Shabby - Emlyn Rees

From the creators of the bestselling parodies We're Going on a Bar Hunt, The Very Hungover Caterpillar and The Teenager Who Came to Tea.

Shabby - because there is no word for Hygge in English.

We all know Shabby when we see it. It's that welcoming pair of pants drying on the radiator. That half-mouldy, but perfectly gin-and-tonic-worthy lemon on display in the fruit bowl. That tin of plum tomatoes in the cupboard with a sell-by date of 1983. It's never dusting higher than your tallest friend's line of sight.

But Shabby is more than just an attitude; it's a quintessentially British way of life, tried and tested for generations, and founded on the Four Central Pillars of Shabbism, Messiness, Dilapidation, Clutter and Bodged Works.

Being Shabby is about spending less time fussing and clearing up and getting stressed out about stuff that doesn't really matter anyway. And more time hanging out with your family and friends. It's a celebration of a life that is neither tidy nor empty, but rather one that is splendidly cluttered and full.

Shabby - because life's just too bloody short to waste time striving for perfection, or caring too much about what other people think about you and yours. Instead of worrying about what could be, it's time to start celebrating what actually is.

Praise for The Very Hungover Caterpillar

'Hilarious and painfully accurate, The Very Hungover Caterpillar is liable to be one of those parodies that becomes more famous than the original' Independent

Praise for We're Going on a Bar Hunt

'. . . a parody that will draw a smile from any parent' Guardian

Praise for The Teenager Who Came to Tea

'A hilarious parody of a much-loved children's book and a perfect read for anyone who remembers the original, or has ever been a teenager or is the parent / grandparent of a teenager today' gransnet.com

EMLYN REES spent his early twenties traveling around Asia and mixing cocktails in London for the likes of Sylvester Stallone and Princess Anne. He published his first crime novel aged twenty-five, his second a year later, and then co-wrote seven comedies with Josie Lloyd, including the Sunday Times bestseller Come Together. He is the editor of British and American paperback crime fiction imprint, Exhibit A, and lives on and around Brighton beach with Joanna Rees, aka Josie Lloyd.