David R Thorne

*WARNING* All of the snarky remarks and slightly grayish humor should be taken with a grain of salt (or sugar if you prefer). They are intended to be made in good humor in light of the title and any offense caused to readers was unintended…unless you laughed, then THAT was intentional.*

Perhaps you’ve been to this author’s website before and witnessed his work first hand…than again, perhaps not. Hey, I don’t know what you do all day? To gain a little insight on him, in his own words show more (from the ARC back cover bio)…”..he reads too much, generally exceeds others’ tolerances, and listens to Linkin Park. He stays up too late, drinks too much coffee, smokes too much, hates getting up in the morning, and has offspring who thinks he doesn’t know what he has been up to when he deletes his Internet history.”

Yeah…that sounds about right…or at least it does once you’ve read his work. This is not a book to be taken seriously (hence the Humor genre in which it resides) but it is a book to be taken one sip at a time much like a dose of ill tasting medicine…you know it’s good for you, but it doesn’t change the fact that it can taste like the drippings from an oil pan. There are many topics covered within ranging from the benign to the OMG-you-did-not-just-write-about-that.


“Bill’s Guide to Everything on the Internet” is a condensed version of our multitude of social, search and shopping outlets with a penchant for the KISS method (stands for “Keep It Simple…Sally – well, in polite circles it is…) of description. Are they accurate? Some are (surprisingly) but mostly it’s just for kicks…or is it? (dun dun dunnnnn) Jetting forward some dozen pages we unearth “Ten Jobs I Would Rather Have Than Mine” that reveals the particular wonders of one day becoming a Fortune Cookie Writer (if you get a message from the future about a robot invasion in your next one…you know he met this aspiration) as well as a Forest Fire Lookout (though I’d be scared if he achieved this one…O-O), and everything in between (well not everything because then it would be called “A Million Jobs I’d Rather Have….”). Perhaps my favorite “conversation” in the collection is actually the first one you encounter about an overdue balance, an inability (or blatant refusal) to pay, and a drawing of a spider. LOL…I’m chuckling as I recall it right now…and getting strange looks from a passerby. *ahem*

Overall, a fun and funny filled read that I understood about 50% of the time…sorry, not everyone’s humor level revolves around a conversation about what type of monkey would be most useful. Yeahhhh. Scariest part? The introduction lists that the email conversations included…are all…verbatim. Might make you a little more wary the next time you send something out into the virtual black hole we call the Web. Recommended for older teens through adult readers. There is some questionable humor and offensive language, so it’s best to keep this one away from the kiddos. Just tell them the spider on the front will come to life if they touch it…. show less

I'm a huge fan of David Thorne's caustic humour and writing style and his work always (without fail) makes me laugh out loud. His first book The Internet is a Playground was a 5 star read for me in 2013, and this one, I'll Go Home Then, It's Warm and Has Chairs - The Unpublished Emails is just as funny.

There's plenty of email trails to delve into, photoshopped pictures to enjoy and a treasure trove of stories, anecdotes and letters to laugh about. Again, I couldn't help myself and had to show more read one of the stories out loud, and keep wanting to use some of his best one liners in conversation.

David Thorne's sense of humour is full of satire and wit, and he captures the office work environment so well it makes me chuckle just thinking about it. His comments about the team building weekend are still making me laugh and his diagrams really bring his scenarios to life in a way you can't possibly imagine until you see his work.

If you've never read any of his stuff before, you can read some it for free on his website, or grab any one of his books. You won't be sorry, instead you'll be laughing and looking for someone to share it with post-haste.

I've already been recommending this one to friends and family, and that says it all really. show less

Residing in USA, David Thorne is the Australian author behind the notorious Missing Missy and despite a scathing review of Look Evelyn Duck Dynasty Wiper Blades. We Should Get Them in 2020, I still owned two more of the author's books. At the time I expressed my irritation at the fat phobic content and uncertainty around whether Thorne uses creative licence in a self deprecating manner in an ironic attempt to further his unlikable persona in the pursuit of entertainment; or if he's just a show more dick.

Four years have passed and many books have been read since then and I believe enough time has elapsed for me to tackle the next one on the pile. Did it make me chuckle or frown? Short answer, both!

The author does write humourous dialogue, and I enjoyed this excerpt from an exchange with partner Holly:
"No, you're supposed to say something nice back."
"Your hair looks nice today."
"Thanks. I used your conditioner in the little red tube."
"That's foot cream." Page 20
The title story about rearing a baby squirrel was my favourite from the collection and it was very cute. But then the author churns out a comment like this one that left a sour taste in my mouth for a few pages:

"We did visit my sister a few weeks later but there were no secret passageways in her house and neither Seb or I gave a fuck about her origami owls or potplant hangers. Any halfwit with a roll of string and a few sticks can set up an Etsy shop." Page 39

There's no context about Thorne's sister and she isn't referred to often. That particular comment came off the back of a reunion with his estranged father who had a secret passageway in his house, but without context or knowing anything about the author's sister, it's hard to interpret that comment as anything other than rude. Who writes like that publicly about their sibling anyway?

If he's joking, then it's not a joke I can join in on. I found it rude and insulting and it made me wonder if this guy means every word he writes or if he's just an arsehole. I'm starting to lean towards the latter, but you be the judge:

"I fully support discrimination against fat people but if one sat next to me on a plane I wouldn't move, ask them to move, or talk to them. I'd just be quietly annoyed the whole flight and try to breath through my mouth." Page 52

Seriously? Is this guy the real deal? Published in 2015, thankfully That's Not How You Wash A Squirrel contains fewer fat phobic references, but the fat shaming was still there. At one point he refers to a 'crazed looking flabby woman in her thirties named Rian', but it's not just fat people and fat women who irk our author:

"Penguin represent my first book but my marketing person there is a small angry Asian woman who yells a lot so I have her number blocked." Page 147

Wow, blocking the Marketing Rep from Penguin on your phone when you depend on their representation, hilarious! Hopefully you could hear the drip of my sarcasm there. It's just not funny.

The occasional fat phobic content was off putting and while I enjoyed a somewhat amusing story about hunting for the first time in the USA, I can't tell if the content has been inspired or lifted from the author's lived experience or whether it's all fiction. Is this self deprecating humour written by a humble guy unafraid of being judged harshly? Or is he just a run of the mill arsehole, wandering aimlessly around a camp site so that he doesn't have to help his mates pack up? He sounds like a tool, but that's also what used to make his writing funny.

There's a fine line and I'm never sure how close to it we are, but it feels like we're getting further away from the author's core talent for entertaining the reader. In a different example, Thorne shares a section detailing the passing of a friend after a dramatic car accident that was incredibly moving, yet I'm not sure if he's 'taking the piss'* or not.

I decided years ago not to purchase any more of David Thorne's new work, but I still have Walk It Off, Princess on my TBR pile. I can hear some of you thinking 'don't read it if you don't like his work' but have you ever decided not to read a book you purchased? Published in 2018 three years after this title, I'm hoping the downward trend on insulting people continues and the sense of humour so prevalent in his earlier work resurfaces in fine form. There's hope yet! show less

Let me be clear, The Internet Is A Playground by David Thorne is the funniest book I've read in years, and I'm giving it 5 stars!

I first came across the legendary Australian author David Thorne when someone sent me his very funny email sequence Missing Missy and I became an instant fan.

His sense of humour is laugh out loud funny and really makes you want to share it with someone, which is hard when you're reading it at 1.00am in the morning and everyone else is asleep.

And yes, I laughed out show more loud on the tram reading it, but I didn't care; I just made sure I held up the book so that other passengers could see what I was reading and choose to make a note of the title if they wanted to. (Bookish courtesy).

The Internet Is A Playground by David Thorne is a brilliant gift idea for any occasion and a fantastic book to pick up when you need a good laugh. In fact, I even read some out to my physio at the end of a hard day of making small talk with her patients and she enjoyed it too!

Get it, read it, share it and enjoy it, you'll be smiling and laughing all the way through. I didn't want it to end and I'll be on the lookout for anything else from David Thorne. show less