You had to be there, and if this is your era you'll probably enjoy some of this affectionate and witty account of being an absolutely normal schoolboy through the 1970s. Collins uses his journalistic skills to highlight and make relevant what it's like to grow up outside London in a town or city where nothing much happens (which is of course what it was like for most of us). The bit that was missing for me was the whole teenybopper bit, but I am a girl. Boy's concerns were slightly different. An enjoyable nostalgia trip. ( )

Andrew Collins is a journalist and broadcaster and this book is his antidote to all the misery peddled by Dave Pelzer and his ilk. Or, at least, that's what Andrew Collins says, but it's probably just an ego trip like most autobiographies. He alternates diary entries for each year with written chapters. I enjoyed the nostalgia, I'm older than he is but there is enough overlap to trigger all the memories, we also had similar families and lived less than 50 miles apart, even the obscure slang was familiar.

What I disliked was the prose style, in my opinion rock journalists write pretty awful books, the knowing, self referential style that typified NME columns in the 80's, really irritates when sustained for more than a few hundred words, and this book really got on my nerves. About half way through the style improved, and by the end I was trying to get the sequel on readitswapit.

My favourite quote from the whole book, comes from the back cover, "They tucked him up, his mum and dad". ( )

An excellent read,mainly I suppose because I also grew up in Northampton,albeit at a rather earlier period.I can however identify with most of the places and indeed some of the people that Andrew mentions in the book.I have also had the pleasure of meeting Andrew and hearing him talk about the book and his life in the Town. The follow-up volume 'Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now',about his Student days was I fear a big disapointment. ( )

This is quite a fun read, but is nothing exceptional.

Basically it is the highlights of the authors diary from when he was a child. Interesting if you also grew up in the 1970's (as I did), but otherwise it probably won't hold much appeal. ( )

http://www.livejournal.com/users/bope... ( )