Started reading

[Barblue]

After the David Sedaris book, I wondered whether I would have a similar problem with Rich Hall and not find it really funny.  No such thing.  Here is a collection of short essays on everyday life looked at from a sardonic point of view that is extremely funny. 

 

Only a few chapters in (they are quite short chapters) and already I have had to put the book down because I laughed so much I was crying and could not see the pages in front of me.  Particularly funny is the chapter Waltzing the Ladder.  Maybe it's my sense of humour but to me it was absolutely hilarious. 

 

I'm really enjoying this book.  Mind you, I do have Rich Hall's voice in my head because he is on UK television quite a bit and his sense of humour has always appealed to me.

[grasshopper]

Rich Hall was unknown to me until this Things Snowball Group Read was chosen. Thank you to all who proposed and seconded this book. So far I am thoroughly enjoying his humour and, like Barblue, enjoyed the the Ladder Waltz very much. Just a few short paragraphs are all that's needed and you are left laughing out loud. Then on to a short chat about Aberdeen and again I couldn't stop chortling. I am quite familiar with central Aberdeen, particularly in the winter, and join wholeheartedly in his appreciation of the delights of the Granite City. Looking forward to more but trying to ration the fun.

[Ragamuffin Gunner]

I have had Things Snowball for several years now, being a long-time fan of Rich Hall and his sardonic style.  I loved it when I first bought it and I constantly pick it up and read random chapters, all of which, like BB, I can hear in Rich Hall's drawl.

 

The chapters are short and quite left-field, it probably wouldn't appeal to everyone's sense of humour; Rich goes off on little flights of fancy which take you all over the place.

 

I always love going back to my favourite chapter, "We Are Not The Kennedys", about his family, and in particular a recollection of an evening at the drive-in movie.  Always has me laughing out loud, and a cracking final line "to call my family white trash is an insult to polystyrene".

 

Portrait Of A Head Distressed is another favourite, describing his experiences in the haircut department.

 

This collection has always been a real treat to me, nice to see that other members are discovering and enjoying it too.

[Barblue]

Loved this book.  As you say RG, it is one of those books that you can dip into from time to time and you just know it will put a smile on your face.  Each story is so different from the one before that you can never get bored or bogged down in one train of thought for long.  Rich Hall has a wonderful command of vocabulary and some priceless phrases just jump off the page when reading.  Many thanks to whoever to suggested this read. A real gem.

[Clavain]

Enjoyed

Edited June 21, 2015 by Clavain