Join us on a literary world trip!
Add this book to bookshelf
Grey
Write a new comment Default profile 50px
Grey
Subscribe to read the full book or read the first pages for free!
All characters reduced
Here Comes the Fun - A Journey Into the Serious Business of Having a Laugh - cover

Here Comes the Fun - A Journey Into the Serious Business of Having a Laugh

Ben Aitken

Publisher: Icon Books

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

Summary

'What Aitken writes about fun is worth reading' Mail on Sunday
'Irresistible' Christopher Somerville, author of The January Man and Walking the Bones of Britain
'A great book' Simon Rimmer, Sunday Brunch
'Aitken's writing is always a delight' Madeleine Bunting, author of The Seaside



Are you getting enough? Bestselling travel writer Ben Aitken wasn't.


Increasingly flat and decreasingly zen, Ben gave boredom the boot and stress the cold shoulder by embarking on a whimsical journey into the serious business of having a laugh.


He did a pilgrimage in Spain, a summer camp in Kent, and a cruise of the Baltic with 2,000 grannies. And when he wasn't on the road, he searched for merriment at home: by giving bridge a go, volunteering a chance, and gardening a crack of the whip.


By incorporating the thoughts of key thinkers and boffins, Here Comes the Fun offers a satisfying balance of the playful and the profound, the serious and the silly, the daft and the deep.
Available since: 05/25/2023.
Print length: 320 pages.

Other books that might interest you

  • The Italian Soul - How to Savor the Full Joys of Life - cover

    The Italian Soul - How to Savor...

    Judith Valente

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    The Italian Soul is a pilgrimage of the heart, a journey toward change that will allow its readers to approach life with a more contemplative stance and recreate a sense of la dolce vita—the sweet life—wherever they might be. The Italian Soul offers practical guidance into how we can transport a taste of the Italian “good life” into our own homes. Additionally, it explores the contemplative practices and attitudes that seem to come naturally to a people who have made an art of living and working joyfully. A cross between a travel dispatch and a spirituality guide for seekers who eschew traditional religious practices but are yearning for ways to bring more balance, sanity, and a greater sense of the transcendent into their daily lives. Written by veteran journalist Judith Valente, who has lived and traveled extensively in Italy, The Italian Soul shares personal stories and insights into the Italian way of life, focusing on the attitudes, traditions, and practices that make the people of Italy role models for experiencing delight amid the demands and distractions of ordinary living. Readers will feel as though they are walking along, peering into windows, glimpsing activities as they unfold. The Italian Soul is a book for lovers of Italy, those considering visiting Italy for the first time, and anyone who is interested in learning more about the art of living joyfully. The Italian Soul will share how Italians:Have a deep appreciation for quality and aesthetics Value slowness and savor the little moments in lifeShow a strong sense of community and make room for leisure and personal careHonor their dead and have a deep respect for traditionFind beauty in the everyday and are able to laugh at themselvesThe Italian Soul is a book that will change the way you look at life. It is a book that will inspire you to live more joyfully and to savor the simple things.
    Show book
  • My Half Orange - A Story of Love and Language in Seville - cover

    My Half Orange - A Story of Love...

    John Julius Reel

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    In his late thirties, John Julius Reel left his native New York for Seville, hoping to reinvent himself, find his voice as a writer, and cast off the shadow of his famous father. When his girlfriend dumped him after a month-long visit, the last tie was cut and he had to face his future from his stark, mosquito-infested rented room. 
    Alone in a foreign land, struggling with the language, and longing to find his place and purpose in the world, he began to rebuild his life. 
    What follows is a tender, comical, and illuminating story about what it means to learn to speak and think in a new way, and to spend so much time away from home that the foreign becomes familiar. This heartwarming chronicle filled with Sevillian delicias (soccer, Iberian ham, creative cursing, and one extraordinary woman) reveals how love, language, and culture can transform one’s life forever.
    Show book
  • Aboriginal Australia - A Cultural and Historical Overview - cover

    Aboriginal Australia - A...

    Lillian Brooks

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    Aboriginal Australia represents one of the world’s oldest continuous cultures, with a history that spans over 65,000 years. The Aboriginal peoples of Australia have a deep connection to the land, having lived across the continent for millennia, developing diverse societies, languages, and spiritual beliefs. This rich cultural heritage reflects an extraordinary resilience, as Aboriginal communities have adapted to a wide range of environments, from the arid deserts to lush rainforests. 
    The term "Aboriginal" refers to the diverse Indigenous groups that inhabit Australia, each with their own unique customs, languages, and traditions. There are over 250 distinct language groups, with their own dialects and systems of social organization. These communities have historically been hunter-gatherers, using sophisticated methods of land management, such as controlled fire-stick farming, to ensure the sustainability of their environment. The interconnectedness of land, culture, and spirituality is central to Aboriginal identity, where the landscape itself holds profound cultural significance. The concept of “Country” goes beyond mere geography—it is a living, breathing entity with deep spiritual meaning.
    Show book
  • Get Lost - Seven Principles for Trekking Life with Grace and Other Life Lessons from Kick-Ass Women's Adventure Travel - cover

    Get Lost - Seven Principles for...

    Erin Leider-Pariser

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    For nearly thirty years, Erin Leider-Pariser has designed women's adventure journeys that empower them to push their physical boundaries, bond through ancient rituals, and learn more about themselves than they ever imagined. Get Lost blends the wisdom and personal insights gleaned from these hiking, biking, and climbing trips through some of the world's most breathtaking landscapes with once-in-a-lifetime tales of dramas in the wild. For Leider-Pariser and her travelers, life is never the same after surviving a flash flood on a remote Columbian trail, getting lost in a Cambodian jungle, receiving shamanic healings in Ecuador, beholding the world from a Himalayan peak, and bonding with friends old and new through an ancient talking stick ceremony around the campfire. Through stories and anecdotes, the listener will witness how women's travel is soulful, flipped-out, hysterical fun—an absolute necessity for travel and everyday life. 
     
     
     
    This inspiring volume includes Leider-Pariser's Seven Principles for Trekking Life with Grace, a set of golden rules for navigating toward your best self. Complete with advice for forming your own group travel adventures on any budget, this energizing and at times hilarious book invites women to ignite their adventurous spirit, whether through travels near or far or taking bold new steps toward their dreams.
    Show book
  • Reckless - cover

    Reckless

    Marele Day

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    SHORTLISTED FOR THE NED KELLEY AWARD FOR BEST TRUE CRIME 
     
    A bank robber on the run. A young woman at a crossroad. A true story like you've never read before. 
    Jean Kay, my skipper, fellow adventurer, my friend. My brother. 
     
    Jean Kay, soldier-of-fortune, opportunist, embezzler, hijacker. 
     
    In her youth, amidst the throes of a reckless grief, aspiring Australian writer Marele Day is caught up in a shipwreck adventure and forges an unlikely bond with an international fugitive travelling under a pseudonym. For the next 30 years they correspond before reuniting, both older and wiser, in France. 
     
    Marele is now an accomplished crime writer, and while she knew of her travel companion’s previous reputation as ‘the high-jacker with heart’ and ‘brother to the poor’, she is intrigued to discover his connection to the disappearance of eight million francs and a secret dossier that made global headlines.  
     
    Brilliantly crafted, Reckless tells the story of how Marele uncovers the truth about Jean Kay’s identity and motives by piecing together clues from their letters, her diaries and a stash of newspaper clippings, and how, in the process of telling his story, she ultimately makes peace with the reckless ghosts of her past.
    Show book
  • Exploring Our National Parks; Volume 2 - A literary and photographic album - cover

    Exploring Our National Parks;...

    Michael Finney

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    Exploring the National Parks across the United States is an opportunity that should not be taken for granted. To understand the profound notion of stewardship, in terms of responsibility and accountability, we must know the land as intimately as possible. This album seeks to further nurture the seed planted in Volume 1 of the series. 
    Captured in photographs are views of eight parks around the country with poetry, journaled notes, and essays which catalogue the author’s experiences and thoughts while traveling through them. 
    Included: 
    Cuyahoga Valley 
    Mt. Rainer 
    Olympic 
    North Cascades 
    Yellowstone 
    Mammoth Cave 
    Great Smoky Mountains 
    Acadia
    Show book