Excerpt:

Simon hates nothing more than boring, everyday chores - and to avoid them builds amazing machines which sometimes cause unexpected problems.

"Simon," said his mother, "I really think you must be the laziest boy in the world."

She stepped over a Shoe Lace Tyer, squeezed between the Clothes Folder and the Bed Maker, and put her hand on something that turned out to be a pulley. The curtains flew open, and Simon opened one eye.

He looked up at the ropes hanging neatly from his ceiling, and yanked the fifth one hard. A giant pair of hooked tongs rolled across the room to the bookshelf and closed on the biggest book there.

Simon wound it back to his bed. It was "The Guinness Book of Records." He opened it, opened both eyes, and skimmed through the index.

"It doesn't have laziness," he said. "But you're probably right."