American humourist P.J. O'Rourke once said, "Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it." But sometimes we simply feel like reading something other than all those worthy and impressive literary award winners - something lighter but still well-written, something wonderfully witty which makes us laugh out loud, or maybe just a cracking good adventure. So for all of you who wander in and tell us that you're looking for something different to read, but you don't really know what you want; or who need something for a friend in hospital; or a book to take on holiday; or just something to escape from the grimness of the nightly news - we are delighted to present a new area in our bookshop entitled "Feel-Good Reads."
Titles include both fiction and non-fiction options - beloved classics from P.G. Wodehouse, Barbara Pym, and Nancy Mitford; hilarious travel narratives from Bill Bryson; amusing essays from David Sedaris and Augusten Burroughs; modern Australian classics from John Clarke, Shane Maloney, and Thea Astley; plus many more from Kurt Vonnegut's Breakfast of Champions to Sue Townsend's Adrian Mole series; from Alexander McCall-Smith's warm and witty Scottish tales to Paul Carter's gripping and often hilarious true-life adventures.
We will also be promoting Feel-Good Friday where we will feature a chosen title from these shelves and posting on facebook, twitter and instagram so keep an eye out for your next great read.
Category: Feel Good Non-fiction | Reading Level: 4 Non Fiction
RICHARD GLOVER: ''You won’t agree with all her rules – I, for one, am a great believer in the word “pash” – but there is a good laugh, and a lively argument, to be had on every page.'' 488 Rules for Life is Kitty Flanagan's way of making the world a more pleasant place to l ...Show more
Category: Feel Good Fiction
'Enchanting. Reading Barreau is like having me-time with your best friend' NINA GEORGE, author of The Little Paris Bookshop 'Heart-breaking . . . touching and magical until the very last page' ELLE Julien Azoulay is famous around the world for his beautiful romance novels. But last year, he stopped be ...Show more
Category: Feel Good Fiction
Nancy Mitford's The Pursuit of Loveis one of the funniest, sharpest novels about love and growing up ever written.'Obsessed with sex!' said Jassy, 'there's nobody so obsessed as you, Linda. Why if I so much as look at a picture you say I'm a pygmalionist.' In the end we got more information out of a boo ...Show more
Category: Feel Good Non-fiction
With over 800,000 followers on social media, Gary Janetti has quickly become a viral sensation, but here in Do You Mind If I Cancel?, the man behind the most wickedly funny memes on the Internet turns his attention away from the royal family, and squarely to the realm of everyday life. He takes on the ...Show more
Category: Feel Good Fiction
A sparkling romantic comedy that vividly evokes the lost glamour of aristocratic life in England between the wars. Polly Hampton has long been groomed for the perfect marriage by her mother, the fearsome and ambitious Lady Montdore. But Polly, with her stunning good looks and impeccable connect ...Show more
Category: Feel Good Non-fiction
The Sunday Times bestseller Thinking About It Only Makes It Worse, was published back in 2014 and it must have really made people think. Because everything's got worse. We've gone from UKIP to Brexit, from horse lasagne to fatbergs, from big society to food banks. The only possible way to cheer up in 2 ...Show more
Category: Feel Good Fiction | Series: A\Dog's Purpose Ser.
A Dog's Promise is the heart-warming and uplifting story about one dog who fulfils his promise and helps a family who needs him the most, from W. Bruce Cameron the international number one bestselling author of A Dog's Purpose. Bailey knows one thing for sure: all dogs who offer unconditional love, jus ...Show more
Category: Feel Good Non-fiction
'Painfully funny. The pain and the funniness somehow add up to something entirely good, entirely noble and entirely loveable.' - Stephen Fry Sunday Times Humour Book of the Year Winner of the Books Are My Bag Non-Fiction Book of the Year Winner of Blackwell's Debut Book of the Year Winner of iBooks' Bo ...Show more
Category: Feel Good Fiction
A poignant ode to love and the memories that make a well-lived life, from the author of THE SINGLE LADIES OF JACARANDA RETIREMENT VILLAGE As the wife of retired ship's doctor Dr Henry Parker, Evelyn is living out her twilight years aboard the Golden Sunset. Every night she dresses for dinner - gown, tia ...Show more
Category: Feel Good Fiction
*** Can't get enough of Aisling? The hilarious follow-up to the smash-hit romantic comedy Oh My God, What a Complete Aisling is AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER NOW! *** Meet Aisling. She's a country girl learning to love the city sophistication of unlimited Pinot Greej and brunch, though smashed avocado still m ...Show more
Category: Feel Good Fiction | Series: Popular Penguins Ser.
A hilarious and merciless parody of rural melodramas and one of the best-loved comic novels of all time, Cold Comfort Farmby Stella Gibbons is beautifully repackaged as part of the Penguin Essentials range.'We are not like other folk, maybe, but there have always been Starkadders at Cold Comfort Farm... ...Show more
Category: Feel Good Fiction
*THE SIDE-SPLITTING NEW COMIC SHORT FROM ONE OF BRITAIN'S BEST-LOVED WRITERS, SOON TO BE A MAJOR BBC TV SERIES* ______________________________ Each week, Tom and Louise meet for a quick drink in the pub before they go to meet their marriage counsellor. Married for years and with two children, a recent ...Show more