Month: October 2022

GRUMBRIDGE AND RAISON COUCH SURF INTO THE CHRISTMAS GIFT LIST, WITH THEIR HILARIOUS SHIRKERS GUIDE

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When we were all young, or maybe even more recently than that, either your parent or even your boss, may have said in a fit of frustration, something like “Are you going to lie there all day???”; or a similar put down in response to a perceived lack of motivation on your part. Then, in 2019 everything changed. The whole world had to take a proverbial chunk of downtime thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, and as a result people’s view on the rat race and where they were in it, also changed. Instead of running to catch a bus or train and working all the hours in the day to meet a deadline or please the boss, we all reassessed. Many, like me, didn’t return to the office, we enjoyed the new relaxed routine of working from home, and some of us took it all the way to the point of retiring. Some followed their dreams and took on jobs, that gave them more pleasure than financial reward. This month’s second book review is a handy self-help guide for those of you who haven’t quite got the hang of doing nothing and getting on in life. Its “Shirk, Rest and Play – The Ultimate Slackers Bible” by Andrew Grumbridge and Vincent Raison and published Unbound ( www.unbound.com ) in September.

Shirk, Rest and Play, is a comprehensive illustrated handbook for wannabe dropouts, dreamers, drifters and gadabouts. The authors along with their menagerie of wastrel acquaintances, set out to offer the reader the answer to finding the beauty in the ordinary, along with lessons in tactical slacking and detailed advice on how to achieve more by doing less.

That’s it in a nutshell, my work here is done…

No, seriously, the best way to describe this book is, if you are old enough to remember the BBC tv program The Young Ones, then this is the modern version of it. The likes of Vyvyan, Neill , Rick and Mike. Being replaced by “The Dulwich Raider” (Andrew Grumbridge), “Spider”, “Roxy” and “Dirty South” (Vincent Raison), whom like their predecessors will guide you on the best way to follow the path of least resistance and the one less travelled, from birth to death, preferably with a sleeping bag or from the couch.

The Young Ones (British Comedy Guide)

This isn’t a cover to cover read. But like most self-help books, it’s a swimming pool, there to be dipped into. I found it hilarious and a fantastic way to imagine, what life would be like if you could just say ‘Fuck it’ and do nothing. It’s also great to step away from the stresses of everyday life and have a good laugh. Especially with the shortening of the days and the onset of SAD.

The book is a great release and spirit raiser, some of the suggestions inside may even be useful. Above all its an enjoyable read from the publishing house that allows books that are a little outside the box, and that other more mainstream publishers would shy away from, to see the light of day thanks to crowd funding.

Vincent Raison and Andrew Grumbridge

This is English authors Andrew Grumbridge and Vincent Raison’s second book, their first was Today South London, Tomorrow South London (2018). The al-travel book came about because of the success of a lifestyle blog called The Deserter which the authors founded in 2014 ( www.deserter.co.uk ), to pass on their learnings so that future generations could avoid the evils of hard work, ambition and sobriety. They have also gone onto create a deserter podcast too. In the spare time they are a musician and poet, who both live in South London.

With the “C” word just around the corner, and the advertising assault set to be ramped up from Tuesday, this delightful book is an excellent idea for the office or family Chris kindle. An ideal gift for that person, who you have absolutely no idea what to buy. If they don’t get a chuckle out of this, then they are a lost cause.

Reviewed by Adrian Murphy

This book review is part of a Random Things Blog Tour. To see what the other reviewers thought of it, visit their blogs listed below. Then, if you get a copy or someone gives you one for an upcoming birthday or Crimbo present. Comeback and tell us what you thought, we’d really appreciate the feedback.

MORRISSEY’S SECOND BOOK, SETS ITS SIGHTS ON REACHER, BOURNE, ETAL

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My better half, Adrian, is a big fan of the Jack Reacher novels and introduced me to them with a signed copy of the first book of the long series when we first met. Whilst we enjoyed the Tom Cruise movies of the novels, Cruise was not what we had in mind when reading descriptions of the hero. The recent series on Prime featured a much more believable lead in the form of the supersized Alan Ritchson and is soon to return in a second season.

This month’s  first  book review, The Atenisti by Aidan K Morrissey and published by The Conrad Press ( http://www.theconradpress.com ) in August, reminded me in style and content of those Jack Reacher stories, in that the lead is a multiskilled and dangerous man, who moves from place to place with few attachments. Travelling under numerous aliases,. Ricci, a member of a secret organisation, finishes a mission in London. Apparently followed, he escapes to Italy. Seeking to avenge the kidnap, rape and murder of a young girl, he is plunged into battle against a worldwide paedophile ring of extraordinary extent and power. This battle leads Ricci from Italy, Through Germany, to India and beyond. Can he take on the might of this criminal network which seems determined to eliminate him?

Whilst Reacher would inadvertently stumble upon a crime wherever he happened to be, giving you the feeling several novels into the series that you should always be somewhere else, rather like seeing Bruce Willis in a white vest at any location, here the main character is sent on missions to eliminate wrongdoers rather than bringing them to justice. He has been trained as an assassin. This form of sentence without trial may not sit easy with readers, so the crimes are so horrendous that the reader feels there is justification. This results in stomach churning descriptions and veiled references to worse.

Aidan K. Morrissey

This is English author Aidan K. Morrissey’s ( http://www.aidankmorrissey-author.com } second book, his first was The Awakening Aten ( 2019). Prior to becoming a full time author he was a lawyer, and lived and worked all over the world, his time in Italy, Germany and India, all of which feature in this book, has given him a deep insight into their culture and everyday way of life. Morrissey was inspired to write ‘The Atenisti’ after
reading daily newspaper accounts of horrific attacks on young Indian women and children. An enthusiastic amateur Egyptologist, avid reader and writer, Aidan now lives in Northumberland.

This book was a exciting page turner and will appeal to thriller readers and spy novel fans alike. The author is well travelled and this is shown in the descriptions of both journeys and locations. My only niggle was the rather heavy-handed avoidance of product placement at the start of the book, for example’ my locally manufactured touring motorbike, named after an American west – coast State’.

The  cast of characters and the ending hint at future adventures for Ricci and I would be keen to read more. I also anticipate a Netflix or Prime series as the content, violence and stunning scenery would appeal to adult viewers.

Overall, a recommendation from this reader, but not for the faint-hearted.

Reviewed by: Georgina Murphy

This review is part of a Random Things Blog Tour, to see what the other reviewers thought, visit their sites listed below. Then, if you get a copy, comeback and tell us what you thought. We’d really appreciate the feedback.