Bedside Lovers

by Joe Bennett

Have you ever wondered why you never see a woman playing chess? Why half the Swedes in Sweden sing in choirs? Why a pig's orgasm lasts for half an hour? Or why, when they neither chop nor stick, chopsticks are so called?If you relish laughing out loud at the expense of the pretentious and pompous and like your wit laced with insight and compassion, then take heart. Following the success of Fun Run and Other Oxymorons, Joe Bennett is back with a second helping of the joyously good and the alarmingly absurd.The Pope, Fidel Castro, the Queen Mum and John Prescott are just some of the figures featuring in his latest collection. Writing with the clarity of glass and the zest of a child, Bennett pursues the lovely and the loathsome with equal vigour in a series of irresistibly humorous and superbly crafted vignettes. From tortoise smuggling and culinary fads to bad poetry and good poultry, Joe's eclectic range of topics and targets, penned with his trademark shrewd humour, provide a refreshing perspective on the ordinary strangeness of our lives.

320 pages, Paperback

First published April 2, 2002

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Julian "Joe" Bennett (born 20 April 1957) is a writer and columnist living in Lyttelton, New Zealand.

Born in England, he emigrated to New Zealand when he was twenty-nine. Bennett is a columnist for Christchurch's newspaper The Press and the author of several books.

Reviews

[Xanthi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't quite know why, but this writer kinda annoys me - not to the extent that I can't stand to read his books, but just that level of annoyance whereby I just can't quite say 'yeah, I like his stuff'. Some of these pieces were clever, some amusing, and some downright funny or smart. I think my favourite was the one about the postcard. Others just fell flat or his opinion was so opposed to mine, that I just couldn't enjoy it.
Oh, and I hate the book's title. It has very little to do with the content and is trying to make a joke out of suggested bestiality. There are better and funnier ways to grab a potential reader's attention.

[Mickey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this at the used bookshop after noticing blurbs from Dave Barry and Bill Bryson on it. While it WAS amusing in places, it just didn't have quite the appeal I'd hoped for.