as far as any other Good Books have reached in the past…Scilly Sergeant by Colin Taylor]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|amazonuklink=<amazonuk>1910709018</amazonuk>Category:{{{rating}}}{{newreview|author=Rob TempleStar Reviews]] [[:Category:Travel|title=Very British Problems AbroadTravel]], [[:Category:Humour|rating=4Humour]]|genre=Humour|summary=Meet, if you haven't already, the phenomenon Isles of the Very British ProblemScilly. In this format (I know they're in pithy little comments (should be called that – the author provides a handy guide to the etiquette oftheir name, oohtheir nature and location, about 140 characters in length, for some reason…etc.) and detail the minor things in life that we like nothing For our more than to inflate to a major factor of life. They can involve mannersdistant readers, staring at things until they mend themselves're several chunks of granite rock out in the Atlantic, where Cornwall is pointing, hitting things dittowith just 2,200 permanent residents. They're big on tourism, or the fact that nobody apart from you and I know how to queue properly. And if big on growing flowers in the idea hits tropical climate the world outside our shores, then Gulf Stream bequeaths them – wellalthough the weather is bad enough to turn any car to a rust bucket within years. They're so wee, and so idyllic-seeming, especially at night, you certainly have can be mistaken for thinking there would be no need for a book full of content regarding our attitude and ineptitude abroadpolice presence.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0751558494</amazonuk>}}{{newreview|author=Fraser McAlpine|title=Stuff Brits LikeBut there is – at least two working at any one time. And one of them in recent years has been Colin Taylor, who has done his official duty – alongside maintaining a well-known online existence, which has brought to life all the whimsical comedy of his work. [[The Life of a Scilly Sergeant by Colin Taylor|rating=4Full Review]]|genre=Humour|summary= With over 100 chapters on different aspects of Britain and Britishness, this book is both fascinating and hilarious<!-- Lloyd -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Lloyd_Twas. Just looking at the list of subjects is enough to produce a sardonic twist of that stiff upper lipjpg|link=http: the chapters cover topics that range from offal to curry, from pedantry to banter, from conkers to rugby//www.amazon.co. There may be many chapters but this is no academic tome uk/dp/1472125118/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag- each chapter is just two to three pages long, each is written with endearing affection, each is easy and satisfying - and quirkily funny - to read.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1857886348</amazonuk>21]]}}{{newreview|authorstyle="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|== John Samuel|title= What I Tell You in [['Twas the DarkFight Before Christmas: A Parody by Josie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees]]=== |rating= [[image:3.55star.jpg|genrelink= Humour|summary=A man called Will is fighting fiercely against corruption – desperate to expose his companyCategory:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Humour|Humour]] It's dodgy dealings Christmas Eve and Mum has arranged everything. All she now has to do is await the arrival of the press. Overcome with doubt relatives and fear, he goes to kill himselfthe food shopping delivery. But, at Little does Mum know that those two elements alone have the exact moment he attaches his noose potential to ruin everything. [['Twas the back of the door, he is saved. By a curious housemate or a concerned girlfriend? No, Fight Before Christmas: A Parody by an Angel. Not the whiteJosie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees|Full Review]] <!-- Phinn -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-feathered guardian Angel you may expect, but one who wishes to help Will achieve his ends, and so possess the body of the hapless Will in order to finish what he startedalign: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Phinn_Virgin. It goes without saying that the Angel is hoping things go better than they did with the last guy he possessed – a hapless young man from Galilee called Jesus…jpg|left|amazonuklink=<amazonuk>0715650505<http://amazonuk>}}www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1444779400/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]{{newreview|authorstyle= John Niven"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"||title= ==[[The Sunshine Cruise CompanyVirgin Mary's Got Nits by Gervase Phinn]]===|rating= [[image:4.55star.jpg|genrelink= Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Humour|Humour]], [[:Category:Anthologies|Anthologies]]|summary= Susan Frobisher and Julie Wickham live Christmas in our house is the time we tend to get on a small Dorset town. Friends since schoolplane and head to either sun or snow, anywhere that is far, far away from the madness at home, last minute dashes to the shops on Christmas Eve, they live fairly uneventful lives – Susan has a lovely house and food cupboard stockpiles that would imply supermarkets are shutting for a lengthy marriage to accountant Barrymonth, whereas Julie is doing slightly less well – living in nor a council flat and working in an old people's home. When Barry is found dead trussed up in a sex dungeonmere 36 hours. But I do remember the feeling of Christmas when I was younger, back when it transpires that he has been leading a hidden life for yearswas magical, and his expensive fetishes lead to back when you knew exactly what the bank moving to take Susan's homeseason would bring with carol concerts and school nativities and Christmas parties. Struck by both desperation and a sense This book is an anthology of injusticethose moments, Sue and Julie conspire it took me right back to rob the wonder of Christmas as a bank, taking along their friend Jill – a devout Christian conflicted due to lack of money and a terminally ill grandson, and Ethel – a foul mouthed resident of the nursing home longing for adventure.child. [[The Virgin Mary's Got Nits by Gervase Phinn|Full Review]] |amazonuk=<amazonuk>0434023183</amazonuk!-- North -->}}|-{{newreview|author| style=Marie Phillips"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|title=The Table Of Less Valued Knights[[image:North_Romeo.jpg|ratinglink=4http://www.amazon.co.5uk/dp/0356508536/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] |genre=Fantasy|summarystyle=Sir Humphrey has been demoted from King Arthur's Round Table to the Table of Lesser Valued Knights"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Romeo and/or Juliet by Ryan North]]=== [[image:3.5star. The only way to get his comfier seat back is to redeem himself via a quest. Therefore when damsel Elaine seeks help to find her kidnapped fiancé, Humphrey jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Humour|Humour]] For all those who think tragedy plots are too restricted and his wardprescribed, the teenage giant Conrad, eagerly set forthread on. Meanwhile in In these pages you too will see that Romeo had lots of options en route to hitting the kingdom of Tuft, new Queen Martha has run away after a disastrous wedding to… a… well… disastrous Prince Edwinbottle. She may not realise it yetLikewise, but she too will could have a job for Humphrey!|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099555875</amazonuk>}}{{newreview|author=Tim Flannery|title=The Mystery turned away from her predestined path at no end of junctures. And to what result? Well, happy marriage and a kid called Ben, because the Venus Island Fetish|rating=3|genre=Historical Fiction|summary=Meet Archie Meek. He's about to leave the Venus Islands, where heleads have just banged people's lived for heads together and stopped the last five yearsquarrelling, and return to Sydneyor Death by Tybalt (him) or a long life running an establishment curing murderous women, where he'll take his office in the museum such as a Lady M (her). [[Romeo and fill it with all the cultural artefacts he's found and wildlife he's plucked /or pickled. That's not to ignore the fact he'll count as something quite alien himself, with his filled-out frame, nearly all-over suntan and totemic tattoo, in amongst other changes to his body. But what's this? When he gets back, he finds one of the main Venus Islands artefacts that caused him to go there in the first place, a huge, macabre ceremonial fetish mask, purloined as corporate artwork. And some of the curators he wishes to work alongside have vanished. Is the weird society of the museum he's returning to, perchance, even weirder, stranger and more violent than the cannibalistic society he's waving farewell to?|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1922079308</amazonuk>}}{{newreview|author=Roman Dirge|title=The Cat with a Really Big Head|rating=3.5|genre=Graphic Novels|summary= How many picture books are there about cats? And how many do you know that you would really NOT prefer your children to see? If the answer to the second question is 'none – yet', scratch that last word. The title piece in this collection is, by the author's own admission, his imagining of the Joseph Merrick (the 'Elephant Man') of the feline world – who struggles to sneak up behind a mouse when the shadow of his head is a total giveaway, and who can hardly even eat with dignity as bending down to his bowl would break his neck. If that's too dark or oddball for you, try the second major piece, which has a most revealing foreword – ''Dedicated to a certain girl… I hope your life is filled with wonderful accomplishments, love and all the magic you desire… - But I hope your death is slow and horrible.''|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1782762876</amazonuk>}}{{newreview|author=Val Hennessy|title=Not Far From Dreamland|rating=4.5|genre=General Fiction|summary=Ronald Tonks has reached that stage in life which I call upper middle age: you've qualified for your pension but not yet got to the free television licence barrier. What Ronald ''has'' got is a roof that leaks (there's good reason why his home is called 'the shack'), a dog who is going bald (in patches) and money that's in very short supply. On the plus side he has friends, mostly platonic and usually in much the same boat as Ronald. But are they downhearted? Well, they are occasionally, but mostly they're generously optimistic and out to make the most of what they've got, usually bought from charity shops and jumble sales. ''Not Far From Dreamland'' is the story of a year (2012) in the life of Ronald Tonks, his friends and relatives.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0704373874</amazonuk>}}{{newreview|author=Harry Harrison|title=Bill, the Galactic Hero|rating=3.5|genre=Science Fiction|summary=Meet Bill. He's a simple farmer – well, he ''is'' taking a correspondence course in being a Technical Fertiliser Operator – but fate has something else in store. And so does the mechanised, technological, industrial military, which needs several billion grunts to fight the Chingers, in mankind's first inter-galactic war. Still, at least he gets medals just for signing up. After that it's all downhill, and the likes of Petty Chief Officer Deathwish Drang can only make that a straight line down. Really, what hope is there?|amazonuk=<amazonuk>147320531X</amazonuk>}}{{newreview|author=Ian Doescher|title=William Shakespeare's The Phantom of Menace|rating=4.5|genre=Humour|summary= Join us, good gentles, for a merry reimagining of `Star Wars Episode 1' as only Shakespeare could have written it. 'Tis a true Shakespearean drama, filled with sword fights, soliloquies and doomed romance…all in glorious iambic pentameter and coupled with gorgeous illustrations. Hold on to your midichlorians: The plays the thing, wherein you'll catch the rise of Anakin!|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1594748063</amazonuk>}}{{newreviewJuliet by Ryan North|author=AttaboyFull Review]]|title=The Book of Hugs|rating=4|genre=Humour|summary=A hug's a hug, OK? You either do, or you don't. Some people might be a little more enthusiastic about the process whilst others are more elegant in the execution of the hug, but basically you just get on and do it and then forget about it, right?<!-- DO NOT REMOVE ANYTHING BELOW THIS LINE -->|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0867197978</amazonuk>}}