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The Shop of Impossible Ice Creams: Book 3 (The Shop of Impossible Ice Creams #3)
by Shane HegartyOne of the funniest books you'll read this year, perfect for fans of Roald Dahl's George's Marvellous Medicine.Welcome to the Shop of Impossible Ice Creams! Step inside to discover a delicious world of magical adventure, from bestselling author Shane Hegarty. Third in a comic, heart-warming illustrated series, for 7+ readers.It's the Festival of Pirates in Splottpool, and Limpet is looking after his evil little sister, Eve, whilst his mum helps out with the festival. Mrs Cricket has also asked the kids to mind the fairy garden in the middle of the roundabout while she goes away for a week - to avoid all the piratey chaos. Trouble is brewing as they discover Mr Fluffy's super-healthy sister has opened a smoothie palace, whose healthy fruit smoothies seem to have amazingly magical effects on the customers.But not all is as it seems with the super healthy smoothies and it's up to Limpet to save the day, the shop - and even his evil little sister - if he must.Illustrated throughout with fabulous black and white illustrations by Jeff Crowther and written by the bestselling author of Boot, this story will make you fall in love with reading.
The Short End of the Sonnenallee: A Novel
by Thomas Brussig‘A kind of miracle … Not only made me laugh (again and again) but brought tears to my eyes’ Jonathan Franzen ‘One of the most brilliant satirical novels about life in East Berlin’ New York Times
A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian (Oberon Modern Plays Ser.)
by Marina LewyckaWINNER OF THE BOLLINGER EVERYMAN PRIZE FOR COMIC FICTION WINNER OF THE SAGA AWARD FOR WIT 2005SHORTLISTED FOR THE ORANGE PRIZE FOR FICTION LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2005 'Two years after my mother died, my father fell in love with a glamorous blonde Ukrainian divorcée. He was eighty-four and she was thirty-six. She exploded into our lives like a fluffy pink grenade, churning up the murky water, bringing to the surface a sludge of sloughed-off memories, giving the family ghosts a kick up the backside.' Sisters Vera and Nadezhda must aside a lifetime of feuding to save their émigré engineer father from voluptuous gold-digger Valentina. With her proclivity for green satin underwear and boil-in-the-bag cuisine, she will stop at nothing in her pursuit of Western wealth. But the sisters' campaign to oust Valentina unearths family secrets, uncovers fifty years of Europe's darkest history and sends them back to roots they'd much rather forget . . .A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian is bestselling author Marina Lewycka's hilarious and award winning debut novel. 'It's rare to find a first novel that gets so much right . . . Lewycka is a seriously talented comic writer' Time Out 'Hugely enjoyable...yields a golden harvest of family truths' Daily Telegraph 'Delightful, funny, touching' Spectator Bestselling author Marina Lewkyca has received great critical acclaim since the publication of her hilarious first novel A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian in 2005, which was the winner of the Bollinger Everyman Prize for Comic Fiction 2005, winner of the Saga Award for Wit 2005, shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction 2005 and longlisted for the Booker prize 2005. Her other humorous novels Two Caravans (published as Strawberry Fields in the USA and Canada), We Are All Made of Glue and Various Pets Alive and Dead are also available from Penguin.
Short John Silver: Book 1 (Pocket Heroes #1)
by Chris Inns Dave WoodsWhat shall we do with the shrunken sailor?Short John Silver has a map to buried treasure but no ship to sail in. So with the help of Captain Poopdeck and his motley pirate crew, he sets out to seek his fortune. But first the scurvy sailors have to brave the deadly seven seas before they can get their hooked hands on the secret hoard!A high-seas adventure with a low-stature pirate!
The Short Reign of Pippin IV: A Fabrication (Penguin Modern Classics)
by John SteinbeckSteinbeck's only work of political satire turns the French Revolution on its head, as amateur astronomer Pippin Heristal is drafted in to rule the unruly French. Enchanting comedy ensues as Steinbeck creates the most hilarious royal court ever around the brief, bold reign of the corduroy-clad Pippin, his social-climbing wife Maria, his star-struck daughter Clotilde and her Californian beau, Todd. Featuring a motley crew of courtiers and con men, guards and gardeners, Steinbeck's late comic novel is an entrancing read about politics, power and the daily struggle not to lose one's head!
A Shorter History of Tractors in Ukrainian with Handcuffs
by Marina LewyckaMarina Lewycka returns to the characters from A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, with a hilarious erotic twist, in this laugh-out-loud short story, A Shorter History of Tractors in Ukrainian with Handcuffs.'Ever since she'd first read Sherlock Holmes, Laura Carter had dreamed of being a detective . . . Books were both her escape and her guilty pleasure, which eased her through the boring days and enlivened the nights when her husband was too tired for love. She devoured everything from Proust to Harry Potter, from James Joyce to EL James, she adored detective stories, but maybe her favourite author was Marina Lewycka, whose A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian had strangely echoed a case she had once worked on.'Marina Lewycka was born in Kiel, Germany, after the war, grew up in England and lives in Sheffield. Her first novel, A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, was shortlisted for the Orange Prize, longlisted for the Man Booker and won the Bollinger Everyman Prize for Comic Fiction and the Waverton Good Read Award. Her second novel, Two Caravans, was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize. A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, Two Caravans, We Are All Made of Glue and Marina's fourth novel, Various Pets Alive and Dead, are all available in Penguin.
A Shot in the Dark: A Twitten Mystery
by Lynne TrussThe charming first novel in a new comic crime series, from one of Britain's most-loved writers, the incomparable Lynne TrussBrighton, 1957. Inspector Steine rather enjoys his life as a policeman by the sea. No criminals, no crime, no stress.So it's really rather annoying when an ambitious – not to mention irritating – new constable shows up to work and starts investigating a series of burglaries. And it's even more annoying when, after Constable Twitten is despatched to the theatre for the night, he sits next to a vicious theatre critic who is promptly shot dead part way through the opening night of a new play.It seems Brighton may be in need of a police force after all…
A Shot in the Dark: A Constable Twitten Mystery (An\inspector Twitten Mystery Ser. #1)
by Lynne TrussA wryly entertaining new crime novel from Lynne Truss, New York Times bestselling author of Eats, Shoots and Leaves.It's 1957, and the famed theater critic A. S. Crystal has come to the British seaside resort of Brighton with something other than the local production of A Shilling in the Meter on his mind. Sitting in the Brighton Royal Theater with Constable Twitten, Crystal intends to tell the detective the secret he knows about the still-unsolved Aldersgate Stick-Up case of 1945. And yet, just before Crystal names the criminal mastermind involved, he's shot dead in his seat. With a new murder case on his hands and a fatuous, lazy captain at the helm of the police department, the keen and clever Constable Twitten and his colleague Sargent Jim Brunswick set out to solve the decade-old mystery of the Aldersgate Stick-Up. As the partners venture deep into the criminal underworld that lies beneath Brighton's holiday-happy veneer, they begin to discover a criminal conspiracy that dates back decades. But will Brunswick and Twitten be able to foil the mastermind, or will Crystal's death become just another unsolved crime in this seemingly peaceful seaside city? With her characteristic wit, New York Times bestselling author Lynne Truss introduces readers to a cast of eccentric policeman and scheming criminals in a drolly delightful mystery you won't want to miss.
Shot Through The Heart
by Matt CainThe Silver Screen had never shone as bright . . . Mia Sinclair is the First Lady of Love, a beautiful film goddess known across the globe for her romantic roles. But in reality life does not imitate art and love is not as easily found in the real world as it is in the movies. Leo Henderson is the Brit living in L.A, loving the lifestyle and photographing the stars - mostly when they least want to be photographed. When Mia meets Leo, the sparks fly. But is dating a paparazzi the biggest mistake of her life? And how will she cope when Leo becomes jealous of her friendship with co-star Billy Spencer, the hottest actor in town but a man hiding a secret he's worried could destroy his career?Shot through the Heart is Matt Cain's debut novel, a Hollywood tale of romance, heartbreak and the lengths some will go to maintain that unblemished movie star image.
Should Have Got Off at Sydney Parade
by Ross O'Carroll-KellyRoss O'Carroll-Kelly thought he knew all he needed to about women's bodies ... So there I was, roysh, in a state of basically very blissful ignorance, when suddenly Sorcha's up the Damien and I have to listen to, like, women's stuff. And now he's getting a biology lesson he could have SO lived without ... I am telling you, roysh, I never even knew nipples could crack and I was very happy not knowing it. I mean, all I knew about the whole scenario was six seconds of seriously good loving, and now I'm basically expected to be an expert on how to, like, breathe like Dorth Vader and deal with baby turds.Sometimes, life just isn't fair to the babe magnet supremo ... This is SO not good for my rep - but do you think Sorcha even, like, cares about that? Not focking likely!
Should I Stay Or Should I Go?: And 87 Other Serious Answers to Questions in Songs
by James BallWhat is love? How soon is now? How do you solve a problem like Maria? They're some of the most famous questions ever asked. But do you know the answer to them? In Should I Stay or Should I Go?, award-winning journalist James Ball travels from the economic status of doggies in windows, to what war is good for and what becomes of the broken hearted to find out the definitive, fascinating and hilarious answers.
Should I Tell You?: Curl up with a gorgeous romantic novel from the No. 1 bestselling author
by Jill MansellFrom the queen of feelgood fiction, an uplifting new novel of friendship, families and finding love . . .'What a gorgeous book! Jill has a great gift for characterisation - nuanced, interesting, believable people but created with a charming lightness of touch. Thanks to Jill's warmth, wisdom and emotional intelligence, this book was a huge pleasure to read' Marian Keyes 'A sparkling, joyful read! Jill's books always keep you guessing to the very end' Phillipa Ashley 'A good story like this needs a quiet afternoon, a sofa and a warm blanket. Moving and heartfelt! Enjoy' Fern BrittonAmber, Lachlan and Raffaele met as teenagers in the Cornish seaside home of kind-hearted foster parents. Years on, the bond between them is unbreakable But Amber has a secret. She's in love with Lachlan. She can't tell him, because that would never work - he's definitely not the settling-down type. Surely it's better to keep him as a friend than to risk losing him for good? Raffaele has his own dilemma. He had the dream girlfriend in Vee, until it all went horribly wrong . . . and he still can't understand why. Is Vee hiding something from him? Now their widowed foster dad Teddy has found new love. Younger, charming and beautiful, Olga seems perfect. But is she? Or will she break Teddy's fragile heart?Against a backdrop of sparkling seas and sunny skies, the unexpected is always just around the corner. Welcome to Lanrock!'With wonderful characters, this will warm you on a January day' PrimaGloriously romantic and completely life-affirming, Jill Mansell's wonderful new novel set in sunny Cornwall will make you believe in love again
Should We Stay or Should We Go
by Lionel ShriverA best fiction book of 2021 for The Times ‘Hilarious… Fiery phrases spit and crackle. Disgust expands and bursts into belly laughs… a very funny book’ Sunday Times ‘Thought-provoking, timely, and extremely funny’ Metro
Should You be Laughing at This?
by Hugleikur DagssonHugleikur Dagsson is from Iceland. During the winter in Iceland there are only three hours of daylight. During the summer in Iceland there is no darkness. Iceland’s national drink is called ‘Black Death’. Iceland's national dish is putrefied shark meat. In Iceland this book is a cult-bestseller. The questions you should ask yourself is:Should you be laughing at this?
Shoulder Bags and Shootings (A\haley Randolph Mystery Ser. #3)
by Dorothy HowellLittle Black Dress's favourite shopaholic sleuth, the lovable (and fashion-crazed) Haley Randolph is in trouble again... Get ready for another thrilling and funny romantic suspense from Dorothy Howell.
Should've Gone Tae Speavers, Ref!: The Trials And Tribulations Of Big Ethic Smith, A Referee
by Allan MorrisonThe referee. You can't have a game without one. The most hated man (or woman) in football but you have to invite one to every game. Enjoy a laugh at the anti and wicked humour of Scottish referee Big Erchie, a powerhouse at five foot five, and a top grade referee who strikes fear into he hearts of managers and players alike as he stringently applies the laws of the game. But Big Erchie is burdened with a terrible secret… He's a Stirling Albion supporter. EXCERPT: A booking by Big Erchie is a painstaking ritual for both player and referee as he calmly and prosaically enters the name of the offender in his book with the care of a monk drawing an illustrated letter, while at the same time gutting and filleting the culprit in a voice reminiscent of an acetylene torch set on full heat. Alas, on occasion, a frustrating petulant demonstration of power causes him to show a red card when a yellow would probably have suffice. Deep in his bosom, Big Erchie is consumed by a loathing of simulation, especially diving in the box. 'Some of that lot should get an Oscar nomination thrown in with their red card,' he continually moans. His trademark waving of his arms accompanied by a snort and roll of the eye suggests that, for some players, bringing back the birch would not be inappropriate.
Shouting at the Telly
by John GrindrodA host of comedians, writers and viewers, including Rebecca Front, Andrew Collins, Kevin Eldon, Emma Kennedy, Richard Herring, Jim Shelley and David Quantick share funny and heartfelt rants and raves on everything from soaps to sitcoms, sci-fi to reality shows, HBO to QVC. All of TV is here: the age-old rift between BBC and ITV that tore families apart; the secret shame of crying at adverts; and those significant moments in life when television has made for an unforgettable backdrop. Richard Herring has a controversial new theory about Goodnight Sweetheart, Boyd Hilton shares his all-time comedy top ten and Rebecca Front demolishes the clichés of news reading. They're joined by a list of fellow telly addicts with axes to grind, . So, if you have ever rooted for the most offensive candidates in The Apprentice or repeatedly corrected Supernanny Jo Frost's pronounciation of 'unacceptable' then this book will give you and your spleen many happy memories of the hours you've spent shouting at the telly.
Shoutykid (Shoutykid Ser. #1)
by Simon MayleMeet the funniest kid in fiction and follow his life’s ups and downs told through laugh-out-loud letters, emails, texts and more!
Show and Tell
by Rob BiddulphThe funny and fantastic new picture book from award-winning and bestselling creative star Rob Biddulph! School has never been so fun!
Show and Tell: Independent Reading Green 5 (Reading Champion #6)
by Damian HarveyThis story is part of Reading Champion, a series carefully linked to book bands to encourage independent reading skills, developed with Dr Sue Bodman and Glen Franklin of UCL Institute of Education (IOE)When Bindi has to take something to school for Show and Tell, Dad has a brilliant idea... but what is inside the box?Reading Champion offers independent reading books for children to practise and reinforce their developing reading skills.Fantastic, original stories are accompanied by engaging artwork and a reading activity. Each book has been carefully graded so that it can be matched to a child's reading ability, encouraging reading for pleasure.
Show Them a Good Time
by Nicole Flattery'I truly love and admire Nicole Flattery's writing. Show Them a Good Time is a masterclass in the short story – bold, irreverent and agonisingly funny – and it does full justice to its author's immense talent' SALLY ROONEY'Demands repeated reading. These stories are very funny, and very sad, usually at the same time. Which, as Flattery shows us brilliantly, is the best time' JON MCGREGORAn urgent and unforgettable collection of stories, Show Them a Good Time explores types - men and women, their assigned roles and meanings - in modern society. A young, broke Irish woman narrates her relationship with a successful comedian in New York; two hapless university students take to the stage in a bid to assert their autonomy; a school teacher makes her way through a series of dead-end dates, gamely searching for love or distraction as the world teeters towards ruin. The characters in these magnificently accomplished stories are haunted as much by the future as they are by their pasts. Exuberant, irreverent and loaded with dark humour, Show Them a Good Time marks the arrival of a strikingly original new Irish voice in fiction.
Show Them a Good Time: Stories
by Nicole FlatteryA blisteringly original and wickedly funny collection of stories about the strange worlds that women inhabit and the parts that they must play. A sense of otherworldly menace is at work in the fiction of Nicole Flattery, but the threats are all too familiar. SHOW THEM A GOOD TIME tells the stories of women slotted away into restrictive roles: the celebrity's girlfriend, the widower's second wife, the lecherous professor's student, the corporate employee. And yet, the genius of Flattery's characters is to blithely demolish the boundaries of these limited and limiting social types with immense complexity and caustic intelligence. Nicole Flattery's women are too ferociously mordant, too painfully funny to remain in their places.In this fiercely original and blazingly brilliant debut, Flattery likewise deconstructs the conventions of genre to serve up strange realities: In Not the End Yet, Flattery probes the hilarious and wrenching ambivalence of Internet dating as the apocalypse nears; in Sweet Talk, the mysterious disappearance of a number of local women sets the scene for a young girl to confront the dangerous uncertainties of her own sexuality; in this collection's center piece, Abortion, A Love Story, two college students in a dystopian campus reconfigure the perilous stories of their bodies in a fraught academic culture to offer a subversive, alarming, and wickedly funny play that takes over their own offstage lives. And yet, however surreal or richly imagined the setting, Flattery always shows us these strange worlds from startlingly unexpected angles, through an unforgettable cast of brutally honest, darkly hilarious women and girls. Like the stories of Mary Gaitskill, Miranda July, Lorrie Moore, Joy Williams, and Ottessa Moshfegh, SHOW THEM A GOOD TIME is the work of a profoundly resonant and revelatory literary voice – at once spiky, humane, achingly hilarious-- that is sure to echo through the literary culture for decades to come.
Shtum: A funny and uplifting story of families and love
by Jem Lester'An unforgettable first novel' The Times * * * * *THE EBOOK BESTSELLER ABOUT FATHERS, SONS AND LOVETen-year-old Jonah lives in a world of his own.He likes colours and feathers and the feel of fresh air on his skin.He dislikes sudden loud noises and any change to his daily routine.Jonah has never spoken, yet somehow he communicates better than all of the adults in his life.Inspired by the author's experiences with his own son, SHTUM is a novel about three generations of a family learning to get along.* * * * *'A book with true heart and soul' Joanna Cannon'Whether you think Shtum is a novel about autism or about marriage (it's both, by the way), you will agree that it is, in the end, a love story infused with wit, charm, and a deep appreciation for the complex beauty of damaged souls.' Jonathan Tropper
Shylock is My Name: The Merchant of Venice Retold (Hogarth Shakespeare) (Hogarth Shakespeare #2)
by Howard JacobsonA re-envisaging of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, from the Man Booker Prize-winner and our great chronicler of Jewish life. ‘Who is this guy, Dad? What is he doing here?’ With an absent wife and a daughter going off the rails, wealthy art collector and philanthropist Simon Strulovitch is in need of someone to talk to. So when he meets Shylock at a cemetery in Cheshire’s Golden Triangle, he invites him back to his house. It’s the beginning of a remarkable friendship ...‘Jacobson is quite simply a master of comic precision. He writes like a dream’ Evening Standard'The funniest British novelist since Kingsley Amis or Tom Sharpe' Mail on Sunday
Sid James: A Biography
by Cliff GoodwinCovering Sid's early years in South Africa and life as a ladies' hairdresser, his obsession with gambling and women, his questioning by Scotland Yard in a murder case, Hancock's Half Hour and the Carry On films, and Sid's death on stage at the age of 63, Cliff Goodwin reveals the amazing truth behing the legend.