A Write Laugh

Whether you want to laugh out loud or smile peacefully the books in this selection really are well worth reading

Feet of Clay - Terry Pratchett
There's a werewolf with pre-lunar tension in Ankh-morpork, a dwarf with attitude and a Golem who begins to think for itself. But for Commander Vines, that's only the start. There's treason in the air - he's not only got to find out whodunit, but howdunit too, and he's not even sure what they dun.  

Lake Wobegon Days - Garrison Keillor
After a slow start, this book gets much better and funnier. The author captures the essence of mid-western life and chronicles the origins of the town, its inhabitants, the festivals and the seasons. The style and humour are dry and understated and the personal reflections on growing up are hilarious

Lions and Liquorice - Kate Fenton
An entire cast and crew of a new television production of "Pride and Prejudice" descends on a sleepy valley in Yorkshire. The real life relations between crew and locals gradually begin to echo fiction in a curious way.  

Stark - Ben Elton
Stark is a secret consortium with more money than God, and the social conscience of a dog on a croquet lawn. What's more, it knows the Earth is dying. Deep in Western Australia where the Aboriginals used to milk the trees, a planet-sized plot is taking shape. Some green freaks pick up the scent: a pommie poseur; a brain-fried Vietnam vet; Aboriginals who have lost their land...not much against a conspiracy that controls society.

The Hippopotamus - Stephen Fry
A millionaire’s son believes himself to be a healer. Everyone believes him to be a healer except his godfather, and he sets about disproving it. To read this improbable story you need to be armed with a tolerant disposition and a large dictionary.

God Bless John Wayne - Kinky Friedman
This is wicked! A cigar-smoking Jewish Texan in New York sets out to discover his friend Ratso’s true birth-mother. But it is a secret that somebody doesn’t want Ace Private Eye Kinky Friedman to uncover. The author is the hero, the title is irrelevant and the plot almost incidental - but who cares? This is a roller-coaster of wise and witty one-liners; off the wall, irreverent and fun.

Foetal Attraction - Kathy Lette
The story of Australian Maddy, and how she copes when her lover leaves her alone, pregnant and giving birth in London. A very funny book which is both brash and explicit in its humour.

Bridget Jones' Diary - Helen Fielding
Bridget Jones wants to have it all - and once she's given up smoking and got down to 8st 7lbs, she will. This book is about a year in the life of a single girl on an optimistic but doomed quest for self-improvement.