[[Category:Humour|*]]
[[Category:New Reviews|Humour]]==Humour==__NOTOC__ <!-- Remove -->{{newreview|authorclass-"wikitable" cellpadding=John Lennon"15" <!-- INSERT NEW REVIEWS BELOW HERE--><!-- van LENTE -->|title=In His Own Write and A Spaniard in the Works-|ratingstyle=3"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|genre=Humour[[image:1683690346.jpg|summarylink=During the height of Beatlemania, John Lennon used to doodle or write short poems or nonsense stories to pass the time (and there must have been a good deal of time to pass away on tour, if only waiting for screaming fans to leave them alone and go back home)http://www. Some of them were seen by Tom Maschler, literary editor at Jonathan Cape, who encouraged him to produce moreamazon. The results were published in two very successful short books in 1964 and 1965co.|amazonukuk/dp/1683690346/ref=nosim?tag=<amazonuk>0099530422</amazonuk>}}thebookbag-21]]
{{newreview
|author=John Lindsay
|title=Emails From An Asshole
|rating=4
|genre=Humour
|summary=Some classified ads are crying out for trolling. John Lindsay replies to them, spins them a yarn, and strings them along for as long as possible. Sometimes the advert is fairly innocuous and he emails them anyway. These are emails from an asshole, after all.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1402778279</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview|authorstyle=L C Tyler"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"||title===[[The Herring In The Library|ratingCon Artist by Fred Van Lente]]=4.5|genre=Crime|summary=Tall, elegant Ethelred is a gentleman, and a third-rate author. Elsie, his literary agent, is short and dumpy, and not afraid to speak her mind. It is Elsie, in fact, who constantly assures her client he only occasionally aspires to the giddy heights of being second-rate. This could be the business partnership from hell, but not only do these two seem to get along, they even manage to solve crimes together. In this, the third outing for L C Tyler's eccentric sleuths, we are provided with a locked room mystery, a cast of possible villains of the most stereotypical type, and a fresh, funny tale which will make you laugh so much you'll get a stitch.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0230714684</amazonuk>}}
[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{newreview|author=A J Jacobs|title=My Experimental Life|rating=3.5}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|genre=Crime]], [[:Category:Humour|summary=A J Jacobs has a reputation for setting himself onerous tasks. His first book was about reading the entire Encyclopedia Britannica; his second detailed a year spent according to the Biblical precepts. In My Experimental Life, he recounts nine briefer episodes of living outside his comfort zone.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099547422</amazonuk>}}Humour]]
{{newreview|author=Seth GrahameComic-Smith|title=Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter|rating=3.5|genre=Humour|summary='Give me your tiredCons are a place of wonder and sanctuary for many people, your poorand when Comic book artist Mike Mason arrives at San Diego Comic-Con, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.he' That quotes looking for both that and sanctuary with other fans and creators, on plus the Statue chance of Libertymaybe, was probably not designed just maybe reuniting with the inclusion of vampires in mindhis ex. But by some means or another North America However, when his rival is found dead, Mike is rife with forced to navigate every dark corner of the things – hiding con in plain sight, as the older ones can bear sunlight, with the help of darkened glasses. It might just come down order to one eager young man clear his name – from cosplay flash mobs and intrusive fans to rid zombie obstacle courses – Mike must prove his new country of such thingsinnocence and, in doing so, on his way to something he’s may just unravel a dark secret behind a bit more known forlegendary industry creator.[[The Con Artist by Fred Van Lente|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1849014086</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]
{{newreview
|author=Jane Austen, Seth Grahame-Smith and Tony Lee
|title=Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Graphic Novel
|rating=3
|genre=Graphic Novels
|summary=It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie story of any renown will not remain simply a zombie story. Before you can say ''the risen undead'' it will become a series of books, inspiring others, and/or lead to the same story being published in many different guises. Here, then, on its way to Hollywood, is Jane Austen’s story of Lizzie Bennet, the feisty young woman trying to ignore Mr Darcy while fighting off the ''manky unmentionables'' – at least she is until the hidden truths open up to her, just as the soft soils of Hertfordshire do to yield their once-human remains. And this time it’s in graphic novel form.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848566948</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview<!-- Coulton -->|author=Carl McInerney-|titlestyle=The Funniest Football Joke Book Ever"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"||rating=3[[image:1473669588.5jpg|genrelink=Confident Readers|summary=Who scored the most goals in the Greek Mythology League? The centaur forwardhttp://www. Badoom boom tshhhhamazon. It's a football joke book, packed to the gills with all sorts of cheesiness and sillinessco. Funniest everuk/dp/1473669588/ref=nosim? Perhaps not, but it's not too bad.|amazonuktag=<amazonuk>1849391114</amazonuk>}}thebookbag-21]]
{{newreview
|author=Paul Magrs
|title=Hell's Belles
|rating=3.5
|genre=Humour
|summary=The idea behind this series of novels is quite enchanting and amusing. Frankenstein's daughter is living and sleuthing in Whitby, ably aided and abetted by her sidekick, the enigmatic Effie, and a growing menagerie of younger accomplices, namely Michael and Penny. Whilst the original idea showed huge promise, I felt that the author has rather overdone it in terms of output, in his desire to capitalise on his original success. Book two in the series was quite disappointing, relying on sensationalism rather than adequate plot and character development. Book three was an improvement-and I'm delighted to report that this, the fourth book in the series, shows him returning to form with the promise we saw in the first of the series.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0755346467</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview|authorstyle=Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"||title=Winnie's Jokes|rating=2.5|genre=Confident Readers|summary[[Falling Short by Lex Coulton]]==Who turns off the lights at Halloween? The lights witch. What does an Australian witch ride on? A broomerang. Yep, it's a joke book.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0192729063</amazonuk>}}
[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{newreview|author=Nick Wadley|title=Man + Dog|rating=4.5}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:General Fiction|genre=General Fiction]], [[:Category:Humour|summary=Throughout my life I've lived with dogs or deeply regretted the fact that I lacked a canine companion. Watching a dog – or better stillHumour]], the interaction between dogs – is infinitely better than anything on television and it[[:Category:Women's sheer joy to see how man and dog interacts and how, so often, they hold a mirror up to each other.Fiction|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1564785521</amazonuk>}}Women's Fiction]]
{{newreview|author=Lex Coulton's debut novel is a story about mistakes, failures, and relationships. The Harvard Lampoon|title=Nightlight: A Parody main protagonist, Frances Pilgrim, is a sixth form English teacher who has recently fallen out with her best friend Jackson, a work colleague, and is grappling with the increasingly eccentric behaviour of Twilight |rating=3her mother.5|genre=Humour|summary=Most people will have heard of This relationship is complicated by the worldwide phenomenon fact that is Frances's father disappeared at sea when she was five years old. [[Twilight Falling Short by Stephenie MeyerLex Coulton|TwilightFull Review]]. The books by Stephenie Meyer and the film have made a legend of the romance between vampire Edward Mullen (Robert Pattinson plays the movie role) and teenage schoolgirl Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart).|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1849013330</amazonuk>}}
{{newreview<!-- van LENTE -->|author=Steven Lowe and Alan McArthur -|titlestyle=Is it Just Me or Has the Shit Hit the Fan?"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: Your Hilarious New Guide to Unremitting Global Miserycenter;"|rating=3|genre=Humour|summary=''The banks fell over like fat Labradors running over a wet kitchen floor.'' Surely that is the wackiest, most inappropriate simile for the credit crunch and all it has done for the world. You won't get any such namby-pamby animal likenesses from these authors, instead with quite a potty mouth on them they will lambast the modern world, the entire banking system, all those who failed to see it coming, and those millions just seemingly waiting for us all to revert to high-interest, high-risk, high-lending capitalism, so they can get back on the expenses train, and back up the rich lists[[image:1683690346.jpg|amazonuklink=<amazonuk>1847443656<http://amazonuk>}} {{newreview|author=Eoin Colfer|title=And Another Thing www.amazon.co. Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Part Six of Three (Hitchhikers Guide 6) |ratinguk/dp/1683690346/ref=3.5|genre=Science Fiction|summarynosim?tag=Of all the big books announced for this year, this one must have raised more eyebrows than many. Why try and write a new Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy book, when way before the end, its creator Douglas Adams was proving quite hopeless at such a task? And why approach an Irishman, Eoin Colfer, when the originals thebookbag- tempered with their humour which could only be described as Monty Python doing a sci-fi Terry Pratchett, and with their cups of tea and dressing gowns, could only be described as very English? Well the answer is most evident - Colfer is a world-beater when it comes to knocking up a story.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0718155149</amazonuk>}}21]]
{{newreview
|author=The Vampire Miles Proctor
|title=The New Vampire's Handbook
|rating=3.5
|genre=Humour
|summary=I shall start with a prediction. I will not become a vampire, for this imminent Hallowe'en, any festive fancy dress parties, or indeed for life as the lifeless undead. I will not need tips on filing my fangs, or how to divert attention from the fact I cannot eat human food at dinner parties. Me and my reflection in mirrors will remain intact. But for those of you reading this at night, somewhere, flameproof cape at hand, with your distaste of garlic, publicity and presumably the anaemic, this is the sterling how-to lifestyle guide.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0224086464</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview|authorstyle=David O'Doherty, Claudia O'Doherty and Mike Ahern"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"||title=100 Facts About Pandas|rating=3.5|genre=Humour|summary[[The Con Artist by Fred Van Lente]]==Sometimes the title says it all - this is a book with 100 facts about pandas. Sometimes you need to note the author too - David O'Doherty won an Edinburgh Comedy Award, so this is a book of a 100 silly and untrue facts about pandas.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0224086324</amazonuk>}}
[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{newreview|author=Richard Horne |title=A is for Armageddon|rating=2.5}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|genre=Crime]], [[:Category:Humour|summary=The world is definitely going to hell in a handcart. We're only just preventing lethal global warming by having a credit crunch that has prevented a lot of big building, air travel, and consumerism. The population is getting so obese there is no room for any more of us - and add that to the exploding population statistics, and it's never going to look better. And don't get me started on where all the bees have gone...|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0224086197</amazonuk>}}Humour]]
{{newreview|author=James May|title=Car Fever: Dispatches From Behind The Wheel|rating=4|genre=Lifestyle|summary=NowComic-Cons are a place of wonder and sanctuary for many people, way back and when I was youngerComic book artist Mike Mason arrives at San Diego Comic-Con, he's looking for both that and sanctuary with other fans and watched TV a lot, I am sure I remember Top Gear as being a consumer programme. How times change. These days I am sure they destroy more cars than they reviewcreators, and plus the three main people from the show are approaching superstar statuschance of maybe, just maybe reuniting with their amenable personalities, awkward wardrobe choices and trenchant laddish charmshis ex. They've sprung their media entities from out of the studioHowever, into other TV programmeswhen his rival is found dead, and Mike is forced to navigate every dark corner of the world of journalism, with chatty columns con in the broadsheets allowing them free rein order to witter clear his name – from cosplay flash mobs and intrusive fans to their heart's desire. And herezombie obstacle courses – Mike must prove his innocence and, in one grandiloquent volumedoing so, and in time for Christmas, are many of James May's desiresmay just unravel a dark secret behind a legendary industry creator.[[The Con Artist by Fred Van Lente|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0340994533</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]
{{newreview<!-- Curran -->|author=Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith |titlestyle=Pride and Prejudice and Zombies"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"||rating=4[[image:1683690133.5jpg|genrelink=Humour|summary=Ah, the benefits to a good book of a classic first linehttp://www. 'Call me Ishmaelamazon.' 'It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteenco.' Who can forget Iain Banks' 'It was the day my grandmother exploded'uk/dp/1683690133/ref=nosim? Or those timeless words by Jane Austen, 'It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains.'|amazonuktag=<amazonuk>1594743347</amazonuk>}}thebookbag-21]]
{{newreview
|author=Harry Hill
|title=Tim The Tiny Horse At Large
|rating=4
|genre=Humour
|summary=It's been a while since Tim and Fly's [[Tim the Tiny Horse by Harry Hill|last adventures]], and changes are afoot in Tim's tiny world: Fly is getting married to his girlfriend. Tim's a little worried because they've only known each other for a week. The marriage goes ahead, and Tim finds himself kicking his heels, so he gets a pet. And so the brief episodes in the life of a horse who lives in a matchbox continue.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0571244157</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview|authorstyle=Spike Milligan"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|title=The Magical World of Milligan|rating=4.5|genre=Confident Readers|summary=Some people you just have to love. It[[My Lady's the law. Spike Milligan was always fantastic, Choosing by Kitty Curran and he's much missed. He's got the perfect mix of nonsense, heart, and surreal humour. He speaks to people of all ages, and he's just plain lovely. |amazonukLarissa Zageris]]===<amazonuk>1905264844</amazonuk>}}
[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{newreview|author=Sam Savage|title=The Cry of the Sloth|rating=3.5}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Humour|genre=General Humour]], [[:Category:Historical Fiction|summary=Meet Andrew Whittaker. In some untold time of recent American history, he is forced through a failed marriage and an artistic temperament at odds with so many other people, to let properties to tenants he does not like, for $120 a month. The lodgers might not like the state of the buildings - ceilings falling through and so on - but that's another matter. He would much prefer to be left alone in front of his little Olivetti typewriter and create art. He runs a literary journal, of a kind, called "Soap", which no-one likes, no-one reads (and often, with dodgy, cheap printing, no-one could physically read it anyway), and which makes him poorer in time, money and spirit.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0297856499</amazonuk>}}Historical Fiction]]
{{newreview|author=Christopher Moore|title=You Suck|rating=4|genre=Humour|summary=You know that old adage about books are a lass of twenty eight. Plucky, penniless and covers? Well this in Regency era London the race is on to find a case in pointsuitable suitor - or else doom yourself to life as an eternal spinster. The title isnAlong your journey you't greatll be accompanied by Lady Evangeline Youngblood - a fiesty noble eager to save you from a life alone, but the cover design and fired by a rogueish sense for adventure. When it comes to suitors though, you'll have to make the paperback imprint isultimate decision between witty, pretty and wealthy Sir Benedict Granville, likewholesome, duh!rugged and caring Captain Angus MacTaggart, or the pitsmad, bad and terrifyingly sexy Lord Garraway Craven. It is so uncool…so unrep-resent-ative of With orphans, werewolves, long lost lovers and ancient Egyptian artifcats along the bookway, it's clear this isn't going to be an easy decision. This is not a cocktail thing. Not even a "Bloody Mary" thing. [[My Lady's Choosing by Kitty Curran and Larissa Zageris|Full Review]]
Well, except for the tiny bit that is, but you'll discover that in due course<!-- Jester -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Jester_Forever.jpg|left|amazonuklink=<amazonuk>1841498092<https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/amazonuk>}}1510704361?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1510704361]]
{{newreview
|author=Hugh Murr and Sid Nigtures
|title=Cyber Sign Offs
|rating=2
|genre=Humour
|summary=I admit I had the wrong end of the stick when it came to this book, before I opened it at least. I had assumed it was a collection of real-life on-line signatures - we've all seen them, those straplines people have on all their forum posts. The obvious response would have been along the lines of 'fair enough, but why is this a book in this day and age, and not a website?'. But no. This is a collection of dialogues between two people - shall we call them Sue deNim and Allie Bye, who have a line or two to say to each other, and a made-up name (sorry, make that May Dupp-Name) with which to sign it off. Much jolly nonsense ensues.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1904312497</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview|authorstyle=Tim Fitzhigham |title=All at Sea"vertical-align: One Man. One Bathtub. One Very Bad Ideatop; text-align: Conquering the Channel in a Piece of Plumbingleft;"||rating=4.5|genre=Travel|summary=Once more my life is made easy [[Forever After: a dark comedy by saying this book does just what it claims on the cover - takes a narrator of zesty, wacky humour, throws him into an unlikely situation (a bath) and gets him to do something unusual (row it across the Channel - and then beyond). This despite the fact he was the world's worst sculler at University.|amazonukDavid Jester]]===<amazonuk>1848090269</amazonuk>}}
[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{newreview|author=Simon Brett{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Paranormal|title=BlottoParanormal]], Twinks and the Ex-King's Daughter|rating=4|genre=Humour[[:Category:Horror|summary=There can be few people who have written eighty books without me even having picked up one of them. At least, and at last, I have redressed that fault in the case of Simon Brett, and have come to the conclusion there are 79 more that will be worth investigating. Here we meet for the first time Blotto (posh idiotic son of a dowager duchess) and Twinks (posh brilliant genius sister to Blotto), their family, their surroundingsHorror]], and the corpse inconveniently disturbing a dinner party.[[:Category:Fantasy|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1845299353</amazonuk>}}Fasntasy]]
{{newreview|author=Karl Pilkington|title=Karlology|rating=4|genre=Humour|summary=The Radio Five film critic Mark Kermode has Michael Holland is a rule when reviewing comediescocky and brash young man who dies and gets made the offer of his lifetime; immortality. If he laughs more than five times then We follow Michael, a grim reaper and his friends Chip (a stoner tooth fairy) and Naff (a stoner in the film deserves its billing records department) as they grapple with their long lives and finding a comedy. If that rule was applied clean surface to Karl Pilkington's new book Karlology then it would easily fit into the category for there are laugh aplenty sit on in this strange, amusing and charming little booktheir flat.[[Forever After: a dark comedy by David Jester|amazonuk=<amazonuk>140533746X</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]
{{newreview<!-- Stibbe -->|author=Joe Stretch-|titlestyle=Wildlife"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|rating=3[[image:Stibbe_Xmas.jpg|genre=Humourleft|summarylink=The word ''Twitter'' doesn't occur in Joe Stretch's vocabulary, but that's what his book is abouthttps://www. Life in the blogosphere, massively exaggerated, where people don't leave their desks but nevertheless come together (but never literally) in satisfying their deepest, darkest desiresamazon. If I've made it sound even faintly exciting, believe me, Joe Stretch is a fantasist with realist tendenciesco. What he is after is laughter; what he produces is a virtual simulacrum. Sniggeryuk/gp/product/0241309824?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-pokery, jiggery-jokery, he tinkers with the twilight zone of a future-scenario where, for reasons beyond all understanding, some robotic and literal Dickhead (i.e. a man with a dick fixed to his forehead – I kid you not) decides to target a few selected humans for a make-over in his own image. Given that virtual worlds exist to pull in punters who don't like themselves in the real one, and their main purpose is to make money, one's only question must be: why?|amazonuk21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=<amazonuk>0099532077</amazonuk>}}0241309824]]
{{newreview
|author=Michael Marr
|title=Three Jumpers
|rating=5
|genre=Literary Fiction
|summary=When Bardolph Middle placed an ad in the paper proclaiming he was a writer, he thought he might get the odd request to write a speech or two. Maybe, if he was very lucky, a company might ask him to conceive an entire marketing plan and advertising campaign. What he never expected was this job offer…
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1906558485</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview|authorstyle=Rosy Barnes"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"||title=Sadomasochism for Accountants|rating=3|genre=Women's Fiction|summary[[An Almost Perfect Christmas by Nina Stibbe]]==Humour's very personal, isn't it? If you dig films like ''Shaun of the Dead'' and ''Hot Fuzz'', I predict you'll love this chick lit parody. It's anarchic and very British comedy tradition. If you're into the conventions of good writing, you may find it a little painful. Nevertheless, I enjoyed plenty of moments in Rosy Barnes' first novel.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0714531812</amazonuk>}}
{{newreview|author=Lady Annabel Goldsmith|title=Copper[[image: A Dog's Life|rating=4|genre=Humour|summary=Copper was one of a litter of dogs born to a stray bitch and who was 'adopted' by Lady Annabel Goldsmith - or might it be the other way round?. Here he tells his story in his own words as transcribed for him by his owner. He's got his own priorities – and obedience is not one of them – along with a roving spirit5star. It's perhaps fortunate that he's a dog as this allows you to call him 'cheeky' and 'charming'. If he was a human being 'randy' and 'arrogant' would be two of the first words which came to mind.jpg|amazonuklink=<amazonuk>0751538205</amazonuk>Category:{{{rating}}}Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Humour|Humour]], [[:Category:Short Stories|Short Stories]]
{{newreview|author=Tim Moore|title=I Believe in Yesterday: My Adventures in Living History|rating=4|genre=Humour|summary=Common opinion has Christmas – the time of traditional trauma. You only have to think about the turkey for that – once upon a time it was leaving it sat on the downstairs loo to defrost overnight, and if that failed the television programme hair-dryer shoved inside it treatment was your next best bet. Nowadays it's all having to make sure it'Time Team'' did a lot for the public image of archaeologists s suitably free-range and organic – bringing them out of their holes in the groundbut not too organic that you can go and visit it, and making them seem like excitingget too friendly with it to want to eat it. Christmas, though, interesting people with is of course also a good way time of putting their knowledge acrossgreat boons. However It's cash in hand for a lot of plump people who can hire red suits and beards, it was clearly always a much harder task when it came godsend for postmen with all the thank-you letters to those background artistes they have sometimesaunties you saw twice a decade that your parents made you write out in long-hand as a child, walking up and down in Roman centurion gearas for the makers of Meltis Newberry Fruits – well, or living did they even try and sell them any other time of the historical lifestyle as a re-enactment.year? [[An Almost Perfect Christmas by Nina Stibbe|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0224077813</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]
{{newreview<!-- Doescher -->|author=L Vaughan Spencer-|titlestyle=Don't Be Needy Be Succeedy"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|rating=4[[image:Doescher_Will.jpg|genre=Humourleft|summarylink=Are you underperforming in your business and personal liveshttps://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/159474985X? Do you underestimate the importance of good hair and moisturised skin in achieving your life goals? Are you stumbling through life in a Fastie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-Moving Business Environment (FMBE) without a motivational mantra to guide you? Then you need this book. As ''The A to Zee of Motivitality'', this is a dictionary of achievement from a man who can teach you how to succeed like a toothless budgie.|amazonuk21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=<amazonuk>1846681634</amazonuk>}}159474985X]]
{{newreview
|author=Mark Crick
|title=Sartre's Sink: The Great Writers' Complete Book of DIY
|rating=4
|genre=Humour
|summary=''Sartre's Sink'' comprises fourteen short story parodies of some of the world's best known writers – the twist being that the stories are all about undertaking some mundane DIY task such as tiling a bathroom (Dostoevsky) or reglazing a window (Milan Kundera). So far it sounds a bit like some pretentious Oxbridge student twaddle. You can just imagine how the idea came up over an over-ripe Brie and an underrated bottle of 1963 Taylor's port. It also rather smacks of that Radio 4 programme which I detest with an absolute passion - I can't even stand writing its name, ugh - ''Quote Unquote'', in which parodies do feature, read out by smug self-congratulatory writer darlings (you can tell I don't like it, can't you?). However, dear readers, this book is rather enjoyable and I speak as someone who is rather less versed in the writings of this famous lot than I care to admit.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847080472</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview|authorstyle=Eric Nakagawa"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|title=I Can Has Cheezburger |rating=4|genre=Pets|summary=[[William Shakespeare''I Can Has Cheezburger'', is a clever and witty anthology of some of s the best pictures and captions from Force Doth Awaken: Star Wars Part the fantastic [http://icanhascheezburger.com/ lolcats websiteSeventh by Ian Doescher]] of the same name. The site has been growing in popularity in recent months, and so it was inevitable that a book would soon hit the shelves. Choosing which pics to include in the book could not have been an easy task, and some of the old favourites are there, alongside some less well known ones.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0340977574</amazonuk>}}==
[[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{newreview|author=Ian Crofton|title=History Without the Boring Bits|rating=5|genre=History}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Science Fiction|summary=I was never one for history, and in fact left the dregs of a history teacher in tatters when I scraped through with a D. Still, history is an odd thing – written by the winners of course, and annoyingly biased in my mind towards the plain. There's no real reason to remember the order of Henry VIII's six wives, but we can only relish the one credited with polydactylism, a third nipple and whatnot (the second oneScience Fiction]], in fact – whoever that was).[[:Category:Humour|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847243746</amazonuk>}}Humour]]
{{newreview|author=Jim Holt|title=Stop Me If You've Heard This|rating=4|genre=Humour|summary=As A long time ago, in a galaxy far as I can rememberaway, there was a man called William Shakespeare, my first time in print who was when I submitted some jokes able to create a charity's themed joke collectionseries of dramatic histories full of machinations most foul, rulers most evil and rebellious heroes and heroines most sturdy. Before thenYou may or may not have noticed the cinematic version of his original stage play for ''The Force Doth Awaken'', but here at last we get the actual script, complete with annoying-in-different-ways-to-before droids anew, some of my first actions as a child might have been laughingreturning heroes from elsewhere in his oeuvre, and what is cuter people keeping it in a baby than that? the family til it hurts. But why was that infant laughing And if you need further encouragement, don't forget his audience only demanded three parts of Henry VI – he didnhere the series is so popular we't have a joke he could get, re 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|amazonuk=<amazonuk>184668109X</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]
{{newreview<!-- Goss -->|author=P G Wodehouse -|titlestyle=Joy in the Morning"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"||rating=4[[image:Goss_600.5jpg|genre=Humourleft|summarylink=''Joy in the Morning'' is another novel from Phttps://www.Gamazon. Wodehouse's wonderful series of books about Bertram Wooster and Jeevesco. Bertie is a young gentleman of inherited means and no present occupation. He is a good humoured and welluk/gp/product/1785942719?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-meant chap, however clearly not the smartest tool in the shed. Bertie seems to have a talent of getting himself into trouble but that is where Jeeves, his loyal, educated and painfully clever butler comes to his rescue. Jeeves is irreplaceable when it comes to saving Bertie from whatever 21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative, complicated and incredibly funny situations Wodehouse puts his characters through.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099513765</amazonuk>}}6738&creativeASIN=1785942719]]
{{newreview
|author=P G Wodehouse
|title=Thank You, Jeeves
|rating=4
|genre=General Fiction
|summary=Bertie Wooster was once engaged to Pauline Stoker. It didn't last very long – about forty eight hours, most of which Bertie spent in bed with a bad cold, if his memory serves him correctly. It's still embarrassing when he meets Pauline and her father, particularly as it was the father who was responsible for breaking off the engagement. Rather than eat at the Savoy Grill where he spotted the Stokers, he goes home to his only consolation. Bertie plays the banjo. Unfortunately, he doesn't play it very well.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099513730</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview|authorstyle=Tom Holt "vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|title=The Better Mousetrap|rating=4 |genre=Humour|summary=I approached this book with a fair degree [[Doctor Who: Now We Are Six Hundred: A Collection of trepidation, as I had never heard of the author, and wondered if, when reading the synopsis, I was about to embark on a Terry Pratchett type novel Time Lord Verse (and I have to say, much though I admire his achievements, I'm not a fan of Discworld!Dr Who) However, my fears were unfounded, by James Goss and from page one I found myself drawn into this clever and erudite novel. Not having read the preceding novels in the series did put me at a slight disadvantage, but didn't detract from my enjoyment, and has certainly ensured that I'll read the others in the near future. |amazonukRussell T Davies]]===<amazonuk>1841495034</amazonuk>}}
[[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{newreview|author=Philip Moore |title=Utterly Ridiculous|rating=3 |genre=Humour|summary=If I learned nothing else from this book, I now know of a new profession}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category: aircraft cleaner. For that is the trade of Dave, the hero of Children's Rhymes and Verse|Children'Utterly Ridiculous''. With little but a van s Rhymes and his torpid terrier BigglesVerse]], Dave roves the airstrips of southern England[[:Category:Science Fiction|Science Fiction]], titivating light aircraft.[[:Category:Humour|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1906221685</amazonuk>}}Humour]]
{{newreview|author=John Mole |title=I Was a Potato Oligarch: Travels Consider the Doctor. Just how many birthday and Travails Christmas gifts must he have to hand out each year, were he to keep in the New Russia|rating=1 |genre=Travel|summary=I remember getting this book in posttouch with even half of his companions? He would certainly need a few novelty gifts for some of them, say, for example, reading whimsical books of verse that pithily encapsulate the title life of a Time Lord and that of some of his friends and thinking noenemies. As luck would have it, even though I am Russianhe has the space in his TARDIS to stock up in advance, I will try so my advice to him – sorry, her – would be unbiased to pop along to his local Earth-based book emporium and judge it like I would judge any other book about a foreign country experience. I now have to regretfully admit I failedget himself ready. In my defence, John MoleAnd if you's focus re working on mocking a shorter timescale, with a shorter lifespan, and thinking perhaps just one gift season ahead, well my advice is pretty much the nation same. [[Doctor Who: Now We Are Six Hundred: A Collection of Time Lord Verse (Dr Who) by James Goss and country made that all too easy.Russell T Davies|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1857885090</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]
{{newreview<!-- Ingram -->|author=Clive Gifford-|titlestyle=Teenage Kicks"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: 101 Things to Do Before You're 16center;"||rating=3[[image:Ingram_Kammie.5jpg|genre=Humourleft|summarylink=Kidshttps://www. They're bored all the time, aren't they? Nothing you buy seems to have any longevityamazon. I think they live in alternative dimension in which time passes much more slowly that it does for harassed parentsco. It's the only explanation. I think Clive Gifford must sympathise, because his latest book, Teenage Kicks, has a whopping 101 ideas to alleviate boredom and a clever challenge too uk/gp/product/1785451995?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag- your bored child has to complete them all before they reach 16. At a measly £5.99, this book could represent the most wonderful value for money any parent could ever wish for.|amazonuk21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=<amazonuk>0340950617</amazonuk>}}1785451995]]
{{newreview
|author=Jon Canter
|title=A Short Gentleman
|rating=4
|genre=Humour
|summary=The narrator of this spoof biography is a civil law barrister. Robert Purcell has been educated at Winchester and Oxford. He has modelled himself on his polite and restrained father, a High Court judge and, as a child, Robert maps out the components his own expected adult life – wife, two children, career – and the respect which he will gain from this, together with his undoubted intellectual superiority. At the age of eight, he writes a future Who's Who entry for himself, with all the academic and professional accolades he expects to garner.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0224077740</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview|authorstyle=George Saunders "vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"||title=The Brain-dead Megaphone|rating=4.5|genre=Humour|summary[[Conversations with Kammie by Annie Ingram]]==American author George Saunders is known for his short stories and fiction, but he is also a journalist for publications such as ''The Guardian'', ''The New Yorker Magazine'' and ''GQ''. ''The Brain-Dead Megaphone'' is his first collection of essays and it's an interesting proposition: sixteen pieces ranging from travel writing, literary appreciation, political essays, to surrealist short fiction.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0747594260</amazonuk>}}
[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Pets|Pets]], [[:Category:Humour|Humour]]
It was something of a relief when I encountered Annie Ingram and her cocker spaniel Kammie. You see, Annie knows something which has been self-evident to me for a long time: dogs are perfectly capable of communicating with humans and 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 time to teach you and all you have to do is listen. Annie has studied hard: Kammie has trained her well and the pair have allowed us to share some of their conversations. [[Conversations with Kammie by Annie Ingram|Full Review]] <!-- Harris -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Harris_Glass.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1908943823/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Breaking of Liam Glass by Charles Harris]]=== [[image:3star.jpg|link=Category:{{{newreview rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]], [[:Category:Humour|Humour]] Teenager Liam Glass is mugged and stabbed yards from his Camden flat. As the boy lies comatose, desperate journalist Jason Worthington scrabbles for the inside scoop, tired police officer Andy Rockham searches for a missing tape, harried politician Jamila Hasan fights for re-election, distraught mother Katrina Glass waits by her son, and gym-owner Royland simply finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. We follow this host of ensemble characters in a bleak, kaleidoscopic satire of modern media. [[The Breaking of Liam Glass by Charles Harris|Full Review]] <!-- LENTE -->|title-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Lente_10.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1683690222/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|=Tim ==[[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 remote Caribbean island under the guise of working with Dustin Walker, a comedic legend. Each fits neatly into one of the archetypal comic stereotypes: Steve, the washed-up has-been who has fallen far from his early days; Zoe, the rising female star with a new stand-up special coming soon; Dante, who went from being a kid on the streets to the hardest working road comic in the business; Oliver, the child-like prop comic who can't get any respect from his peers; Janet, the insult comic who is past her prime; TJ, the nightly variety show host with a reputation for harassing his female colleagues and guest acts; Ruby, the ultra-feminist YouTuber and Blogger with a chip on her shoulder; and William, whose redneck character ''Billy the Tiny HorseContractor'' is a far cry from his real personality as a posh millionaire. Of course, all nine agree because ''when God almighty walks down on a beam of light and asks for your help, what the hell else are you going to say?'' [[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.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1788037006/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] |authorstyle="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Elizabeth, William... and Me by S Lynn Scott]]===Harry Hill [[image:4.5star.jpg|genrelink=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Humour|Humour]] Ally is an ordinary woman with teenage children, a husband and a job. 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 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|Full Review]] <!-- Rodford -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Rodford_Surgeon.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/178565005X/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] |style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Surgeon's 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 this series, Private Investigator George Kocharyan has been hired by a well-known local man to track down some missing valuables. Bill Galbraith, a world-famous surgeon at Cambridge's Addenbrooke's Hospital who hosts a popular medical television programme, has had his briefcase stolen by his live-in domestic servant, Aurora. According to Galbraith, this briefcase contains confidential notes concerning an important patient of his at the hospital. George agrees to look into the theft, assuming it will be a relatively easy and straightforward case – little does he know, he's about to enter a world of deceit and dysfunction. [[The Surgeon's Case: George Kocharyan Mystery 2 by E G Rodford|Full Review]] <!-- Jordan -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Jordan_Tiny.jpg|link=4http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1760293814/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Our Tiny, Useless Hearts by Toni Jordan]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|summarylink=After doing even tiny bit Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Women's Fiction|Women's Fiction]], [[:Category:Humour|Humour]] As predicted by Caroline and Janice's mother on Caroline and Henry's wedding day, their marriage is over, albeit 15 years and 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 research I realised the girls' schoolteacher being the other woman for a start. Then there's that mistaken identity moment involving the neighbours. At least Janice is well adjusted and over her ex-husband Alec. She still dreams of him, yes, but it's so over! Just as well really… guess who's at the door? [[Our Tiny, Useless Hearts by Toni Jordan|Full Review]] <!-- Taylor -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Taylor_Scilly.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/178475515X/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Life of a Scilly Sergeant by Colin Taylor]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Travel|Travel]], [[:Category:Humour|Humour]] Meet the Isles of Scilly. (I must know they should be called that – the author provides a handy guide to the only person etiquette of their name, their nature and location, etc.) For our more distant readers, they're several chunks of granite rock out in the Atlantic, where Cornwall is pointing, with just 2,200 permanent residents. They're big on tourism, and big on growing flowers in the tropical climate the Gulf Stream bequeaths them – although 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 can be mistaken for thinking there would be no need for a police presence. But there is – at least two working at any one time. And one of them in recent years has been Colin Taylor, who ever read Tim 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|Full Review]] <!-- Lloyd -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Lloyd_Twas.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1472125118/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[['Twas the Fight Before Christmas: A Parody by Josie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees]]=== [[image:3.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Humour|Humour]] It's Christmas Eve and Mum has arranged everything. All she now has to do is await the Tiny Horse having never heard arrival of the authorrelatives and the food shopping delivery. Thus, I Little does Mum know that those two elements alone have the potential to take another reviewerruin everything. [['Twas the Fight Before Christmas: A Parody by Josie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees|Full Review]] <!-- Phinn -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Phinn_Virgin.jpg|left|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1444779400/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Virgin Mary's word Got Nits by Gervase Phinn]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Humour|Humour]], [[:Category:Anthologies|Anthologies]] Christmas in our house is the time we tend to get on a plane 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, and food cupboard stockpiles that would imply supermarkets are shutting for a month, nor a mere 36 hours. But I do remember the feeling of Christmas when I was younger, back when it was magical, and back when you knew exactly what the season would bring with carol concerts and school nativities and Christmas parties. This book is an anthology of those moments, and ittook me right back to the wonder of Christmas as a child. [[The Virgin Mary's Got Nits by Gervase Phinn|Full Review]] <!-- North -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"typical Harry Hill|[[image:North_Romeo.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0356508536/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;" |===[[Romeo and/or Juliet by Ryan North]]=== [[image:3.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Humour|Humour]] For all those who think tragedy plots are too restricted and prescribed, read on. In these pages you too will make see that Romeo had lots of options en route to hitting the bottle. Likewise, she could have 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 leads have just banged people's heads together and stopped the quarrelling, or Death by Tybalt (him) or a long life running an attempt at reviewing Tim establishment curing murderous women, such as a stand-aloneLady M (her). [[Romeo and/or Juliet by Ryan North|Full Review]] |amazonuk=<amazonuk>0571229565</amazonuk!-- DO NOT REMOVE ANYTHING BELOW THIS LINE -->}|}
