Showing titles in Literature & Fiction

For years they thought it was just them. Irritated and tormented by everything around them from call centres to nose studs, from speed bumps to ring tones. Then along came the BBC2 series Grumpy Old Men, and the subsequent best-selling book, and they knew they were not alone.

Yes, George Carlin is here with more of what he did better than any other comic: uproarious observations, laser-targeted crankiness, linguistic legerdemain, and inspired weirdness. ("If the shoe fits, get another just like it." "When you sneeze, all the numbers in your head go up by one.") Napalm & Silly Putty is just what his fans have been waiting for—another generous helping of notions, nonsense, assertions, assumptions, mockery, merriment, silliness, sarcasm, and, to be sure, plenty of disturbing references and toxic alienation.

In David Sedaris' world, no one is safe and no cow is sacred. A manic cross between Mark Leyner, Fran Lebowitz, and the National Enquirer, Sedaris' collection of essays is a rollicking tour through the national Zeitgeist: a do-it-yourself suburban dad saves money by performing home surgery; a man who is loved too much flees the heavyweight champion of the world; a teenage suicide tries to incite a lynch mob at her funeral; a bitter Santa abuses the elves.

Disillusioned by her glitzy life in London and her desirable but cruel TV-presenter boyfriend, Rosie Richardson chucks it all in and spends four years running a refugee camp in Africa. Then famine strikes in a nearby province and an influx of starving refugees threatens to overwhelm the camp. Frustrated by the cautious response of the aid agencies, Rosie decides on a drastic short-term solution.

We live in an age of waffle, mumbo-jumbo, and bad thinking. We're forever being fed dodgy information by so-called experts, scientists, opinion-makers, politicians, journalists, and jumped-up little graduates.

Life couldn't be better for Lucinda Purefoy. Granted, it's a little embarrassing, her father being the Bishop of Aldershot, but she's got a steady boyfriend, a degree in social sciences from Manchester University, and the offer of a job in advertising. With all that, she felt she should "pay back her debt to society" and "do a little good in the world".

The story picks up from the end of Blue at the Mizzen when Jack Aubrey receives the news, in Chile, of his elevation to flag rank: Rear Admiral of the Blue Squadron, with orders to sail to the South Africa station. This new novel, unfinished and untitled at the time of O’Brian’s death, would have been a chronicle of that mission, and much else besides. As the novel opens, we are able to visit these friends we have followed so very far in a rare state of almost perfect felicity.

As well as writing about his first love, cars, James has a go at political correctness, the endless rules and regulations of daily life, the internal combustion engine and traffic wardens. He discusses gastropubs, Jeremy Clarkson, and other trials of modern life. His highly entertaining observations from behind the wheel will have you laughing out loud, whether you share his opinions or not.

The highly successful Grumpy Old Woman returns - and this time she's even grumpier: "Obviously in a book this size I wouldn't be able to share with you ALL of my grumps. But I've decided to write down some of the secret thoughts that beset a woman of a certain age, some of the wicked things that occur to a woman who takes a lot of things to the dry cleaners, has to have her roots done every four weeks and finds it hard to wear high heels."

Meet the Rabbitte family, a 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?

Stephanie Plum feels her career as a bounty hunter has run its course. Time to find a job her mother can tell her friends about without making the sign of the cross. So she quits. But trouble follows Stephanie, in the form of a maniac returned from the grave for the sole purpose of putting her six feet under. Stephanie realises that her old job may be the solution rather than the problem after all. So she takes an office position working for Ranger, the sexiest bounty hunter on two continents.

Settled in Germany in a Stalag-like hut on a desolate building site, a very long way from home, the three 'likely lads' from Newcastle ricochet from one disaster to another, with their four very unlikely companions - a gentle giant from Somerset, an over-sexed Cockney, a bike-riding Brummie and a dodgy Scouser.... An exceptionally talented actor, Christopher Fairbanks brings The Magnificent Seven to life with great warmth and humour.

Here are the excruciatingly funny adventures of Suzanne Vale — a young film star and drug addict — who survives a rehab clinic only to rejoin the equally harrowing world of Hollywood. Out there on the edge, despair flips into hilarity, and we're left laughing as Suzanne struggles to come to terms with her various fantasylands.

This is a compilation of readings from the book of the same name by the co-creator of the comedy series, Knowing Me, Knowing You. Iannucci proffers his inaccurate insights into science, the arts, and such topics as the first fist-fight on the moon, an official history of noises, the war between savoury eaters and the sweet-toothed peoples, and the existence of nonsense. Facts and Fancies is read by Armando Iannucci.

Star of BBC’s Supersizers, the hugely popular Times columnist here presents hilarious rants on the subjects that anger him most: fat people, footballers, flip-flops, Formula One, wheelie luggage, cycle helmets, processed ham, skiing, dogs.... Are you all wound up? Boiling and ready to blow? Breathe deeply. Relax. Master of spleen Giles Coren, author of what the Guardian called 'The Maddest Email Ever', has an unbeatable technique for working through the anger: He does it for you.

Here's an irreverent and hilarious reference guide to all the people, ideas, and institutions that pollute our lives. Because you don't have to be old to be grumpy. Read by the stars of Channel 4's Green Wing.

They’re here. They’ve arrived. And they’re all eyes. The Voltarian scouting party - illegal aliens extraordinaire - on a top-secret expedition led by one Jettero Heller, Royal Officer of the Fleet. His mission: rescue the planet from pollution - and make it safe for the upcoming invasion. His problem: The planet may not want to be saved - and the invasion may just be a trick.

Eat your heart out, Nostradamus! There's a new soothsayer in town and his name is Scott Adams. The ruthless ridiculer of corporate idiocy, together with Dilbert, Dogbert, and the twits in management, turns his eagle eye on everything from new work-avoiding technology to sex with aliens. He predicts that (finally!) we'll learn to harness the most abundant resource in the universe: stupidity.

Professor James Lowry didn’t believe in spirits, or witches, or demons. Not until a gentle spring evening when his hat disappeared, and suddenly he couldn’t remember the last four hours of his life. Now, the quiet university town of Atworthy is changing - slightly at first, then faster and more frighteningly each time he tries to remember.

Endlich wieder Neues für alle Fans von Max Goldt. In seinem neuen Hörbuch Komischerweise schrie ich Hallo statt Hilfe stellt Max Goldt eine Auswahl alter und neuer Texte vor – eine Mischung aus Studiolesungen und Livemitschnitten. Mit diesem Erfolgsrezept überzeugt er immer wieder aufs Neue seine treue Fangemeinde. Hörvergnügen garantiert!