[[Category:Humour|*]]
[[Category:New Reviews|Humour]]==Humour==__NOTOC__ <!-- Remove -->{{newreview|authorclass-"wikitable" cellpadding=Jeremy Clarke"15" <!-- INSERT NEW REVIEWS BELOW HERE--><!-- van LENTE -->|title=Low Life-|ratingstyle=3"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|genre=Humour[[image:1683690346.jpg|summarylink=I'm not a Spectator reader – indeed other than seeing on the shelves I'm ashamed to say that before starting to write this article I knew absolutely nothing about the magazine, its style, ethos or readershiphttp://www. Having (obviously) done the obligatory websearch I know understand that being its editor is considered a reasonable a route to success in the Conservative Party or other public office on a right-wing ticketamazon. A sister publication to The Daily Telegraph, it is quoted as being Atlanticist, usually supportive of Israel, and Eurosceptic in outlookco.uk/dp/1683690346/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]
This makes me utterly unsuitable as a candidate to review Clarke's book.
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{{newreview|authorstyle=Guy Kennaway"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"||title=Bird Brain|rating=4.5|genre=Humour|summary[[The Con Artist by Fred Van Lente]]==='It began for Basil ''Banger'' Peyton-Crumbe the day he died in a pheasant shooting incident'.
If you were in any doubt as to the nature of the novel given the cover jacket and the author's disclaimer to the effect that any similarity between the human characters and any real person is entirely coincidental, but he feels safe from any threats of libel action on behalf of the dead animals whose characters he has mercilessly manipulated for narrative effect, then its opening sentence should put you straight[[image:4star.jpg|amazonuklink=<amazonuk>0224093991</amazonuk>Category:{{{rating}}}Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]], [[:Category:Humour|Humour]]
{{newreview|author=Neil Forsyth|title=Why Me? The Very Important Emails Comic-Cons are a place of Bob Servant|rating=3.5|genre=General Fiction|summary=Catchy title wonder and sanctuary for many people, and catchy front cover graphics. Whatwhen Comic book artist Mike Mason arrives at San Diego Comic-Con, he's not to like? It takes a lot to make me laugh generallylooking for both that and sanctuary with other fans and creators, but as I had an initial flick through this bookplus the chance of maybe, things looked promisingjust maybe reuniting with his ex. And I was also thinking that it's a pleasant change However, when his rival is found dead, Mike is forced to see another location (other than perhaps navigate every dark corner of the predictable Glasgow con in order to clear his name – from cosplay flash mobs and Edinburgh) get an airingintrusive fans to zombie obstacle courses – Mike must prove his innocence and, in doing so, may just unravel a dark secret behind a legendary industry creator.[[The Con Artist by Fred Van Lente|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1780270097</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]
{{newreview
|author=Harry Thompson
|title=Tintin: Herge and His Creation
|rating=3.5
|genre=Biography
|summary=I love Tintin. I love his quiff and his innocence, his plus-fours and his foreign adventures, I love Snowy the dog and most of all I love Captain Haddock and the flamboyance of his blistering barnacles language. So I was thrilled to see a biography of the character and Hergé, his creator, and I picked it up with enthusiasm.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848546726</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview<!-- Coulton -->|author=Joseph Heller-|titlestyle=Catch 22"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|rating=5[[image:1473669588.jpg|genrelink=Literary Fiction|summary=At the heart of the very black comedy that is ''Catch 22'' is Captain Yossarian, a World War II American bombardier, who wants to survive the warhttp://www. Flying repeated combat missions is undermining his sanity, and surely a mad man should be grounded? But if he asks to be grounded, he demonstrates an absolutely sane concern for his own safetyamazon. If he is sane, he can't be groundedco. This, his doctor tells him, is catch 22.|amazonukuk/dp/1473669588/ref=nosim?tag=<amazonuk>0099529114</amazonuk>}}thebookbag-21]]
{{newreview
|author=William Giraldi
|title=Busy Monsters
|rating=4
|genre=General Fiction
|summary=
Charles Homar loves his Gillian. He's proved it to us, if not to her, by going after her possessive, jealous state trooper of an ex with the intent to kill - if only ended up rescuing a cat instead. But lo and behold, she's declared she's off to discover the real love of her life - the giant squid. Failing to stop this, Charlie spends too long with a Nessie obsessive, then goes on a hunt of his own - for Bigfoot, all the while, chapter by chapter, sending his narrative of the same to a magazine as essays for one of those autobiographical, frivolous columns.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0393079627</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview|authorstyle=Kevin Wilson"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|title=The Family Fang|rating=4.5|genre=General Fiction|summary=Annie Fang and her brother Buster are back living at home with their parents - where they never thought they'd ever be again. But it has come to this - her film actress career is on the rocks with the kind of self-destruction so much enjoyed [[Falling Short by tabloid writers, and he - well, he's here because of a jumbo spud gun. Neither want life back at home, as throughout their childhood they were used by their parents - without much planning, without any consideration of feelings, or consent - in a whole career of performance art pieces, designed to enact a point of life or just cause havoc.|amazonukLex Coulton]]===<amazonuk>1447202384</amazonuk>}}
[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{newreview|author=Zadie Smith|title=White Teeth|rating=5}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:General Fiction|genre=Literary General Fiction]], [[:Category:Humour|summary=Some books sneak up on you. Others are thrown at you from every corner of the media to the extent that you almost make a conscious decision NOT to read them, or at leastHumour]], not yet. Let the furore die down. If they[[:Category:Women're still around in a few years, your subconscious whispers, maybe wes Fiction|Women'll go see what all the fuss was about. |amazonuk=<amazonuk>0241954576</amazonuk>}}s Fiction]]
{{newreview|author=David Lodge|title=Lex Coulton's debut novel is a story about mistakes, failures, and relationships. The Campus Trilogy|rating=4.5|genre=Humour|summary=Somewhere along the line the word "vintage" stopped meaning simply the wine crop of any given yearmain protagonist, Frances Pilgrim, is a sixth form English teacher who has recently fallen out with her best friend Jackson, and started to mean the wine of a particularly good yearwork colleague, and then to mean anything of a past year that was (is) grappling with the increasingly eccentric behaviour of outstanding qualityher mother. Such This relationship is complicated by the mutability of languagefact that Frances's father disappeared at sea when she was five years old. [[Falling Short by Lex Coulton|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099529130</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]
{{newreview<!-- van LENTE -->|author=Ludwig Bechstein, Axel Sceffler and Julia Donaldson-|titlestyle=The Gloomster"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"||rating=4[[image:1683690346.5jpg|genrelink=General Fiction|summary=We've all been therehttp://www. Finding fault with everything around us, and perhaps picking on one particular irritant that gets us so rattled, tetchy and narked all we can do is invoke "Hell and damnation!" down on all creation - including, of course, ourselvesamazon. After all, our lot is so bad it won't make anything much worseco.|amazonukuk/dp/1683690346/ref=nosim?tag=<amazonuk>0571274242</amazonuk>}}thebookbag-21]]
{{newreview
|author=Stella Gibbons
|title=Conference at Cold Comfort Farm
|rating=4.5
|genre=Humour
|summary=There are no Starkadders at Cold Comfort Farm.
To those of you who've not read Stella Gibbons' magnificient | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Cold Comfort Farm The Con Artist by Stella Gibbons|original novelFred Van Lente]], this is hardly likely to be a major shock - to the Gibbons fans amongst us, though, this is chilling news indeed. And when RobertPoste's child Flora returns to the farm - now a modernised monstrosity full of members of the International Thinkers' Group – sixteen years after her original visit, the news get graver and graver, as the cows Feckless, Graceless, Pointless, and Aimless have passed away of shame due to the disgrace of the bull Big Business. With the menfolk trying to make their fortunes abroad, and the women struggling, it's left to Flora to try to save the day once again.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099528681</amazonuk>}}==
[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{newreview|author=Stella Gibbons|title=Cold Comfort Farm|rating=5}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|genre=Crime]], [[:Category:Humour|summary=Orphaned at 19, Flora Poste – a London sophisticate – is led to retreat to deepest Sussex to live off her relatives the Starkadders at the aptly named Cold Comfort Farm, a mournful bunch who take her in as they couldn't refuse anything of 'Robert Poste's child', but seem less than happy with having to do so. As she meets the preacher Amos, his over-sexed younger son Seth, his flighty sister Elphine, and the hugely memorable – if barely seen – Aunt Ada Doom, the first person in literature to see 'something nasty in the woodshed' – she resolves to take the family in hand and solve their problems.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0141441593</amazonuk>}}Humour]]
{{newreview|author=Philip Jose Farmer|title=The Further Adventures Comic-Cons are a place of Sherlock Holmes: The Peerless Peer|rating=4.5|genre=Crime (Historical)|summary=It's World War Onewonder and sanctuary for many people, and Britain has got wind of some brilliant scientific researchwhen Comic book artist Mike Mason arrives at San Diego Comic-Con, that has created a new bacterial weapon capable of wiping out the worldhe's supply of sauerkraut. But a dastardly German has stolen the formula. Before he can give a variant based on boiled meatlooking for both that and sanctuary with other fans and creators, cabbage and potatoes to plus the kaiserchance of maybe, just maybe reuniting with his most recent nemesis - Sherlock Holmesex. However, no less - must be brought out of beekeeping retirement. Cue an adventure and a halfwhen his rival is found dead, as he and Watson take Mike is forced to navigate every dark corner of the skies for the first time con in their hectic livesorder to clear his name – from cosplay flash mobs and intrusive fans to zombie obstacle courses – Mike must prove his innocence and, end up in darkest Africadoing so, and encounter may just unravel a dark secret behind a certain yodelling, long-haired nobleman, more than up to the name of King of the Junglelegendary industry creator...[[The Con Artist by Fred Van Lente|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0857681206</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]
{{newreview<!-- Curran -->|author=Tom Sharpe-|titlestyle=The Wilt Inheritance"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"||rating=3[[image:1683690133.5jpg|genrelink=Humour|summary=Wilt is stuck in a job he doesn't want – teaching a subject he's not keen on to people for whom he has no affection – at one of the new Universitieshttp://www. We used to know them as technical collegesamazon. But he can't afford to lose it because of the expense of keeping the quads at an expensive school and of maintaining his snobbish wife, Evaco. It's Eva though who signs him up for a job in the summer holidays – tutoring the stepuk/dp/1683690133/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-son of a local aristocrat in the hope of getting him into Cambridge – and particularly Porterhouse College. It's not long before Wilt discovers that the boy totes a gun and shoots at anything which moves – or even doesn't move – and that he's an idiot who would probably struggle to get a bus to Cambridge.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099493136</amazonuk>}}21]]
{{newreview
|author=Alain Mabanckou
|title=Memoirs of a Porcupine
|rating=4
|genre=Literary Fiction
|summary=The protagonist of this novel is an ordinary Congolese porcupine until Papa Kibandi performs an ancient ritual involving a hallucinogenic cocktail called ''mayamvumbi'', and transforms him into his son's harmful double. The insecure younger Kibandi becomes more and more embittered as his life goes on, and sends his porcupine to 'eat' anybody he feels the least bit threatened by, a process whereby that person's life essence is sucked out, killing them instantly. Over one hundred victims later and following his master's death at the hands of a vengeful baby, our narrator retires to the hollow of a baobab tree where he writes this confessional.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846687675</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview|authorstyle=Tom Holt"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|title=Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Sausages|rating=5|genre=Fantasy|summary=Imagine a world where pigs can do quantum mechanics, and where female solicitors turn into chickens. Add a dry cleaner that moves (literally, from the roof tiles to the basement) from town to town every forty-eight hours, a couple of medieval knights who've fought every day for centuries, and a magical ring (or pencil sharpener, depending on the mood it[[My Lady's in). Stir in a bit of property developing, a thaumaturgical detective Choosing by Kitty Curran and an old man who lives in a cloud. Result? You haven't even begun to probe the depths of this crazy, absurd, complex and hilarious book.|amazonukLarissa Zageris]]===<amazonuk>1841495077</amazonuk>}}
[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{newreview|author=Steve Hely|title=How I Became a Famous Novelist|rating=4}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Humour|genre=General Humour]], [[:Category:Historical Fiction|summary=With an uncompromising title like 'How I Became a Famous Novelist', this clearly isn't intended to be a subtle book. So I can hardly complain when a cynical look at the writing industry swings raw punches in every direction. It just isn't my sort of humour, but equally, if you rave about 'The Office' you will likely enjoy this book far more than I have done.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1849015724</amazonuk>}}Historical Fiction]]
{{newreview|author=Charles Lamb|title=Great Food: A Dissertation Upon Roast Pig You are a lass of twenty eight. Plucky, penniless and Other Essays|rating=4|genre=Cookery|summary=''A Dissertation Upon Roast Pig'' in Regency era London the race is on to find a collection of foodsuitable suitor -related essays from the early 19th century, with a humorous bentor else doom yourself to life as an eternal spinster. TheyAlong your journey you're but a few pages each ll be accompanied by Lady Evangeline Youngblood - a light read fiesty noble eager to bring save you from a life alone, and fired by a smile rogueish sense for adventure. When it comes to your facesuitors though, then on 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 next little foodie treatmad, bad and terrifyingly sexy Lord Garraway Craven.With orphans, werewolves, long lost lovers and ancient Egyptian artifcats along the way, it's clear this isn't going to be an easy decision... [[My Lady's Choosing by Kitty Curran and Larissa Zageris|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0241951003</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]
{{newreview<!-- Jester -->|author=ClientsFromHell.net-|titlestyle=Clients From Hell"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|rating=4[[image:Jester_Forever.jpg|genre=Humourleft|summarylink=Everyone who's worked as a freelancer has a story of a client from hell - that person who asked for something that was impossible, wanted it done yesterday for a fraction of the usual price, or is just plain angry about the work produced. The website [httphttps://www.clientsfromhellamazon.net ClientsFromHellco.netuk/gp/product/1510704361?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1510704361]] has collated a number of such stories over the years, and has now published them as a book.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0982473931</amazonuk>}}
{{newreview
|author=Manu Joseph
|title=Serious Men
|rating=4
|genre=General Fiction
|summary=Ayyan Mani is a Dalit, an untouchable, stuck in a flat in Mumbai's slums but hoping, somehow, for a better future for his son. Working at the Insitute of Theory and Research he uses all his cunning and wiles to stay ahead of the game amongst the Brahmin scientists. Does he have the intelligence, and nerves, to convince everyone that his son, against all odds, is a genius?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848543085</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview|authorstyle=John Saunders"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|title=The Vernham Chronicles|rating=4|genre=Humour|summary=Set amidst the rolling British countryside around Vernbury Vale is the little village of Vernham. Anyone who lives in [[Forever After: a village will recognise it immediately, with its cobbled streets and Tudor buildings. There was some damage during the war (which might, or might not have been down to a lighthouse folly constructed dark comedy by a local landowner on his lake) but the gaps have been filled with some beautiful, er, mock Tudor buildings. Almost unique and nearly beautiful as the village is, it's not the star of The Vernham Chronicles. The stars are the people who live in Vernham.|amazonukDavid Jester]]===<amazonuk>1907499598</amazonuk>}}
[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{newreview|author=Martin Millar|title=The Good Fairies of New York|rating=4}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Paranormal|genre=FantasyParanormal]], [[:Category:Horror|summary=In this fairytale of New YorkHorror]], 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.[[:Category:Fantasy|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0749954205</amazonuk>}}Fasntasy]]
{{newreview|author=Gervase Phinn|title=Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Stars|rating=4|genre=Humour|summary=I spent many of my teenage years reading James Herriot's books, Michael Holland is a cocky and I found that this collection of anecdotes brash young man who dies and poems by Gervase Phinn had a real flavour gets made the offer of Herriot about ithis lifetime; immortality. Perhaps it was just the settingWe follow Michael, for Phinn was a school inspector in the Dales for many years, but I think he also has that knack of capturing grim reaper and his friends Chip (a situation, stoner tooth fairy) and Naff (a character, and bringing out stoner in the humour without making the person appear ridiculous. Here he collates stories from his other books, some Christmassy records department) as they grapple with their long lives and others not, and he relates them with several of his own poems interspersed betweenfinding a clean surface to sit on in their flat.[[Forever After: a dark comedy by David Jester|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0141036435</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]
[[Category:History]]{{newreview<!-- Stibbe -->|author=Simon Garfield-|titlestyle=Just My Type"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: A Book About Fontscenter;"||rating=4[[image:Stibbe_Xmas.5jpg|genre=Humourleft|summarylink=A quality typeface is a bit like a good referee at a football match in that you only really notice them if something has gone wronghttps://www. A referee is there to facilitate the players on the pitch, not to be the star of the show (though watching Match of the Day these past few weeks you'd often beg to differ)amazon. So it is with typefacesco. A good type helps the reader, enhances the flow and makes the viewing experience easy and simple. Well sort of.|amazonukuk/gp/product/0241309824?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=<amazonuk>1846683017</amazonuk>}}0241309824]]
{{newreview
|author=Bob Servant and Neil Forsyth
|title=Bob Servant: Hero of Dundee
|rating=3.5
|genre=Humour
|summary=After [[Delete This at Your Peril: One Man's Fearless Exchanges with the Internet Spammers by Bob Servant|bursting into public consciousness]] as the scourge of email spammers, Broughty Ferry's resident polymath Bob Servant has returned. This time, he expands upon the colourful life only hinted at in his previous oeuvre, Delete this at Your Peril. And what a life it has been. He steers us from his humble beginnings, his broken family and traumatic schooldays, through the rise and fall of his window cleaning empire, and his role in Dundee's brutal cheeseburger wars. Along the way, we witness his struggles with, respectively, women ('skirt'), his simpleton sidekick Frank, and the demon drink.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1841589209</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview|authorstyle=P K Munroe"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"||title=You Can Stick It|rating=3.5|genre=Humour|summary[[An Almost Perfect Christmas by Nina Stibbe]]===Literary merit? Absolutely none!
Plot, characterisation and all that other stuff you usually talk about? Nope – there's none of that[[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Humour|Humour]], either.[[:Category:Short Stories|Short Stories]]
AhChristmas – 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, so and if that failed the hair-dryer shoved inside it treatment was your next best bet. Nowadays it's nonall having to make sure it's suitably free-fiction? Wellrange and organic – but not too organic that you can go and visit it, calling and get too friendly with it to want to eat it. Christmas, though, is of course also a time of great boons. It''fact'' would be stretching things s cash in hand for a lot of plump people who can hire red suits and 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 write out in long-hand as a little too far...child, and as for the makers of Meltis Newberry Fruits – well, did they even try and sell them any other time of the year? [[An Almost Perfect Christmas by Nina Stibbe|Full Review]]
So, come on then<!-- Doescher -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Doescher_Will. What ''is'' it?jpg|left|amazonuklink=<amazonuk>0007362188<https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/amazonuk>}}159474985X?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=159474985X]]
{{newreview
|author=Axel Scheffler
|title=How to Keep a Pet Squirrel
|rating=4
|genre=Humour
|summary=So, how do you keep a pet squirrel? Well, 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 way. It was whilst he was dipping into ''The Children's Encyclopaedia'' of 1910 that Axel Scheffler came across a small but indispensible guide to obtaining and caring for your pet squirrel. His inventive mind came up with these beautiful illustrations to accompany the text and if you're looking for an amusing gift for an animal-loving adult then this book could well be the answer.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0571255981</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview|authorstyle=PJ Vanston"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|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[[William Shakespeare'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 himForce Doth Awaken: Star Wars Part 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.|amazonukSeventh by Ian Doescher]]===<amazonuk>1848762852</amazonuk>}}
[[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{newreview|author=John Lennon|title=In His Own Write and A Spaniard in the Works|rating=3}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Science Fiction|genre=Science Fiction]], [[:Category: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 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.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099530422</amazonuk>}}Humour]]
{{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 A long time ago, in a galaxy far away, there was a man called William Shakespeare, who was able to them, spins them create a yarnseries of dramatic histories full of machinations most foul, rulers most evil and strings them along rebellious heroes and heroines most sturdy. You may or may not have noticed the cinematic version of his original stage play for as long as possible. Sometimes ''The Force Doth Awaken'', but here at last we get the advert is fairly innocuous actual script, complete with annoying-in-different-ways-to-before droids anew, returning heroes from elsewhere in his oeuvre, and he emails them anywaypeople keeping it in the family til it hurts. These are emails from an asshole And if you need further encouragement, after all.don't forget his audience only demanded three parts of Henry VI – here the series is so popular we'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>1402778279</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]
{{newreview<!-- Goss -->|author=L C Tyler-|titlestyle=The Herring In The Library"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"||rating=4[[image:Goss_600.5jpg|genre=Crimeleft|summarylink=Tall, elegant Ethelred is a gentleman, and a third-rate authorhttps://www.amazon. Elsie, his literary agent, is short and dumpy, and not afraid to speak her mindco. It is Elsie, in fact, who constantly assures her client he only occasionally aspires to the giddy heights of being seconduk/gp/product/1785942719?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-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.|amazonuk21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=<amazonuk>0230714684</amazonuk>}}1785942719]]
{{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|authorstyle=Seth Grahame"vertical-Smithalign: top; text-align: left;"|title=Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter|rating=3.5|genre=Humour|summary='Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.' That quote, on the Statue [[Doctor Who: Now We Are Six Hundred: A Collection of Liberty, was probably not designed with the inclusion of vampires in mind. But Time Lord Verse (Dr Who) 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 glasses. 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.|amazonukJames Goss and Russell T Davies]]===<amazonuk>1849014086</amazonuk>}}
{{newreview[[image:4.5star.jpg|authorlink=Jane Austen, Seth Grahame-Smith and Tony Lee|title=Pride and Prejudice and ZombiesCategory: The Graphic Novel|{{{rating=3|genre=Graphic Novels}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Children's Rhymes and Verse|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 'Children'the risen undead'' it will become a series of books, inspiring others, s Rhymes and/or lead to the same story being published in many different guises. HereVerse]], then[[:Category:Science Fiction|Science Fiction]], 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.[[:Category:Humour|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848566948</amazonuk>}}Humour]]
{{newreview|author=Carl McInerney|title=The Funniest Football Joke Book Ever|rating=3Consider the Doctor.5|genre=Confident Readers|summary=Who scored the most goals 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 example, whimsical books of verse that pithily encapsulate the Greek Mythology League? The centaur forwardlife of a Time Lord and that of some of his friends and enemies. Badoom boom tshhhhAs luck would have it, he has the space in his TARDIS to stock up in advance, so my advice to him – sorry, her – would be to pop along to his local Earth-based book emporium and get himself ready. ItAnd if you's re working on a football joke bookshorter timescale, packed to the gills with all sorts of cheesiness a shorter lifespan, and silliness. Funniest ever? Perhaps notthinking perhaps just one gift season ahead, but it's not too badwell my advice is pretty much the same.[[Doctor Who: Now We Are Six Hundred: A Collection of Time Lord Verse (Dr Who) by James Goss and Russell T Davies|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1849391114</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]
{{newreview<!-- Ingram -->|author=Paul Magrs-|titlestyle=Hell's Belles"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"||rating=3[[image:Ingram_Kammie.5jpg|genre=Humourleft|summarylink=The idea behind this series of novels is quite enchanting and amusinghttps://www. 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 Pennyamazon. 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 successco. Book two in the series was quite disappointing, relying on sensationalism rather than adequate plot and character development. Book three was an improvementuk/gp/product/1785451995?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-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.|amazonuk21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=<amazonuk>0755346467</amazonuk>}}1785451995]]
{{newreview
|author=Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul
|title=Winnie's Jokes
|rating=2.5
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=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>
}}
{{newreview|authorstyle=Nick Wadley"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|title=Man + Dog|rating=4.5|genre=Humour|summary=Throughout my life I've lived [[Conversations with dogs or deeply regretted the fact that I lacked a canine companion. 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 other.|amazonukKammie by Annie Ingram]]===<amazonuk>1564785521</amazonuk>}}
{{newreview[[image:4star.jpg|authorlink=The Harvard Lampoon|title=NightlightCategory: A Parody of Twilight |{{{rating=3.5}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Pets|genre=Humour|summary=Most people will have heard of the worldwide phenomenon that is Pets]], [[Twilight by Stephenie Meyer:Category:Humour|TwilightHumour]]. 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|author=Steven Lowe It was something of a relief when I encountered Annie Ingram and Alan McArthur |title=Is it Just Me or Has the Shit Hit the Fan?: 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 floorher cocker spaniel Kammie.'' Surely that is the wackiestYou see, most inappropriate simile Annie knows something which has been self-evident to me for the credit crunch a long time: dogs are perfectly capable of communicating with humans and all it has done for the worldnot just on a level of food!, walk! or play!. You won't get any such namby-pamby animal likenesses from these authorsdo require extensive training to become fluent, instead with quite a potty mouth on them they but most dogs will lambast the modern world, the entire banking system, all those who failed be perfectly willing to give their time to see it coming, teach you and those millions just seemingly waiting for us all you have to revert to high-interest, high-risk, high-lending capitalism, so they can get back on the expenses train, and back up the rich listsdo is listen.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847443656</amazonuk>}} {{newreview|author=Eoin Colfer|title=And Another Thing ... Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the GalaxyAnnie has studied hard: Part Six of Three (Hitchhikers Guide 6) |rating=3.5|genre=Science Fiction|summary=Of all Kammie has trained her well and the big books announced for this year, this one must pair have raised more eyebrows than many. Why try and write a new Hitchhiker's Guide allowed us 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 share some of their humour which could only be described as Monty Python doing a sci-fi Terry Pratchett, and conversations. [[Conversations 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.Kammie by Annie Ingram|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0718155149</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]
{{newreview<!-- Harris -->|author=The Vampire Miles Proctor-|titlestyle=The New Vampire's Handbook"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"||rating=3[[image:Harris_Glass.5jpg|genrelink=Humour|summary=I shall start with a predictionhttp://www. I will not become a vampire, for this imminent Hallowe'en, any festive fancy dress parties, or indeed for life as the lifeless undeadamazon. I will not need tips on filing my fangs, or how to divert attention from the fact I cannot eat human food at dinner partiesco. 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 howuk/dp/1908943823/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-to lifestyle guide.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0224086464</amazonuk>}}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|authorFull 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=David OCategory:{{{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'Dohertyt get any respect from his peers; Janet, the insult comic who is past her prime; TJ, Claudia Othe 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 'Doherty 'when God almighty walks down on a beam of light and Mike Ahernasks 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;"|title[[image:Scott_Eliz.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1788037006/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Elizabeth, William... and Me by S Lynn Scott]]===100 Facts About Pandas [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=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=3"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Rodford_Surgeon.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.5uk/dp/178565005X/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] |genrestyle=Humour"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Surgeon's Case: George Kocharyan Mystery 2 by E G Rodford]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|summarylink=Sometimes 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 title says hospital. George agrees to look into the theft, assuming it all 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 book good weekend for Janice to be babysitting at Caroline's house. There's the split and the awkwardness of 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 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 Atlantic, where Cornwall is pointing, with 100 facts about pandasjust 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. Sometimes 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 has done his official duty – alongside maintaining a well-known online existence, which has brought to note life all the author too 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 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]] | style="vertical-align: top; text- David Oalign: left;"|===[[The Virgin Mary'Doherty won an Edinburgh Comedy Awards Got Nits by Gervase Phinn]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Humour|Humour]], so this [[: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 100 silly 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="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Romeo and untrue facts about pandas/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|amazonuk=Full Review]] <amazonuk>0224086324</amazonuk!-- DO NOT REMOVE ANYTHING BELOW THIS LINE -->}|}
