Funny and insightful
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Really enjoyed this book - very funny, rambling writing on a range of topics. Manages to be lighthearted and very entertaining, with some moments that are surprisingly poignant. Really hope this book isn't overlooked due to recent "scandal" as it's a great read.
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FUNNY FUNNY FUNNY
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i had this for my birthday and loved it. i fell about laughing from the very start. as ross admits its not his life story and i think its better for it. its a collection of short stories that are funny, its like having him around for lunch without having to feed him. i was surpised at how well it reads, as it doesnt really have a flow to stick to, just themed chapters. but i havent laughed so much in years at a book. if you want something to chuckle over this is the one. i nearly wet when i read the crying at adverts and movies chapter, simply brilliant. forget the foolishness in the press and lets get back to what ross is about, lifes too short.
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that's a good question
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why DO you say those things?
Because they are funny, that's why. Mail & Sun readers shoul dhang their heads in shame
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A very good read.
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I bought this book before the recent drama surrounding the Russell Brand radio show. It is a compelling account of a career full of ups and downs by a man who divides opinions which his acerbic whimsy.
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Disappointing
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Somewhere in the preamble to this book Jonathan Ross refers to having recorded his thoughts on tape for transcription by his editors. This makes sense because the whole book reads like a series of disconnected whimsical rambles of the kind he frequently indulges in on his Radio 2 show. Whereas these come across as warm and spontaneous on the radio, in print they just seem lazy and poorly edited (and there are no records to break it up and provide a change in pace).
There is no story here to speak of, no real insights, no names named... just a lot of anecdotes largely concerning what it is like to be famous and rich with a few children and lots of pets - with a few anecdotes about what it was like to grow up a geeky kid in a large, working class household - running for buses and being shy with girls - thrown in for good measure. A few of them are funny, and I laughed out loud once or twice, but those few moments don't justify the padding around them.
I bought this book because for some reason I have some warmth and affection for Jonathan Ross. It has achieved the remarkable feat of making him LESS likeable, to me anyway - he comes across as a man whose extraordinary good fortune, and actual fortune, have disconnected him from the real world.
Apart from anything else such a lazy and self-indulgent ramble is a bit of an insult to the readers, an attempt to grab a bit more money in the runup to christmas by a man who has little need of it. Perhaps JR is a bit too used to being able to rely on spontaneous charm to substitute for actual effort. It might work in a spontaneous medium like radio or TV but not in a book.
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