What a pleasant, thought-provoking surprise this was! I’m ambivalent about Sandi Toksvig - I don’t avoid things she does but I tend not to seek them to watch or listen to.
With time to wander through history, her own life, musings on modern life, all centred around a bus route she takes regularly, she proves and engaging, humourous and occasionally opinionated guide.
There are many things I didn’t know about her and she broaches the bad as well as the good and lighthearted. She unflinchingly considers confronting homophobia, her own depression and wider societal issues such as feminism and racism.
This could have been an indulgent book but her self-effacing manner and obvious love of history makes it a fascinating and enjoyable read. I hope she explores more travel routes as a springboard for her writing as I will be one of the first in the queue to buy and recommend it.

Between the Stops by Sandi Toksvig
Having read Whistling for Elephants and Flying Under Bridges by Sandi Toksvig I knew that I would be in for a treat of wit and intellect with this book and I was not disappointed. Being a keen London bus traveller I thought the premise of basing the memoir on the route of the Number 12 was inspirational. I loved the way the book meandered through the route and whilst we accompanied Sandi on the journey we learnt so much.
We found out about the fact that the Medlar fruit has been compared to “autumn’s excrement”, her meeting in Sudan with a sheik and also her terrible time at the hands of The Daily Mail when she “came out”. Throughout the book she reminds us of the fact that women are under-represented in so many ways. For example she talks about the lack of blue plaques to women, the lack of input to Wikipedia by women and as hosts and contestants on panel shows!
I remembered her hosting the News Quiz when the wonderful comment “The Tories are busy putting the N into CUTS.” was aired and laughing uproariously. The fact that this was nearly axed from the show was shocking. I was also horrified to find out that she could have been hosting Have I Got News for You instead of Angus Deayton, having outperformed him in a trial show, only to be denied the role because she was a woman.
This is a wonderful memoir by a remarkable woman and I am recommending it to everyone I encounter. Many thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Between the Stops is a delightful, witty and poignant book by well-known presenter and actress Sandi Toksvig, which is so much more than an autobiography. The format is cleverly set out as a trip along the number 12 bus route in London (Dulwich to Oxford Circus) and encompasses many anecdotes, historical snippets and stories from Sandi's fascinating life.

There is quite a lot of name dropping, but this is entirely forgivable when the names belong to the accomplished, talented, (in)famous or notorious. Some of the real-life anecdotes involve unnamed protagonists, for reasons which become obvious.

Sandi's love for her family, especially her father, shines through the book, as does her unfailing sense of injustice towards women, past and present. Yet all is written with a gentle humour and a turn of phrase which pokes fun at the establishment rather than derides it.

Unusually this book took me over a week to read. I found I kept stopping to check things and read further - does the Beefsteak Club really exist? Was there actually a job called Groom of the Stool in the middle ages? I also learnt lots of interesting facts - like in war-torn areas you should walk near cow pats because there are unlikely to be landmines underneath.

Between the Stops had me both laughing out loud and shedding a tear. Perhaps I'll even do a pilgrimage of the No.12 bus route one day.

No words are good enough to rate this brilliant read. Witty, interesting and so informative. Great insight into Sandi’s life and loves and all the things she takes time to appreciate, which many of us just fail to notice.
Look out the window from today. Highly recommended.

It’s busy season at work so it’s taken me almost a week to read this book - a meandering tale of life as viewed from the top of the #12 bus. I have often hopped on this bus down Oxford Street but didn’t realise that it had such an interesting route.

Part feminist manifesto, part social history and part biography,Sandi Toksvig has an easy writing style that sounds like she’s sitting next to you narrating the route. She’s be an amazing tour guide, so full of interesting anecdotes and asides that you lose your train of thought and forget what you’d seen 30 seconds earlier.

And that’s why I’ve only given this book 4*. The bus route holds it together but sometimes - just sometimes - there’s a total non-sequitur that makes you say “huh?”... but aside from that it’s well written and fascinating. A very easy pick-up put-down kind of book that gives you insights into her childhood, family life and certain moments in her career. Things I had no idea about such as Save The Children dropping her from meeting Princess Anne shortly after Sandi came out. Insights into GBBO are minimal but that’s irrelevant and not why we love Sandi - but her ability to poke fun at herself and tell wicked anecdotes makes this book sparkle!

A really fun read, if somewhat meandering ...

This is the best memoir/history book I’ve ever read. Sandi has interspersed tales of her own life with tales of the London landmarks and personalities (past and present) she sees from the number 12 bus.

I’ve enjoyed watching Sandi on TV over the years and this book reinforces how clever her mind is and how many different projects she has been involved in.

Sandi is also sharing stories about her personal life, including the damage caused by the intrusive press reporters and her nomadic childhood / time in a boarding school.

Thank you to NetGalley and Virago Press for a digital review copy - my thoughts are my own

Part memoir, part history lesson, part observational guide to London with plenty of wry comments added into the mix. Toksvig’s life is remarkable and her take on what goes on around her is compelling. Not only did I laugh, feel anger & sadness at the injustices but I discovered new gems from history. I love autobiographies that step away from the traditional set-up which can be too formulaic and dry. This book breathes new life into a sometimes predictable genre.

It’s stupendous!

I have to say I have always loved the wit and humour of Sandi Toksvig. I am an ardent viewer of QI because of her and even watch Bake Off to see the banter between her and Noel and I don’t even like cake that much. (And she admits she’s not that keen either in this book!)

What a genius idea to take a bus ride and then to chat as if you were on a bus beside her, about history, a nice cafe, the other people on the bus and culture down in the streets below. Add to that a series of stops – where Sandi either gets off the bus or take a turn in a more philosophical sense to share anecdotes, childhood memories or stories about her family. There’s so much to love here – sad moments as well as happy. But Sandi does what she does best – the on-liners, said with a straight face. As you read, you can see her expressions, that look (similar to the one she gives Alan Davies when he’s doing one of his Alan things on QI) haha!

The bus journey is from Dulwich to Oxford Circus and it’s a very fascinating and quirky tour. Sandi is naturally inquisitive, has a wicked memory for facts and the book really is like sitting beside her and learning about what you see out the window. Just don’t eat a sandwich wrapped in plastic on a bus beside her! 😉

Why a bus and not a tube? Well, there;’s less to see on a tube of course and when you do see something you wish you hadn’t. I admit this little anecdote had me snorting orange juice out of my nose.

There are very moving moments too however – how she has overcome abuse because of her sexuality or for just being a woman at the BBC. Her story of getting married, the woman she helped with a baby in the house….and then the updates later on in the book make this such a heartwarming journey.

There’s snippets about life at boarding school in England, life in America, Danish anecdotes and more. So much in one book but it never ever feels like too much fact and information -it feels like a day spent well with a friend. It makes me want to start taking the bus much more now.

This review has flowed from my fingers. I was so sad to leave that bus! History, humour and Toksvig magic all for the price of a book (and a bus ticket – you HAVE to take this bus journey before, during and after reading this!)

A few years ago when we left our local theatre an old man was knocked over in the car park. A star of the show, upon hearing of the accident, came out of her dressing room to see if she could be of assistance. The intrinsic decency of Sandi Toksvig, at that time and now in her book Between the Stops is plain to see. The anecdotes featuring Alan Coren and Neil Armstrong alone are worth the price of this book. But for me the incessant thread of womens' and gay rights became a little tedious, in what is, after all an autobiography. Having reviewed only the galley proofs, and not the final printing, I found the narrative a little disjointed, but maybe this has been corrected on the edits. But if you like Sandi's politics this is the book for you.

Having been a great fan of Sandi Toksvig for many years, I couldn’t wait to read this book. Her brand of self deprecating, dry humour has always appealed, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading snippets of her life, from childhood onwards.

Told from the top of a Number 12 bus, she tells of different events and experiences throughout her life, her parents, experiences of time spent at an English boarding school, how she used humour and changed her American accent to English, in order to survive the loneliness she felt. The book doesn’t explore Sandi’s relationships with her family, partner and friends too deeply, but lightly reminisces about certain occasions – some being very humorous, I laughed out loud. Others less so, especially when she decided to come out as a gay woman, and how the media treated her at this time.

The book is full of amusing reminiscences about various people, famous and otherwise, from when she began in broadcasting, including some of her experiences hosting ‘The Great British Bake Off’. It is a book which you can pick up for a while, reading several interesting anecdotes about subjects such as the history of the London she knows, her travels, or people she has met. An enjoyable read.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book ... not your usual autobiography, this book feels like a set of anecdotes, memories & random observations
Sandi regularly travels from Dulwich Library to the BBC on the number 12 bus, passing all sorts of weirdly named roads, old factories, parks, streets, places of interest & more ... Sandi reflects on the fact that she is often ignored as a "older woman who is invisible" yet equally is amused when people think that because she is "famous" she shouldn't be travelling by bus, despite the fact that the bus takes her exactly where she wants to go!
In this book, Sandi looks out of the window of the bus & writes down snippets based on what she observes - she sees a street with an unusual name & delves into the history books to find out who it was named after & what they did; she sees a park & reflects on the way it was protected for the people from building work; she sees a cafe & remembers a dinner party or other moment involving food ... As such it is a collection of amusing anecdotes & memories, interspersed with bits of local history & reflections on life in general. It's amusing, lighthearted and written in such a way that really reflects the personality of Sandi that we see on screen: intelligent, observant, insightful, and very funny. She also is passionate about injustice & reflects on all sorts of discrimination from racism to homophobia to sexism.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book - it made me laugh, it peaked my curiosity & most of all made we want to watch & read more from Sandi!

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book free via NetGalley - all opinions are my own

I loved Between The Stops. I was a little dubious about the initial premise, which sounded a bit contrived, but in fact it’s a delightful read, full of wit, well argued good sense and extremely interesting oddments about all sorts of things.

The set-up is that Sandi travels regularly on the Number 12 bus from her home in East Dulwich to where she works in central London. She is genuinely fascinated (to the point of geekdom) by the places through which she passes on the journey: snippets of local history, interesting shops and people, the roads and who they are named after and so on. She uses these also as jumping-off points for bits of autobiography, anecdote and opinion – which sounds a bit iffy as a device, but in fact is interesting, thoughtful and very funny in places.

What comes across is that Sandi is humane, intelligent, thoughtful, passionate about injustice and very funny. She achieves an excellent balance between these things and has the judgement to know when to make serious points in a witty way. She is generally kind to people, but isn’t above the occasional wittily waspish remark, like the time she sat between Ken Dodd and Julian Fellowes at a dinner: “Ken was genuinely fascinating and Julian was impressive in the self-belief that he was too.”

In short, this is a terrific read; it’s very enjoyable and with some real substance. I can recommend it very warmly indeed.

(My thanks to Virago for an ARC via NetGalley.)

Sandi- a national treasure? Well, I think so! As a fellow wearer of a watch on the ‘wrong’ hand, I salute you! Sandi Toksvig is an actress, writer, a radio and television presenter of programmes such as Great British Bake Of and QI. Her mother is English and her beloved journalist Papa was Danish. She has lived and travelled all over the world and has witnessed some astonishing events and met some extraordinary people. This is her ‘sort of’ autobiography which tells some non chronological stories about her life interspersed with observations of people or events she witnesses on the number 12 bus and historical anecdotes of the area it wends it’s way through. The red iconic London bus goes from Dulwich Library to the BBC. Sandi loves London, is very interested in people and fascinated by history so why not combine them into a glorious collection of funny, sad and thought provoking tales? If you love London, are interested in history and have a good sense of humour, then this book is for you!

Sandi’s childhood is so interesting as she follows her father as he pursues an illustrious career reporting principally for Danish television. She has been lucky enough to witness some ground breaking events such as Apollo 11 launching from Cape Kennedy and then in Houston at mission control. Her Papa sounds wonderful and every child should have a father like that! He influences a lot of what she does with her life. Not all her life has been a bed of roses, for instance, her boarding school in Surrey sounds horrifically joyless with a sadistic matron and some experiences at Girton College, Cambridge are terrible and greatly affect her. Perhaps her sense of humour at times is a form of armour. She is passionate about equality and she tells some fantastic stories in her pursuit of this. As a former HIStory teacher I used to try to get my students to look for HERstory but it’s hard to find as Sandi points out so effectively - so, she’s speaking my kind of language!

Overall, an absolutely brilliant read with marvellously lively storytelling peppered with some amazing characters and some fascinating historical background. Sandi has a lot of interesting things to say about sexuality, race and politics which is written in a thoughtful non-provocative way. I loved it!

Thanks to NetGalley and Little,Brown Group, UK for the ARC.

A wonderfully insightful memoir of sorts from Sandi and it is certainly one of the most witty and intelligent that I have ever read.

Combining stories from Sandi's upbringing and life in Africa, the USA, Denmark and England, and combining this with tales from the number 12 bus, her commuting route from East Dulwich to Oxford Circus, with some fascinating London history thrown into the mix, this auto-biographical treasure is entertaining from cover to cover.

The cultural insights between countries that Sandi has lived in are so interesting and her writing sounds exactly like she is talking to you as a friend, complete with hilarious and extremely intelligent remarks.

I am an even bigger fan of Sandi now than before I read this book and I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anybody.

This is very entertaining memoir by Great British Bake Off host (plus many other shows) and National Treasure, Sandi Toksvig.  The book provides insights in to Sandi's life as she reminisces along the route of the number 12 bus.  Different stops evoke different memories and Sandi also provides snippets of interesting information about London as the bus passes through.  A clever, inspirational book that mixes Sandi's trademark wit with some quite emotion memories, and a little look at the city of London.

I don't normally read autobiographies but I really enjoyed this. I love Sandi on her TV shows and it almost felt as though I could hear her voice as I read. I found the mix of memories and historical facts really interesting and loved the way she told it through the bus journey.

Next time I'm in London I'll be looking out for that bus route!

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Little, Brown Book Group UK - Virago, for the ARC.
I so thoroughly enjoyed Sandi's memoire, (can I address her as Sandi because I feel as if I know her), written from a unique perspective of her bus journey from home in the London suburbs, through to Broadcasting House.
This is an historical journey with several perspectives: the history of often-hidden gems of areas of London - stops along the bus route - long before the rise of the city as it is today; historic referencing of the achievements of women in society, especially the Arts, and the lack of their commemoration, and Sandi's thoughts, during her journey and exploratory stops along the way, which expand into particular areas of her life and work.
This is very cleverly written and, may I say, by a startlingly cleaver intellectual who for years struggled to find her 'place' in the world.
Thoroughly recommended.

Overall I was rather disappointed with this book but there were some parts I loved. Heartbreaking to think of her time at boarding school and the awful invasion of privacy by the press in later life but for the rest... bus journey didn’t inspire me.

Sandi Toksvig has probably earned the right to be classed as a national treasure. For those who only know her through Bake Off, she is not just a TV presenter. She is also a writer, an actor, a comedian, an amazing public speaker (watch her TED talk), joint founder of the Women’s Equality Party....I could go on. Her one woman show a few years ago ties with Victoria Wood as the best, cleverest, most original, and funniest performance I’ve ever seen anywhere.

Her latest book can only loosely be termed a memoir. As she lives in London, Sandi mostly uses public transport, mainly the number 12 bus from her home in Dulwich to the BBC near Oxford Circus. She uses this journey as a metaphor for her own journey through life, getting off at different bus stops along the way to explore local history, observing her fellow passengers, veering off into memories of her childhood in Denmark, Africa, the USA and England, her Cambridge University years when she was nearly sent down (expelled) because of her suspected sexuality, her early work as a journalist and stagehand and everything that followed both in her personal and working lives. She is endlessly fascinated by random facts and the sheer oddness of human behaviour and the book is full of her sharp wit and observations. It is highly entertaining and an easy, enjoyable read.

With thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for an advance review copy.

Sandi Toksvig proves just how intellectual she is with this sem-autobiographical book. Written in a clever thought out staging using the route of a London Bus she mixes present day, flashbacks in history both her’s and in general to form an intellectual tour de force. The useless bits of history that litter the book are truly fascinating and each one is greeted with eager anticipation. Interwoven tit bits from her life give us an insight to how She has become such a ‘“ celebrity “. The strident campaigning can be forgiven as you can see the underlying anger with some parts of society but not all readers are against her and just maybe she could try to be calm down a little. Not a criticism really as the reader must share her horror at some of the antidotes she recalls.
You are left feeling happy for Sandi that her life seems so complete and she is doing what makes her happy. Overall the book is excellent and if she wants to publish a book just with historical useless information I for one would queue up to buy it.