Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this e-arc!

Clare Pooleu does it again. I fell in love with these characters. I hope I’m half as cool as Daphne when I’m 70, she was the backbone of everything in the story. It was empowering to read.

The narrative story flowed so well and it was good to follow such different character, it was such a delight to read. Everything about it made me for such easy reading and I wanted to know what was happening with the different characters. They were all really interesting.

I’m so glad Lydia got what she deserved in the end, they all did. The story played out well and I would definitely recommend it go all readers, I felt all the emotions whilst reading!

A solid 4.5 stars!!

Sometimes, all we need in life is a purpose, especially for the elderly. Many of them feel invisible and unappreciated, and sometimes small gestures can make a big difference.

But we also need to make an effort to change how people see us. If we just sit at home and mope, we'll stay invisible.

As the saying goes, "You miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take."

And there's another saying that fits this group of characters who meet at the Mandel community centre: "The invisibility of ageing is the best disguise."

From a feisty 70-year-old on the run from her past to a lonely washed-up actor with a sad story, and let's not forget the talented Yarnsy who can knit anything for any situation.
The common thread that unites them is the impending closure of the community centre. Their efforts to preserve it provide them with a sense of purpose, not only in terms of saving the centre itself but also in terms of supporting and assisting one another.

This story will make you laugh and cry.

I loved all the characters. None of them were perfect; they all had their flaws, but isn't perfection born out of imperfection?

And let's not forget: "Where's the fun in ageing gracefully?"

A great author and another good book. Lots of different characters of different ages bring the story together. Clever writing with a witty slant makes it a fun read. Everyone is a star!

What a breath of fresh air! I howled my way through this book. It is just so funny. From the first page I was hooked!

It has an exciting start with a whodunnit feel? But that is not what this book is about. This is human nature at its very worst - and best! The characters are well drawn out and develop beautifully across the course of this story; they could have felt stereotyped or even caricatured, but Pooley manages their development masterfully and I am unable to choose a single one as my favourite.

I would definitely want a Daphne in my corner - though I did not think I would have said that when I started to read. She seems like spiteful old busybody, but she has guts and heart. Ziggy and Kylie are brilliant - what a cute pairing and unusual situation...and then there are the rest, all of whom I could picture perfectly!

A brilliant fun summer read. Do not miss this comic tale with a punch.

Absolutely brilliant.

This is my third book by this author and it was just as good as the previous two novels. I was a little concerned that a group of people trying to save a club was going to be a little pedestrian to say the least. But with the cast of diverse characters in age and background, who all had such interesting storylines and a point of view in the story, it was amazing.

Witty writing and great one liners made this a joy to read. There were some hard hitting parts too but they were cushioned with the funny parts. Even when someone died it had a funny side. It kept me gripped until the end.

I'll admit I had the wrong idea about Daphne from the beginning. As the book progressed I started to realise she was definitely hiding her light and for disturbing reasons. When I grow up I want to be Daphne and get a walking stick and channel her. You need to read the book to find out why. She really was the star of the book closely followed by Ziggy and really everyone else!

Clare Pooley never disappoints! This book had a bit of everything, humour, emotional and heartwarming all at the same time. Great characters within a brilliant storyline. This is another one not to be missed.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

I absolutely delighted in reading this book and devoured it in two days. This is a story that challenges a lot of stereotypes around people in different groups - the elderly but also those in poverty, those with trauma and much more. This is a story with a sense of humour I enjoyed so much I kept sending photos of pages that made me laugh out loud to my partner. The story primarily revolves around Daphne who decides at 70 it is time she finally has a life and gets some friends but it is so much more than that. This is found family in some of the truest forms. I cannot wait to reread when I need a laugh.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

I don’t know what to say to do this book justice. I really enjoyed it. I think we all need to be abit Daphne. A few sad parts mixed into this heartwarming funny story. Pooley has a great writing style. I’m not a very quick reader and I finished it in less than a week.

Highly recommend. Definitely one of my favourite reads from the last 13 months. If you like Richard Osman books you’ll love love love this tale.

Well if I had of realised that this book was by the same autor of The Authenticity Project and The People on Platform 5 then I would have known I was going to love it. As it was it took me a few chapters before I fully got into this one and realised what a cracking bunch of characters Clare Pooley has once again conjured up. I love how she gives older characters the spotlight and their backstories are always weaved into the story so cleverly. Given that their are mentions of criminal pasts, child deaths, un happy marriages and drug running along with many other varied stories, its suprising just how funny this story is. As with all Clare Pooley books I give this 5 stars!

A fun, playful and sassy comment on ageing with an enjoyable diverse cast of stereotype-smashing seniors and the community members that they interact with, support and - in some cases - stick a middle finger up to. This light, highly readable page-turner is a perfect holiday read - paced to perfection, touching on important themes but deftly and with charm, and a lively, rollicking plot that pulls you barrelling along. Lots of fun. Many thanks to Netgalley & the publishers for the opportunity to read.

How to Age Disgracefully had me laughing from the very first chapter. So many older people describe themselves as invisible. They won’t be invisible if they act like the characters in this book. Daphne, Art, William and the rest of the bunch who join the new senior citizens’ social club are determined to go out in a blaze of glory. When the council threaten to close the Mandel Community Centre because the building is in need of expensive repairs, the new group joins forces with the day nursery that also uses the building. In a bid to save the Community Centre the group will stop at nothing to reach their goal and mayhem results but will they succeed?
There are so many brilliant characters in this book, from the youngest to the eldest and I loved every minute spent reading it. It’s a real tonic and the first book I have read by this author. I can’t recommend it highly enough. 5 stars from me.
Thanks to Netgalley and the author for an advanced reading copy in return for an honest review.

Hammersmith’s Mandel Centre & it’s visitors ✨

🍰At 54, Lydia’s daughters have left home and her husband is focused elsewhere. When she starts her new job as the facilitator for a seniors group at the local community centre, she isn’t expecting it to change her whole life.

📸Pensioners Art, a former actor, his childhood best friend and ex-paparazzi William, Daphne with an intrepid past, former truck driver Anna and clandestine knitter Ruby start teaming up with the group in day care next door. Kylie’s the 8 month old daughter of teen dad Ziggy, Lucky is the foster child who doesn’t speak.

🐶The centre is under threat and as a result each one of the characters, with their own unique background, starts to share their feelings and fears with each other. Soon the oddballs have have used their age and life experiences to benefit the community and right some wrongs.

📚I loved reading The People on Platform 5, and was thrilled to be offered a chance to read Clare Pooley’s latest by her publisher. There is just someone so distinctive above this genre of British writer. I loved the feisty characters in this world that’s been created, how they take care of each other, despite their own struggles. It’s another great read! ❤️

Read an eARC copy courtesy of Netgalley and the publisher
My rating 4.5/5 - ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 💫
Pub date 20 Jun 2024

The author says in their note that they "loved the idea of older people who refused to age gracefully or to play by the rules". That's exactly what this was - the prologue is a minibus full of pensioners being pulled over by the police and all confessing to various misdemeanors whilst the 'wanted' OAP leaps over the central reservation "quite athletically for their age". As one of them says: "by the time you reach your eighth decade, you're bound to have collected many bad habits along the way and to have a fair few secrets."

I loved each and every one of the rebellious OAPs from main characters Daphne who carries a walking stick not for actual walking but "for clearing people out of her way" and Art who began shoplifting at sixty-five for an adrenaline rush to Ruby a knitting Banksy and Anna "an old woman in a leather jacket with lilac hair, riding a pimped-up mobility scooter". There's also a cute baby and mangy dog called Margaret Thatcher.

In case it's not obvious this was brillantly funny particularly the banter between the characters. For example, teenage Ziggy says to Daphne: "You're not young enough to wear those jeans. You're barely young enough to be alive." But beyond the humour though there's plenty of touching sentiments too. I totally sympathised with the difficulties of making friends as an adult when you can't "ask someone to play hopscotch with you or give them one of your sherbet lemons". And, a great storyline slightly mirroring one
of my favourite TV shows where the nursery kids and care home residents mix.

So, in guess you hadn't guessed I absolutely loved this and was disappointed when it ended. Totally recommend.

I hugely enjoyed reading this book. This was my first book from the author, though I had seen her previous books popularly being recommended on Bookstagram, I hadn't read it. Now I'm thinking I need to pick up more of this author's work. The book has charm and it has a gang of elderly ladies and gentlemen, well ganging up together to save a community center from destruction. Aiding this motley group are few kids of varying ages and a teenage dad. It cannot get bizarre than this. But somehow the whole thing comes together. The characters, the humor, the way they develop bonds with each other, It was perfect. My favorite character would be Daphne for sure, she somehow reminds me of Elizabeth from the Thursday Murder Club- she has the same chutzpah and the aura, There is some mystery too in the plot but nothing related to murder. Overall a fun, light-hearted book which will leave you with a smile on your face once you complete it.

It’s as simple as this really; reading Claire Pooley’s books make me happy. How to age disgracefully is no different.
Once again, Clare Pooley has written. amazing, flawed and loveable characters. There is one absolute powerhouse and legend of a woman who I wish was real so I could befriend her and get caught up in her shenanigans. I loved the Easter egg hidden in the plot about one of her other novels. The story is a perfect balance of emotion and humour, with salient messages about stereotyping to make you think. I’’ll read anything this author writes and if you haven’t read her work yet, I would highly recommend you start with this book and thank me later.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to review an advanced copy of the book.

When you become a certain age you become invisible. . A group of the older generation meet up at a local community centre. The heart of the story is the community centre attendees, the over 70's group integrates with the children's nursery.
Corrupt councillors, estate gangs, teen parents. Then the oldies all have secrets as well.
The first chapter says it all and the rest of the book is the explanation.
Don't ever overlook anyone, it could be your undoing

Clare Pooley writes great people centred books that restore ones faith in humanity. I am a fan, and have enjoyed all her others, and this one does not disappoint. This time her cast is mainly a group of geriatrics at a day care centre, but they are all well drawn fully rounded characters who come alive on the page. Clare Pooley's books are always enjoyable and light, but she brings depth to her characters and there is a lot more to her writing than you would expect from her light hearted plot lines. I enjoyed this book immensely.

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for a review.

Loved this as much as I loved Claire Pooley's other books and have already recommended to others!

Fabulous book.

This is Clare Pooley’s third novel after The Authenticity Project and the People on Platform 5. In both those books, which were delightful, she deftly brought together by circumstance a group of people who initially felt little common cause, yet who grew closer as they learned more about each other and themselves. How To Age Disgracefully moves this lens to a shabby community centre under threat, and the people who have come to rely on it.

The opening, a minibus full of elders and children being pulled over by the police and their reaction as the officer boards, is wonderful. In her notes, Pooley says this was the inciting incident for her conception of the book, and I can see why.

She also says she set out in this book to feature older people who refuse to age “gracefully” and she certainly achieves this with flair. As she brings the characters together, though, she creates a specific incident to remove a cliched “old battleaxe” type from the group which is clearly pitched as funny, but which struck a sour note with me.

After that, I lost a bit of faith in the book for a few chapters; I sulked, wondered if it was going to be a bit undercooked, slightly cartoonish.

It wasn’t long before I found myself seduced back in, charmed by the story and the perfectly timed switching of POVs. I was rooting for them all, but particularly for Lydia, the (alleged) leader of the senior citizens group, and Ziggy, a teenage father you rarely see in books. I was also very fond of “Maggie Thatcher”, a sentence I never thought I’d type.

Overall, I had a great time with this book. Pooley can seed, call-back, and build upon a joke with perfect comic timing, and her unfussy style is so winning, infusing a sweet warmth throughout, like tea spilled on cake.

As the book ended I had a genuine tear in my eye. - because I am a giant clart.

(I am so pleased Ange was having a nap or I’d never hear the end of it).

I left the book with a satisfying sense that THIS story is told, but that the characters have the hope of so much more to come.

Thanks to @netgalley and @penguinukbooks and of course Clare Pooley for another lovely book, out in uk 20th June

#bookstagram #books

This book was,so much fun to read. I enjoyed it from cover to cover. A cautionary tale about never underestimating old age pensioners. A story full of acceptance and new beginnings for the over seventies,
with attitude.