Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16521 in Books
• Published on: 2007-11-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback

Synopsis
In "What I Do: More True Tales of Everyday Craziness", the second volume of Jon Ronson's collected Guardian journalism, he hilariously demonstrates how our everyday lives are determined by the craziest thoughts and obsessions; how we spend our time believing in and getting worked up by complete nonsense. But also, as he chillingly demonstrates, there are clever people working in the highest echelons of business who are employed to spot, nurture and exploit the irrationalities of those among us who can barely cope as it is. In part one, read about the time Jon inadvertently made a lewd gesture to a passing fourteen-year-old girl late at night in the lobby of a country-house hotel. And about his burgeoning obsession with a new neighbour who refused to ask him what he did for a living, despite Jon's constant dropping of intriguing hints. And about the embarrassment of being caught recycling small talk at a party.

In part two, read some of Jon's longer stories, which explore manifestations of insanity in the wider world: the tiny town of North Pole, Alaska, where it's Christmas 365 days of the year; behind the scenes at Deal or No Deal, which Jon likens to a cult with Noel Edmonds as its high priest; a meeting with TV hypnotist Paul McKenna, who has joined forces with a self-help guru who once stood trial for murder but can they cure Jon of his one big phobia? As hilarious as it is perturbing, Jon Ronson's new collection is a treat for everyone who has ever suspected themselves to be at the mercy of forces they can barely comprehend.

Customer Reviews

A weak collection of Ronson's articles.
A poor man's Louis Theroux...that's the best way to describe Jon Ronson. A feather-light Louis Theroux. It''s the old formula: find an eccentric or strange place/person/belief system; interview the personalities; repeat that you don't understand the place/person/beliefs etc..etc...and wrap it all up in light satire.

Except that he isn't very funny or never goes in for the kill. Ronson's just so subtle in his approach that he never really makes a mark or finds out anything substantial. Maybe that's just his style...genuinely too embarrased (as demonstrated in the first part of the book as he reveals his neuroses - which only raise a bit of a smile) to really ask some penetrating questions like a Louis Theroux would.

This really is just a light collection of Readers Digest-style articles...acceptable in short bites once a week in The Guardian Saturday Magazine...but they don't deserve the full book treatment.

Amusing
Not being an avid Guardian reader I was not that familiar with Jon Ronson's column and articles for the paper and had I not been given 'What I Do' as a present I doubt I would have bought it. As it was I found it to be an amusing read but nothing much more than that.

The first half of the book, which reprints a number of his colums from the paper detailing the everyday neuroses that he is afflicted with, come across as part confessional blog and part a lightweight version of Larry David's 'Curb Your Enthusiasm'. Amusing at times but not particularly insightful or laugh out loud funny or truly cringeworthy, readers reactions to this section will very much depend on how they relate to Ronson's own experiences. Personally I didn't feel much in the way of empathy for him, which is possibly why I didn't find his writing that entertaining.

The second half of the book reproduces a number of his indepth investigations of various places or cultural institutions, including 'Deal or No Deal on Channel 4'. This part of the book appealed to me far more since it was informative, sometimes amusing and also at times (for example when revealing the reality of life at North Pole in Alaska or in the DoND contestant hotel) slightly disturbing. It didn't reveal any deep or dark secrets about the subjects Ronson investigated but it was an informative and entertaining look at some aspects of what constitutes 'normal life'.

As a whole however, this is a book that feels disjointed and lacks a strong central theme (despite the title). Really nothing more than an anthology of Ronson's recent writing it hardly grabs the attention and once read is not a book I can see anyone returning to.

Buy this book!
Simply the most fun I have had reading a book in a long time, I am regularly to be seen laughing out loud while reading about Jon's somewhat neurotic (yet very normal) everyday life and his encounters with his neighbours, waiters, security guards and "celebs"

Highly recommended