Stephen Gibson is a gifted young horticulturist. But surprisingly this isn’t the quality most women look for in a mate. According to all the ‘personals’, it’s GSOH . A good sense of humour. Trouble is, Stephen doesn’t have one. Not a trace!
Divorced, dateless and about to become desperate, Roger tries his luck with a dating agency, hoping to find the perfect woman, one with a GSOH - a Great Sense of Humour - only to find someone starts slaughtering the women he meets, making him look more like a serial killer than a lady killer. Forced to go on the run from the police, to try to rescue the ladies still living after a night out with him, and to save his own skin - not necessarily in that order - Roger discovers that, not only does the course of true love never run smooth, sometimes even just dating can be murder. "A terrific comic novel, utterly unputdownable." "A 'laugh out loud' kind of book." (Lulu Readers' reviews.) "I like the characters and I like the jaunty way the story moves along. Clever plot too." (Peter Guttridge, the Observer crime fiction critic.)
"Funny, moving, and a guaranteed page-turner. Brilliant!" -Mike Gayle, author of Mr. Commitment "It's not me-it's you." After ten years, Jane's had enough of Edward Middleton. "You've let yourself go," she tells him. "So I'm letting you go too." Determined to get her back, Edward realizes he must learn how to make women want him again. But right now, he's the kind of man who puts the "ex" in "sexy." One thing is certain: if he's going to be Jane's Mr. Right, he needs to turn himself around. From Atkins to Waxing, Edward begins working his way through the makeover alphabet. But is a change in appearance what Jane really wants? Can cuddly Teddy really become sexy Eddie? Or is there more to the dating game than meets the eye? "[The Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook] gives a real insight into the different ways men and women think." -Prima
Have you ever wondered how to beat the bookies? How does your computer know you might like this song? Should you be worried about this?... We can’t answer that for you, but Man vs Big Data does explore the numerous ways in which ‘Big Data’ has, sometimes imperceptibly, infiltrated our lives. Everything we do leaves a trail of data behind, from buying something on a credit card, to using a GPS-enabled mobile phone – whether you know it or not, like it or not, Big Data is now a part of modern life. Heralded as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, it is now more crucial than ever to learn about how data is affecting the way we live. Man vs Big Data proves that this topic is one of the most important subjects facing us today and helps you get to grips with what that means for you.
Mike Leigh may well be Britain’s greatest living film director; his worldview has permeated our national consciousness. This book gives detailed readings of the nine feature films he has made for the cinema, as well as an overview of his work for television. Written with the co-operation of Leigh himself, this is the first study of his work to challenge the critical privileging of realism in histories of the British cinema, placing the emphasis instead on the importance of comedy and humour: of jokes and their functions, of laughter as a survival mechanism, and of characterisations and situations that disrupt our preconceptions of ‘realism’. Striving for the all-important quality of truth in everything he does, Leigh has consistently shown how ordinary lives are too complex to fit snugly into the conventions of narrative art. From the bittersweet observation of Life is Sweet or Secrets and Lies, to the blistering satire of Naked and the manifest compassion of Vera Drake, he has demonstrated a matchless ability to perceive life’s funny side as well as its tragedies.
Do you ever wonder who's responsible for the rubbish that you read every day? In Who Writes this Crap, Stickley and Wright take the most ridiculous examples of junk mail, packaging, emails and advertising and rewrite them in side-splitting new ways. Whether it’s a smoothie label, a newspaper headline or an unsolicited email from a Nigerian prince, this fun and irreverent satire will change the way you read forever.
Britain’s hottest young comedian presents a seriously funny, up-close look at joking matters—from the social origins of laughter, to the art and craft of humor, to why we can never remember the punch line—featuring over 300 jokes. As the host of the hit game show Distraction (now in its third season on Comedy Central) and one of the premier stand-up acts working today, award-winning comedian Jimmy Carr has won over millions of fans around the world with his trademark rapier wit, laced with "exquisitely economical and perfectly timed one-liners" (The Guardian). For this book he teams up with friend and fellow comedy writer Lucy Greeves to take an in-depth look at where humor comes from and how it works, through exploring its purest form: the joke. Only Joking begins with the mechanism of laughter—how it happens and why even infants do it—then delves into the power of the punch line, exploring the basics of all jokes, from the use of shock and surprise to advanced stand-up techniques such as the "pull-back/reveal." Carr and Greeves go on to explore taboo humor, jokes that bomb, and the psychology of finding something funny. They look into the long-standing connection between politics and humor, and discuss the survival prospects for contentious jokes in the current political climate. Throughout the book they conjure up a supporting cast of colorful joke enthusiasts, from Sigmund Freud to Lenny Bruce, and discuss their influence on the jokes we tell today. Surveying across national, ethnic, and gender divides, this rollicking analysis of why joking will always be close to the human heart is an irresistible exploration of humor that makes clear why we need a good laugh now more than ever.
In business, you can't afford to be forgettable. And the quickest way to connect with an audience is by having a laugh. The world's greatest influencers know the power of a well-timed joke, and research shows that people who use humour effectively are rated higher by their colleagues, get paid more and climb the corporate ladder faster. But the best news is that being funny is a learnable skill! In More Funny, More Money award-winning comedian and TED speaker Marty Wilson shares tips and tricks for 'funnying up' business and improving your speeches, presentations and sales pitches. Discover how using 'risk free' humour can increase your ability to influence your peers, help you land that dream job and make you a more charismatic leader. Plus Marty lifts the lid on secret techniques used by stand-ups to craft funny stories, get any audience applauding, and - perhaps most importantly - recover when a joke falls flat. Entertaining, outrageous and enlightening, with this book business need never be boring.
Understand more about the mind and how it works with Brilliant Psychology. Bringing this complex area to life, it covers everything you need to know on how we perceive the world, our relationships with others, why psychological problems occur and the key to being happy. Covering the fundamental aspects of the human mind together with an introduction to the important figures and theories, it’s highly practical with an emphasis on how psychology relates to our lives.