Steve Roud was Local Studies Librarian for the London Borough of Croydon and served as Honorary Librarian of the Folklore Society for over fifteen years. He has been researching British folklore for over thirty years and is the joint author of the Oxford Dictionary of English Folklore, plus other books on traditional drama and folk song, and the Penguin Guide to the Superstitions of Britain and Ireland, which won the Katharine Briggs Folklore Award in 2004. His publications include London Lore (2008) and The Lore of the Playground (2010). He also compiles the Folk Song Index and the Broadside Index, two internationally acclaimed computer databases of traditional folk and popular song. He lives in Sussex.

Steve Roud

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Mario Gmurr

Learn something new about yourself today. 
 
What does your workspace say about you? The most revealing clues aren’t on your desk or on your computer. Rather, they’re those paperclips in your bin – the ones you’ve fiddled with, probably without even realising it. 
 
When psychiatrist Mario Gmür started scrutinising paperclips bent by his patients, he found that they actually reveal multitudes about the creator’s character, quirks and hidden desires. Are you an optimist? A pushover? A Lothario? A bully? 
 
After studying the links between paperclip shapes and distinct character types, Gmür has created a delightful collection of quizzes and psychological profiles that allow readers to discover their innermost truths using these miniature metallic sculptures. 
 
Part Rorschach test and part humorous horoscope, The Paperclip Test offers an amusing yet astonishingly insightful personality gauge for anyone who has ever bent a paperclip without thinking about what secrets that tiny shape might hold.

The Paperclip Test

Benjamin Lee

A hilarious collection of the most agonizing real-life inconveniences faced by the iPhone-losing, polenta-burning, Eurostar-missing middle classes, illustrated by Matt Blease 
 
‘My pug has hiccups’ 
 
 ‘I've given myself a croissant headache’ 
 
‘I just dropped batteries in my quinoa’ 
 
‘Think I’ve forgotten how to ski’ 
 
Can't find your melon baller? Wrestling with wrapping paper? Struggling to figure out how to properly pronounce quinoa?? Get your daily trials into perspective with this hilarious collection of the top #MiddleClassProblems from around the globe. 
 
Since 2010, Benjamin Lee has run the hugely popular @MiddleClassProb account, and in this book he has selected the all-time highlights.

Middle Class Problems

Problems but not real actual problems, just middle class ones

Tom Hickman

Throughout history man has revered his penis as his 'most precious ornament'. 
 
Yet, ambivalently, his penis has always been the source of man's deepest neuroses too. Do women find it, in the erect state, inherently ridiculous? Why can't a man be certain his penis will stand and deliver when he commands? If and when it steadfastly refuses, what can he do to remedy the situation? And then, of course, there's the matter of size... 
 
To possess a penis, Sophocles said, is to be 'chained to a madman'. God's Doodle examines the schizophrenic relationship between man and this madman - and the joint relationship this odd couple has with the female sex. 
 
God's Doodle is the tale of the penis and the ups and downs of history - the macabre and the bloodcurdling, the funny and the sad, distilled from myth, world cultures, religion, literature, science, medicine and contemporary life - all told with mordant wit.

God's Doodle

The Life and Times of the Penis

Mr Bingo

'Gorgeous and funny! Like a labrador doing stand-up' Noel Fielding 
 
The brainchild of a late night and one too many drinks, Hate Mail began with self-styled 'Master of Pens', Mr. Bingo, sending a single tweet off into the pipes of the internet. It read: 'I will send a postcard with an offensive message on to the first person who replies to this'. Then, the replies came in. 
 
Over 1000 abusive postcards later, Mr. Bingo has become the world's hate mailist par excellence, verbally and visually abusing people the world over, all eager to receive their own bespoke piece of personalised spite. 
 
Irreverent and insidiously inspired, Hate Mail: The Definitive Collection, is the ultimate celebration of Mr. Bingo's Hate Mail project.

Hate Mail

THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION

Philippa Rice

Baby: A Soppy Story is a collection of comics by New York Times bestselling graphic novelist Philippa Rice, based on real-life moments with her baby. 
 
It is a collection about the small, intimate, heart-warming experiences of a couple expecting their first baby. From planning and pregnancy to childbirth and raising a newborn, Baby focuses on the everyday moments of parenthood. 
 
Easily read between naps, it is the perfect gift for new or expectant parents.

Baby

A Soppy Story

Fenella Smith

The Brothers McLeod

Caroline Smith

What’s your favourite dog breed? Is it a corgi (the Queen's favourite and they know it), a French Bulldog (like a bulldog, but more chic) or it an Afghan Hound (slightly aloof and require shampoo – curlers optional)? 
 
You will meet them all in this charming guide to our beloved four-legged friends. Featuring over one hundred dog breeds, each are depicted in a beautiful watercolour and accompanied by a witty character profile. Attractively illustrated and delightfully humorous, this canine compendium makes for an ideal gift and is the perfect book for dog lovers of all ages. 
 
Also available by the same author: Cats – a Feline Compendium 
 
‘Charmingly illustrated’ Elle

Breeds

A Canine Compendium

Martin Toseland

Simon Toseland

Remember Blind Man's Bluff, Pin the Tail and Murder in the Dark? Making daisy chains and collecting conkers? And when rainy afternoons meant card games and battleships? 
 
Jam-packed with games and activities for all ages, 365 Family Games and Pastimes remembers all the classics we used to love, bringing them back for the entire family to enjoy. 
 
Full of inspiration and thrifty ideas, this is an indispensible collection for birthday parties, family holidays and everyday fun.

365 Family Games and Pastimes

A lighthearted look at our feline friends and their most amusing (and infuriating) habits. 
 
Over 140 entries delightfully illustrate a wealth of cat breeds – from the attention-loving Siamese to the playful Exotic Shorthair – followed by an extensive cat dictionary, which finally defines those characteristic behaviours and cat-related incidents that all cat lovers will recognise. 
 
British Shorthair – an old-fashioned sort of Brit. Reserved, mild-tempered, quiet and faithful. Probably the sort of cat that would host a very exclusive and polite cocktail party. Most often comes in a delightful blue hue. 
 
Foldex – although it sounds like a trademarked name for a hi-tech folding machine, this is in fact a folded-ear breed that was first developed in the 1990s in Quebec, Canada. Their wide eyes and thick, fluffy tail is complemented by a cheerful and affectionate personality. 
 
Catanchored – a cat that is unafraid of anything and remains impassive and immovable even when spotted by a dog (much to the dog’s confusion and alarm).

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