[[Category:Humour|*]]
[[Category:New Reviews|Humour]]__NOTOC__ <!-- Remove -->{|class-"wikitable" cellpadding="15" <!-- INSERT NEW REVIEWS BELOW HERE--><!-- van LENTE -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1683690346.jpg|link=Humourhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1683690346/ref=nosim?tag=__NOTOC__thebookbag-21]]
{{newreview
|author=PJ Vanston
|title=Crump
|rating=3
|genre=General Fiction
|summary=It's Kevin Crump's first day as a lecturer at Thames Metropolitan University - an ex-polytechnic. It's the happiest day of his life, and he can't wait to see all that it holds, and make a difference to all his students. And then it hits him: the relentless pettiness of authority figures, the students who can't string two sentences together, the lowering of standards in search of higher test scores, so more money from foreign students, and political correctness gone (as I believe the saying goes) mad.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848762852</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview|authorstyle=John Lennon"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|title=In His Own Write and A Spaniard in the Works|rating=3|genre=Humour|summary=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). Some of them were seen [[The Con Artist by Tom Maschler, literary editor at Jonathan Cape, who encouraged him to produce more. The results were published in two very successful short books in 1964 and 1965.|amazonukFred Van Lente]]===<amazonuk>0099530422</amazonuk>}}
[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{newreview|author=John Lindsay|title=Emails From An Asshole|rating=4}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|genre=Crime]], [[:Category: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>}}Humour]]
{{newreview|author=L C Tyler|title=The Herring In The Library|rating=4.5|genre=Crime|summary=Tall, elegant Ethelred is Comic-Cons are a gentlemanplace of wonder and sanctuary for many people, and a thirdwhen Comic book artist Mike Mason arrives at San Diego Comic-rate author. ElsieCon, his literary agent, is short he's looking for both that and dumpy, sanctuary with other fans and not afraid to speak her mind. It is Elsie, in factcreators, who constantly assures her client he only occasionally aspires to plus the giddy heights chance of being second-ratemaybe, just maybe reuniting with his ex. This could be the business partnership from hellHowever, but not only do these two seem to get alongwhen his rival is found dead, they even manage Mike is forced 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 navigate every dark corner of the most stereotypical type, con in order to clear his name – from cosplay flash mobs and intrusive fans to zombie obstacle courses – Mike must prove his innocence and a fresh, funny tale which will make you laugh in doing so much you'll get , may just unravel a dark secret behind a stitchlegendary industry creator.[[The Con Artist by Fred Van Lente|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0230714684</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]
{{newreview
|author=A J Jacobs
|title=My Experimental Life
|rating=3.5
|genre=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>
}}
{{newreview<!-- Coulton -->|author=Seth Grahame-Smith|titlestyle=Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"||rating=3[[image:1473669588.5jpg|genrelink=Humour|summary='Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shorehttp://www.' That quote, on the Statue of Liberty, was probably not designed with the inclusion of vampires in mindamazon. But by some means or another North America is rife with the things – hiding in plain sight, as the older ones can bear sunlight, with the help of darkened glassesco. It might just come down to one eager young man to rid his new country of such things, on his way to something he’s a bit more known for.|amazonukuk/dp/1473669588/ref=nosim?tag=<amazonuk>1849014086</amazonuk>}}thebookbag-21]]
{{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|authorstyle=Carl McInerney"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"||title=The Funniest Football Joke Book Ever|rating=3.5|genre=Confident Readers|summary[[Falling Short by Lex Coulton]]==Who scored the most goals in the Greek Mythology League? The centaur forward. Badoom boom tshhhh. It's a football joke book, packed to the gills with all sorts of cheesiness and silliness. Funniest ever? Perhaps not, but it's not too bad.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1849391114</amazonuk>}}
[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{newreviewrating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:General Fiction|author=Paul MagrsGeneral Fiction]], [[:Category:Humour|title=HellHumour]], [[:Category:Women's Belles|rating=3.5Fiction|genre=Humour|summary=The idea behind this series of novels is quite enchanting and amusing. FrankensteinWomen'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>}}Fiction]]
{{newreview|author=Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul|title=WinnieLex Coulton's Jokes|rating=2debut novel is a story about mistakes, failures, and relationships.5|genre=Confident Readers|summary=Who turns off The 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 lights at Halloween? The lights witchincreasingly eccentric behaviour of her mother. What does an Australian witch ride on? A broomerang. Yep, it This relationship is complicated by the fact that Frances's a joke bookfather disappeared at sea when she was five years old.[[Falling Short by Lex Coulton|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0192729063</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]
{{newreview<!-- van LENTE -->|author=Nick Wadley-|titlestyle=Man + Dog"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1683690346.jpg|ratinglink=4http://www.5|genre=Humour|summary=Throughout my life I've lived with dogs or deeply regretted the fact that I lacked a canine companionamazon. Watching a dog – or better still, the interaction between dogs – is infinitely better than anything on television and it's sheer joy to see how man and dog interacts and how, so often, they hold a mirror up to each otherco.|amazonukuk/dp/1683690346/ref=nosim?tag=<amazonuk>1564785521</amazonuk>}}thebookbag-21]]
{{newreview
|author=The Harvard Lampoon
|title=Nightlight: A Parody of Twilight
|rating=3.5
|genre=Humour
|summary=Most people will have heard of the worldwide phenomenon that is [[Twilight by Stephenie Meyer|Twilight]]. 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|authorstyle=Steven Lowe and Alan McArthur |title=Is it Just Me or Has the Shit Hit the Fan?"vertical-align: Your Hilarious New Guide to Unremitting Global Misery|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 nambytop; text-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.align: left;"|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847443656</amazonuk>}} {{newreview|author=Eoin Colfer|title=And Another Thing ... Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Part Six of Three (Hitchhikers Guide 6) |rating=3.5|genre[[The Con Artist by Fred Van Lente]]=Science Fiction|summary=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 - 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>}}
[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{newreview|author=The Vampire Miles Proctor|title=The New Vampire's Handbook|rating=3.5}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|genre=Crime]], [[:Category: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>}}Humour]]
{{newreview|author=David O'DohertyComic-Cons are a place of wonder and sanctuary for many people, and when Comic book artist Mike Mason arrives at San Diego Comic-Con, Claudia Ohe'Doherty s looking for both that and sanctuary with other fans and Mike Ahern|title=100 Facts About Pandas|rating=3.5|genre=Humour|summary=Sometimes creators, plus the title says it all - this is a book chance of maybe, just maybe reuniting with 100 facts about pandashis ex. Sometimes you need However, when his rival is found dead, Mike is forced to note navigate every dark corner of the author too - David O'Doherty won an Edinburgh Comedy Awardcon in order to clear his name – from cosplay flash mobs and intrusive fans to zombie obstacle courses – Mike must prove his innocence and, in doing so this is , may just unravel a book of dark secret behind a 100 silly and untrue facts about pandaslegendary industry creator.[[The Con Artist by Fred Van Lente|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0224086324</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]
{{newreview<!-- Curran -->|author=Richard Horne -|titlestyle=A is for Armageddon"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"||rating=2[[image:1683690133.5jpg|genrelink=Humour|summary=The world is definitely going to hell in a handcarthttp://www. We're only just preventing lethal global warming by having a credit crunch that has prevented a lot of big building, air travel, and consumerismamazon. 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 betterco. And don't get me started on where all the bees have gone...|amazonukuk/dp/1683690133/ref=nosim?tag=<amazonuk>0224086197</amazonuk>}}thebookbag-21]]
{{newreview
|author=James May
|title=Car Fever: Dispatches From Behind The Wheel
|rating=4
|genre=Lifestyle
|summary=Now, way back when I was younger, 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 review, and the three main people from the show are approaching superstar status, with their amenable personalities, awkward wardrobe choices and trenchant laddish charms. They've sprung their media entities from out of the studio, into other TV programmes, and the world of journalism, with chatty columns in the broadsheets allowing them free rein to witter to their heart's desire. And here, in one grandiloquent volume, and in time for Christmas, are many of James May's desires.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0340994533</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview|authorstyle=Jane Austen and Seth Grahame"vertical-align: top; text-Smith align: left;"|title=Pride and Prejudice and Zombies|rating=4.5|genre=Humour|summary=Ah, the benefits to a good book of a classic first line. [[My Lady'Call me Ishmael.' 'It was a bright cold day in April, s Choosing by Kitty Curran and the clocks were striking thirteen.' Who can forget Iain Banks' 'It was the day my grandmother exploded'? 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.'|amazonukLarissa Zageris]]===<amazonuk>1594743347</amazonuk>}}
[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{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 }}} Star Reviews]] [[Tim the Tiny Horse by Harry Hill:Category:Humour|last adventuresHumour]], 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.Category:Historical Fiction|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0571244157</amazonuk>}}Historical Fiction]]
{{newreview|author=Spike Milligan|title=The Magical World You are a lass of Milligan|rating=4twenty eight.5|genre=Confident Readers|summary=Some people you just have Plucky, penniless and in Regency era London the race is on to find a suitable suitor - or else doom yourself to lovelife as an eternal spinster. ItAlong your journey you's the law. Spike Milligan was always fantasticll be accompanied by Lady Evangeline Youngblood - a fiesty noble eager to save you from a life alone, and he's much missedfired by a rogueish sense for adventure. HeWhen it comes to suitors though, you's got ll have to make the perfect mix of nonsenseultimate decision between witty, pretty and wealthy Sir Benedict Granville, wholesome, heartrugged and caring Captain Angus MacTaggart, or the mad, bad and surreal humourterrifyingly sexy Lord Garraway Craven. He speaks to people of all agesWith orphans, werewolves, long lost lovers and heancient Egyptian artifcats along the way, it's just plain lovelyclear this isn't going to be an easy decision. .. [[My Lady's Choosing by Kitty Curran and Larissa Zageris|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1905264844</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]
{{newreview<!-- Jester -->|author=Sam Savage-|titlestyle=The Cry of the Sloth"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"||rating=3[[image:Jester_Forever.5jpg|genre=General Fictionleft|summarylink=Meet Andrew Whittakerhttps://www. 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 matteramazon. He would much prefer to be left alone in front of his little Olivetti typewriter and create artco. He runs a literary journal, of a kind, called "Soap", which nouk/gp/product/1510704361?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-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.|amazonuk21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=<amazonuk>0297856499</amazonuk>}}1510704361]]
{{newreview
|author=Christopher Moore
|title=You Suck
|rating=4
|genre=Humour
|summary=You know that old adage about books and covers? Well this is a case in point. The title isn't great, but the cover design for the paperback imprint is, like, duh!, the pits. It is so uncool…so unrep-resent-ative of the book. This is not a cocktail thing. Not even a "Bloody Mary" thing.
Well, except for the tiny bit that is, but you'll discover that in due course.|amazonukstyle=<amazonuk>1841498092</amazonuk>"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|}}===[[Forever After: a dark comedy by David Jester]]===
[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{newreview|author=Hugh Murr and Sid Nigtures |title=Cyber Sign Offs|rating=2}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Paranormal|genre=HumourParanormal]], [[:Category:Horror|summary=I admit I had the wrong end of the stick when it came to this bookHorror]], 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.[[:Category:Fantasy|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1904312497</amazonuk>}}Fasntasy]]
{{newreview|author=Tim Fitzhigham |title=All at Sea: One Man. One Bathtub. One Very Bad Idea: Conquering the Channel in Michael Holland is a Piece of Plumbing|rating=4.5|genre=Travel|summary=Once more my life is cocky and brash young man who dies and gets made easy by saying this book does just what it claims on the cover - takes a narrator offer of zestyhis lifetime; immortality. We follow Michael, wacky humour, throws him into an unlikely situation a grim reaper and his friends Chip (a bathstoner tooth fairy) and gets him to do something unusual Naff (row it across a stoner in the Channel - records department) as they grapple with their long lives and then beyond)finding a clean surface to sit on in their flat. This despite the fact he was the world's worst sculler at University.[[Forever After: a dark comedy by David Jester|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848090269</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]
{{newreview<!-- Stibbe -->|author=Simon Brett-|titlestyle=Blotto, Twinks and the Ex"width: 10%; vertical-King's Daughteralign: top; text-align: center;"|rating=4[[image:Stibbe_Xmas.jpg|genre=Humourleft|summarylink=There can be few people who have written eighty books without me even having picked up one of themhttps://www. 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 investigatingamazon. 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 surroundings, and the corpse inconveniently disturbing a dinner partyco.|amazonukuk/gp/product/0241309824?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=<amazonuk>1845299353</amazonuk>}}0241309824]]
{{newreview
|author=Karl Pilkington
|title=Karlology
|rating=4
|genre=Humour
|summary=The Radio Five film critic Mark Kermode has a rule when reviewing comedies. If he laughs more than five times then the film deserves its billing as a comedy. If that rule was applied to Karl Pilkington's new book Karlology then it would easily fit into the category for there are laugh aplenty in this strange, amusing and charming little book.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>140533746X</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview|authorstyle=Joe Stretch"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"||title=Wildlife|rating=3|genre=Humour|summary[[An Almost Perfect Christmas by Nina Stibbe]]==The word ''Twitter'' doesn't occur in Joe Stretch's vocabulary, but that's what his book is about. 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 desires. If I've made it sound even faintly exciting, believe me, Joe Stretch is a fantasist with realist tendencies. What he is after is laughter; what he produces is a virtual simulacrum. Sniggery-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?|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099532077</amazonuk>}}
[[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{newreview|author=Michael Marr|title=Three Jumpers|rating=5|genre=Literary Fiction}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Humour|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. MaybeHumour]], 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…[[:Category:Short Stories|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1906558485</amazonuk>}}Short Stories]]
{{newreview|author=Rosy Barnes|title=Sadomasochism Christmas – the time of traditional trauma. You only have to think about the turkey for Accountants|rating=3|genre=Womenthat – once upon a time it was leaving it sat on the downstairs loo to defrost overnight, and if that failed the hair-dryer shoved inside it treatment was your next best bet. Nowadays it's Fiction|summary=Humourall having to make sure it's very personalsuitably free-range and organic – but not too organic that you can go and visit it, isn't and get too friendly with it to want to eat it? If you dig films like ''Shaun . Christmas, though, is of course also a time of the Dead'' and ''Hot Fuzz'', I predict you'll love this chick lit parodygreat boons. It's anarchic cash in hand for a lot of plump people who can hire red suits and very British comedy tradition. If beards, it was always a godsend for postmen with all the thank-you letters to aunties you saw twice a decade that your parents made you're into write out in long-hand as a child, and as for the conventions makers of good writingMeltis Newberry Fruits – well, you may find it a little painful. Nevertheless, I enjoyed plenty did they even try and sell them any other time of moments in Rosy Barnes' first novel.the year? [[An Almost Perfect Christmas by Nina Stibbe|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0714531812</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]
{{newreview<!-- Doescher -->|author=Lady Annabel Goldsmith-|titlestyle=Copper"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: A Dog's Lifecenter;"|rating=4[[image:Doescher_Will.jpg|genre=Humourleft|summarylink=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?https://www. Here he tells his story in his own words as transcribed for him by his owneramazon. He's got his own priorities – and obedience is not one of them – along with a roving spiritco. 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.|amazonukuk/gp/product/159474985X?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=<amazonuk>0751538205</amazonuk>}}159474985X]]
{{newreview
|author=Tim Moore
|title=I Believe in Yesterday: My Adventures in Living History
|rating=4
|genre=Humour
|summary=Common opinion has it that the television programme ''Time Team'' did a lot for the public image of archaeologists – bringing them out of their holes in the ground, and making them seem like exciting, interesting people with a good way of putting their knowledge across. However it was clearly a much harder task when it came to those background artistes they have sometimes, walking up and down in Roman centurion gear, or living the historical lifestyle as a re-enactment.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0224077813</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview|authorstyle=L Vaughan Spencer"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|title=Don't Be Needy Be Succeedy|rating=4|genre=Humour|summary=Are you underperforming in your business and personal lives? Do you underestimate [[William Shakespeare's the importance of good hair and moisturised skin in achieving your life goals? Are you stumbling through life in a Fast-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.|amazonukForce Doth Awaken: Star Wars Part the Seventh by Ian Doescher]]===<amazonuk>1846681634</amazonuk>}}
{{newreview|author=Mark Crick |title=Sartre's Sink[[image: 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 port5star. 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.jpg|amazonuklink=<amazonuk>1847080472</amazonuk>Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Science Fiction|Science Fiction]], [[:Category:Humour|Humour]]
{{newreview|author=Eric Nakagawa|title=I Can Has Cheezburger |rating=4|genre=Pets|summary=''I Can Has Cheezburger''A long time ago, in a galaxy far away, there was a man called William Shakespeare, is who was able to create a clever and witty anthology series of some dramatic histories full of the best pictures machinations most foul, rulers most evil and rebellious heroes and captions from heroines most sturdy. You may or may not have noticed the fantastic [http://icanhascheezburger.com/ lolcats website] cinematic version of his original stage play for ''The Force Doth Awaken'', but here at last we get the same name. The site has been growing actual script, complete with annoying-in popularity -different-ways-to-before droids anew, returning heroes from elsewhere in recent monthshis oeuvre, and so people keeping it was inevitable that a book would soon hit in the shelvesfamily til it hurts. Choosing which pics And if you need further encouragement, don't forget his audience only demanded three parts of Henry VI – here the series is so popular we're on to include in part seven – surely making this over twice as good… [[William Shakespeare's the book could not have been an easy task, and some of Force Doth Awaken: Star Wars Part the old favourites are there, alongside some less well known ones.Seventh by Ian Doescher|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0340977574</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]
{{newreview<!-- Goss -->|author=Ian Crofton-|titlestyle=History Without the Boring Bits"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|rating=5[[image:Goss_600.jpg|genre=Historyleft|summarylink=I was never one for history, and in fact left the dregs of a history teacher in tatters when I scraped through with a Dhttps://www. Still, history is an odd thing – written by the winners of course, and annoyingly biased in my mind towards the plainamazon. 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 one, in fact – whoever that was)co.|amazonukuk/gp/product/1785942719?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=<amazonuk>1847243746</amazonuk>}}1785942719]]
{{newreview
|author=Jim Holt
|title=Stop Me If You've Heard This
|rating=4
|genre=Humour
|summary=As far as I can remember, my first time in print was when I submitted some jokes to a charity's themed joke collection. Before then, some of my first actions as a child might have been laughing, and what is cuter in a baby than that? But why was that infant laughing – he didn't have a joke he could get, surely?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>184668109X</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview|authorstyle=P G Wodehouse "vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|title=Joy in the Morning|rating=4.5|genre=Humour|summary=''Joy in the Morning'' is another novel from P.G. Wodehouse's wonderful series [[Doctor Who: Now We Are Six Hundred: A Collection of books about Bertram Wooster Time Lord Verse (Dr Who) by James Goss and Jeeves. Bertie is a young gentleman of inherited means and no present occupation. He is a good humoured and well-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 creative, complicated and incredibly funny situations Wodehouse puts his characters through.|amazonukRussell T Davies]]===<amazonuk>0099513765</amazonuk>}}
[[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{newreview|author=P G Wodehouse|title=Thank You, Jeeves|rating=4}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Children's Rhymes and Verse|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. ItChildren's still embarrassing when he meets Pauline Rhymes and her fatherVerse]], 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[[:Category:Science Fiction|Science Fiction]], he doesn't play it very well.[[:Category:Humour|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099513730</amazonuk>}}Humour]]
{{newreview|author=Tom Holt |title=The Better Mousetrap|rating=4 |genre=Humour|summary=I approached this book Consider the Doctor. Just how many birthday and Christmas gifts must he have to hand out each year, were he to keep in touch with even half of his companions? He would certainly need a fair degree few novelty gifts for some of trepidationthem, as I had never heard say, for example, whimsical books of verse that pithily encapsulate the author, life of a Time Lord and that of some of his friends and wondered ifenemies. As luck would have it, when reading he has the synopsisspace in his TARDIS to stock up in advance, I was about so my advice to embark on a Terry Pratchett type novel (and I have him – sorry, her – would be to pop along to say, much though I admire his achievements, Ilocal Earth-based book emporium and get himself ready. And if you'm not re working on a fan of Discworld!) Howevershorter timescale, my fears were unfoundedwith a shorter lifespan, and from page thinking perhaps just 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 disadvantagegift season ahead, but didn't detract from well my enjoyment, and has certainly ensured that I'll read the others in advice is pretty much the near futuresame. [[Doctor Who: Now We Are Six Hundred: A Collection of Time Lord Verse (Dr Who) by James Goss and Russell T Davies|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1841495034</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]
{{newreview<!-- Ingram -->|author=Philip Moore -|titlestyle=Utterly Ridiculous"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|rating=3 [[image:Ingram_Kammie.jpg|genre=Humourleft|summarylink=If I learned nothing else from this book, I now know of a new professionhttps: aircraft cleaner//www. For that is the trade of Dave, the hero of ''Utterly Ridiculous''amazon. With little but a van and his torpid terrier Biggles, Dave roves the airstrips of southern England, titivating light aircraftco.|amazonukuk/gp/product/1785451995?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=<amazonuk>1906221685</amazonuk>}}1785451995]]
{{newreview
|author=John Mole
|title=I Was a Potato Oligarch: Travels and Travails in the New Russia
|rating=1
|genre=Travel
|summary=I remember getting this book in post, reading the title and thinking no, even though I am Russian, I will try to be unbiased and judge it like I would judge any other book about a foreign country experience. I now have to regretfully admit I failed. In my defence, John Mole's focus on mocking the nation and country made that all too easy.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1857885090</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview|authorstyle=Clive Gifford"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"||title=Teenage Kicks: 101 Things to Do Before You're 16|rating=3.5|genre=Humour|summary[[Conversations with Kammie by Annie Ingram]]==Kids. They're bored all the time, aren't they? Nothing you buy seems to have any longevity. I think they live in alternative dimension in which time passes much more slowly that it does for harassed parents. 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 - 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.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0340950617</amazonuk>}}
[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{newreview|author=Jon Canter |title=A Short Gentleman|rating=4}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Pets|genre=Pets]], [[:Category: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>}}Humour]]
{{newreview|author=George Saunders |title=The BrainIt was something of a relief when I encountered Annie Ingram and her cocker spaniel Kammie. You see, Annie knows something which has been self-dead Megaphone|rating=4.5|genre=Humour|summary=American author George Saunders is known evident to me for his short stories a long time: dogs are perfectly capable of communicating with humans and fictionnot just on a level of food!, walk! or play!. You do require extensive training to become fluent, but he most dogs will be perfectly willing to give their time to teach you and all you have to do is also a journalist for publications such as ''The Guardian'', ''The New Yorker Magazine'' and ''GQ''listen. ''The Brain-Dead Megaphone'' is his first collection of essays Annie has studied hard: Kammie has trained her well and it's an interesting proposition: sixteen pieces ranging from travel writing, literary appreciation, political essays, the pair have allowed us to surrealist short fictionshare some of their conversations.[[Conversations with Kammie by Annie Ingram|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0747594260</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]
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[[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 -->|-| 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]] |titlestyle="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Ten Dead Comedians: A Murder Mystery by Fred Van Lente]]===Tim [[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=4"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Jordan_Tiny.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1760293814/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] |summarystyle=After doing even tiny bit "vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Our Tiny, Useless Hearts by Toni Jordan]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=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 only person author provides a handy guide to the 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 itwas 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 it took 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;"|[[image:North_Romeo.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0356508536/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] | style="typical Harry Hillvertical-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 -->}|}
