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231 reviews for:
Between the Stops: The View of My Life from the Top of the Number 12 Bus
Sandi Toksvig
4.32 AVERAGE
231 reviews for:
Between the Stops: The View of My Life from the Top of the Number 12 Bus
Sandi Toksvig
4.32 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
I loved this charming wander through the streets of London full of history, feminism and Sandi's life and career. I always thought because of her Danish heritage that she hadn't spent as much time in the UK as she had. I now know she spent some years in the US before schooling in England at the age of 14 and her mum is English. So our national treasure just as much as Denmarks'.
It's a fascinating read. The history around the streets where the bus stops is an inspired idea and lots to learn. Like Sandi I was disappointed to learn that most of the history revolves around rich, white men but there are some good stories about female achievement there too. Some of the places I'm familiar with through my own wanderings and some new to me. I am very tempted to try the bus journey to see what I imagined but that feels a bit stalkery as she uses it all the time so maybe not. I do keep saying I want to explore the bus routes in my own city more so thinking of it in a historical context is quite inspiring.
There are lots of stories of other comedians and writers and I don't know why I'm surprised by who and how many people she knows - the woman has had a 40 year career but I think it's because (and nothing wrong) she prefers to work and then keep her life to herself. I was saddened to read the homophobic side of her journey, the Daily Mail trying to 'out' her early on and horrid treatment from her university college and I'd like to say the world has moved on from that but I had to report transphobic comments on a shopping site today so sadly it hasn't moved on enough.
One thing that made me chuckle was the way the book is written. If you've ever seen Sandi in any TV you know her accents, how she talks and the book has that same style. You can almost hear the audio book as you read.
I loved it, I learnt a lot about many topics and I would recommend to everyone.
It's a fascinating read. The history around the streets where the bus stops is an inspired idea and lots to learn. Like Sandi I was disappointed to learn that most of the history revolves around rich, white men but there are some good stories about female achievement there too. Some of the places I'm familiar with through my own wanderings and some new to me. I am very tempted to try the bus journey to see what I imagined but that feels a bit stalkery as she uses it all the time so maybe not. I do keep saying I want to explore the bus routes in my own city more so thinking of it in a historical context is quite inspiring.
There are lots of stories of other comedians and writers and I don't know why I'm surprised by who and how many people she knows - the woman has had a 40 year career but I think it's because (and nothing wrong) she prefers to work and then keep her life to herself. I was saddened to read the homophobic side of her journey, the Daily Mail trying to 'out' her early on and horrid treatment from her university college and I'd like to say the world has moved on from that but I had to report transphobic comments on a shopping site today so sadly it hasn't moved on enough.
One thing that made me chuckle was the way the book is written. If you've ever seen Sandi in any TV you know her accents, how she talks and the book has that same style. You can almost hear the audio book as you read.
I loved it, I learnt a lot about many topics and I would recommend to everyone.
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
I absolutely loved this laugh-out loud memoir, filled with fun facts, poignant stories, and witty comments. I hope one day I get to sit next to Sandi on a bus.
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
A wonderful combination of the history of the number 12 bus route in London, Toksvig's own history, and the delightful microcosm of this particular bus ride, filled with strange tableaux in which she chooses to immerse herself.
Despite some apparently tenuous segues, Sandi's stories never feel shoehorned in thanks to her irreverent and offhand writing style. She has an anecdote from her bus journey that leads us delightfully into a story about her life, which in turn links up with some obscure history of the next stop on the bus route. It's just masterfully done and as a result is never boring.
The overriding theme of this journey is how few women you can find memorialised in London's streets, and Toksvig is the ideal person to discuss feminism and the place of women in London's (and her own) history. It's fascinating, sweet and funny; I already wish I had the audiobook to hear Toksvig narrating it herself.
Despite some apparently tenuous segues, Sandi's stories never feel shoehorned in thanks to her irreverent and offhand writing style. She has an anecdote from her bus journey that leads us delightfully into a story about her life, which in turn links up with some obscure history of the next stop on the bus route. It's just masterfully done and as a result is never boring.
The overriding theme of this journey is how few women you can find memorialised in London's streets, and Toksvig is the ideal person to discuss feminism and the place of women in London's (and her own) history. It's fascinating, sweet and funny; I already wish I had the audiobook to hear Toksvig narrating it herself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
This is like a drive through London with you favourite aunt while she's talking about her own history and Londons history in between. Sandi is incredibly well read and willingly opens up about triumphs and heartbreak. This is brilliant and my only sorrow is that she doesn't need 200 more stops to the BBC.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
I really enjoyed listening to this, I love Sandi so it was nice to hear about her life. It took me a while to get into the format as I felt it jumped around quite a lot, but then I realised that is how I think and talk😂
I felt that there was quite a maudlin/sad tone to most of it, and I get why because she’s been through a lot but she just seemed so defeated and tired sometimes it made me quite sad:(
That being said, some of it was very funny and if anything I wish it would have been longer. I loved that she not only included stories from her own life that linked to the stops but also included the history of the area too. I thought it was quite interesting that some of it was written in present tense.
I felt that there was quite a maudlin/sad tone to most of it, and I get why because she’s been through a lot but she just seemed so defeated and tired sometimes it made me quite sad:(
That being said, some of it was very funny and if anything I wish it would have been longer. I loved that she not only included stories from her own life that linked to the stops but also included the history of the area too. I thought it was quite interesting that some of it was written in present tense.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism