I occasionally read Marina’s articles in the Guardian but not religiously, due to lack of a newspaper subscription rather than any critique of their worth. I do however regularly watch The Rest is Entertainment podcast she hosts alongside Richard Osman and always enjoy it so when I came across this in a charity shop I thought I would give it a go. 

It took me a while to read, generally finding when a book is a collection of articles it helps to have some breaks as they are not designed to be read in a big block. Since there’re not really designed to read in a big block why publish them in a book anyway? This has been a problem with other collections I’ve read as well by journalists, these books don’t tend to add anything. I would have loved to have some commentary on the articles, some hindsight, some reflections on the events they’re covering, and whether given time Marina’s opinion has changed. 

I did really enjoy the articles themselves though, overall I hold similar political views as the author so never found anything particularly objectional, and the writing is top notch. Cultural references that appeal to me as Brit of just one generation later were funny, the sarcasm comes across when used, and just the language itself is well done. I’d recommend this to someone who’s read a few of her articles and enjoys them, but to pick it up and read a few at a time, don’t try to read this cover to cover in just a few sittings.