Serenity Booksellers are delighted to announce that shop favourite Robin Ince will be joining us in Romiley on Tuesday 24th November for the release of his latest book The Future of Jokes – a witty and thoughtful look at the importance of jokes and humour, and a romp through the comic landscape of the past, present, and possible future.

The talk will be followed by an audience Q&A and booksigning.

Tickets are just £6.00 each -or £10 including a copy of the book – and light refreshments are included in the ticket price.

Event starts at 6:30pm (doors at 6pm)

About the book:

When did laughter become part of our universe? Were we the first planet to have a sense of humour? What was the first joke? Was it made by a chimpanzee or a crow?

These are just a few of the questions erstwhile comedian Robin Ince considers in The Future of Jokes, bringing in elements from science, technology, politics, philosophy and culture to probe just why we need jokes. What can they teach us about ourselves and our future?

Comedy means different things to different people: it can be an act of rebellion, and it can be an act of reinforcing the status quo. It can be expression and it can be repression. Joke-telling is about authenticity and connection Ince argues, and artistic creativity makes us human. We can choose to share love and connection via jokes or spread ugliness and outrage. Which future do we want?

About Robin Ince:

Robin Ince is many things. A multi award winning comedian, author, broadcaster, bibliomaniac and a populariser of scientific ideas. He is perhaps best known as the former co-host and co-creator of the Sony Gold Award winning BBC Radio 4 series The Infinite Monkey Cage with Professor Brian Cox. As a stand up Robin has toured the world and as an author he has written four acclaimed books, including Bibliomaniac, earned him the prestigious Booksellers Association Author of the Year award. His fifth, Normally Weird and Weirdly Normal was published in May 2025. His first poetry collection Ice Cream for a Broken Tooth was published the same year. He co-created the Cosmic Shambles Network and created the groundbreaking science variety night Nine Lessons and Carols for Curious People which has been adapted worldwide. He has received an Honorary Fellowship of UCL, an honorary doctorate from Royal Holloway College (University of London), and is a fellow of the British Science Association.