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The Secret Diary of a New Mum (aged 43 1/4)
by Cari RosenWhatever your age, becoming a mum for the first time brings with it excitement, anxiety and numerous challenges. But how do you cope when, to top it all, you discover you are old enough to be the mother of everyone else in your NCT group? The story of one woman, one new baby, a slipped disc and rather too many wrinkles, The Secret Diary of a New Mum (Aged 43 1/4) follows the tale of a midlife mum as she tries to make the transition from experienced TV producer to utterly inexperienced parent. One in five babies is born to a mum over 35, and the number of over 40s giving birth has doubled. The first humorous narrative account of what it's really like to be a midlife mum - whether it's deftly side-stepping any questions about age and baby number two or weeping as younger counterparts ping back into their size ten jeans within thirty seconds of giving birth - this is the thoroughly entertaining, insightful and often hilarious account of what happens as you face up to menopause and new motherhood at the same time.
Are You A Geek?: 1,000 Ways To Find Out
by Tim CollinsAre You A Geek? is the ultimate humour book. It will appeal to the inner geek in all of us. Listing 1,000 things people do that qualify them as geeks, the truths shared about obsessive behavious will be recognised by all with a pang of guilt and strike a chord with a wide audience in these nerdy times. Grading geek behaviour with a one to five point scale depending on their severity, readers can add up their scores, find out how much of a geek they are, and fill out one of the five certificates at the back of the book.Are you a Geek? Read the book and find out...
Brung Up Proper: My Autobiography
by Jason ManfordThe is the tale of a cheeky little sod from Salford called Jason growing up surrounded by his properly funny and most definitely shameless family and his discovery that being funny might actually get him somewhere. Other than detention, mugged, dumped or sacked that is.It's about being part of a big, northern, working-class family forever struggling with money, but never short on laughs or misadventures, who show that when the chips are down what really matters is sticking together.
Very Good, Jeeves: (Jeeves & Wooster) (Jeeves & Wooster #15)
by P.G. Wodehouse'Sublime comic genius... light as a feather... fabulous' Ben Elton'Ever since I picked up my dad's copy of Very Good, Jeeves aged eleven, I've adored P. G. Wodehouse' Anna CareJoin Bertie Wooster and his gentleman's gentleman, Jeeves, in their adventures with eleven laugh-out-loud funny short stories from the perennial comic, P. G. Wodehouse.Fun-loving Bertie and his friends are always getting themselves into scrapes, and it's up to Jeeves to fix the mess they leave behind. Whether it's helping Bertie recover his Aunt Agatha's lost dog, plot revenge against his old pal Tuppy Glossop, or navigate numerous love interests - Jeeves has always got an answer. After all, all's well that ends well - even if it's rarely as Bertie plans.
The Code of the Woosters: (Jeeves & Wooster) (Jeeves & Wooster #7)
by P. G. WodehouseA classic Jeeves and Wooster novel from P.G. Wodehouse, the great comic writer of the 20th century.Purloining an antique cow creamer under the instruction of the indomitable Aunt Dahlia is the least of Bertie's tasks, for he has to play Cupid while feuding with Spode.'A cavalcade of perfect joy.' - Caitlin Moran'Sunlit perfection... Bask in its warmth and splendour.' - Stephen Fry'The best English comic novelist of the century.' - Sebastian Faulks'The greatest chronicler of a certain kind of Englishness' - Julian Fellowes
Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit: (Jeeves & Wooster) (Jeeves & Wooster #11)
by P. G. WodehouseA Jeeves and Wooster novelThe beefy 'Stilton' Cheesewright has drawn Bertie Wooster as red-hot favourite in the Drones club annual darts tournament - which is lucky for Bertie because otherwise Stilton would have beaten him to a pulp and buttered the lawn with him. Stilton does not, after all like men who he thinks are trifling with his fiancée's affections.Meanwhile Bertie has committed a more heinous offence by growing a moustache, and Jeeves strongly disapproves - which is unfortunate, because Jeeves's feudal spirit is desperately needed. Bertie's Aunt Dahlia is trying to sell her magazine Milady's Boudoir to the Trotter Empire and still keep her amazing chef Anatole out of Lady Trotter's clutches. And Bertie? Bertie simply has to try to hold onto his moustache and hope he gets to the end in one piece.
Much Obliged, Jeeves: (Jeeves & Wooster) (Jeeves & Wooster #14)
by P. G. WodehouseA Jeeves and Wooster novelJust as Bertie Wooster is a member of the Drones Club, Jeeves has a club of his own, the Junior Ganymede, exclusively for butlers and gentlemen's gentlemen. In its inner sanctum is kept the Book of Revelations, where the less than perfect habits of their employers are lovingly recorded. The book is, of course, pure dynamite. So what happens when it disappears into potentially hostile hands?Tossed about in the resulting whirlwind you'll find lots of Wodehouse's favourite characters - and a welcome return to Market Snodsbury, in the middle of one of the most chaotic elections of modern times.
Aunts Aren't Gentlemen: (Jeeves & Wooster) (Jeeves & Wooster #1)
by P.G. Wodehouse'Why have you got to go anywhere? Are you on the run from the police?''Doctor's orders.'When Bertie Wooster overdoes metropolitan life, his doctor prescribes fresh air in the depths of the country. But after moving with Jeeves to his cottage at Maiden Eggesford, Bertie soon finds himself surrounded by aunts - not only his redoubtable Aunt Dahlia but an aunt of Jeeves's too.Add a hyper-sensitive racehorse, a pompous cat and a decidedly bossy fiancée - and all the ingredients are present for a plot in which aunts can exert their terrible authority. But Jeeves, of course, can cope with everything - even aunts, and even the country.'The best English comic novels of the century' Sebastian Faulks'Wodehouse always lifts your spirits, no matter how high they happen to be already' Lynne Truss
Frank Skinner on the Road: Love, Stand-up Comedy and The Queen Of The Night
by Frank SkinnerIn this new volume of memoirs, Frank Skinner describes his experience of going back on the road doing stand-up again, after many years spent working mainly on television. His adventures on tour are by turns funny and moving as he meditates on growing older, the terrors and joys of trying to make a live audience laugh night after night and on the nature of comedy itself.For the first time we read a comedian's account, in his own words, of how his act is put together; his return to a world of dark little clubs and the strange encounters he has there. But what is perhaps most startling and original about Frank Skinner's writing is his honesty nbout not only the highs and lows of his career, but more intimate and personal issues - male sexuality and matters of the heart.
Paperweight
by Stephen FryA delightful compendium of writings that perfectly express the wit and wisdom of Stephen Fry.A hilarious collection of the many articles written by Stephen Fry for magazines, newspapers and radio. It includes selected wireless essays of Donald Trefusis, the ageing professor of philology brought to life in Fry's novel The Liar, and the best of Fry's weekly column for the Daily Telegraph.Perfect to dip into but just as enjoyable to read cover to cover, this book, perhaps more than any other, shows the breadth of Fry's interests and the depth of his insight. He remains a hilarious writer on whatever topic he puts his mind to.
The Biggest Ever Tim Vine Joke Book: Children's Edition
by Tim VineThe irrepressible, hysterical, puntastical Tim Vine, star of stage and screen, treats all of us here in his first joke book. Packed full of zingers and hilarious illustrations, if this doesn't put a smile on your face, nothing will. What's not to like:The other day someone left a piece of plasticine in my dressing room. I didn't know what to make of it. I'm against hunting. I'm actually a hunt saboteur. I go out the night before and shoot the fox. I saw this bloke chatting up a cheetah. He was trying to pull a fast one. Black holes. I don't know what people see in them. So I fancied a game of darts with my mate. He said, 'Nearest the bull goes first.' He went 'Baah' and I went 'Moo'. He said 'You're closest.' Velcro. What a rip-off. Black Beauty. He's a dark horse. I've got a sponge front door. Hey, don't knock it.
The Household Spirit: A Novel
by Tod WodickaThere’s something wrong next door. At least, that’s what neighbors Howie Jeffries and Emily Phane both think. Since his daughter and wife moved out, Howie has been alone, an accidental recluse content with his fishing and his dreams of someday sailing away from himself on a boat. Emily couldn’t be more different: she’s irreverent, outgoing and seemingly well-adjusted. But when Emily returns from college to care for her dying grandfather, Howie can’t help but notice her increasingly erratic behavior - not to mention her newfound love of nocturnal gardening. The thing is, although they’ve lived side by side in the only two houses on rural Route 29 in upstate New York since Emily was born, Howie and Emily have never so much as spoken. Both have their reasons: Howie is debilitatingly shy; Emily has been hiding the fact that she suffers from a nighttime affliction that makes her both terrified to go to sleep, and question the very reality of her waking life . It is only when tragedy strikes that their worlds, finally, become joined in ways neither of them could ever have imagined.A poignant, big-hearted, and often humorous novel about two very unique individuals unceremoniously thrown together, The Household Spirit is a story about how little we know the people we see every day - and of the unexpected capabilities of the human heart.
Portnoy's Complaint: When She Was Good; Portnoy's Complaint; Our Gang; The Breast (Vintage Blue #5)
by Philip Roth'The most outrageously funny book about sex written' GuardianPortnoy's Complaint n. [after Alexander Portnoy (1933-)]:A disorder in which strongly-felt ethical and altruistic impulses are perpetually warring with extreme sexual longings, often of a perverse nature.Portnoy's Complaint tells the tale of young Jewish lawyer Alexander Portnoy and his scandalous sexual confessions to his psychiatrist. As narrated by Portnoy, he takes the reader on a journey through his childhood to adolescence to present day while articulating his sexual desire, frustration and neurosis in shockingly candid ways. Hysterically funny and daringly intimate, Portnoy's Complaint was an immediate bestseller upon its publication and elevated Roth to an international literary celebrity.
You Are Awful (But I Like You): Travels Through Unloved Britain
by Tim MooreWould you cheer if they sent you to Coventry? Could you stick up for Stoke or big-up Bracknell?Can you handle the thrill of Rhyl, the heaven of Hull or the mirth of Tydfil? In You are Awful, Tim Moore drives his Austin Maestro round all the places on our beloved island that nobody wants to go to – our most miserable towns, shonkiest hotels, scariest pubs, and silliest sea zoos... But as the soggy, decrepit quest unfolds he finds himself oddly smitten, and the result is a rousing, nostalgic celebration of mad, bad But I Like You Britain.
The Sex Lives of Siamese Twins (Vintage International Series)
by Irvine WelshFrom the number one bestselling author of TrainspottingMeet Lucy Brennan – an aggressive personal trainer who has just become a media hero after taking down a would-be gunman in Miami.The one witness to the daring rescue is Lena Sorensen – an overweight depressive who is becoming increasingly obsessed with Lucy…Irvine Welsh’s latest creation captures the two great obsessions of our time – how we look and where we live – and tells a story so subversive and dark it blacks out the Florida sun.
Man of the World
by Gareth MayIn his brilliant first book, 150 Things Every Man Should Know, Gareth May instructed the young man about town in vital life lessons such as how to undo a girl's bra with one hand, and how to down a pint without being sick.All well and good. But there comes a time in most young men's lives when, their education completed, they decide to spread their wings and travel to foreign climes.From international dining etiquette to the safe ascension of Kilimanjaro, and surviving a shark attack to cooling cans of beer in the Savanna sun, Gareth's simple and brilliantly executed new book is a must-have for the modern man setting off, passport in hand, for the first time.Covering every possible travel scenario - from must-visit nudist colonies, to tips on how to organise the ultimate stag weekend abroad; from where to experience the most exhilarating white water raft run in the world, to how to get married by an Elvis-lookalike in Vegas - never before has a book listed how to read global currency rates on one page, and how to drink snake blood in Cambodia on the next.With comprehensive cool city guides for the young dude and the most unexpected travel tips you're likely to read anywhere, armed with Man of the World in their backpack, blokes everywhere will be able not only to woo their woman in Paris but also tip the bellboy accordingly. This is the ultimate tailored for testosterone travel guide.
Back When We Were Grown-ups: From the Sunday Times bestselling author of French Braid (Windsor Selection Ser.)
by Anne TylerOne morning, Rebecca wakes up and realises she has turned into the wrong person. Is she really this joyous and outgoing organiser of parties, the put-upon heart of her dead husband's extended family? What happened to her quiet and serious nineteen-year-old self, and what would have happened if she'd married her college sweetheart? Can someone ever recover the person they've left behind?OVER A MILLION ANNE TYLER BOOKS SOLD‘She’s changed my perception on life’ Anna Chancellor ‘One of my favourite authors ’ Liane Moriarty‘She spins gold' Elizabeth Buchan ‘Anne Tyler has no peer’ Anita Shreve‘My favourite writer, and the best line-and-length novelist in the world’ Nick Hornby ‘A masterly author’ Sebastian Faulks ‘Tyler is not merely good, she is wickedly good’ John Updike‘I love Anne Tyler’ Anita Brookner ‘Her fiction has strength of vision, originality, freshness, unconquerable humour’ Eudora Welty
God Collar
by Marcus Brigstocke'There's probably no God ... but I wish there was. I've got some things I need to ask him.'Based on Marcus Brigstocke's award-winning Edinburgh and West End show, God Collar focuses on the 'God-shaped hole' that opens up in Marcus's life following the death of his best friend. Exploring his own issues surrounding faith - his lack of it, his need for it, some people's waste of it and what good purposes it might serve if he could get hold of it - he rails against the holy trinity of Abrahamic religions (Islam, Christianity and Judaism) while atheists, agnostics and believers of all faiths get it in the neck too. God Collar is a scathing look at modern faith that will leave you laughing out loud and examining your own beliefs in equal measure.'As luck would have it, my relationship with God is as dysfunctional and peppered with resentment and recrimination as ever, so this should make for good writing.'
Don't Wipe Your Bum with a Hedgehog
by Mitchell SymonsA collection of wise and wacky words of advice, from the bestselling and double Blue Peter Best Book with Facts-winning Mitchell Symons.From the marvellous mind of Mitchell Symons comes such gems of wisdom as:You can't trust a dog to watch your food.Why buy shampoo when real poo is free?Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, as you won't have a leg to stand on.And if getting even doesn't work, just get odd!
The Snapper (The\barrytown Trilogy Ser.)
by Roddy DoyleMeet the Rabbitte family, motley bunch of loveable ne'er-do-wells whose everyday purgatory is rich with hangovers, dogshit and dirty dishes. When the older sister announces her pregnancy, the family are forced to rally together and discover the strangeness of intimacy. But the question remains: which friend of the family is the father of Sharon's child?By the bestselling author of The Commitments, now a long-running West End stage show. 'Unstoppable fun. A big-hearted, big-night out' The Times
The Van (Reed Audio Ser.)
by Roddy DoyleJimmy Rabbitte is unemployed and rapidly running out of money. His best friend Bimbo has been made redundant at the company where he has worked for many years. The two old friends are out of luck and out of options. That is, until Bimbo finds a dilapidated 'chipper van' and the pair decide to go into business...By the bestselling author of The Commitments and The Snapper, The Van is a tender tale of male friendship, swimming in grease and stained with ketchup.
Good Little Wolf
by Nadia ShireenOnce upon a time there was a wolf called Rolf - a good little wolf who liked baking cakes and was always kind to his friends. But real wolves aren't supposed to be good - they're supposed to be BIG and BAD. Can a good little wolf still be a real wolf?And will Rolf discover there's something big and bad lurking inside him after all?
Top Gear: A Truckload Of Trivia To Drive You Round The Bend (Topgear Ser.)
by Ivan Berg Nik BergDid you know that Jasons and Tracies crash more cars than Jacquelines and Damons? Or that a boomerang can be used to repair a knackered clutch? Have you ever wanted to visit a naked car show, wondered what it's like to drive on the world's most dangerous road, or receive the world's most expensive speeding ticket?Want to read about flying cars, amphibious cars, or atomic cars? What about the Accord that can actually strike a chord, or the love car park? Dip inside to find all these plus stacks of other stuff, including cars in films, cars on TV, cars in songs - even cars as coffins.Top Gear: Motor Mania is a car book like no other. It's full of the strangest stories, fascinating facts and spectacular stats - a must for any car nut.
Grumpy Old Women: (but Still Feeling Eighteen Inside)
by Judith HolderWe all know what it means these days to be a grumpy old man, because part of that role is to be outspoken. Well, we've heard just about enough out of the men, thank you very much! Grumpy Old Women gives us the other perspective: the female take on the million irritations of today's world. So whats the difference? Surely what is irritating to the mature members of one sex is equally annoying to the other? Not necessarily, and this is precisely what Grumpy Old Women seeks to address. Body image, visitors, children, animals, shopping, careers, parties, holidays and, yes, grumpy old men themselves all are very much on the list of what today's mature woman finds a source of concern. From the series producer and stand-up comic Judith Holder, the book incorporates material from the television series Grumpy Old Women, which features a diverse, colourful and very grumpy group of celebrities, including Janet Street Porter, Jenny Eclair, Ann Widdecombe, Germaine Greer, Kathryn Flett and Jilly Cooper. Written with wit, style and sympathy, the book is a source of both amusement and comfort to women everywhere - grumpy, old or otherwise.
All At Sea: One man. One bathtub. One very bad idea.
by Tim FitzHighamAll At Sea is a celebration of the epic absurd, an attempt to explain just how out of hand things can become from a very simple starting point. The book follows the author's death-defying 200-mile journey in his antique Thomas Crapper bath - not just across the Channel, but around Kent - right up to the tremendous reception and huge media attention which awaited him under Tower Bridge. Tim met the Queen, and his bath now resides in the National Maritime Museum of Great Britain.