Beware, all those who take themselves too seriously or are allergic to laugh-out-loud humour. Take heart, all those who are reassured and gladdened by exquisitely turned prose and well-aimed wit. Joe Bennett is back with a fourth collection of columns which, like its three bestselling predecessors, Just Walking the Dogs, Sleeping Dogs and Other Lies and So Help Me Dog, ranges wide in its subject matter and never fails to appreciate that life can be both joyously good and alarmingly absurd. Personalities as diverse as Tiger Woods, the Pope and Fidel Castro make an appearance, as do counsellors, children and chickens.

Twice voted columnist of the year, Bennett also appears regularly on National Radio and irregularly on the small screen. He lives with his two dogs on the shady side of Lyttelton.