Biography - Humour

21ST-CENTURY YOKEL

by Tom Cox

read by Tom Cox

running time 10hrs 45mins

A deeply personal and laugh-out-loud mixture of nature book and family memoir from the bestselling author of 'The Good, The Bad and The Furry' (10942).

ALL AT SEA: ONE MAN, ONE BATHTUB, ONE VERY BAD IDEA

by Tim Fitzhigham

read by Fred Parker

running time 8hrs 30mins

The book follows the author's death-defying 200-mile journey in his antique Thomas Crapper bath - not just across the Channel, but around Kent - right up to the tremendous reception which awaited him under Tower Bridge. Tim met the Queen, and his bath now resides in the National Maritime Museum of Great Britain

BERNARD WHO? 75 YEARS OF DOING JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING

by Bernard Cribbins

read by Bob Wildgust

running time 10hrs

Bernard Cribbin's CV has been an A-Z of the best entertainment that Britain has to offer. Thanks to programmes such as Jackanory, The Wombles, and more recently, Old Jack's Boat, he has become the voice of many millions of childhoods. Seventy-five years in the making and packed with entertaining anecdotes, this is the wonderful story of one of the longest and most celebrated careers in show business.

CONFESSIONS OF A BAD MOTHER (X Rated)

by Stephanie Calman

read by Rosemary Cross

running time 7hrs 45mins

Do all the mother's around seem to be getting it right, when you are so obviously getting it all wrong? Read Stephanie Calman's confessions of breaking all the rules and realise that you are just normal! X rated, contains offensive language and explicit sex.

DAY JOB, THE: ADVENTURES OF A JOBBING GARDENER

by Mark Wallington

read by Tony Lister

running time 8hrs 45mins

In order to finance his dream of changing the face of British comedy, the author spends a year working as a jobbing gardener for the residents of Hampstead.

THE EGG AND I

by Betty MacDonald

read by Patricia Mumford

running time 10hrs

Raised within a well-to-do family, Betty MacDonald suddenly finds herself newly wed and set to take on turning an abandoned farm site into a thriving chicken farm.

FILLETS OF PLAICE

by Gerald Durrell

read by Bob Rollett

running time 6hrs 30mins

Gerald Durrell's love for animals in all their forms is combined here with humorous anecdotes about his family for which he is so well known from My Family and Other Animals (9728). Larry, Margot, Leslie and Mother are all present and correct, but so too are spiders, lizards and water fleas.

GET HER OFF THE PITCH!

by Lynne Truss

read by Lynne Truss

running time 8hrs

Lynne Truss spent four years as sports writer for The Times and here she gives us a perceptive and very funny insight on being a woman in a traditionally male-dominated world.

A HARD DAY'S WORK

by Patricia Warren

read by Rebecca Blech

running time 6hrs 9mins

More stories of blossoming love and quirky misadventure from Patricia Warren, who set up her country matchmaking business from her kitchen table.

JEREMY HARDY SPEAKS VOLUMES

by Jeremy Hardy

read by Fred Parker

running time 8hrs 30mins

Jeremy Hardy, who died in February 2019, was perhaps the most distinctive comedian to arise from the 80s Alternative Comedy circuit. This fitting celebration of the brilliant comedian, edited by his wife, Katie Barlow, contains material from his stand-up to his radio monologues, political satire and the joyfully silly gems, as well as tributes from his friends and fellow comedians. It is curated to encompass everything about Jeremy that fans adored.

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE THUNDERBOLT KID

by Bill Bryson

read by Bill Bryson

running time 7hrs 30mins

Bill Bryson’s nostalgic and hilarious memoir of growing up in an eccentric, but loving, family in 1950s Middle America.

MY LIFE: A COACH TRIP ADVENTURE

by Brendan Sheerin

read by Edward Peel

running time 9hrs 20mins

Brendan Sheerin, tour guide star of Channel 4's teatime show 'Coach Trip', with his trademark charm and humour, relates entertaining anecdotes, both from his personal life and his experiences on TV.

NOTES TO MY MOTHER-IN-LAW

by Phyllida Law

read by Maureen Marshall

running time 3hrs 5mins

As her mother-in-law became increasingly deaf, a correspondence developed from notes left on the kitchen table to summaries of family life left at the end of the day by her bed. This is a humorous work about hearing aids and incontinent dogs and an uplifting story of family love and duty, and generational conflict.

OLDER AND BOLDER: MY A-Z OF SURVIVING ALMOST EVERYTHING

by Esther Rantzen

read by Vivienne Ennemoser

running time 6hrs

Multi-award-winning broadcaster, founder of Childline and The Silver Line, campaigner, mother, grandmother and joyous trailblazer of our times, Dame Esther Rantzen dazzles in the glory of getting older and ever bolder. In this energising A-Z, she time-travels through her most significant memories, from meeting Princess Diana to creating a national outrage with a mischievous short film about a driving dog, and reflects with candour and humour on the life lessons she's learned, revealing the hints, hacks and personal philosophies that have been her secrets to surviving almost everything.

PEGGY AND ME

by Miranda Hart

read by Miranda Hart

running time 8hrs

From the star of the award-winning BBC sitcom 'Miranda', comes Miranda Hart's hilarious account of life with her beloved dog Peggy, a gorgeous white bichon frise.

QUICKSAND TALES

by Keggie Carew

read by Jilly Bond

running time 8hrs 15mins

Keggie Carew has an unerring instinct for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, of putting her foot in it, and making a hash of things. From the repercussions of a missing purse, to boiling a frog, or the holiday when the last thing you could possibly imagine happens, Keggie has been there. Here she shares her most embarrassing, awkward, uncomfortable, funny, true, terrible and all-too-relatable moments.

THE SECRET TEACHER

by Anonymous

read by Paul Vates

running time 8hrs 30mins

In this vivid account of his first few years in the classroom, The Secret Teacher grapples with the complicated questions of how to teach, how we learn - and how little he actually knows. He celebrates the world’s greatest stories, the extraordinary teachers he has worked with, and the kids: bolshy, bright, funny and absolutely electric. The result is a book brimful of wit, insight and tenderness.

TALES FROM THE COUNTRY MATCHMAKER

by Patricia Warren

read by Patricia Gallimore

running time 7hrs 30mins

The author founded the first lonely hearts agency for country dwellers. Based in Derbyshire, she has hundreds of stories of helping love and romance to bloom amongst lonely farming people nationwide.

THE VOYAGES OF THE PRINCESS MATILDA

by Shane Spall

read by Grace Dives

running time 11hrs 45mins

This is the story of the actor Timothy Spall and his wife Shane and their Dutch barge The Princess Matilda. After a summer on the Thames they decide to head out to sea with only a road atlas and a vast amount of ignorance - and it is absolutely terrifying!

WOGAN'S TWELVE

by Terry Wogan

read by John Cormack

running time 7hrs 30mins

There is no denying the fact that Sir Terry Wogan does more in one year than most people do in a lifetime. This is a wonderfully witty, off-the-wall account of his experiences, from the fans and celebrities he meets to the places he visits, from the highlights of his radio show to the lunacies of our modern world.