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[[Category:New Reviews|Humour]] __NOTOC__ <!-- Remove -->{{newreview|titleclass-"wikitable" cellpadding=Dear Committee Members"15" <!-- INSERT NEW REVIEWS BELOW HERE--><!-- van LENTE -->|author=Julie Schumacher-|ratingstyle=4.5"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|genre=General Fiction[[image:1683690346.jpg|summarylink=Jason Fitger (Jay) is a Professor of creative writing and literature at a small university in the American mid-westhttp://www.amazon. He is also a frustrated novelist with a colourful personal history, much of which bleeds into his professional life, with interesting resultsco.|amazonukuk/dp/1683690346/ref=nosim?tag=<amazonuk>0007586345</amazonuk>}}thebookbag-21]]

{{newreview|titlestyle=Encyclopedia Paranoiaca"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"||author=Henry Beard and Christopher Cerf|rating=4|genre=Popular Science|summary[[The Con Artist by Fred Van Lente]]==We're screwed. Wherever we look, whatever we think of doing, there is a reason why we shouldn't be doing it, and people to back that reason up with scientific data. Take any aspect of your daily life – what you eat, how you work, how you rest even, what you touch – all have problems that could provoke a serious illness or worse. And outside that daily sphere there are economic disasters, nuclear meltdowns, errant AI scientists and passing comets that could turn our world upside down at the blink of an eye. Perhaps then you better read this book first – for it may well turn out to be your last…|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0715649213</amazonuk>}}

[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{newreview|title=Diary of a Mad Diva|author=Joan Rivers|rating=3.5}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|genre=Crime]], [[:Category:Humour|summary=The late Joan Rivers was, without a doubt, a character. Actress, comedian, writer, director, presenter, she was well known in the USA and beyond for her sharp tongue and no holds barred persona. This was the last of the dozen books she published, her final title before her death in September 2014.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0425269027</amazonuk>}}Humour]]

{{newreview|title=The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy Comic- The Nearly Definitive Edition|author=Douglas Adams|rating=5|genre=General Fiction|summary=There Cons are few series that have garnered such a cult following as place of wonder and sanctuary for many people, and when Comic book artist Mike Mason arrives at San Diego Comic-Con, he'The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy'. Whether the s looking for both that and sanctuary with other fans have come from and creators, plus the radio serieschance of maybe, the (impossibly hard) computer gamejust maybe reuniting with his ex. However, or the (well intentioned but not particularly good) filmwhen his rival is found dead, they are everywhere. Ask a room Mike is forced to navigate every dark corner of people what the meaning of life iscon 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, and you can be pretty sure may just unravel a dark secret behind a good few will pipe up with '42' as the answerlegendary industry creator.[[The Con Artist by Fred Van Lente|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0434023396</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]

{{newreview<!-- Coulton -->|author=Graeme Simsion-|titlestyle=The Rosie Effect"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|rating=4[[image:1473669588.jpg|genrelink=Humour|summary=Following inadvertent success with the Wife Project, Professor Don Tillman and his new bride Rosie have moved from Australia to New Yorkhttp://www. Although Don's position on the autistic scale is subjective, he still operates on a daily basis of structured procedures, lists and logicamazon. Rosie can generally handle that but there are choppy waters aheadco. With the patter of tiny feet imminent logic goes out the window as she struggles with her PhD while Don struggles to find his place in the baby production process. At least he has his drinking buddies to support him – an aging rock drummer and a friend whose wife has thrown him out for infidelity. What could possibly go wronguk/dp/1473669588/ref=nosim?|amazonuktag=<amazonuk>0718179471</amazonuk>}}thebookbag-21]]

{{newreview|authorstyle=Sammy Looker"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|title=Something Nasty in the Slushpile|rating=4|genre=Humour|summary=I couldn't resist the title - a neat play on [[Cold Comfort Farm Falling Short by Stella Gibbons|Cold Comfort FarmLex Coulton]] and I'm sure that you'll understand that I was expecting some examples of the horrors to be found amongst the mountain of unsolicited manuscripts which every publisher accumulates. I'll confess I was expecting to giggle, even to groan - unkind, I know - and I'd mentally shelved the book with the trivia, or (hopefully) the humour. There is that element to the book, but there's also something far more useful. If you're thinking about publishing a book this should be required reading ''before'' you even go near a publisher.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1472111028</amazonuk>}}==

[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{newreview|author=The Queen|title=Still Reigning|rating=4}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:General Fiction|genre=General Fiction]], [[:Category:Humour|summary=Anyone who frequents Twitter will know that it's a mixed blessing. It's a mine of wonderful information and supportive camaraderie. It's also - unfortunately - home to a lot of people who take great pleasure in causing pain to others. But in amongst all this are a few gems and one of them is Humour]], [[https://twitter.com/Queen_UK @Queen_UK], a delightful satire on members of the royal family, celebrities, the political classes and the state of Her MajestyCategory:Women's nation. Or, ''oneFiction|Women's nation'' as Ma'am would say. ''Still Reigning'' is her second book, after ''Gin O'Clock'' and it's the sort of parody which leaves you wondering if the writer might not be someone ''very'' close to the original.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0715649132</amazonuk>}}Fiction]]

{{newreview|title=Last Days of the Bus Club|author=Chris Stewart|rating=4|genre=Humour|summary=I could well have been Lex Coulton's debut novel is a near-neighbour of Chris Stewart. Notstory about mistakes, of coursefailures, near his current primary occupancyand relationships. The main protagonist, an ecological farmstead just beyond the turning off from the back end of nowhere in the most rural of corners of southern SpainFrances Pilgrim, but back when he lived in the south-east of Englandis a sixth form English teacher who has recently fallen out with her best friend Jackson, being Genesis' first ever drummera work colleague, and building bridges in is grappling with the North Downsincreasingly eccentric behaviour of her mother. The fact I learnt the latter from this book shows up several of the features of this warm-hearted 'travelogue' – This relationship is complicated by the fact that Stewart is never shy about portraying family details and history – given a good map and a prevailing wind one could find where he lives and descend on the farm, if one wished; and that while this might be on the travel shelves, the narrative is so fragmented it actually moves a lot more than any of the characters doFrances's father disappeared at sea when she was five years old.[[Falling Short by Lex Coulton|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1908745436</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]

{{newreview<!-- van LENTE -->|title=Summer Half-|authorstyle=Angela Thirkell|rating=4"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|genre=Humour|summary=If one didn’t know of Angela Thirkell’s distinguished background as a granddaughter of Sir Edward Burne-Jones and daughter of a classicist, it would be tempting to describe her as a kind of country cousin of [[image:Category1683690346.jpg|link=http:P G Wodehouse|P//www.amazon.Gco. Wodehouse’suk/dp/1683690346/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]. An unaffected and intelligent one, whose humour is less sophisticated but bubbles over with just as much glee. The middle-class world she has created, where young men come from families that are comfortably wealthy rather than outrageously so, offers a counterpoint to the Mitford or Wodehouse worlds with their aristocratic characters who travel the world and mingle with more louche, bohemian ones.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>184408969X</amazonuk>}}

{{newreview|authorstyle=Reverend Adam Smallbone"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"||title===[[The Rev Diaries|ratingCon Artist by Fred Van Lente]]=4.5|genre=Humour|summary=Adam Smallbone wasn’t always a vicar. He used to work for the Bristol Housing Department, enabling his father-in-law to tell everyone he worked 'in property'. From there, his initial calling was to a rural church in Suffolk which did nothing to prepare him for this, his current London inner city parish. Indeed, he's not prepared for Adoha (the Nigerian parishioner with 19 grandchildren and 'the bottom of God') or Colin, the homeless alcoholic who has adopted Adam and his wife Alex (Mrs Vicarage to Colin). But then Alex also has a lot to get used to; after all, she didn't actually marry a vicar.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0718178394</amazonuk>}}

[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{newreview|title=Look Who's Back|author=Timur Vermes|rating=5}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|genre=General Fiction|summary=''Hitler Youth Ronaldo! Which way to the street?'' With these words a very misguided Nazi Fuhrer asks for his first directions in the Berlin of 2011. Mistakenly believing the lad to be a party junior member with his own name on his football shirtCrime]], he also thinks for a while it is still 1945. He's soon informed of the truth, but still makes some unfortunate conclusions – that the street kiosks selling Turkish language newspapers are a sign of a Soviet-beating alliance between the two countries, that people eat granola bars because the war still leads to a bread shortage, and that people making an ironic speech bubble with their fingers in the air is all that is left of the Hitler salute. But yes, after a long hiatus neither he nor our author is particularly concerned with explaining, ''that man'' is back – and if he has his way he's going to be just as popular this time round…[[:Category:Humour|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0857052926</amazonuk>}}Humour]]

{{newreview|author=Adam Ruck|title=The Bluffer's Guide to Golf (Bluffer's Guides)|rating=4.5|genre=Sport|summary=The fly leaf suggests that this Bluffer's Guide is the way to instantly acquire all the knowledge which you need to pass as an expert in the ''arcane Comic-Cons are a place of wonder and sanctuary for many people, and labyrinthine'' world of golf. Therewhen Comic book artist Mike Mason arrives at San Diego Comic-Con, he's quite a bit there looking for both that I'd agree on - the rules (and to an unfortunate extent the ''attitudes'') are arcane sanctuary with other fans and they seem to take a lifetime to mastercreators, but there's a surprising amount plus the chance of information tucked away inside this little bookmaybe, just maybe reuniting with his ex. What I might quibble with However, when his rival is found dead, Mike is whether or not you would ''pass as an expert'' (which suggests that you're something forced to navigate every dark corner of a the con man): there's enough detail here in order to clear his name – from cosplay flash mobs and intrusive fans to give you zombie obstacle courses – Mike must prove his innocence and, in doing so, may just unravel a solid grounding without needing to bluffdark secret behind a legendary industry creator.[[The Con Artist by Fred Van Lente|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1909365327</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]

{{newreview<!-- Curran -->|title=The Collected Works of A J Fikry-|authorstyle=Gabrielle Zevin"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|rating=4[[image:1683690133.jpg|genrelink=General Fiction|summary=A J Fikry is not having a good timehttp://www. He's lost his wife to a car crash, and he's not making that much moneyamazon. The book store he runs, stuck out on a limb on a quiet island community, is too remote to turn a profit year-round, and he has just dismissed the latest publisher's rep to turn up at his door, partly because her previous counterpart, an inconsequential part of A J's life when all is said and done, had died and he didn't know about itco. But his bad time is about to get a lot worse, as the one thing he owns worth the most – a rare book, more valuable than his house, his business, anything – is about to vanish. Which bizarrely will cause several major changes to his oneuk/dp/1683690133/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-person household…|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1408704617</amazonuk>}}21]]

{{newreview|titlestyle=Horrid Henry's Biggest and Best Ever Joke Book "vertical- 3align: top; text-in-1align: left;"|author=Francesca Simon and Tony Ross|rating=4.5|genre=Humour|summary=It is easy to see why Horrid Henry remains such an enduring and well-liked children’s character. The adventures of this cheeky, irreverent schoolboy and a cast of extreme characters including Miss Battle Axe, The Demon Dinner [[My Lady, Rabid Rebecca and arch-nemesis Moody Margaret are incredibly funny and a perfect way to encourage reluctant young readers to cultivate a love of reading. It is no surprise then, that the series has spawned a set of three spin-off joke books, which have now been combined to create a single volume: ''Horrid Henry’s Biggest s Choosing by Kitty Curran and Best Ever Joke Book''.|amazonukLarissa Zageris]]===<amazonuk>144401174X</amazonuk>}}

{{newreview[[image:4star.jpg|titlelink=Let Me Off at the Top!Category: My Classy Life and Other Musings|author=Ron Burgundy|{{{rating=4}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Humour|genre=Humour|summary=''This book is a testament to my giant balls.'' But it's also a lot more. The story we've never been able to discern from either of the ''Anchorman'' films is one of surprising hardship]], unsurprising hardness, and great hair. It's a rags-to-riches tale, as Ron Burgundy comes from a Hicksville town in the middle of the outskirts of somewhere the arse end of nowhere (a town perpetually on fire due to the accidents in the mines underneath) and struggles against all the odds – and many of the evens in the shape of women's legs – to get where he is today, thrusting himself and his news at us nightly.[[:Category:Historical Fiction|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1780892241</amazonuk>}}Historical Fiction]]

{{newreview|title=Outraged You are a lass of Tunbridge Wells: Original Complaints from Middle England|author=Nigel Cawthorne|rating=4|genre=Humour|summary=It was ever thus… cyclists go too fasttwenty eight. Plucky, without using penniless and in Regency era London the race is on to find a hooter suitable suitor - or lights; there are hoodlums everywhere one looks, and no public conveniences; people pretend else doom yourself to have qualifications and degrees they havenlife as an eternal spinster. Along your journey you't rightfully earned; buses are too busy with shopping women who should ll be indoors alreadyaccompanied by Lady Evangeline Youngblood - a fiesty noble eager to save you from a life alone, cooking and fired by a rogueish sense for their working menfolk… Itadventure. When it comes to suitors though, you's a very clever idea ll have to show exactly what is behind make the 'disgusted of Tunbridge Wells' tagultimate decision between witty, pretty and wealthy Sir Benedict Granville, wholesome, rugged and as a book to be shelved alongside those with caring Captain Angus MacTaggart, or the wackier letters sent to mad, 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'Daily Telegraph'', these selections from the Royal townt going to be an easy decision... [[My Lady's press itself make a great eye-opener to the complaints Choosing by Kitty Curran and complainants of Kent.Larissa Zageris|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1908096918</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]

{{newreview<!-- Jester -->|author=Charlie Hill-|titlestyle=Books"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"||rating=4[[image:Jester_Forever.5jpg|genre=Humourleft|summarylink=Neurology professor Lauren Furrows witnesses the sudden untimelydeath of two tourists in a bar while on holidayhttps://www. Birmingham bookshop ownerRichard Anger happens to be in the same bar so together our single holidaymakers decide to team up as an investigatory force to be reckoned withamazon.(Well, Lauren teams up for thatco. Richard's reasons are more physical thanintellectual to begin with.) The murders seem to emanate from author GarySayles, a legend in his own mind and, apparently, fatal to read. Elsewherehippy exhibitionists (in an overuk/gp/product/1510704361?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-18 way) Zeke and Pippa, are planning theart installation to end all art installations and, are determined to makeGary the centrepiece, whether he realises it or not.|amazonuk21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=<amazonuk>1781251630</amazonuk>}}1510704361]]

{{newreview|titlestyle=Sad Monsters"vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|author=Frank Lesser|rating=4|genre=Humour|summary=If you thought you had it bad… Here is the chupacabra writing to the newspapers for better press – notices that don't universally mention his goat-sucking habits before his chess-playing, dancing or debating record. Here is [[Forever After: a banshee struggling with high school life, knowing the end of everyone that comes across her path. Here is King Kong, being defended in court dark comedy by a lawyer with a revelation to the jury about his bipolarity and how wrong it was to get his hopes up with a Broadway show in a strange city. Did you honestly think Godzilla enjoyed the way his life ended up?|amazonukDavid Jester]]===<amazonuk>0285642324</amazonuk>}}

[[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{newreview|author=Michael Cameron|title=The Brinkmeyers|rating=5}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Paranormal|genre=HumourParanormal]], [[:Category:Horror|summary=Hymie Brinkmeyer, New Yorker transplanted in the UK is 50 years old ''on a good day''. He lives with his wife Maggie and teenage children Kevin and Karrie. Hymie thinks Kevin is greatHorror]], while given that, if he gets picked up for drug possession once more, Hymie will have to admit that Kevin may have a problem. Karrie, a burgeoning poet, is also wonderful in her dad's eyes and is about to give birth to her second child outside a relationship. It's her body so she has the right... hasn't she? Everything is fine and life is great. Ok, Kevin's plotting to kill his mother and Hymie's leather-clad secretary seems to have a crush on her boss and Hymie seems to have a lump somewhere delicately crucial but everything's just fine.[[:Category:Fantasy|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0957319134</amazonuk>}}Fasntasy]]

{{newreview|title=Dedicated to...: The Forgotten Friendships, Hidden Stories and Lost Loves found in Second-hand Books|author=W B Gooderham|rating=4.5|genre=Entertainment|summary=I have found many strange and unusual things in second-hand bookshops. I have done one or two strange and unusual things in them as well, but that's a different story. Twice now I have managed to find Michael Holland is a second-hand book, completely signed cocky and dedicated by the author, yet discarded by the recipient, brash young man who dies and have been able to present gets made the author with the edition at hand and get it re-dedicatedoffer of his lifetime; immortality. (If I'm not mistakenWe follow Michael, the discarders were a neighbouring babysitter, grim reaper and his friends Chip (a teacher of the author's children.stoner tooth fairy) I'll admit that's rarefied, however, and on the whole the scribble you find Naff (a stoner in second-hand books is from the person who bought it, records department) as they grapple with their long lives and gave it as finding a gift, not the person who wrote it. But even so, the dedication of the donor can be immensely fascinating and open clean surface to all kinds of interpretation, as these examples show perfectly clearsit on in their flat.[[Forever After: a dark comedy by David Jester|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0593072847</amazonuk>}}Full Review]]

{{newreview<!-- Stibbe -->|title=Wallace and Gromit - The Complete Newspaper Strips - Volume 1|authorstyle=Nick Park"width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|rating=4[[image:Stibbe_Xmas.jpg|genre=Humourleft|summarylink=One man and his dog never had such a famous theme tunehttps://www.amazon. ''One Man and His Dog'' had a piddly little melody, but the triumphal, old-fashioned and charming parp of the theme tune to Wallace and Gromit has resounded out for decades nowco. While Aardman moved away from the nearuk/gp/product/0241309824?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-silent classic animations the series first gave us, the plasticine creations mutated into incredibly popular characters, which included a daily strip in the nation's biggest-selling tabloid. Here is the first lump of them, 312 daily doses of tomfoolery, collected for everyone to enjoy. Even if you thought the franchise had travelled its course a long time ago…|amazonuk21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=<amazonuk>1782760326</amazonuk>}}0241309824]]

{{newreview|titlestyle=Peas and Queues"vertical-align: The Minefield of Modern Mannerstop; text-align: left;"||author=Sandi Toksvig|rating=5|genre=Politics and Society|summary[[An Almost Perfect Christmas by Nina Stibbe]]===Dear Sandi

You are my all time favourite celebrity lesbadyke, and one of the reasons I’m so very excited to be heading to Denmark this coming weekend (are all people there like you? Please say yes). For this alone, I had to get my mitts on your latest offering. I wasn’t that fussed about obtaining a book on manners previously, having always thought mine were quite ok, but I knew your take on the matter would be suitably hilarious and well worth a read[[image:4. I was not wrong5star.jpg|amazonuklink=<amazonuk>1781250324</amazonuk>Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Humour|Humour]], [[:Category:Short Stories|Short Stories]]

Christmas – the time of traditional trauma. You only have to think about the turkey for that – once upon a time it was leaving it sat on the downstairs loo to defrost overnight, and if that failed the hair-dryer shoved inside it treatment was your next best bet. Nowadays it's all having to make sure it's suitably 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. Christmas, though, is of course also a time of great boons. It'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 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]] <!-- Doescher -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Doescher_Will.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/159474985X?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=159474985X]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[William Shakespeare's the Force Doth Awaken: Star Wars Part the Seventh by Ian Doescher]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{newreview{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Science Fiction|Science Fiction]], [[:Category:Humour|Humour]] A long time ago, in a galaxy far away, there was a man called William Shakespeare, who was able to create a series of dramatic histories full of machinations most foul, rulers most evil and rebellious heroes and heroines most sturdy. You may or may not have noticed the cinematic version of his original stage play for ''The Force Doth Awaken'', but here at last we get the actual script, complete with annoying-in-different-ways-to-before droids anew, returning heroes from elsewhere in his oeuvre, and people keeping it in the family til it hurts. And if you need further encouragement, don't forget his audience only demanded three parts of Henry VI – here the series is so popular we're on to part seven – surely making this over twice as good… [[William Shakespeare's the Force Doth Awaken: Star Wars Part the Seventh by Ian Doescher|titleFull Review]] <!-- Goss -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Goss_600.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1785942719?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1785942719]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Doctor Who: Now We Are Six Hundred: A Collection of Time Lord Verse (Dr Who) by James Goss and Russell T Davies]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Children's Rhymes and Verse|Children's Rhymes and Verse]], [[:Category:Science Fiction|Science Fiction]], [[:Category:Humour|Humour]] Consider the Doctor. Just how many birthday and Christmas gifts must he have to hand out each year, were he to keep in touch with even half of his companions? He would certainly need a few novelty gifts for some of them, say, for example, whimsical books of verse that pithily encapsulate the life of a Time Lord and that of some of his friends and enemies. As 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. And if you're working on a shorter timescale, with a shorter lifespan, and thinking perhaps just one gift season ahead, well 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|Full Review]] <!-- Ingram -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Ingram_Kammie.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1785451995?ie=Deaf at Spiral ParkUTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1785451995]]  |authorstyle="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Conversations with Kammie by Annie Ingram]]===Kieran Devaney [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Pets|Pets]], [[:Category:Humour|Humour]] It was something of a relief when I encountered Annie Ingram and her cocker spaniel Kammie. You see, Annie knows something which has been self-evident to me for a long time: dogs are perfectly capable of communicating with humans and not just on a level of food!, walk! or play!. You do require extensive training to become fluent, but most dogs will be perfectly willing to give their time to teach you and all you have to do is listen. Annie has studied hard: Kammie has trained her well and the pair have allowed us to share some of their conversations. [[Conversations with Kammie by Annie Ingram|Full Review]] <!-- Harris -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Harris_Glass.jpg|link=2http://www.amazon.co.5uk/dp/1908943823/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  |genrestyle="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Breaking of Liam Glass by Charles Harris]]=== [[image:3star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]], [[:Category:Humour|Humour]] Teenager Liam Glass is mugged and stabbed yards from his Camden flat. As the boy lies comatose, desperate journalist Jason Worthington scrabbles for the inside scoop, tired police officer Andy Rockham searches for a missing tape, harried politician Jamila Hasan fights for 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 -->|-|summarystyle="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Lente_10.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1683690222/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Ten Dead Comedians: A Murder Mystery by Fred Van Lente]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Humour|Humour]] Nine comedians are invited to a remote Caribbean island under the 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 ''Deaf at Spiral ParkBilly the Contractor'' is a bizarre take 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 philosophy hell else are you going to say?'' [[Ten Dead Comedians: A Murder Mystery by Fred Van Lente|Full Review]] <!-- Scott -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Scott_Eliz.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1788037006/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Elizabeth, William... and Me by S Lynn Scott]]=== [[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 what the window. It's not a coincidence that it is '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 be humando? Well, Elizabeth and Will have their own ideas about that! [[Elizabeth, William... and Me by S Lynn Scott|Full Review]] <!-- Rodford -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Rodford_Surgeon.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/178565005X/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Surgeon's Case: George Kocharyan Mystery 2 by E G Rodford]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Crime|Crime]], attempted through [[:Category:Humour|Humour]] In the portrayal second instalment of this series, Private Investigator George Kocharyan has been hired by a bear well-known local man to track down some missing valuables. Bill Galbraith, a world-famous surgeon at Cambridge's Addenbrooke's Hospital who shaves 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 fur at the hospital. George agrees to appear as look into the theft, assuming it will be a relatively easy and straightforward case – little does he know, he's about to enter a humanworld of deceit and dysfunction. [[The story combines philosophy with comedy using 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 range good weekend for Janice to be babysitting at Caroline's house. There's the split and the awkwardness of stock characters including the girls' schoolteacher being the other woman for a clown 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 farmer handy guide to show the world etiquette of their name, their nature and location, etc.) For our more distant readers, they're several chunks of granite rock out in the bear Atlantic, where Cornwall is pointing, with just 2,200 permanent residents. They're big on tourism, and big on growing flowers in the tropical climate the Gulf Stream bequeaths them – although the weather is bad enough to consider how his humanity may turn any car to a rust bucket within years. They're so wee, and so idyllic-seeming, especially at night, you can be mistaken for thinking there would be more than that 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 life all the humans themselveswhimsical 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;"|amazonuk===[['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]] <amazonuk!-- Phinn -->1907773169|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Phinn_Virgin.jpg|left|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1444779400/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Virgin Mary's Got Nits by Gervase Phinn]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Humour|Humour]], [[:Category:Anthologies|Anthologies]] Christmas in our house is the time we tend to get on a plane and head to either sun or snow, anywhere that is far, far away from the madness at home, last minute dashes to the shops on Christmas Eve, and food cupboard stockpiles that would imply supermarkets are shutting for a month, nor a mere 36 hours. But I do remember the feeling of Christmas when I was younger, back when it was magical, and back when you knew exactly what the season would bring with carol concerts and school nativities and Christmas parties. This book is an anthology of those moments, and it took me right back to the wonder of Christmas as a child. [[The Virgin Mary's Got Nits by Gervase Phinn|Full Review]] <!-- North -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:North_Romeo.jpg|link=http:/amazonuk/www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0356508536/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]  | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Romeo and/or Juliet by Ryan North]]=== [[image:3.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Humour|Humour]] For all those who think tragedy plots are too restricted and prescribed, read on. In these pages you too will see that Romeo had lots of options en route to hitting the bottle. Likewise, she could have turned away from her predestined path at no end of junctures. And to what result? Well, happy marriage and a kid called Ben, because the leads have just banged people's heads together and stopped the quarrelling, or Death by Tybalt (him) or a long life running an establishment curing murderous women, such as a Lady M (her). [[Romeo and/or Juliet by Ryan North|Full Review]] <!-- DO NOT REMOVE ANYTHING BELOW THIS LINE -->}|}