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Angry People in Local Newspapers
'A charming collection of stories that reminds you life could be so much worse' - Sunday Times, Best Stocking Fillers of 2018
The ultimate toilet book' - Observer
___________
The news can be overwhelming, with reports on post-Brexit food shortages, the underfunded NHS, and international trade wars, but local news is filled with many other serious headlines . . .
Naked gardener puts neighbour off sausages
Sports coach irate because KFC staff 'didn't cook him chicken'
Fury after Morrisons wouldn't sell couple meat pies before 9am
House fire started by squirrel disrupts funeral
People across the UK are suffering the horrors of naked neighbours, large potholes, and parking fines. Packed with the best that regional journalism can offer, there are chapters on antisocial behaviour, transport hell and fast-food nightmares. Local issues may not be worthy of national headlines, but they certainly make people very, very angry . . .
The ultimate toilet book' - Observer
___________
The news can be overwhelming, with reports on post-Brexit food shortages, the underfunded NHS, and international trade wars, but local news is filled with many other serious headlines . . .
Naked gardener puts neighbour off sausages
Sports coach irate because KFC staff 'didn't cook him chicken'
Fury after Morrisons wouldn't sell couple meat pies before 9am
House fire started by squirrel disrupts funeral
People across the UK are suffering the horrors of naked neighbours, large potholes, and parking fines. Packed with the best that regional journalism can offer, there are chapters on antisocial behaviour, transport hell and fast-food nightmares. Local issues may not be worthy of national headlines, but they certainly make people very, very angry . . .
- GenresNonfictionHumor
192 pages, Hardcover
First published November 15, 2018
2 people are currently reading
37 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 15, 2023
Dates
1st May 2023 --> 14th May 2023
Overall Rating:
4/10, +1 for Romford Recorder citation --> 5/10.
TL;DR:
These extracts from a Facebook group and blog site, though broadly amusing at points, have failed in their endeavour to make a truly engaging read. The only redeeming quality of this printed work are the surprise presence of a newspaper local to me – the Romford Recorder (pages 95-97 for those interested) – and the introduction written to each section, though even this is at times quite forced.
Review:
Put simply, it’s *fine*. That the cover says ‘cut and pasted by Alistair Coleman’ rather than ‘written’ does illustrate the extent to which this really is like reading a curation of Facebook/blog posts, which themselves are extracted from printed material, only this time you pay for the paper rather than viewing (for free) a compilation on YouTube, TikTok, or Reddit.
I consider myself fortunate that this was a Christmas gift.
Some of the stories do give rise to polite laughter – perhaps more accurately described as a grimace in most cases – and there is certainly not a shortage of interesting quotes, either.
The reason I describe the introductions to each section as somewhat forced is that they portray a sense of *liberal smugness* which, though fun to indulge in at times, is seen by some as to blame for creating (or enabling the continued existence of) the current political climate. It could certainly be that I misread the tone when it came to describing the kinds of people who find themselves in these stories, though knowing the likely demographic and mindset of this book’s readers, I do believe it to come across as *holier-than-thou* to anyone not of such a mindset.
As much as I enjoy mocking people coming to terms with the consequences of their votes and/or actions, nobody likes to be told “I told you so”.
Sure, not every book has to seek to change the world, but I can’t help but feel like this one could have handled it all in a slightly better way. Who knows, it might have even been properly funny if it did.
Some personal favourite quotes:
“by the time I left I was so angry, I just wanted a cup of tea”
“They are dictating to me when I can buy pies”
“it’s like going into Borneo, it’s that deep”
“Satan is behind efforts to scrap Sunday trading laws, a Guernsey minister has claimed”
“he has put me off men”
“I’ve decided I am going to shoot them all”
1st May 2023 --> 14th May 2023
Overall Rating:
4/10, +1 for Romford Recorder citation --> 5/10.
TL;DR:
These extracts from a Facebook group and blog site, though broadly amusing at points, have failed in their endeavour to make a truly engaging read. The only redeeming quality of this printed work are the surprise presence of a newspaper local to me – the Romford Recorder (pages 95-97 for those interested) – and the introduction written to each section, though even this is at times quite forced.
Review:
Put simply, it’s *fine*. That the cover says ‘cut and pasted by Alistair Coleman’ rather than ‘written’ does illustrate the extent to which this really is like reading a curation of Facebook/blog posts, which themselves are extracted from printed material, only this time you pay for the paper rather than viewing (for free) a compilation on YouTube, TikTok, or Reddit.
I consider myself fortunate that this was a Christmas gift.
Some of the stories do give rise to polite laughter – perhaps more accurately described as a grimace in most cases – and there is certainly not a shortage of interesting quotes, either.
The reason I describe the introductions to each section as somewhat forced is that they portray a sense of *liberal smugness* which, though fun to indulge in at times, is seen by some as to blame for creating (or enabling the continued existence of) the current political climate. It could certainly be that I misread the tone when it came to describing the kinds of people who find themselves in these stories, though knowing the likely demographic and mindset of this book’s readers, I do believe it to come across as *holier-than-thou* to anyone not of such a mindset.
As much as I enjoy mocking people coming to terms with the consequences of their votes and/or actions, nobody likes to be told “I told you so”.
Sure, not every book has to seek to change the world, but I can’t help but feel like this one could have handled it all in a slightly better way. Who knows, it might have even been properly funny if it did.
Some personal favourite quotes:
“by the time I left I was so angry, I just wanted a cup of tea”
“They are dictating to me when I can buy pies”
“it’s like going into Borneo, it’s that deep”
“Satan is behind efforts to scrap Sunday trading laws, a Guernsey minister has claimed”
“he has put me off men”
“I’ve decided I am going to shoot them all”
May 11, 2019
A quick, very fun read that I will recommend to everyone I like. Here’s a part of one of my favorite news pieces from the book:
*** ‘Angry church seagull keeps attacking me and all I want to do is play Pokémon Go’ ***
Jonathan has been told his balding head could be to blame for the winged assaults....
*** ‘Angry church seagull keeps attacking me and all I want to do is play Pokémon Go’ ***
Jonathan has been told his balding head could be to blame for the winged assaults....
April 20, 2019
Clippings from local newspapers that have been categorised with introductions for each section. A hilarious collection but also makes you shake your head and wonder what is wrong with some people. A refreshing, fun read.
April 10, 2019
"It's a battle between me and the squirrels. I put up with that but now they've set my house on fire I've decided I'm going to shoot them all."
A collection of some of the finest local news stories of recent years, including classics such as "Fury after Morrisons wouldn't sell couple meat pies before 9 a.m.", "Newly fitted lights could harm children's eyesight" and "Cyclist lies down in 'absolutely ginormous' pothole in Plympton."
The stories are interspersed with insightful commentary from Alistair Coleman, detailing the common motifs in local news stories involving angry people, and the book concludes with a "Top Ten" of particularly noteworthy angry people.
If you like reading about angry people in local newspapers, this is a must-read. And I'm only slightly angry at the small size of pictures throughout.
A collection of some of the finest local news stories of recent years, including classics such as "Fury after Morrisons wouldn't sell couple meat pies before 9 a.m.", "Newly fitted lights could harm children's eyesight" and "Cyclist lies down in 'absolutely ginormous' pothole in Plympton."
The stories are interspersed with insightful commentary from Alistair Coleman, detailing the common motifs in local news stories involving angry people, and the book concludes with a "Top Ten" of particularly noteworthy angry people.
If you like reading about angry people in local newspapers, this is a must-read. And I'm only slightly angry at the small size of pictures throughout.
November 6, 2019
The main attraction of APILN on Facebook is the photos of angry people pointing at potholes, their bins etc. either with their arms folded and looking disgusted or crouching down in a "doing a poo" squat, wearing hi-viz and a lanyard. Sadly this book contains virtually none of these and the ones that are included are so badly reproduced it's impossible to see what they are supposed to be. The rest are stock photos, again poorly reproduced. I know there were permission issues in using the photos and it's a real shame as without them all you have is a bunch of re-printed news stories some of which are amusing, and most of which make you wonder how they ever ended up in a newspaper. There's also a surprising number of online news stories that never actually make it into print. Disappointing. I'll stick to the Facebook page!
February 22, 2019
This was a mildly amusing read, but ultimately disheartening when viewed collectively. Too many people ‘outraged’, ‘disgusted’ or ‘horrified’ by mostly minor inconveniences. The media’s hyperbole trivialises real issues which truly deserve our indignation.
January 25, 2019
A gift, so I felt obliged to read.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews