Excellently curated collection of obituaries, perfect little vignettes that capture the subjects, with flaws but also why we remember them. Moving and hilarious in turns, I can't recommend this enough, and it's lovely enough to keep dipping into repeatedly.

A must for anyone who can’t stop themselves reading obituaries. Lots of different people from many walks of life and every one of them a quirky character. Someone it would have been nice to know. A great book to either read all in one sitting or just to dip into as and when you feel like it. Enjoyable isn’t really the right word but it was very enthralling and a great gift for anyone who likes something a bit out of the ordinary!

This book is a fascinating - humour out and touching at once. It’s a perfect release for this season as it’s the perfect gift for Xmas, the perfect gift for someone whom you might struggle to buy for. No corner of society is left untouched, and the book covers politicians to criminals (maybe the same end of the spectrum actually) actresses and activists. I loved this book from start to finish and it’s the type you could have by the bedside to read over and over again.

What a delightful collection of obituaries celebrating the lives of some really fascinating people.

Now I know it probably seems macabre reading obituaries but the collection found in The Times Lives Less Ordinary are absolutely brilliant. They really do look at the achievements and the curiosities of some creative characters throughout recent history.

This is a chunkter of a book though and I would class it more as a palette cleanser. Read it sparingly and in between other reads but it is a jolly good book.

The Times Lives Less Ordinary by Nigel Farndale is available now.

For more information regarding Nigel Farndale (@nigelfarndale) please visit www.nigelfarndale.com.

This was a good read, the Times obituaries of several notable people and a good mix too. Whilst I hadn’t heard of some (most) of them, I did enjoy reading about these eccentric characters. My favourite was Diana Athill but then I’m hugely biased as I loved her books. The more colourful people such as the Earl of St Germans and Jordan made for great reading but I appreciated learning about people who had made large impacts on Society today that I may not have ever heard about otherwise. #ARC #netgalley

What a great book. I dipped in and out over several days and totally loved it. A very different book and a great read

Thank you for the ARC

This would be a perfect gift as something for a coffee table.
I read this over a few evenings in bed and I just loved it. Fantastic collection and so well put together.

I loved this book! A collection of highly readable and interesting obituaries - ideal for dipping into or as a late-night read before bed.

I hadn't heard of all the people featured in this collection, but still found it a fascinating read.

Highly recommended - not in the least morbid, and with some very witty writing.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC. All opinions my own.

An entertaining collection of obituaries of a wide-ranging selection of interesting and extraordinary people, Good to have this collection to remind us that we don't all have to fit the mould.

My thanks to NetGalley and Times Books for a Copy of “ The Times Lives Less Ordinary “ for an honest review.

I really enjoyed reading this book, I found it very entertaining and interesting.
I particularly like reading biographies of people , and this gave you condensed information on the lives of many known, and some to me unknown , less ordinary characters.
I read the Kindle edition but I would imagine this would make a good “ coffee table “ style book , to dip in and out of .
Highly recommended

Wonderful stuff. A perfect bedtime book containing a series of beautifully researched and written monographs and obituaries of mainly the mad, sad and bad from the pages of The Times.

Hours of entertainment and elucidation as the well remembered and the more obscure emerge from the mists of time.

Not to be missed.

This is a really pretty coffeetable book, one to page through when you have five minutes of time and want to read about an extraordinary life. Perhaps even a good toilet book.

In four words, ‘I loved this book!’
As a former history student at university, I’ve always loved learning about the lives of well-known, less well-known and obscure people’s lives, all are equally interesting. From Zsa Zsa Gabor’s nine marriages (who knew her daughter was a family member of the Hilton dynasty), to Edda Tasiemka’s archive of cuttings at her London home divided into categories only she would have known looking at the pile of newspapers stacked around her home, to the police call to the Marquess of Bath’s stately home for an argument among ‘wifelets’ - all of the people in this book lived an extraordinary and unique life. I devoured this book, one obituary at a time in night in bed, and only wish there were more within these pages!

The one time I usually get to find out about a person is in their obituary. This collection of obituaries are taken from the times newspaper. Initially I looked at the list and only recognised a few names. However, upon reading I realised I did know more than I thought.
A collect of their life stories. Told often in a humourous way but with dignity. Wow. These people knew how to live. Interesting quotes and stories.
It makes me realise that we all need to live for the day. What would my obituary say about me.
Certainly not a morbid book. Just a way of celebrating lives.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to see an ARC

Does exactly what it says on the tin. Full of interesting and informative obituaries. You can open the book at any person and be intrigued and engrossed by the facts of their life.
A book that you can pick up and put down and come back to reading it at a later date.
I followed up on some of the people featured but I was always entertained and learnt something new.

It'a a fascinating book, you read it and think "curiouser and curiouser" as there's a common trait of eccentricity and originality in all the characters that are in this book.
A fascinating read, highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Diverse, engrossing and utterly fascinating pen portraits of some very colourful characters recently departed from the British consciousness