[[Category:Humour|*]]
[[Category:New Reviews|Humour]]==Humour==__NOTOC__ <!-- Remove -->{{newreview|authorclass-"wikitable" cellpadding=Sue Townsend"15" <!-- INSERT NEW REVIEWS BELOW HERE--><!-- van LENTE -->|title=The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾-|ratingstyle=4.5"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|genre=General Fiction[[image:1683690346.jpg|summarylink=Adrian Mole was just three months away from his fourteenth birthday when he began writing his diary on New Year's Dayhttp://www. He's just on the edge of true adolescence - pimples are appearing as is a little bit of interest in the opposite sexamazon. He's thinking about what he might like to do ''eventually'', but his first major challenge is the breakdown of his parents' marriageco. He writes with a wonderful mixture of ''knowingness'' and innocence and usually manages to get things just everuk/dp/1683690346/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-so-slightly wrong.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0141046422</amazonuk>}}21]]
{{newreview
|author=Bruce Robinson
|title=The Rum Diary - A Screenplay
|rating=5
|genre=General Fiction
|summary=Kemp has lied his way onto a failing newspaper in San Juan, Puerto Rica, as the only candidate for the job, and in a semi-comatose state induced by too many miniatures from the hotel minibar, stumbles into a conspiracy of epic proportions, via classic bar room brawls and nightclub mayhem. On the way he (almost) writes horoscopes and bowling championship stories, meets the fantastically erotic girlfriend of the evil businessman, and teams up with a proto-Nazi out of his mind on a cocktail of hootch and LSD, and a photographer side kick. There is no question that this is Hunter S Thompson territory, especially when all the above is combined with a witty, slow-talking hero who in spite of his alcoholic haze sees clearly through the exploitation of a third world country by its massive first world near neighbour.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099555697</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview|authorstyle=Francesca Simon"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"||title=Horrid Henry's A - Z of Everything Horrid|rating=4|genre=Confident Readers|summary[[The Con Artist by Fred Van Lente]]==Francesca Simon's Horrid Henry is a very popular little boy, although you might have a different opinion if you actually had to put up with his antics yourself. A slightly modernised embodiment of 'slugs and snails and puppy dogs' tails' concept of boyhood, Henry is naughtiness personified, combining irreverence for authority with a huge dose of gross-out crude humour that really appeals to the target readership of early primary school children. Add a somewhat nostalgic, timeless feel, trademark alliterations, subtle (and not so subtle) digs at family dynamics, sibling rivalry and particularly at modern middle-class manners and sensibilities and you have a winning character and a base for a very successful edutainment franchise.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444002260</amazonuk>}}
[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{newreview|author=Jeremy Clarke|title=Low Life|rating=3}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|genre=Crime]], [[:Category:Humour|summary=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 readership. 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 ticket. A sister publication to The Daily Telegraph, it is quoted as being Atlanticist, usually supportive of Israel, and Eurosceptic in outlook.Humour]]
This makes me utterly unsuitable as Comic-Cons are a candidate to review Clarkeplace of wonder and sanctuary for many people, and when Comic book artist Mike Mason arrives at San Diego Comic-Con, he's booklooking for both that and sanctuary with other fans and creators, plus the chance of maybe, just maybe reuniting with his ex. However, when his rival is found dead, Mike is forced to navigate every dark corner of the con 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, may just unravel a dark secret behind a legendary industry creator.[[The Con Artist by Fred Van Lente|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1907595511</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]
{{newreview
|author=Guy Kennaway
|title=Bird Brain
|rating=4.5
|genre=Humour
|summary='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<!-- Coulton -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1473669588.jpg|amazonuklink=<amazonuk>0224093991<http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1473669588/amazonuk>}}ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]
{{newreview
|author=Neil Forsyth
|title=Why Me? The Very Important Emails of Bob Servant
|rating=3.5
|genre=General Fiction
|summary=Catchy title and catchy front cover graphics. What's not to like? It takes a lot to make me laugh generally, but as I had an initial flick through this book, things looked promising. And I was also thinking that it's a pleasant change to see another location (other than perhaps the predictable Glasgow and Edinburgh) get an airing.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1780270097</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview|authorstyle=Harry Thompson"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"||title=Tintin: Herge and His Creation|rating=3.5|genre=Biography|summary[[Falling Short by Lex Coulton]]==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>}}
[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{newreview|author=Joseph Heller|title=Catch 22|rating=5}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:General Fiction|genre=Literary General Fiction]], [[:Category:Humour|summary=At the heart of the very black comedy that is ''Catch 22'' is Captain YossarianHumour]], a World War II American bombardier, who wants to survive the war. 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 safety. If he is sane, he can[[:Category:Women't be grounded. This, his doctor tells him, is catch 22.s Fiction|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099529114</amazonuk>}}Women's Fiction]]
{{newreview|author=William Giraldi|title=Busy Monsters|rating=4|genre=General Fiction|summary=Charles Homar loves his Gillian. HeLex Coulton's proved it to usdebut novel is a story about mistakes, failures, and relationships. The main protagonist, if not to herFrances Pilgrim, by going after is a sixth form English teacher who has recently fallen out with her possessivebest friend Jackson, jealous state trooper of an ex with the intent to kill - if only ended up rescuing a cat instead. But lo work colleague, and behold, she's declared she's off to discover is grappling with the real love increasingly eccentric behaviour of her life - the giant squidmother. 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 This relationship is complicated by chapter, sending his narrative of the same to a magazine as essays for one of those autobiographical, frivolous columnsfact that Frances's father disappeared at sea when she was five years old.[[Falling Short by Lex Coulton|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0393079627</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]
{{newreview<!-- van LENTE -->|author=Kevin Wilson-|titlestyle=The Family Fang"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"||rating=4[[image:1683690346.5jpg|genrelink=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 againhttp://www. But it has come to this - her film actress career is on the rocks with the kind of self-destruction so much enjoyed by tabloid writers, and he - well, he's here because of a jumbo spud gunamazon. 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 havocco.|amazonukuk/dp/1683690346/ref=nosim?tag=<amazonuk>1447202384</amazonuk>}}thebookbag-21]]
{{newreview
|author=Zadie Smith
|title=White Teeth
|rating=5
|genre=Literary Fiction
|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 least, not yet. Let the furore die down. If they're still around in a few years, your subconscious whispers, maybe we'll go see what all the fuss was about.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0241954576</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview|authorstyle=David Lodge"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"||title===[[The Campus Trilogy|ratingCon Artist by Fred Van Lente]]=4.5|genre=Humour|summary=Somewhere along the line the word "vintage" stopped meaning simply the wine crop of any given year, and started to mean the wine of a particularly good year, and then to mean anything of a past year that was (is) of outstanding quality. Such is the mutability of language. |amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099529130</amazonuk>}}
[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{newreview|author=Ludwig Bechstein, Axel Sceffler and Julia Donaldson|title=The Gloomster|rating=4.5|genre=General Fiction}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|summary=We've all been there. 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, ourselves. After allCrime]], our lot is so bad it won't make anything much worse.[[:Category:Humour|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0571274242</amazonuk>}}Humour]]
{{newreview|author=Stella Gibbons|title=Conference Comic-Cons are a place of wonder and sanctuary for many people, and when Comic book artist Mike Mason arrives at Cold Comfort Farm|rating=4San Diego Comic-Con, he's looking for both that and sanctuary with other fans and creators, plus the chance of maybe, just maybe reuniting with his ex. However, when his rival is found dead, Mike is forced to navigate every dark corner of the con 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, may just unravel a dark secret behind a legendary industry creator.5[[The Con Artist by Fred Van Lente|genre=Humour|summary=There are no Starkadders at Cold Comfort Farm.Full Review]]
To those of you who've not read Stella Gibbons' magnificient [[Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons<!-- Curran -->|original novel]], 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 | style="width: 10%; vertical- 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 againalign: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1683690133.jpg|amazonuklink=<amazonuk>0099528681<http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1683690133/amazonuk>}}ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]
{{newreview
|author=Stella Gibbons
|title=Cold Comfort Farm
|rating=5
|genre=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>
}}
{{newreview|authorstyle=Philip Jose Farmer"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|title=The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Peerless Peer|rating=4.5|genre=Crime (Historical)|summary=It[[My Lady's World War One, Choosing by Kitty Curran and Britain has got wind of some brilliant scientific research, that has created a new bacterial weapon capable of wiping out the world's supply of sauerkraut. But a dastardly German has stolen the formula. Before he can give a variant based on boiled meat, cabbage and potatoes to the kaiser, his most recent nemesis - Sherlock Holmes, no less - must be brought out of beekeeping retirement. Cue an adventure and a half, as he and Watson take to the skies for the first time in their hectic lives, end up in darkest Africa, and encounter a certain yodelling, long-haired nobleman, more than up to the name of King of the Jungle...|amazonukLarissa Zageris]]===<amazonuk>0857681206</amazonuk>}}
[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{newreview|author=Tom Sharpe|title=The Wilt Inheritance|rating=3.5}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Humour|genre=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 Universities. We used to know them as technical colleges. 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]], Eva. It's Eva though who signs him up for a job in the summer holidays – tutoring the step-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.[[:Category:Historical Fiction|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099493136</amazonuk>}}Historical Fiction]]
{{newreview|author=Alain Mabanckou|title=Memoirs of You are a Porcupine|rating=4|genre=Literary Fiction|summary=The protagonist lass of this novel twenty eight. Plucky, penniless and in Regency era London the race is on to find a suitable suitor - or else doom yourself to life as an ordinary Congolese porcupine until Papa Kibandi performs an ancient ritual involving eternal spinster. Along your journey you'll be accompanied by Lady Evangeline Youngblood - a fiesty noble eager to save you from a hallucinogenic cocktail called ''mayamvumbi''life alone, and transforms him into his sonfired by a rogueish sense for adventure. When it comes to suitors though, you's harmful double. The insecure younger Kibandi becomes more ll have to make the ultimate decision between witty, pretty and more embittered as his life goes onwealthy Sir Benedict Granville, wholesome, rugged and sends his porcupine to 'eat' anybody he feels caring Captain Angus MacTaggart, or the least bit threatened bymad, bad and terrifyingly sexy Lord Garraway Craven. With orphans, a process whereby that person's life essence is sucked outwerewolves, killing them instantly. Over one hundred victims later long lost lovers and following his masterancient Egyptian artifcats along the way, it's death at the hands of a vengeful baby, our narrator retires clear this isn't going to the hollow of a baobab tree where he writes this confessionalbe an easy decision...[[My Lady's Choosing by Kitty Curran and Larissa Zageris|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846687675</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]
{{newreview<!-- Jester -->|author=Tom Holt-|titlestyle=Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Sausages"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|rating=5[[image:Jester_Forever.jpg|genre=Fantasyleft|summarylink=Imagine a world where pigs can do quantum mechanics, and where female solicitors turn into chickenshttps://www. 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's in)amazon. Stir in a bit of property developing, a thaumaturgical detective and an old man who lives in a cloudco. Resultuk/gp/product/1510704361? You haven't even begun to probe the depths of this crazy, absurd, complex and hilarious book.|amazonukie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=<amazonuk>1841495077</amazonuk>}}1510704361]]
{{newreview
|author=Steve Hely
|title=How I Became a Famous Novelist
|rating=4
|genre=General 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>
}}
{{newreview|authorstyle=Charles Lamb"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|title=Great Food: A Dissertation Upon Roast Pig and Other Essays|rating=4|genre=Cookery|summary=''A Dissertation Upon Roast Pig'' is [[Forever After: a collection of food-related essays from the early 19th century, with a humorous bent. They're but a few pages each - a light read to bring a smile to your face, then on to the next little foodie treat.|amazonukdark comedy by David Jester]]===<amazonuk>0241951003</amazonuk>}}
{{newreview|author=ClientsFromHell[[image:4star.netjpg|titlelink=Clients From Hell|Category:{{{rating=4}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Paranormal|genre=Humour|summary=Everyone who's worked as a freelancer has a story of a client from hell - that person who asked for something that was impossibleParanormal]], wanted it done yesterday for a fraction of the usual price, or is just plain angry about the work produced. The website [http[://www.clientsfromhell.net ClientsFromHell.netCategory:Horror|Horror]] has collated a number of such stories over the years, and has now published them as a book.[[:Category:Fantasy|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0982473931</amazonuk>}}Fasntasy]]
{{newreview|author=Manu Joseph|title=Serious Men|rating=4|genre=General Fiction|summary=Ayyan Mani Michael Holland is a Dalit, an untouchable, stuck in a flat in Mumbai's slums but hopingcocky and brash young man who dies and gets made the offer of his lifetime; immortality. We follow Michael, somehow, for a better future for his son. Working at the Insitute of Theory grim reaper and Research he uses all his cunning friends Chip (a stoner tooth fairy) and wiles to stay ahead of the game amongst the Brahmin scientists. Does he have Naff (a stoner in the intelligence, records department) as they grapple with their long lives and nerves, finding a clean surface to convince everyone that his son, against all odds, is sit on in their flat. [[Forever After: a genius?dark comedy by David Jester|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848543085</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]
{{newreview<!-- Stibbe -->|author=John Saunders-|titlestyle=The Vernham Chronicles"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|rating=4[[image:Stibbe_Xmas.jpg|genre=Humourleft|summarylink=Set amidst the rolling British countryside around Vernbury Vale is the little village of Vernhamhttps://www. Anyone who lives in a village will recognise it immediately, with its cobbled streets and Tudor buildingsamazon. There was some damage during the war (which might, or might not have been down to a lighthouse folly constructed by a local landowner on his lake) but the gaps have been filled with some beautiful, er, mock Tudor buildingsco. 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.|amazonukuk/gp/product/0241309824?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=<amazonuk>1907499598</amazonuk>}}0241309824]]
{{newreview
|author=Martin Millar
|title=The Good Fairies of New York
|rating=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>
}}
{{newreview|authorstyle=Gervase Phinn"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|title=Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Stars|rating=4|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 [[An Almost Perfect Christmas 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.|amazonukNina Stibbe]]===<amazonuk>0141036435</amazonuk>}}
[[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:History{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]]{{newreview|author=Simon Garfield|title=Just My Type[[:Category: A Book About Fonts|rating=4.5Humour|genre=Humour|summary=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 wrong. 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). So it is with typefaces. A good type helps the reader, enhances the flow and makes the viewing experience easy and simple. Well sort of.[[:Category:Short Stories|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846683017</amazonuk>}}Short Stories]]
{{newreview|author=Bob Servant and Neil Forsyth|title=Bob Servant: Hero Christmas – the time of Dundee|rating=3traditional trauma.5|genre=Humour|summary=After [[Delete This at Your Peril: One Man's Fearless Exchanges with You only have to think about the Internet Spammers by Bob Servant|bursting into public consciousness]] as turkey for that – once upon a time it was leaving it sat on the scourge of email spammersdownstairs loo to defrost overnight, Broughty Ferryand if that failed the hair-dryer shoved inside it treatment was your next best bet. Nowadays it's all having to make sure it's resident polymath Bob Servant has returnedsuitably 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. This timeChristmas, he expands upon the colourful life only hinted at in his previous oeuvrethough, Delete this at Your Perilis of course also a time of great boons. And what It's cash in hand for a life it has been. He steers us from his humble beginnings, his broken family lot of plump people who can hire red suits and traumatic schooldaysbeards, through it was always a godsend for postmen with all the rise and fall of his window cleaning empirethank-you letters to aunties you saw twice a decade that your parents made you write out in long-hand as a child, and his role in Dundee's brutal cheeseburger wars. Along as for the way, we witness his struggles with, respectively, women ('skirt'), his simpleton sidekick Frankmakers of Meltis Newberry Fruits – well, did they even try and sell them any other time of the demon drink.year? [[An Almost Perfect Christmas by Nina Stibbe|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1841589209</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]
{{newreview<!-- Doescher -->|author=P K Munroe-|titlestyle=You Can Stick It"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Doescher_Will.jpg|ratingleft|link=3https://www.5|genreamazon.co.uk/gp/product/159474985X?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=Humour|summary6738&creativeASIN=Literary merit? Absolutely none!159474985X]]
Plot, characterisation and all that other stuff you usually talk about? Nope – there's none of that, either.
Ah, so it| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[William Shakespeare's non-fiction? Well, calling it ''fact'' would be stretching things a little too far...the Force Doth Awaken: Star Wars Part the Seventh by Ian Doescher]]===
So, come on then[[image:4.5star. What ''is'' it?jpg|amazonuklink=<amazonuk>0007362188</amazonuk>Category:{{{rating}}}Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Science Fiction|Science Fiction]], [[:Category:Humour|Humour]]
{{newreview|author=Axel Scheffler|title=How to Keep A long time ago, in a galaxy far away, there was a Pet Squirrel|rating=4|genre=Humour|summary=Soman called William Shakespeare, how do you keep who was able to create a pet squirrel? Wellseries of dramatic histories full of machinations most foul, the simple answer is that you don'trulers most evil and rebellious heroes and heroines most sturdy. They're wild animals and You may or may not at all suitable have noticed the cinematic version of his original stage play for keeping in captivity, but accepted thinking didn't always run that way. It was whilst he was dipping into ''The ChildrenForce Doth Awaken's Encyclopaedia'' of 1910 that Axel Scheffler came across a small , but indispensible guide here at last we get the actual script, complete with annoying-in-different-ways-to obtaining -before droids anew, returning heroes from elsewhere in his oeuvre, and caring for your pet squirrelpeople keeping it in the family til it hurts. His inventive mind came up with these beautiful illustrations to accompany the text and And if youneed further encouragement, don't forget his audience only demanded three parts of Henry VI – here the series is so popular we're looking for an amusing gift for an animal-loving adult then on to part seven – surely making this book could well be over twice as good… [[William Shakespeare's the answer.Force Doth Awaken: Star Wars Part the Seventh by Ian Doescher|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0571255981</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]
{{newreview<!-- Goss -->|author=PJ Vanston-|titlestyle=Crump"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|rating=3[[image:Goss_600.jpg|genre=General Fictionleft|summarylink=It's Kevin Crump's first day as a lecturer at Thames Metropolitan University - an ex-polytechnichttps://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/gp/product/1785942719?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=<amazonuk>1848762852</amazonuk>}}1785942719]]
{{newreview
|author=John Lennon
|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 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>
}}
{{newreview|authorstyle=John Lindsay"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|title=Emails From An Asshole|rating=4|genre=Humour|summary=Some classified ads are crying out for trolling. John Lindsay replies to them, spins them a yarn, [[Doctor Who: Now We Are Six Hundred: A Collection of Time Lord Verse (Dr Who) by James Goss 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.|amazonukRussell T Davies]]===<amazonuk>1402778279</amazonuk>}}
{{newreview|author=L C Tyler|title=The Herring In The Library|rating=[[image:4.55star.jpg|genrelink=CrimeCategory:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Children's Rhymes and Verse|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 TylerChildren's eccentric sleuthsRhymes and Verse]], we are provided with a locked room mystery, a cast of possible villains of the most stereotypical type, and a fresh[[:Category:Science Fiction|Science Fiction]], 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=3Consider the Doctor.5|genre=Humour|summary=A J Jacobs has 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 reputation few novelty gifts for some of them, say, for setting himself onerous tasksexample, whimsical books of verse that pithily encapsulate the life of a Time Lord and that of some of his friends and enemies. His first book was about reading As luck would have it, he has the entire Encyclopedia Britannica; space in his TARDIS to stock up in advance, so my advice to him – sorry, her – would be to pop along to his second detailed local Earth-based book emporium and get himself ready. And if you're working on a shorter timescale, with a year spent according to shorter lifespan, and thinking perhaps just one gift season ahead, well my advice is pretty much the Biblical preceptssame. In My Experimental Life, he recounts nine briefer episodes [[Doctor Who: Now We Are Six Hundred: A Collection of living outside his comfort zone.Time Lord Verse (Dr Who) by James Goss and Russell T Davies|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099547422</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]
{{newreview<!-- Ingram -->|author=Seth Grahame-Smith|titlestyle=Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"||rating=3[[image:Ingram_Kammie.5jpg|genre=Humourleft|summarylink='Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shorehttps://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/gp/product/1785451995?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=<amazonuk>1849014086</amazonuk>}}1785451995]]
{{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=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 [[Conversations with all sorts of cheesiness and silliness. Funniest ever? Perhaps not, but it's not too bad.|amazonukKammie by Annie Ingram]]===<amazonuk>1849391114</amazonuk>}}
[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{newreview|author=Paul Magrs|title=Hell's Belles|rating=3.5}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Pets|genre=Pets]], [[:Category:Humour|summary=The idea behind this series of novels is quite enchanting and amusing. Frankenstein's daughter is living and sleuthing in Whitby, ably aided and abetted by her sidekick, the enigmatic Effie, and a growing menagerie of younger accomplices, namely Michael and Penny. Whilst the original idea showed huge promise, I felt that the author has rather overdone it in terms of output, in his desire to capitalise on his original success. Book two in the series was quite disappointing, relying on sensationalism rather than adequate plot and character development. Book three was an improvement-and I'm delighted to report that this, the fourth book in the series, shows him returning to form with the promise we saw in the first of the series.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0755346467</amazonuk>}}Humour]]
{{newreview|author=Valerie Thomas It was something of a relief when I encountered Annie Ingram and Korky Paul|title=Winnie's Jokes|rating=2her cocker spaniel Kammie.5|genre=Confident Readers|summary=Who turns off the lights at Halloween? The lights witch. What does an Australian witch ride You see, Annie knows something which has been self-evident to me for a long time: dogs are perfectly capable of communicating with humans and not just on? A broomeranga level of food!, walk! or play!. YepYou do require extensive training to become fluent, it's a joke bookbut most dogs will be perfectly willing to give their time to teach you and all you have to do is listen. Annie has studied hard: Kammie has trained her well and the pair have allowed us to share some of their conversations.[[Conversations with Kammie by Annie Ingram|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0192729063</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]
{{newreview<!-- Harris -->|author=Nick Wadley-|titlestyle=Man + Dog"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Harris_Glass.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/1908943823/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 "vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|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 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: Part Six Breaking of Three (Hitchhikers Guide 6) |rating=3.5|genreLiam Glass by Charles Harris]]=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:3star.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]]
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]] | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Ten Dead Comedians: A Murder Mystery by Fred Van Lente]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{newreviewrating}}} 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 Contractor'' 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 -->|author-| 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]] | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Elizabeth, William... and Me by S Lynn Scott]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=David OCategory:{{{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'Dohertys she going to do? Well, Claudia O'Doherty Elizabeth and Will have their own ideas about that! [[Elizabeth, William... and Mike AhernMe by S Lynn Scott|Full Review]] <!-- Rodford -->|-|titlestyle=100 Facts About Pandas"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Rodford_Surgeon.jpg|ratinglink=3http://www.amazon.co.5uk/dp/178565005X/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|genre===[[The Surgeon's Case: George Kocharyan Mystery 2 by E G Rodford]]===Humour [[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 hospital. George agrees to look into the title says 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 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 book 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 -->}|}
