Theoretically, you could find this type of humor anywhere. But only a topflight science-fictionist, we thought, could have written this story, in just this way. . . . Start here: It was quite by accident I discovered this incredible invasion of Earth by lifeforms from another planet. As yet, I haven't done anything about it; I can't think of anything to do. I wrote to the Government, and they sent back a pamphlet on the repair and maintenance of frame houses. Anyhow, the whole thing is known; I'm not the first to discover it. Maybe it's even under control. "All of his work starts with the basic assumption that there cannot be one, single, objective reality," writes science fiction author Charles Platt.

Following on Two Pints, another hilarious book on everything that matters from the brilliant Roddy Doyle.      Two men meet for a pint -- or two -- in a Dublin pub. They chew the fat, set the world to rights, curse the ref, say a last farewell. In this second collection of delicious comic dialogues Doyle's drinkers ponder: • a topless Kate Middleton     • Barack and Michelle Obama     • David Beckham ("Would you tattoo your kids' names on the back of your neck?" "They wouldn't fit.")     • Jimmy Savile ("a gobshite")     • the financial crisis (again)     • abortion (again)     • and horsemeat in your burger... Once again, those we have lost troop through their thoughts -- Lou Reed, Seamus Heaney, Reg Presley, Nelson Mandella, Phil Everly, Margaret Thatcher, Shirley Temple -- and they still have that unerring ability to ask the really fundamental questions like "Would you take penalty points for your missis?"

Two Ordinary People from Mundania travel to Xanth to defeat a rogue Night Colt in the latest in a beloved series from bestselling author Piers Anthony. The Night Colt has one ambition: to deliver dreams to the deserving. Unfortunately, only Night Mares can take on this task, and the Colt has no hope of leading his own herd if he can’t get any practice. . . . So he’s struck a deal with a Mundane. During the hours when the Night Mares rest—dusk and dawn—the duo plants stories in the air, compelling the people of Xanth to enact them—whether they want to or not. Unwilling to participate in these fantasies, the princesses of Xanth, Dawn and Eve, come up with a plan to fight the menacing pair, but they’ll need the help of two unlikely heroes to succeed. In Mundania, a mysterious painting entrances Ordinary People Tartan and Tara. But why do they each see something different when they look at it? They quickly learn that it’s not a painting after all, but a portal to a magical world. With nothing to lose, they climb through the portal into Xanth and are met with a plea to help stop the Night Colt and his ghost writer. Tartan and Tara don’t hesitate to join the quest to save Xanth from the ultimate pun-tastrophe. Together with their new friends, they’ll begin a journey full of magic and romance—and, of course, puns—that will lead them to a long-lost prince, a beautiful dragoness, the goddess Isis, and a demon named Ted. With rip-roaring humor and nonstop adventure, the newest addition to Piers Anthony’s popular Xanth series is sure to enchant fans of epic fantasy. Ghost Writer in the Sky is the 41st book in the Xanth series, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Shirley Jackson, author of the classic short story The Lottery, was known for her terse, haunting prose. But the writer possessed another side, one which is delightfully exposed in this hilariously charming memoir of her family's life in rural Vermont. Fans of Please Don't Eat the Daisies, Cheaper by the Dozen, and anything Erma Bombeck ever wrote will find much to recognize in Shirley Jackson's home and neighborhood: children who won't behave, cars that won't start, furnaces that break down, a pugnacious corner bully, household help that never stays, and a patient, capable husband who remains lovingly oblivious to the many thousands of things mothers and wives accomplish every single day."Our house," writes Jackson, "is old, noisy, and full. When we moved into it we had two children and about five thousand books; I expect that when we finally overflow and move out again we will have perhaps twenty children and easily half a million books." Jackson's literary talents are in evidence everywhere, as is her trenchant, unsentimental wit. Yet there is no mistaking the happiness and love in these pages, which are crowded with the raucous voices of an extraordinary family living a wonderfully ordinary life.

A P.G. Wodehouse novel Ch�teau Blissac, on its hill above St Roque, is in a setting where every prospect pleases. But it doesn't please its current occupier, J. Wellington Gedge. Mr Gedge wants none of it - and particularly none of the domineering Mrs Gedge's imperious wish that he should become American Ambassador to Paris. Instead he pines for the simpler life of California, where men are men and filling stations stand tall. Mrs Gedge has powerful allies - including the prohibitionist Senator Opal. But will she get her way? And will the Senator's delightful daughter Jane get her man? In a plot which involves safe-blowers, con men, jewel-thieves and even a Bloomsbury novelist, few are quite as they seem. But the heady atmosphere of France in the 1930s makes for one of Wodehouse's most delightful comedies.

Girt by Sea is an amalgam of several street theatre performances reworked as a play for voices (or for radio broadcast). There is nothing especially ambitious about the play as it merely tries to touch on a few notions about the mandatory detention of refugees and package them in a short, sharp piece that quickly gets down to satirical business.Scarlett Knight comes from a family of nightmares. She hates them all with a passion and has to spend her whole Summer playing happy families. Due to a deal made between her parents she lives with her mother but has to spend the holidays with her father and her much hated half brothers and sisters. Luckily for her though her father has found her a summer job at a local bar and it is here that Scarlett finds a place where she belongs. Drake and Dylan Bennigan are the family she never had. She falls in love with them both but one of them becomes a lot more. However her father had an ulterior motive for getting her the job and she soon discovers that things are not as straightforward as she first thought. Suddenly she is caught between her family and her new found friends. She will have to act quickly to save them from her father's plans. However he is not the sort of person you would want to upset so it will take all of her cunning and manipulation to carry out her plan. This turns out to be a Summer that none of them will ever forget.

Some bureaucrats work professionally and arduously, and possess a true desire to help people while many others work slowly, making simple tasks exceedingly difficult, treating recipients poorly, and chasing everyone away. Thus, I wrote this parody to express my appreciation to the world’s bad bureaucrats, and, unfortunately, the world has too many of them.I've traveled to many countries and witnessed bureaucrats in all shades, colors, and sizes, working in different agencies, offices, and departments. Some bureaucrats work professionally and arduously, and possess a true desire to help people while many others work slowly, making simple tasks exceedingly difficult, treating recipients poorly, and chasing everyone away. People grumble at the long lines. They complain about the poor customer service and complicated forms and procedures. But they rarely connect the bureaucrats' impact upon society. For example, if bureaucrats make it difficult for people to renew their driver's license, then how many obstacles do entrepreneurs face as they start a business, or a homeowner applying for permits to annex another room onto the house? People, for some reason, grant the bureaucrats a free pass. However, they don't hesitate to vote leaders and politicians out of office who did their jobs poorly. Thus, I wrote this parody to express my appreciation to the world’s bad bureaucrats, and, unfortunately, the world has too many of them.

It was many years ago. Hadleyburg was the most honest and upright town in all the region round about. It had kept that reputation unsmirched during three generations, and was prouder of it than of any other of its possessions. It was so proud of it, and so anxious to insure its perpetuation, that it began to teach the principles of honest dealing to its babies in the cradle, and made the like teachings the staple of their culture thenceforward through all the years devoted to their education. Also, throughout the formative years temptations were kept out of the way of the young people, so that their honesty could have every chance to harden and solidify, and become a part of their very bone. The neighbouring towns were jealous of this honourable supremacy, and affected to sneer at Hadleyburg's pride in it and call it vanity; but all the same they were obliged to acknowledge that Hadleyburg was in reality an incorruptible town; and if pressed they would also acknowledge that the mere fact that a young man hailed from Hadleyburg was all the recommendation he needed when he went forth from his natal town to seek for responsible employment.

It's a slow day at the Office. Time to see how the Heroes pass time.“Goodmans Hotel”, a full length novel, is a gay love story set in 1990s London. Mark, a City high-flyer, is irresistibly attracted to Tom, a manual worker from a tough neighbourhood. Both men have been marked by past ordeals.Conflict between powerful cabals in the City firm causes Mark to leave, with a generous pay off. Tom’s boss, Andrew, a determinedly independent small businessman, convinces him he should put all his resources into setting up a gay guest house, the ‘Goodmans Hotel’ of the title. There he hopes for release from the heartlessly competitive norms of his old working life.He takes in an eighteen year old runaway, Darren, who is escaping from his parents’ religious bigotry. Mark comes to think of Tom, Darren and Andrew as his ‘family’. A crisis forces Mark and Tom apart, until eventually the family are reconciled and reunited in the final chapter, their understanding of life deepened by the challenges they have faced.

New York Times bestselling novelist Jennifer Crusie combines fast-paced banter, sexy situations, and unforgettable characters in this delightful romance about two reluctant lovers who couldn’t be more wrong about being right for each other. TRUST ME ON THIS Dennie Banks is an investigative reporter chasing down the biggest story of her career. Alec Prentice is a government agent working undercover to catch an elusive grifter. When they meet by accident, it’s a case of mistaken identities at first sight. What they don’t mistake is the instant attraction they have for each other, an attraction they’ll do everything in their power to resist—because Dennie thinks that Alec is running interference for her interview subject, and Alec suspects that Dennie is linked to his swindler. As the confusion grows, so do their feelings for each other, and what begins as a romantic comedy of errors may just end in the love affair of a lifetime. From the Paperback edition.

A group of friends end up having the craziest summer solstice of all time due to occurrences none of them seem to understand.Nate Bray and Cady Steward were an average eighteen year old couple. They juggled their time between enjoying each others company and enjoying the company of their friends Mike, Cera, and Taylor. But one disrupted summer solstice party and militant ambush later, everything changed. Now, with Cady and Cera taken hostage by these mysterious terrorists, Nate and the remaining group must work against time as well as their own shortcomings to ensure they save their friends and survive the night. And maybe they'll have a decent epiphany along the way...maybe.

Baby LeRoy is a chubby bundle of joy - and is the smartest and sassiest infant ever! True, he can't really talk yet, but that doesn't stop him from telling his stories, and expressing his outrageous opinions by typing them into his PC, that faithful companion who rivals his shapely Mexican nanny for his attention. Don't eat or drink while reading this book, for you may have a laughing fit!(for ages 14 to adult) At the tender age of only eleven months, Baby LeRoy is a chubby little bundle of joy - and is no doubt the smartest, sassiest and most "talkative" infant you've ever laid eyes on! True, he can't really talk yet. But that doesn't stop this diminutive genius from telling his stories, and expressing his sometimes not-so-politically correct opinions by typing them into his laptop PC, that faithful companion of his who rivals his stuffed koala, and even his shapely Mexican nanny, for his continued attention. It is recommended that you do not eat or drink while enjoying the insights of this alarmingly outspoken cherub, for you may end up having a laughing fit - and that could have some embarrassing consequences!

An unforgettable addition to his widely acclaimed body of work, The Late Child is Larry McMurtry's tender, funny, and poignant sequel to The Desert Rose. McMurtry delivers another rich cast of characters -- and a heartfelt, bittersweet story that unfolds on the open road, in one woman's search for strength, understanding, and hope. Harmony is the optimistic, resilient Las Vegas ex-showgirl who returns home one day to the news that her beloved daughter has died, in New York, of AIDS. She manages to stay afloat, buoyed by her precocious five-year-old son, Eddie, and her two outspoken sisters as they set forth on a journey across the country, seeking answers about her daughter's death. From Nevada to New York to Oklahoma, the eccentrics Harmony and her entourage meet nudge them closer to an inner peace with life, and a way to find hope in the future. Alive with inventive storytelling and honest emotion, The Late Child is a warm, enriching experience that celebrates the unique relationship between mother and child.

After a slow summer of chasing low-level skips for her cousin Vinnie's bail bonds agency, Stephanie Plum finally lands an assignment that could put her bank balance back in the black. Geoffrey Cubbin, facing trial for embezzling millions from Trenton's premier assisted-living facility, has mysteriously vanished from the hospital after an emergency appendectomy. Now it's on Stephanie to track down the con man. The problem is, Cubbin has disappeared without a trace, a witness, or his money-hungry wife. Rumours are stirring that he must have had help with the daring escape...or that maybe he never made it out of his room alive. Since the hospital staff's lips seem to be tighter that the security, and it's hard for Stephanie to blend in to assisted living, Stephanie's Grandma Mazur goes in undercover. But when a second felon goes missing from the same hospital, Plum is forced into working side by side with Trenton's hottest cop, Joe Morelli, in order to crack the case. The real problem is, no Cubbin means no way to pay the rent. Desperate for money - or maybe just desperate - Plum accepts a secondary job guarding her secretive and mouthwatering mentor Ranger from a deadly special-forces adversary. While Stephanie is notorious for finding trouble, she may have found a little more than she bargained for this time around. Then again - a little food poisoning, some threatening notes, and a bridesmaid's dress with an excess of taffeta never killed anyone...or did it? If Stephanie Plum wants to bring in a paycheck, she'll have to remember: no guts, no glory...

The true story of an outlaw childhood where rules were unheard of, the Christmas tree stayed up all year round, Valium was consumed like candy, and if things got dull an electroshock-therapy machine could provide entertainment. Running with Scissors is the true story of a boy whose mother (a poet with delusions of Anne Sexton) gave him away to be raised by her unorthodox psychiatrist who bore a striking resemblance to Santa Claus. So at the age of twelve, Burroughs found himself amidst Victorian squalor living with the doctor’s bizarre family, and befriending a pedophile who resided in the backyard shed. The story of an outlaw childhood where rules were unheard of, and the Christmas tree stayed up all year round, where Valium was consumed like candy, and if things got dull an electroshock- therapy machine could provide entertainment. The funny, harrowing and bestselling account of an ordinary boy’s survival under the most extraordinary circumstances.