memoir Archives - The Quick and the Read

Book Review: ‘You Don’t Have To Be Mad To Work Here’ by Benji Waterhouse

I’m really intrigued by people’s jobs and always enjoy a sneaky behind-the-scenes look at other people’s careers. Especially jobs I could never do in a million years – and NHS psychiatrist can definitely be added to this list if this book is anything to go by!

Benji Waterhouse takes us on a journey through his psychiatric career – right from when he chose to specialise in psychiatry through to his various placements as he grapples with the state of mental healthcare in the NHS. Through this, we also learn a bit about Waterhouse’s family, his own mental health problems (it’s totally normal and actually recommended for psychiatrists to be in therapy themselves) and his feelings about the challenges of the job.

The easy comparison here is Adam Kay – like Kay, Waterhouse is funny and self-deprecating, but also doesn’t shy away from the more shocking elements. It’s always engaging and eye-opening, but often sad and frustrating too, as a lot of Waterhouse’s initial learning seems to be how to discharge patients who he has serious concerns about but for whom there is no available hospital bed. We meet a range of these patients – some ‘frequent fliers’ who play the system, some tragic and suicidal cases, and some whose mental health challenges have comic elements (although much of the humour is really levelled at Waterhouse himself). It’s important to say that Waterhouse doesn’t undermine the dignity of the patients – obviously, they are given pseudonyms or are amalgams of cases he’s encountered, and their difficulties are presented as (sometimes temporary) ailments or through unusual situations rather than being who they are as people.

I really enjoyed this book, if ‘enjoyed’ can be the right word for something that raised so many concerns about the broken NHS system of mental healthcare. This is a system stretched to its limits, peopled by those who are doing their best in impossible circumstances and receiving little recognition for their considerable efforts. However, it’s also often a warm portrait of patients who Waterhouse clearly cares about deeply. In fact, he comes across well himself too – a caring, if stressed and hardworking doctor with a bit of imposter syndrome and going through an incredibly steep learning curve.

This will make you very glad you’re not an NHS psychiatrist, but very grateful for the fact that some people do sign up for it as they’re clearly needed. It will definitely make you want mental health services funded properly. It will also raise a few smiles too – there are some lovely comic touches, with the table tennis story being my favourite!

Thanks to NetGalley for my review copy – opinions are entirely my own.

Header photo by rivage on Unsplash

Blog Tour: ‘Strong Female Character’ by Fern Brady

I’m delighted to take part in the blog tour for the paperback of Fern Brady’s brilliant memoir, ‘Strong Female Character’.

Thanks to Random Things Tours and Octopus Books for inviting me on to the tour and for my copy of the book for review. As always, opinions are entirely my own.

From the Publisher:

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

‘I tore through this hilarious, smart, sad, revealing book’ – Bob Odenkirk
‘Funny, sharp and has incredible clarity’ – Jon Ronson
‘An absolute riot. I’m literally going to read it again once I’ve finished, and I’m a miserable bastard…it’s a belter’ – FRANKIE BOYLE
‘A set text for all of us in 2023’ – DEBORAH FRANCES-WHITE

A summary of my book:

I’m diagnosed with autism 20 years after telling a doctor I had it.
My terrible Catholic childhood: I hate my parents etc.
My friendship with an elderly man who runs the corner shop and is definitely not trying to groom me. I get groomed.
Homelessness.
Stripping.
More stripping but with more nervous breakdowns.
I hate everyone at uni and live with a psycho etc.
REDACTED as too spicy.
After everyone tells me I don’t look autistic, I try to cure my autism and get addicted to Xanax.
REDACTED as too embarrassing.

‘Fern’s book, like everything she does, is awesome. Incredibly funny, and so
unapologetically frank that I feel genuinely sorry for her lawyers.’ – PHIL WANG

‘Of course it’s funny – it’s Fern Brady – but this book is also deeply moving and
eye-opening’ – ADAM KAY

‘It made me laugh out loud and broke my heart and made me weep…I hope
absolutely everyone reads this, and it makes them kinder and more curious
about the way we all live’ – DAISY BUCHANAN

‘Glorious. Frank but nuanced, a memoir that doesn’t sacrifice voice or selfawareness. And it has brilliant things to say about being autistic and being
funny’ – ELLE MCNICOLL

‘Strong Female Character is a testament to the importance of self-knowledge.’ – Rachael Healy, The Guardian

‘Fern is a brilliant, beautiful writer with a unique voice and even more unique
story. Astute, honest and very, very funny.’ – LOU SANDERS

‘So funny and brilliant’ – HOLLY SMALE

‘Witty, dry, and gimlet-eyed, Strong Female Character is a necessary
corrective. Brady offers a compelling, messy, highly resonant portrait of what
masked Autism feels like.’ – Devon Price, author of Unmasking Autism

My Review:

I was so glad I was invited onto the blog tour for this book – I’d picked it up a few times in bookshops and weighed up whether it would be too sad, too challenging, too harrowing for me. I know Fern Brady is a comedian, but still…

Blog Tour: ‘Shape of a Boy’ by Kate Wickers

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for ‘Shape of a Boy: My Family and Other Adventures’ by Kate Wickers.

Thanks to Claire Maxwell for inviting me onto the tour and for my copy of the book for review – as always, opinions are entirely my own.

Book Review: ‘Walking the Invisible’ by Michael Stewart

Thanks to HQ Stories for my proof copy of this book – and grovelling apologies for not having reviewed this earlier. As always, opinions are my own regardless of how I acquired the book.

This book was published in June 2021 in hardback – there’s also an (excellent) audiobook version available which I listened to alongside reading.

When I read the blurb for this book, I was instantly intrigued. While I’m no lover of nature and have no desire to wander the Yorkshire moors in all weathers (as this writer has done), I do love literary heritage. So of course I want to know about the buildings and villages and landscapes that inspired the Brontes.

Blog Tour: ‘London Clay’ by Tom Chivers

I am so pleased to welcome you to my stop on the blog tour for ‘London Clay’ by Tom Chivers.

Thanks to Random Things Tours and Doubleday for inviting me on the tour and giving me a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This gorgeous hardback book was published on 9th September, 2021.

Blog Tour: ‘White Spines: Confessions of a Book Collector’ by Nicholas Royle

Welcome to my stop on the tour for this quirky and engaging book – I’m the last stop on the tour but make sure you check out the other reviews too!

Thanks to Helen Richardson and Salt Publishing for my copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

From the Publisher:

A mix of memoir and narrative non-fiction, ‘White Spines’ is a book about Nicholas Royle’s passion for Picador’s fiction and non-fiction publishing from the 1970s to the end of the 1990s, when the publisher stopped its commitment to the distinctive white spine with black lettering.

‘White Spines’ explores thebookshops and charity shops, the books themselves, and the way a unique collection grew and became a literary obsession. Above all, it is a love song to books, writers and writing.

‘I’ve been a bit obsessed with this book since I saw novelist and short story writer Royle tweeting the ultimate in chic shelfies: a photo of his Picador fiction collection, which forms an array of 1,000 white spines, spanning from the 1970s-90s…In this blend of memoir and narrative non-fiction, he explores the bookshops and charity shops where he bought them,the books themselves, and how his collection grew to the point of literary obsession’
CAROLINE SANDERSON, Editor’s Choice THE BOOKSELLER

My Review:

I think most book bloggers and enthusiasts have some insight into what it is like to have a book obsession. Whether it is a passion for a particular author, the desire to collect the whole series or a burning desire to line up those beautiful sprayed-edged special edition hardbacks, we’ve all been there!

I thought I was obsessive – and then I picked up this book and realised I am an amateur!

In this book, Nicholas Royle documents the process of collecting his extensive collection of white-spined Picador books. Published between the 1970s and 1990s, these have a distinctive look and part of Royle’s collection can be seen in his author photo below – impressive! It’s quite lovely that Salt Publishing have used the same look and feel for their paperback editions of ‘White Spines’.

However, this book is about so much more than just collecting books. Yes, there’s a lot of documenting where and when books are added to the collection (not just Picador – there are several secondary collections also on the go!) – especially as Royle doesn’t use the internet to add to his collection, but instead frequents charity and second-hand bookshops across the UK.

Alongside this are conversations overheard in bookshops, bookish dreams had by the writer, stories from Royle’s experiences in writing and publishing…it’s a quirky and lively read that can move seamlessly from an anecdote about a writer (and Royle seems to know them all) to a bookshop review, from a meditation on book cover art to Royle’s own writing experiences.

I’ll admit to having read shamefully few of Royle’s precious Picadors, but it was great to read about the little highs and joys of being a book collector. I also loved that Royle isn’t in the market for pristine editions – copies that have a history, an inscription or inclusions (often bookmarks) such as tickets or letters hold more interest. I get it!

Royle is a charming, witty and engaging narrator throughout this book – although I’m not totally in agreement with him on the subjects of Kathy Lette and Southend-on-Sea! Reading this is like a chat with an extremely knowledgeable, well-read, but sometimes-slightly-random friend – and I’d recommend it for anyone who loves books about books.

On another note, I was also very impressed that Royle can read and walk at the same time. I feel I have been wasting my life by missing all that reading time!

About the Author:

NICHOLAS ROYLE is the author of four short story collections – ‘Mortality’, ‘Ornithology’, ‘The Dummy and Other Uncanny Stories’ and ‘London Gothic’ – and seven novels, including ‘Counterparts’, ‘Antwerp’ and ‘First Novel’. He has edited more than twenty anthologies and is series editor of ‘Best British Short Stories’. He runs Nightjar Press, which publishes original short stories as signed, numbered chapbooks, and is head judge of the Manchester Fiction Prize. His English translation of Vincent de Swarte’s 1998 novel ‘Pharricide’ is published by Confingo Publishing. He lives between London and Manchester and teaches creative writing at Manchester Metropolitan University.

For more information visit: @NicholasRoyle http://www.nicholasroyle.com/