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leisurelyreading's review
3.0
See my other review for [b:Out of the Ordinary: True Tales of Everyday Craziness|833971|Out of the Ordinary True Tales of Everyday Craziness|Jon Ronson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356454845l/833971._SX50_.jpg|819596]. I feel almost identical about these two books, I can't differentiate them in my head.
msand3's review
3.0
This is my least favorite Ronson book. The collection of Guardian essays in the first section shows Ronson at his most snide and petty. It feels a bit like an act, and doesn’t have the underlying heart and honesty of his pieces from Out of the Ordinary. The second half of the book contains much better long articles, all of which were reprinted in the collection Lost at Sea. I would recommend those two books before reading this one.
jamescridland's review
3.0
It's okay.
It's a collection of stuff from The Guardian, basically - like other of Ronson's books, though this one is less connected.
Ronson's rather embarrassing personal revelations make up half the book (made more embarrassing by the fact that I identified with almost all his 'odd' behaviour). The second half of the book consists of a few longer-form articles, culled from the pages of Guardian magazines.
One piece, about credit card hucksters, makes Ronson appear like a consumer affairs jounalist. Another, following two "we can change your life" ex-hypnotists, is more of his classic, slightly cynical, Louis Theroux-a-like writing.
It's good stuff, partly, though parts are less good. I'm not, however, sure that it all holds together as one book; and, while reading it, I did have a nagging feeling that I could have read all this stuff for free on the web anyway...
It's a collection of stuff from The Guardian, basically - like other of Ronson's books, though this one is less connected.
Ronson's rather embarrassing personal revelations make up half the book (made more embarrassing by the fact that I identified with almost all his 'odd' behaviour). The second half of the book consists of a few longer-form articles, culled from the pages of Guardian magazines.
One piece, about credit card hucksters, makes Ronson appear like a consumer affairs jounalist. Another, following two "we can change your life" ex-hypnotists, is more of his classic, slightly cynical, Louis Theroux-a-like writing.
It's good stuff, partly, though parts are less good. I'm not, however, sure that it all holds together as one book; and, while reading it, I did have a nagging feeling that I could have read all this stuff for free on the web anyway...
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