Couldn't get into this at the start but once I did acclimatise to the tone it was fun, a bit repetitive in part but had some engaging references to draw me back in.

Four stars is funny humorous dark entertaining Joel Golby has written a really fun read.I enjoyed it from beginning to end.

The review basically writes itself for this one but I found this memoir, told through a series of reviews of life experiences, so clever, funny, moving and honest that I'm going to give it a fifth star. Highly recommended and thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

this was a mixed bag! i got a bit tired of some of it and then all of a sudden there were really sharp, intense, emotions. it was funny!

An enjoyable read that I found myself dipping into rather than bingeing - I have always liked Joel Golby's journalism. I will give it - what else? - FOUR STARS.

Any book that begins with a full takedown of why Sunday Brunch is such an almighty sh**show is going to score at least 2.5/5. I know of Joel Golby through following him on Instagram and enjoying his book recommendations, takes on London and photos of his dog. It feels too simple to say that this is an extension of his brilliant Instagram story lists and explanations but, in essence, that’s what’s happening here. It’s funny, which I expected but also hugely sad which came as more of a surprise. There are parts of the book I gritted my teeth at in frustration, confusion and a sense of wanting to jump into the book and lend him a genial ear. But he is a bloke in his late thirties and they are, in my extensive experience, quite an annoying breed (sorry not sorry). But I think to write so honestly about your own screw ups takes real guts. Plus his descriptions of Westfield are nothing short of poetry.

With thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

a series of rants, columns or essays- hard to tell how it would best be presented to the world but the book format was a no for me.
There are moments of true wit and humour sprinkled throughout, but also a lot of ranting drivel- I ended up skipping huge chunks about football games (both fantasy and computer generated), smiled at the serious reflection given to the chicken big mac and was thoroughly put off by the glamorization of taking illegal substances.
Just not for me.

Joel Golby has a way of getting under your skin. You think you're reading something quite trivial and surface, like a review of a MacDonald's chicken Big Mac and then suddenly he undercuts the nonsense with something beautiful and fragile. His writing is strange and beautifully broken. Every time I thought I hadn't got the patience for the book, it pulled me back in and under. Nobody writes quite like Golby. I think he might secretly be a genius.

Not what I was expecting but this collection of essays has spots of sincerity, sadness and sheer self-indulgence. Starts off strong but ultimately not for me (especially the Neanderthal conversations - hard no)

Very hit and miss, this one.

Would have worked better as columns (which I appreciate the irony in me saying given the issues in the book over his column), but I felt it dragged a lot as a book with the odd bit of clever dark humour getting through.

Having failed to load it to Kindle (a common problem it appears) and fought away on the horrible Shelf app, it wasn't so much a journey through life as a set of columns, grubby and unpleasant in many places, a journey into a man's mind and I'm not sure I really wanted to go there!

This book started well, but I lost interest the more it went on.
I loved the opening chapter about Sunday Brunch - it really made me laugh - but i didn't get that connection or humour from any of the other chapters.
I actually found the book quite sad the more it went on - not sure if i'm on my own with this. I feel Golby is somewhat lost, but just keeps plodding on. So felt sorry for him.

This book was just OK - but wanted more!

I found this book consistently funny and often quite poignant, if less compelling than the authors previous and I occasionally found the format a bit of a slog (though it did mean it was easy to pick up and put down). Enjoyed the more heartfelt stuff over some of the immature bits - but that is probably just me being old. Really enjoyed the chapter on Football Manager ngl. Similar vein to Golby’s previous work + column though I think he’s written better and I’d like to see him maybe tackle something a bit more ambitious than the piecemeal work this format of book delivers - though I identify with his difficulty with trying to do anything other than drink pints in the sun in life and can’t disrespect that at all!

NetGalley/publisher note: had to read this as a pdf on the app as it wouldn’t send to Kindle and I nearly gave up because of the formatting. Also makes the book super inaccessible which is a shame for disabled reviewers.

I quite enjoyed this weird little book, which - apart from its analysis of the state of news media in this country - could have been written in 1998, at the time when 'lad novelists' like the Hornbys, Baddiels and Parsonses were plying their trade.

In fact, this writing style reminded me most of David Baddiel's 90s adult novels - gorgeous, incredibly accurate descriptions, but tragically low on plot and self-awareness.

One of the reasons I actually like hanging out with lads is that they also consider a two-hour info-dump about The Sopranos to be top conversation, and I often can't do that with women. However, even I was tested by the 'fantasy football' and 'pen,' chapters, which just gave me the rage.

All in all, this was chocker with potential but I'd love to see what Joel Golby could do when applying his considerable talents to meatier plots, and potentially having a less punchable hero. Er - four stars.

Four stars is funny humorous dark entertaining Joel Golby has written a really fun read.I enjoyed it from beginning to end.#netgalley #fourstars

Four Stars by Joel Golby is a funny, sad, relatable book about life’s challenges both big and small.

Big fan of Joel's work at Vice and enjoyed his previous book. I really love his writing style so this was a treat to read. I liked the structure, and found it quite moving, as well as a bit grotty and dark at times. Relatable too. 4 stars, obviously.

I absolutely loved the idea of this book as it poses questions of what is and isn't important to us in this modern era.

I really enjoyed this. Kicking off with an annihilation of Tim Lovejoy was a strong place to start and I think it delivered what it promised.
Fans of the columns and social media output of Golby will enjoy this, obviously, but I think there is something there for newcomers to enjoy too.
I thought the chapter about his dad was very moving and reminded me of the recent series of Big Boys. Some surprisingly tender moments interspersed with the comedy, and beautifully written too.