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Find out moreTitles to make you laugh out loud. Or just smile. Or both.
What's the best way to sort your laundry? Why is Facebook so good at predicting what you like? How do you find new music? Readers around the world have embraced Ali Almossawi's whimsical illustrations and his funny, clarifying explanations of complex subjects. In Bad Choices Almossawi demystifies a new topic of increasing relevance to our lives: algorithms. This is a book for anyone who's looked at a given task and wondered if there was a better, faster way to get it done. What's the best way to organize a grocery list? What's the secret to being more productive at work? How can we better express ourselves in 140-characters? Presenting us with alternative methods for tackling each scenario, Almossawi guides us to better choices that borrow from same systems that underline a computer word processor, a Google search engine, or a Facebook ad. Once you recognise what makes a method faster and more efficient, you'll become a more nimble, creative problem-solver, ready to face new challenges.
Enid Blyton's books are beloved the world over and The Famous Five have been the perennial favourite of her fans. Now, in this new series of Enid Blyton for Grown-Ups, George, Dick, Anne, Julian and Timmy are keen to show Aunt Fanny how much she means to them.
Based on her bestselling range of greetings cards, Cath Tate brings you her unique take on a subject close to all our hearts: love. From grand passion to long-married cosiness, all aspects of this universal emotion are here, in more than 50 hand-coloured vintage photos paired with witty captions.
A book of 101 tips for people engaged in the increasingly popular Dry January movement, in which you give up alcohol for the whole of January. Tips range from the practical ('Put a lock on your drinks cabinet and give someone else the key') to the less practical ('Deliberately get infected with an illness requiring a month-long course of antibiotics') and from the sensible ('Keep a daily total of all the money you're saving') to the silly ('Unfriend anyone on Facebook with a birthday in January').
Give up alcohol you say? Why, of course they can! Talk about an easy challenge! Five old friends set about this simple task and find all of a sudden that: the days are longer; they get to see each other for who they really are; the empty laughter of ordinary conversation is so much harder to fake. Yes, they're saving money and losing weight, but the world itself seems to take on a slow, dreary inevitability. Soon they begin to snap at each other, and then fight - until they begin to wonder, have the Five at last found the challenge that will defeat them?
A completely updated trawl through tongue scorching invective from the ancient world to yesterday (almost). As well as being breathtakingly rude so many of the comments are outrageously funny although anyone on the receiving end of such rudeness can only comfort themselves at some of the spectacular errors of judgement in history. How about this journalist’s comment “…a slang-whanging stump-speaker of which all parties are ashamed….” This was about Abraham Lincoln one of an endless parade of public figures to be misjudged. Mathew Parris has done a fine job in rounding up this parade of invective choosing the best of the skewering and the blackest of barbs. ~ Sue Baker Like for Like Reading The Biteback Dictionary of Humorous Political Quotations, Fred Metcalf (Editor) Shakespeare’s Insults Desk Diary 2017 Hardback 96 pages Flame Tree Publishing 23rd August 2016 9781783618767
Being a small “instant” humour book there is no bibliography telling you where these facts originate but we now have google so can read up on such things as why Horatio Nelson’s pension continued to be paid to 1947. Harris Hawks standing on each other’s shoulders to get a better view was quite flabbergasting although I was more horrified to read that slugs have about 27,000 teeth. It is, of course, a book designed to entertain and it certainly does that in fine style. ~ Sue BakerLike for Like ReadingFascinating Footnotes from History, Giles MiltonThe Ultimate Book of Heroic Failures, Stephen Pie
Enid Blyton's books are beloved the world over and The Famous Five have been the perennial favourite of her fans. Now, in this new series of Enid Blyton for Grown-Ups, can George, Dick, Anne, Julian and Timmy survive the ultimate test of their friendship: Brexit? It is the night of the referendum and the Five have retired to Kirrin Island to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine, fed up with the rancour of public debate. George is firmly a 'remainer,' whilst Julian, who is in the 'Brexit' camp, is tolerated on the grounds that Anne cannot bear to go camping without him. (Timmy, largely apolitical but not keen on cats or rabbits, joins them too.) The night is tempestuous in more ways than one. George has managed to rig up a satellite link with the mainland so they can keep abreast of the news, and they sit huddled around the fire, amidst some tension, as George's initial hope that the 'remainers' will triumph proves premature...Meanwhile, a violent storm whips up. The damage is apparent as the new day dawns and George declares a new meaning for Brexit: Kirrin Island is exiting Britain...that is, until the red tape becomes too much of a challenge and their happy life together is under threat. Perfect for anyone sick of hearing that 'Brexit means Brexit', or for that relative you're still not talking to because of how they voted...
Alan Partridge can make a trip to buy a pint of milk into an epic dual with destiny so I’m surprised he’s managed to “trek” as far as he documents in Nomad. It must be the Amazon you guess, or possibly a lone trek across the searing Australian desert? But no, this duel with destiny starts in Norwich and ends at… Dungeness and he’s got the new scarf and safari jacket to prove it. A life or death struggle with the elements, a coming to terms with the past that deals with failure (inability to get into Tilbury Docks) and triumph on reaching the end without too much blood spilt. Only Alan Partridge could do this journey and survive to write about it – learn and laugh reader, learn and laugh... ~ Sue Baker Like for Like ReadingMolvania: A Land Still Untouched by Modern Dentistry, Santo CelauroThree Men in a Boat to Say Nothing of the Dog, Jerome K Jerome
Other new titles for Autumn 2016: How it Works: The Student How it Works: The Cat How it Works: The Dog The Ladybird Book of the Meeting The Ladybird Book of Red Tape The Ladybird Book of the People Next Door The Ladybird Book of the Sickie The Ladybird Book of the Zombie Apocalypse Previous titles in the Ladybirds for Grown Ups series: How it Works: The Husband How it Works: The Wife How it Works: The Mum How it Works: The Dad The Ladybird Book of the Mid-Life Crisis The Ladybird Book of the Hangover The Ladybird Book of Mindfulness The Ladybird Book of the Shed The Ladybird Book of Dating The Ladybird Book of the Hipster
Billions of you have watched their videos and millions of you have followed them on social media. So here we go; it's time to back up because YouTube superstars, The Sidemen, are finally here in book form and they're dishing the dirt on each other as well as the YouTube universe. There's nowhere to hide as KSI, Miniminter, Behzinga, Zerkaa,Vikkstar123, Wroetoshaw and Tobjizzle go in hard on their living habits, their football ability, and their dodgy clobber, while also talking Fifa, Vegas and superheroes. They'll also give you their grand house tour, letting you in on a few secrets, before showing you their hall of fame, as well as revealing some of their greatest shames. Along the way you'll learn how seven of the world's biggest YouTube stars started off with nothing more than a computer console, a PC and a bad haircut before joining forces to crush the internet. And they'll tell you just how they did it (because they're nice like that) with their ultimate guide to YouTube while also sharing their memories of recording their favourite videos as well as a typical day in the life of The Sidemen. You'll feel like you're with them every step of the way, smelling the 'sweet' aroma of the boys' favourite dishes in the kitchen, stamping your passport as you follow them on their trips around the world and kicking every ball as the boys gear up for the biggest football match of their lives. It's going to get personal. It's going to get intense, and JJ is going to have lots of tantrums, so take a moment to prepare yourself, because this is The Sidemen book you've been waiting for!
The Terry Pratchett Diary? Yes please! With thoughts of warmth, admiration, love and laughter from his family, friends and colleagues scattered among the months, you glimpse a new side, a different perspective, one that adds even more colour and vibrancy to what you already know about this very special man. Illustrations and quotes also creep onto, lurk menacingly over, or caper about the pages. There are no days to be found in this clever little diary, just dates, so it isn’t only for use in 2017, it could be used in any year (or every year if you write carefully in pencil and have a really good eraser). We hear how Terry Pratchett encouraged his daughter’s connection with the world around her, Colin Smythe writes of his genius, Paul Kidby about his creative energy, and Rob Wilkins asks that his words be treasured. I smiled as I read, felt inspired, felt a connection. Then, at the very last page, sits the final illustration, which brought a tear to my eye. Terry Pratchett’s words still swirl, swoosh and surge around us, Terry Pratchett’s words live on… ~ Liz Robinson
Edward Estlin Cummings knew a thing or two (take a look at our Poetry Section if you don’t believe us!) and we have to agree with him. Humour is at the heart of human life and you’ll find it in fine form in this section. From favourite TV shows to quirky memoirs; hilarious novels to witty verse; books to dip into, books to devour. We know that humour is subjective and so we’ve spread the net pretty wide as we trawled the comedy oceans for the funniest fish. Un’shellfish’ly, we’ve compiled monthly lists of eclectic recommendations so that you can easily find whatever tickles your fins. There are books here to give as gifts, to savour on your own, or to enjoy with others. Books of laugh out-loud jokes and anecdotes to make you smile on the train, plane, bus or any other public place. After all, laughter is infectious. Spread it around.