Author Philip Ardagh - a life-long Sherlock Holmes fan - has taken original illustrations from The Strand Magazine and welded them together to create The Silly Side of Sherlock Holmes: A Brand New Adventure Using a Bunch of Old Pictures. The title says it all - some very silly sleuthing indeed.
WHEN YOU LUNCH WITH THE EMPORER
by Ludwig Bemelmans
Another addictive and enchanting collection of essays about the grand hotel life, by the author of Hotel Bemelmans and the Madeline books. Ludwig Bemelmans, legendary bon vivant and raconteur, lived life like a character in a novel and his escapades are guaranteed entertainment.
MERDE ACTUALLY
by Stephen Clarke
A year after arriving in France, Englishman Paul West is still struggling with some fundamental questions. What is the best way to scare a gendarme? Why are there no health warnings on French nudist beaches? Is it really polite to sleep with your boss's mistress? From the bestselling author of A Year in the Merde, the next installment in the hilarious adventures of Paul West.
THE WORLD ACCORDING TO CLARKSON
by Jeremy Clarkson
From the chronic unsuitability of men to look after children for long periods or as operators of 'white goods', to 70's rock, the demise of Concorde and the shocking failure of Tom Clancy to make it on to the Booker shortlist, Jeremy Clarkson offers a hilarious snapshot of life in the 21st century, that exposes absurdity, celebrates eccentricity and is wonderfully entertaining in the process.
ACCOMODATING BROCOLLI IN THE CEMETARY
by Vivian Cook
An entertaining miscellany of spelling errors, word lists and puzzles, hilariously misspelled signs, and spelling quizzes best taken in private. Vivian Cook's delightful exploration of the English language through spelling will delight anyone who has ever struggled with the arcane rules of the English language.
THE MEANING OF TINGO
by Adam Jacot de Boinod
A humorous guide to extraordinary words from around the world. Drawing on the collective wisdom of over one hundred and fifty languages, this intriguing book is arranged by theme so you can compare attitudes all over the world to such subjects as food, the human body and the battle of the sexes.
Complete Book Of Mothers In Law
by Dillner, J.
Cut from the same cloth as The Complete Book of Aunts (and equally extraordinary). A splendid anthology of jokes, ancedotes and scorn heaped upon the famous and the infamous alike.
IF I DON'T WRITE IT, NOBODY ELSE WILL
by Eric Sykes
Eric Sykes has carved himself an enduring place as one of Britain's greatest comedy writers and performers. In his much anticipated autobiography, Sykes reveals his extraordinary life working alongside a generation of legendary comedians and entertainers, despite being dogged by deafness and eventually virtual blindness.
OXFORD BOOK OF PARODIES
by JOHN GROSS, ed.
Summer 2010
A SLIP OF THE PEN
by Peter Haining
Peter Haining has trawled through countless libraries, newspapers and magazines to bring together a rich harvest of double-entendres, mixed-up-metaphors, comical first-lines, critics' clangers and authors' gaffs and howlers. A thoroughly entertaining collection of some of literature's most hilarious, unexpected, and down-right odd bloopers.
GREAT BRITISH WIT
by Rosemarie Jarski
A unique and delightful anthology, containing over 4,000 quotations, from Shakespeare to Oscar Wilde, P.G. Wodehouse to Yes, Prime Minister to Blackadder. Covering every subject imaginable, from God to dogs, this collection is a seminal gathering of British wit.
FURTHER UNDER THE DUVET
by Marian Keyes
Another enjoyable girly collection of Marian Keyes' journalism, together with unpublished pieces and stories. Hilarious and poignant, her long-awaited second volume of journalism and previously unpublished writing is the modern woman's perfect companion.
SOMEONE LIKE ME
by Miles Kington
Humorist, broadcaster and writer, Miles Kington's account of an endearingly eccentric childhood has everything - a lovable narrator, a mother who is constantly on her deathbed, a gadget-obsessed father and a flamboyantly theatrical older brother. A laugh-out-loud collection of musings on life, from the fringes of an often perplexing but always entertaining adult world.
THE MID-LIFE CRISIS
by Victoria Mather & Sue Macartney Snape
Another hilarious array of 'Social Stereotypes' from the Telegraph magazine. From the competitive grannies who fight tooth-and-nail for sole influence over their darling little grandson, to the Long Lunchers and the Intimidating Shop Assistant, every foible is delicately detailed and every character strikes a chord.
A TEACUP IN A STORM
by Mick Conefrey
A combination of the serious and the bizarre, the inspirational and the hilarious, Mike Conefrey's witty and entertaining handbook is packed with fascinating anecdotes about explorers such as Shackleton and Scott, and the life lessons to be learned from them - from fund-raising and team-building, to digging a latrine in permafrost or facing down a charging polar bear.
HOW TO WALK IN HIGH HEELS
by Camilla Morton
How to place a bet, change a tire, load an Ipod and practice wearing high heels round the supermarket. A hilarious compendium of hints, tips and lists for modern day young women with contributions from celebrity style leaders like Stella McCartney, Manolo Blahnik and Gisele Bundchen. Swiss finishing school etiquette crossed with a DIY manual.
THE VA DINCI COD
by Adam Roberts
Something fishy is going on in the world of artistic scholarship. How can there possibly be a link between the hidden cod of Leonardo Da Vinci's paintings and the over-fishing of the North Atlantic fish stocks? Only one man can find out. Robert Hangdog, international scholar, master spy and action hero. Hilarious parody of the 21st century's biggest publishing sensation.
DRAWING BLOOD
by Gerald Scarfe
An exceptional collection of drawings from one of Britain's most revered cultural commentators. This colourful celebration of Gerald Scarfe's long career as an artist and political cartoonist is the first collection of his work to be published for 20 years. A must for any Scarfe fan.
SCHOTT'S ALMANAC 2006
by Ben Schott
The ultimate book of lists, facts and trivia - an indispensible record of the year just past and a guide to the year to come. In an age when information is plentiful but selection is rare, Schott’s Almanac 2006 offers both the essential facts and the lucid analysis. Punctuated with diverting statistics, it is irreverent, eccentric and endlessly entertaining.
SEARLE'S CATS
by Ronald Searle
Brilliant feline personalities in all their guises from the pen of renowned cartoonist Ronald Searle. Various shapes and sizes of cats portrayed in real-life and sometimes rather compromising situations with delightfully quirky one-liners relating to each drawing. For all cat lovers.
WHY GIRLS CAN'T THROW
by Mitchell Symons
The answers to the everyday mysteries which keep you up at night. Moral dilemmas, scientific mysteries, weird phenomena - all are put under the microscope here and given the Mitch Symons treatment. Entertaining, fascinating and hilarious - a book for anyone who's ever wondered why the word 'bastard' is only ever used as a term of abuse for men.
OUT AND ABOUT WITH THE TOTTERINGS
by ANNIE TEMPEST
Those who recall the immortal Osbert Lancaster, and/or subscribe to the equally durable "Country Life", will identify immediately with Annie Tempest, whose inimitable cartoons more than match her predecessor's and have done so for years. They come, admittedly, at a price; but bearing in mind they are, unusually, in colour and, by definition, aimed at the posher end of the market, the print run is necessarily limited. Nonetheless, gather ye laughter while ye may: this is a splendidly snobby send-up of Ascot, Belgravia and British society in general.
