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[[Category:New Reviews|Humour]]==Humour==__NOTOC__ <!-- Remove -->{{newreview|authorclass-"wikitable" cellpadding=Manu Joseph"15" <!-- INSERT NEW REVIEWS BELOW HERE--><!-- van LENTE -->|title=Serious Men-|ratingstyle=4"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|genre=General Fiction[[image:1683690346.jpg|summarylink=Ayyan Mani is a Dalit, an untouchable, stuck in a flat in Mumbai's slums but hoping, somehow, for a better future for his sonhttp://www.amazon. Working at the Insitute of Theory and Research he uses all his cunning and wiles to stay ahead of the game amongst the Brahmin scientistsco. Does he have the intelligence, and nerves, to convince everyone that his son, against all odds, is a geniusuk/dp/1683690346/ref=nosim?|amazonuktag=<amazonuk>1848543085</amazonuk>}}thebookbag-21]]

{{newreview|authorstyle=Martin Millar"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"||title===[[The Good Fairies of New York|ratingCon Artist by Fred Van Lente]]=4|genre=Fantasy|summary=In this fairytale of New York, the Cornish fairy King's children are living in exile, hiding in Central Park from a nasty industrial revolution back home. They have friends from Ireland with them, and all have the ability to startle the local squirrels. Elsewhere two innocent scallywag fairies fleeing Scotland have arrived, and adopted a human each. Heather has joined up with Dinnie, the city's worst busker, a fat, alcoholic and lonely fan of TV ads for phone sex, while Morag befriends Kerry, a dying kleptomaniac beauty, just as alone for different reasons.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0749954205</amazonuk>}}

[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{newreview{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|author=Gervase Phinn|title=TwinkleCrime]], Twinkle, Little Stars|rating=4[[:Category:Humour|genre=Humour|summary=I spent many of my teenage years reading James Herriot's books, and I found that this collection of anecdotes and poems by Gervase Phinn had a real flavour of Herriot about it. Perhaps it was just the setting, for Phinn was a school inspector in the Dales for many years, but I think he also has that knack of capturing a situation, and a character, and bringing out the humour without making the person appear ridiculous. Here he collates stories from his other books, some Christmassy and others not, and he relates them with several of his own poems interspersed between.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0141036435</amazonuk>}}]]

[[Category:History]]{{newreview|author=Simon Garfield|title=Just My Type: A Book About Fonts|rating=4.5|genre=Humour|summary=A quality typeface is Comic-Cons are a bit like a good referee place of wonder and sanctuary for many people, and when Comic book artist Mike Mason arrives at a football match in San Diego Comic-Con, he's looking for both that you only really notice them if something has gone wrongand sanctuary with other fans and creators, plus the chance of maybe, just maybe reuniting with his ex. A referee However, when his rival is there to facilitate the players on the pitchfound dead, not Mike is forced to be the star navigate every dark corner of the show (though watching Match of the Day these past few weeks you'd often beg con in order to differ). So it is with typefaces. A good type helps the reader, enhances the flow clear his name – from cosplay flash mobs and makes the viewing experience easy intrusive fans to zombie obstacle courses – Mike must prove his innocence and simple, in doing so, may just unravel a dark secret behind a legendary industry creator. Well sort of.[[The Con Artist by Fred Van Lente|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846683017</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]

{{newreview<!-- Coulton -->|author=P K Munroe-|titlestyle=You Can Stick It"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1473669588.jpg|ratinglink=3http://www.5|genreamazon.co.uk/dp/1473669588/ref=Humour|summarynosim?tag=Literary merit? Absolutely none!thebookbag-21]]

Ah, so it's non| style="vertical-fiction? Well, calling it ''fact'' would be stretching things a little too far...align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Falling Short by Lex Coulton]]===

So, come on then[[image:4star. What ''is'' it?jpg|amazonuklink=<amazonuk>0007362188</amazonuk>Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:General Fiction|General Fiction]], [[:Category:Humour|Humour]], [[:Category:Women's Fiction|Women's Fiction]]

{{newreview|author=Axel Scheffler|title=How to Keep Lex Coulton's debut novel is a Pet Squirrel|rating=4|genre=Humour|summary=Sostory about mistakes, how do you keep a pet squirrel? Wellfailures, the simple answer is that you don't. They're wild animals and not at all suitable for keeping in captivity, but accepted thinking didn't always run that wayrelationships. It was whilst he was dipping into ''The Children's Encyclopaedia'' of 1910 that Axel Scheffler came across main protagonist, Frances Pilgrim, is a sixth form English teacher who has recently fallen out with her best friend Jackson, a small but indispensible guide to obtaining work colleague, and caring for your pet squirrelis grappling with the increasingly eccentric behaviour of her mother. His inventive mind came up with these beautiful illustrations to accompany This relationship is complicated by the text and if youfact that Frances're looking for an amusing gift for an animal-loving adult then this book could well be the answers father disappeared at sea when she was five years old.[[Falling Short by Lex Coulton|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0571255981</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]

{{newreview<!-- van LENTE -->|author=PJ Vanston-|titlestyle=Crump"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|rating=3[[image:1683690346.jpg|genrelink=General Fiction|summary=It's Kevin Crump's first day as a lecturer at Thames Metropolitan University - an ex-polytechnichttp://www. 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 studentsamazon. 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) madco.|amazonukuk/dp/1683690346/ref=nosim?tag=<amazonuk>1848762852</amazonuk>}}thebookbag-21]]

{{newreview|authorstyle=John Lindsay"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"||title=Emails From An Asshole|rating=4|genre=Humour|summary[[The Con Artist by Fred Van Lente]]==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>}}

[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{newreview|author=L C Tyler|title=The Herring In The Library|rating=4.5}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|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.[[:Category:Humour|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0230714684</amazonuk>}}Humour]]

{{newreview|author=A J Jacobs|title=My Experimental Life|rating=3.5|genre=Humour|summary=A J Jacobs has Comic-Cons are a reputation place of wonder and sanctuary for setting himself onerous tasks. His first many people, and when Comic book was about reading artist Mike Mason arrives at San Diego Comic-Con, he's looking for both that and sanctuary with other fans and creators, plus the entire Encyclopedia Britannica; chance of maybe, just maybe reuniting with his second detailed a year spent according to the Biblical preceptsex. In My Experimental LifeHowever, when his rival is found dead, he recounts nine briefer episodes Mike is forced to navigate every dark corner of living outside the con in order to clear his name – from cosplay flash mobs and intrusive fans to zombie obstacle courses – Mike must prove his comfort zoneinnocence and, in doing so, may just unravel a dark secret behind a legendary industry creator.[[The Con Artist by Fred Van Lente|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099547422</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]

{{newreview<!-- Curran -->|author=Seth Grahame-Smith|titlestyle=Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"||rating=3[[image:1683690133.5jpg|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/1683690133/ref=nosim?tag=<amazonuk>1849014086</amazonuk>}}thebookbag-21]]

{{newreview|authorstyle=Carl McInerney"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|title=The Funniest Football Joke Book Ever|rating=3.5|genre=Confident Readers|summary=Who scored the most goals in the Greek Mythology League? The centaur forward. Badoom boom tshhhh. It[[My Lady's a football joke book, packed to the gills with all sorts of cheesiness Choosing by Kitty Curran and silliness. Funniest ever? Perhaps not, but it's not too bad.|amazonukLarissa Zageris]]===<amazonuk>1849391114</amazonuk>}}

[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{newreview|author=Paul Magrs|title=Hell's Belles|rating=3.5}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Humour|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.[[:Category:Historical Fiction|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0755346467</amazonuk>}}Historical Fiction]]

{{newreview|author=Valerie Thomas You are a lass of twenty eight. Plucky, penniless and Korky Paul|title=Winniein Regency era London the race is on to find a suitable suitor - or else doom yourself to life as an eternal spinster. Along your journey you's Jokes|rating=2ll be accompanied by Lady Evangeline Youngblood - a fiesty noble eager to save you from a life alone, and fired by a rogueish sense for adventure.5|genre=Confident Readers|summary=Who turns off When it comes to suitors though, you'll have to make the ultimate decision between witty, pretty and wealthy Sir Benedict Granville, wholesome, rugged and caring Captain Angus MacTaggart, or the lights at Halloween? The lights witchmad, bad and terrifyingly sexy Lord Garraway Craven. What does an Australian witch ride on? A broomerang. YepWith orphans, werewolves, long lost lovers and ancient Egyptian artifcats along the way, it's a joke bookclear this isn't going to be an easy decision...[[My Lady's Choosing by Kitty Curran and Larissa Zageris|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0192729063</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]

{{newreview<!-- Jester -->|author=Nick Wadley-|titlestyle=Man + Dog"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"||rating=4[[image:Jester_Forever.5jpg|genre=Humourleft|summarylink=Throughout my life I've lived with dogs or deeply regretted the fact that I lacked a canine companionhttps://www. 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 otheramazon.|amazonukco.uk/gp/product/1510704361?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=<amazonuk>1564785521</amazonuk>}}1510704361]]

{{newreview|authorstyle=Steven Lowe and Alan McArthur |title=Is it Just Me or Has the Shit Hit the Fan?"vertical-align: top; text-align: Your Hilarious New Guide to Unremitting Global Miseryleft;"|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.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847443656</amazonuk>}} {{newreview|author=Eoin Colfer|title=And Another Thing ... Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy[[Forever After: Part Six of Three (Hitchhikers Guide 6) |rating=3.5|genrea dark comedy by David Jester]]=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:Paranormal|genre=HumourParanormal]], [[:Category:Horror|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 anaemicHorror]], this is the sterling how-to lifestyle guide.[[:Category:Fantasy|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0224086464</amazonuk>}}Fasntasy]]

{{newreview|author=David O'Doherty, Claudia O'Doherty Michael Holland is a cocky and brash young man who dies and Mike Ahern|title=100 Facts About Pandas|rating=3.5|genre=Humour|summary=Sometimes gets made the title says it all - this is a book with 100 facts about pandasoffer of his lifetime; immortality. Sometimes you need to note the author too - David O'Doherty won an Edinburgh Comedy AwardWe follow Michael, so this is a book of grim reaper and his friends Chip (a stoner tooth fairy) and Naff (a 100 silly stoner in the records department) as they grapple with their long lives and untrue facts about pandasfinding a clean surface to sit on in their flat.[[Forever After: a dark comedy by David Jester|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0224086324</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]

{{newreview<!-- Stibbe -->|author=Richard Horne -|titlestyle=A is for Armageddon"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"||rating=2[[image:Stibbe_Xmas.5jpg|genre=Humourleft|summarylink=The world is definitely going to hell in a handcarthttps://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 co.uk/gp/product/0241309824?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag- 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...|amazonuk21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=<amazonuk>0224086197</amazonuk>}}0241309824]]

{{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. 'Call me Ishmael.' 'It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.' Who can forget Iain Banks' 'It was the day my grandmother exploded'? Or those timeless words [[An Almost Perfect Christmas by Jane Austen, 'It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains.'|amazonukNina Stibbe]]===<amazonuk>1594743347</amazonuk>}}

[[image:4.5star.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[[:Category: 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.Short Stories|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0571244157</amazonuk>}}Short Stories]]

{{newreview|author=Spike Milligan|title=The Magical World Christmas – the time of Milligan|rating=4traditional trauma.5|genre=Confident Readers|summary=Some people you just You only have to love. It's think about the law. Spike Milligan turkey for that – once upon a time it was always fantasticleaving it sat on the downstairs loo to defrost overnight, and heif that failed the hair-dryer shoved inside it treatment was your next best bet. Nowadays it's all having to make sure it's much missedsuitably free-range and organic – but not too organic that you can go and visit it, and get too friendly with it to want to eat it. HeChristmas, though, is of course also a time of great boons. It's got the perfect mix cash in hand for a lot of nonsenseplump people who can hire red suits and beards, heartit was always a godsend for postmen with all the thank-you letters to aunties you saw twice a decade that your parents made you write out in long-hand as a child, and surreal humour. He speaks to people as for the makers of all agesMeltis Newberry Fruits – well, did they even try and he's just plain lovely. sell them any other time of the year? [[An Almost Perfect Christmas by Nina Stibbe|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1905264844</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]

{{newreview<!-- Doescher -->|author=Sam Savage-|titlestyle=The Cry of the Sloth"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"||rating=3[[image:Doescher_Will.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/159474985X?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>}}159474985X]]

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;"|}}===[[William Shakespeare's the Force Doth Awaken: Star Wars Part the Seventh by Ian Doescher]]===

[[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{newreview|author=Hugh Murr and Sid Nigtures |title=Cyber Sign Offs|rating=2}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Science Fiction|genre=Science Fiction]], [[:Category: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>}}Humour]]

{{newreview|author=Tim Fitzhigham |title=All at Sea: One Man. One Bathtub. One Very Bad Idea: Conquering the Channel A long time ago, in a Piece galaxy far away, there was a man called William Shakespeare, who was able to create a series of Plumbing|rating=4dramatic histories full of machinations most foul, rulers most evil and rebellious heroes and heroines most sturdy.5|genre=Travel|summary=Once more my life is made easy by saying this book does just what it claims on You 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 cover actual script, complete with annoying-in-different-ways-to- takes a narrator of zestybefore droids anew, wacky humourreturning heroes from elsewhere in his oeuvre, throws him into an unlikely situation (a bath) and gets him to do something unusual (row people keeping it across in the Channel - and then beyond)family til it hurts. This despite And if you need further encouragement, don't forget his audience only demanded three parts of Henry VI – here the fact he was the worldseries is so popular we're on to part seven – surely making this over twice as good… [[William Shakespeare's worst sculler at University.the Force Doth Awaken: Star Wars Part the Seventh by Ian Doescher|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848090269</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]

{{newreview<!-- Goss -->|author=Simon Brett-|titlestyle=Blotto, Twinks and the Ex"width: 10%; vertical-King's Daughteralign: top; text-align: center;"|rating=4[[image:Goss_600.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/1785942719?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=<amazonuk>1845299353</amazonuk>}}1785942719]]

{{newreview|authorstyle=Joe Stretch"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|title=Wildlife|rating=3|genre=Humour|summary=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 [[Doctor Who: Now We Are Six Hundred: A Collection of a future-scenario where, for reasons beyond all understanding, some robotic and literal Dickhead Time Lord Verse (i.e. a man with a dick fixed to his forehead – I kid you notDr Who) 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, by James Goss and their main purpose is to make money, one's only question must be: why?|amazonukRussell T Davies]]===<amazonuk>0099532077</amazonuk>}}

[[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{newreview|author=Michael Marr|title=Three Jumpers|rating=5}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Children's Rhymes and Verse|genre=Literary Children's Rhymes and Verse]], [[:Category:Science 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 luckyScience Fiction]], a company might ask him to conceive an entire marketing plan and advertising campaign. What he never expected was this job offer…[[:Category:Humour|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1906558485</amazonuk>}}Humour]]

{{newreview|author=Rosy Barnes|title=Sadomasochism 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 few novelty gifts for some of them, say, for Accountants|rating=3|genre=Women's Fiction|summary=Humour's very personalexample, isn't it? If you dig films like ''Shaun whimsical books of verse that pithily encapsulate the Dead'' life of a Time Lord and that of some of his friends and ''Hot Fuzz''enemies. As luck would have it, he has the space in his TARDIS to stock up in advance, so my advice to him – sorry, I predict you'll love this chick lit parody. It's anarchic her – would be to pop along to his local Earth-based book emporium and very British comedy traditionget himself ready. If And if you're into the conventions of good writingworking on a shorter timescale, you may find it with a little painfulshorter lifespan, and thinking perhaps just one gift season ahead, well my advice is pretty much the same. Nevertheless, I enjoyed plenty [[Doctor Who: Now We Are Six Hundred: A Collection of moments in Rosy Barnes' first novel.Time Lord Verse (Dr Who) by James Goss and Russell T Davies|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0714531812</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]

{{newreview<!-- Ingram -->|author=Lady Annabel Goldsmith-|titlestyle=Copper"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: A Dog's Lifecenter;"|rating=4[[image:Ingram_Kammie.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/1785451995?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=<amazonuk>0751538205</amazonuk>}}1785451995]]

{{newreview|authorstyle=L Vaughan Spencer"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"||title=Don't Be Needy Be Succeedy|rating=4|genre=Humour|summary[[Conversations with Kammie by Annie Ingram]]==Are you underperforming in your business and personal lives? Do you underestimate 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.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846681634</amazonuk>}}

{{newreview|author=Mark Crick [[image:4star.jpg|titlelink=Sartre's SinkCategory: The Great Writers' Complete Book of DIY|{{{rating=4}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Pets|genre=Pets]], [[:Category: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>}}Humour]]

{{newreview|author=Eric Nakagawa|title=It was something of a relief when I Can Has Cheezburger |rating=4|genre=Pets|summary=''I Can Has Cheezburger''encountered Annie Ingram and her cocker spaniel Kammie. You see, is Annie knows something which has been self-evident to me for a clever and witty anthology of some long time: dogs are perfectly capable of the best pictures communicating with humans and captions from the fantastic [http://icanhascheezburger.com/ lolcats website] not just on a level of the same namefood!, walk! or play!. The site has been growing in popularity in recent monthsYou do require extensive training to become fluent, but most dogs will be perfectly willing to give their time to teach you and so it was inevitable that a book would soon hit the shelvesall you have to do is listen. Choosing which pics to include in Annie has studied hard: Kammie has trained her well and the book could not pair have been an easy task, and allowed us to share some of the old favourites are there, alongside some less well known onestheir conversations.[[Conversations with Kammie by Annie Ingram|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0340977574</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]

{{newreview<!-- Harris -->|-|authorstyle=Ian Crofton"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Harris_Glass.jpg|titlelink=History Without the Boring Bitshttp://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1908943823/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  |ratingstyle=5"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"||genre=History==[[The Breaking of Liam Glass by Charles Harris]]=== [[image:3star.jpg|summarylink=I was never one Category:{{{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 historyre-election, distraught mother Katrina Glass waits by her son, and gym-owner Royland simply finds himself in fact 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]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left ;"|===[[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 dregs 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 history teacher new stand-up special coming soon; Dante, who went from being a kid on the streets to the hardest working road comic in tatters 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 Contractor'' is a far cry from his real personality as a posh millionaire. Of course, all nine agree because ''when I scraped through with God almighty walks down on a Dbeam 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. Stilluk/dp/1788037006/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Elizabeth, history William... and Me by S Lynn Scott]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Humour|Humour]] Ally is an odd thing – written 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 winners second instalment of coursethis 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, and annoyingly biased has had his briefcase stolen by his live-in my mind towards 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 plaintheft, 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=http://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|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 no real reason to remember the order split and the awkwardness of Henry VIIIthe girls' schoolteacher being the other woman for a start. Then there's six wivesthat 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 we can only relish 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 know they should be called that – the 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 one credited Atlantic, where Cornwall is pointing, with polydactylismjust 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 third nipple rust bucket within years. They're so wee, and whatnot (the second 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 oneof them in recent years has been Colin Taylor, in fact who has done his official duty – whoever 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 arrival of the relatives and the food shopping delivery. Little does Mum know that was)those two elements alone have the potential to ruin 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]] |amazonukstyle="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Virgin Mary's 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 it took me right back to the wonder of Christmas as a child. [[The Virgin Mary's Got Nits by Gervase Phinn|Full Review]] <amazonuk!-- North -->1847243746|-| 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="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 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 establishment curing murderous women, such as a Lady M (her). [[Romeo and/or Juliet by Ryan North|Full Review]] </amazonuk!-- DO NOT REMOVE ANYTHING BELOW THIS LINE -->}|}