Another review for Annus Horribilis

Another nice one too.


From The Guardian Review:


Humour

The wit parade

Carrie O'Grady journeys through the circles of comedy hell to reach Wodehouse heaven

Saturday November 24, 2007
The Guardian


Ah, Christmas humour books. A funny old concept. As I write, there sits at my feet a box overflowing with titles that were so unfunny, so irritating, so desperate to make a quick buck that they don't deserve to be listed here. I'll deal with the books that at least have a chance of provoking a smile.

"List books" make a strong showing this year; half a dozen attractive hardbacks manage to be amusing and informative. Faber's meaty Ten Bad Dates With De Niro (£12.99) is endlessly dip-into-able. Its offbeat, detailed top-10s are all the better for being written by some of our wackier stars: the Coen brothers, Steven Soderbergh and DBC Pierre all chip in.

As a Dodo (Summersdale, £9.99) brings together entries from a popular blog that publishes faux obituaries - so, for example, RIP Humanity's Sense of Superiority, which kicked the bucket this year when chimps were shown to use tools. Touch Me, I'm Sick (Portrait, £9.99) enumerates the 52 creepiest love songs, from Maurice Chevalier's icky "Thank Heaven for Little Girls" to Sophie B Hawkins's outright illegal interpretation of "Hansel and Gretel".

'If all that depresses you, enjoy a little schadenfreude with Annus Horribilis (John Murray, £9.99) - 365 tales of real-life "comic misfortune". One for fans of the Darwin awards, although save some sympathy for the intrepid Blackpool hamster that got nicked by the police for speeding down the pavement in a mini-racing-car (really!)."

Annus Horribilis reviewed

Three really lovely reviews.

yay!

First the bookbag: click here

I can't defend the typos... Yikes! But I should say that the absence of February 29 is supposed to be a joke. Obviously not such a good one as no one has got it yet, but if you look in the index...

Second, Toasting Napolean: click here

Happily, I can return the compliment to Harry Bingham because I've been reading his Little Britain book and am finding it fascinating, stimulating and all the positive -ings you can think of.

Finally, here's a nice capsule from otherstories:

"This is a fun little book which is excellent for irritating people with (by reading out random entries, even when they don't want you to). A reminder that someone, somewhere, is having a worse day than you."

Just in case those persuade you to buy the book: click here

Annus Horribilis

My new book is in the shops now and available on amazon.co.uk

Here's the blurb:

"Mistakes, mishaps, cock-ups - they just aren't given the recognition they deserve. They make life interesting and human beings (some more than others) have a genuine flair for them. So why does history only record the world's dull and worthy achievements? "Annus Horribilis" sets the record straight by celebrating good old-fashioned failures. From the man whose spectacular escape from prison was spoiled when he was eaten by a crocodile to the husband who choked to death on his own wife, via several exploding whales, numerous celebrity meltdowns and countless predictions that proved to be wholly inaccurate, "Annus Horribilis" proves once and for all, that there's no success like failure."