autobiography

Book Review – No Shame by Tom Allen

books, reviews

Rating: 4 out of 5.

There are a lot of British comedians who I would love to see live. One of them is Tom Allen. I think he’s amazingly funny and I enjoy seeing him appear on various TV shows. It also makes me feel slightly better about living at home that he’s only just moved into his own house! When this came up on Audible, I knew that I had to get it. Then I stumbled across a hardback copy in a charity shop and it seemed like something or someone was telling me to read it. I was meant to be reviewing my current read today but, thanks to my inability to read much, I knew I wasn’t going to manage it. I decided it was a good time to listen to the audiobook while I was working.

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Book Review – The Unfortunates by B. S. Johnson

books, reviews

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

You know me, I’m never one to miss out on a gimmick. I’d wanted to read The Unfortunates from the moment I knew it existed. It just sounded so interesting. So, I got myself a copy and decided it was the perfect thing to read for this month’s Spell the Month challenge. I mean, I had to do something to help me with August’s double U nonsense. It gave me a good excuse to read it and was a short read. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to spend much time last weekend reading it and it’s not the kind of book that I wanted to transport. So, it took longer to read than I expected. Thankfully, I finished it just in time for this review.

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Book Review – I Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie O’Farrell

books, reviews

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

My monthly reading challenges to Spell the Month in book titles has been a great way to approach my reading. However, it isn’t always easy coming up with titles for each of the letters. Especially as I’m trying to avoid buying too many books. I’ve already bought way more than I should have done. At the start of this month, I figured that April would be an easy task but I hadn’t thought about “i”. When it came down to it, I couldn’t think of an obvious choice for this letter that I already had a copy of. I don’t even know if I still have my childhood copy of I Capture the Castle. So, I decided to get myself a copy of this book because I’ve been wanting to read it for so long. The only problem was that I wasn’t a fan of the paperback cover that I found. So, I spent far too long trying to find a cheap copy of the cover I actually wanted. It’s beautiful, obviously, but I do hate how much of an issue I make things like this.

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Book Review – Yes Please by Amy Poehler

books, reviews

Rating: 3 out of 5.

I’ve had this on my shelf for a really long time. I’d say it’s been about 5 years but I can’t actually remember when I bought it. When I got it, I had every intention of reading it quite quickly because I liked Amy Poehler. Spoiler alert, I didn’t. I think it’s because I struggle with non-fiction so much. I’m especially sceptical of memoir style books. They can be so hit and miss. Something that the writers believes is a hilarious anecdote might actually just be an in-joke that most readers won’t appreciate. So, this could very easily have remained unopened on my shelf for the rest of time. Well, until I decided to take part in my own version of the Spell the Month in Book Titles challenge. When I tailored my January TBR to spell out the name of the month, I knew that I’d need a book starting with “Y”. Looks like the time had finally come.

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Book Review – Ramble Book by Adam Buxton

books, reviews

wp-15899260084674539161241120264418.jpg5_star_rating_system_5_stars I’m an avid listener of Adam Buxton’s podcast and I have been eagerly awaiting the release of his new book. He’s been banging on about how hard it’s been to write for ages, so I was worried that we’d have another George RR Martin on our hands. But he did it. The book was finished and it started appearing on book sites. Obviously, I’ve preordered a signed hardback of the book for when it’s released in August but, thankfully, Adam Buxton is a really nice man.  He decided to produce the audiobook version himself so we all had something to listen to in quarantine. I used my Audible credit to preorder the audiobook and waited for its release. It took me a while to get through it because I started it on a bit of a whim. I couldn’t sleep one night and decided the only thing that would calm me down was listening to something. Then I had to finish the other books that I was reading before I carried on. But I got there eventually and, thanks to a bit of desperate listening this week, I finished it in time to review.

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Book Review – My Last Supper by Jay Rayner

books, reviews

wp-15867278871832180996517280124186.jpg5_star_rating_system_4_stars1

What would you pick as your last meal on Earth? It’s a difficult question. You might think you’d want to treat yourself to the fanciest or most expensive meal you could. However, it’s more than likely that people would pick something nostalgic or comforting. The kind of stodgy meals that take you back to your childhood and make you feel good about the world. Or maybe you’d just go wild and pick the least healthy meal you can think of. After all, it doesn’t really matter anymore, does it? What would I pick? Something carby and cheesy no doubt. Possibly that thing where you melt a wheel of cheese; add bacon, garlic, and whatever else; and then dunk a load of pasta into it. All served with a fresh salad and super garlicky garlic bread. I’d feel like shit afterwards but, as I’ve already said, it doesn’t really matter that much.

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