This was an entertaining story that pitted out just how attached we are to our devices and Internet these days. Andrew Bellows is a graphic designer who loses a client because of some pretty serious health issues. When he sees his doctor, assuming the worse, he is told that he needs to go on a "digital detox" to solve his problems. What follows is filled with clarity as he goes from a life completely plugged in to one that is unplugged. A humorous look at something that is becoming an issue with many in the digital world we live in.

Couldn't put it down and finished in the sunshine in a day. Another great book by Nick Spalding. Have loved all of his books.

Great writing, fabulous plot. 
The book flowed so well and throughly enjoyed this 
Thank you to both NetGalley and publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book

Overall this was a cute and humorous read that was also excessively wordy in parts and I found myself skimming at times. I thank Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I really didnt get along with this book. I found the chapters too long, the character was actually quite annoying and the story just dragged. Not funny at all and very boring. Not the book for me

Funny and probably what we all need, is a good tech detox to learn how to function again without it. 

The character, Andy, has some pretty cringeworthy moments, but him walking away and realizing how he can go with a lot less, shows how we’ve all become easily addicted to that blinking cursor and flashy screens. 

Good read. 

*I received this ARC from the publisher and this is my unbiased review.

I have two complaints about this book, neither of which can be fixed. My first complaint is that the chapters are too long. I found it hard to take breaks from reading at chapter breaks because they were so spaced out. My second complaint is that this book wasn’t long enough. When I say that, understand that the book is exactly the right length. It doesn’t end prematurely and it doesn’t drag out past the point where all plot points have been tied up and it’s clear the author is just trying to eke out a few more words. It really was the perfect length from a technical standpoint. The reason I say it was too short is because I enjoyed it so much that it made me sad when it ended. 

I haven’t read anything else from Nick Spalding, but after reading this book, I am a fan—a follower, if you will. There are books that are amusing, while others are written specifically to be humorous, not necessarily having any other point. This book has a point, and it’s hysterical. On numerous occasions, I had to explain why I was laughing out loud. Told from the POV of Andy Bellows, a man with a very dry sense of humor, the narration is conversational and engaging. He is an everyday regular guy with a penchant for recognizing the absurdity in everyday regular occurrences. At one point, he tells the reader: “Look, I’m sorry, but I’m not making this stuff up.” He treats the reader as a confidante, someone with whom he can commiserate about the human condition. 

Nick Spalding has some truly insightful observations about the internet and its effect on us, like when he makes this statement: “I’ve been so used to outsourcing my general knowledge to Google that when I have to fall back on the contents of my brain, I find that it’s a sluggish, stupid thing, with far less recall of facts than it should have.” Later, he says: “Has my brain been so starved of stimuli that it’s begun to critically evaluate the meat sack it’s being carried around in?” There have been many times when I’ve wondered the same thing as I pull up the thesaurus to remind myself of words that I once used with ataraxia (full disclosure: I’ve never even seen this word before). 

Nick is also quite good with metaphors, which are always quite funny, like this one: “The irony is so thick, I keep expecting Alanis Morisette to jump out of the bathroom cabinet and hand me some toilet paper.” Or this one: “My kitchen looks like several wars zones have been through it, on their way to the pub.” And this comparison made me chuckle out loud, which again prompted the need to explain why I was laughing: “..the band start(s) to play what I can only describe as the sound of a large brass band falling down a flight of stairs.” 

There’s a scene where Andy imagines a duck is talking to him, although the only word he keeps repeating is “duck,” that had me clutching my sides as I laughed. But the best part of that was when he asked someone else if the duck was saying “duck” and the person assured him the duck said “quack.” The duck says “duck, duck,” in “agreement” and Andy tells the reader, “But I can tell the little bastard is lying.”

I could go on quoting all of the parts of this book that I found especially funny, but suffice to say, the book is a treasure trove of amusement. If I could give it more than 5 stars, I would. In fact, I’d say this one goes to eleven. I loved it and highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys laughing. Thank you Netgalley!

I'm kind of late (yes, kind of) with this review, so my bad, but I'm here now. I want to give a shout out of thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this book. The book took me some time to read, mostly because the MC was a bit of a whiner and wanted too easily to give up, but in today's world, I think if someone was that hooked to electronics, perhaps they would react the way he did too.

Andy has ALL KINDS of problems including IBS which he keeps track of on a pooping app. Yes, an actual poop app. He has an app for everything, including sleeping and the man is constantly on some sort of electronic throughout the day. It doesn't help that he is a graphic artist where some of the time is spent on the computer. After a much humiliating incident during a job interview (I won't give it away cause it's kind of gross), he goes to the doctor whom recommends he do an electronic detox.

That means he needs to go a certain amount of days (I think a couple of months) without ANY internet usage - except when necessary for work purposes. 

A friend of his, Fergus, writes an article about him and several times, Andy is saying he's going to quit because he just cannot live without checking Facebook or without playing candy crush on his iPad. 

Andy goes through some pretty interesting challenges, including some mental woman who sees one YouTube video and believes the police and everybody is out to get her. He winds up in a duck pond (you'll have to read on how he does that), but he meets someone nice in the process. 

I try so hard not to be attached to my phone during the day. Facebook stresses me out, especially in times like these with the pandemic and the riots and whatnot. I'm a lot better at it now, but electronics still run the world and it isn't going to change in the future. 

Andy was a bit of a whiner in the first half the book and sometimes I just wanted to not read so much because he was being such a quitter. However, I'm glad I continued to read because, damn, I would have missed some of the funny incidents he goes through - duck pond and police called. Yeah, you're gonna have to read more about it. 

Entertaining to read, a little slow in the beginning, but perhaps you're one of those people that needed the detox as much as Andy.

This was an entertaining book about internet/tech addiction.  The message is balance.  I think the author did an excellent job in getting the readers  to see themselves in this story.  It has certainly opened my eyes about myself.  
Many thanks to Amazon Publishing UK and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

What would be the symptoms of too much internet surfing?  In LOGGING OFF, we learn many, some not mentionable in polite company.  What we do learn is that living life off line has it's own unique entertainment value.  Nick Spalding is a seriously entertaining writer.  No subject is off limits and no one takes the relearning of face to face communication more to heart than a man whose diagnosis of his aches and pains changes according to which google version he sees at the time.  This book is a quick read.  The story moves from one mishap to the next and keeps the laughs coming at warp speed.  Definitely a different kind of humor/ life story than we are used to.

I found this book very entertaining and even laughed out loud at several parts. It is very relatable for those of us who find ourselves pushed into situations that are out of our comfort zone and wonder how in the world it happened. The main character just kept digging the hole deeper. I admit that I wasn't tempted to follow in his path, but I could definitely relate to the problem. It is one that a lot of people fall into. I would definitely suggest this book to all my friends.

Ouch!  Ouch! Ouch!  That’s the sound of my toes being stepped on by Nick Spalding in his book “Logging Off”.  The basic premise of the story is about a 30 something man named Andy who is suffering from a number of physical ailments.  Andy visits his doctor to find out what is wrong with him (believing he has a very serious terminal illness based on his internet research) and is surprised to find out that there is nothing wrong with him and that his various ailments are being caused by his extreme addiction to the internet world.  I know, how could that possibly be true?  I didn’t believe it anymore than Andy did.  The doctor recommends that Andy go on a 60-day digital detox and the remainder of the book is the story of Andy’s journey through the next 60 days.   He suffers a lot of digital withdrawal, remorse for committing to such a foolish idea and misadventures caused by not having access to such digital tools as GPS and restaurant ratings.  But along the way, Andy also finds a lot of positives that he had been missing out on when he had his nose buried in his phone or his tablet.  Now to explain the “stepping on my toes” comment at the beginning of this review.  I’m an older woman who did not grow up with digital technology so came late to the internet game.  But I embraced the digital life with gusto.  Ok, I’m not nearly as bad as Andy was when we first meet him in the book (or at least I don’t think I am) but it made me have some second thoughts about whether I was becoming too dependent on my iPhone, iPad and laptop to the exclusion of actually living my life.  No, I’m not that bad – I swear I’m not……….. PS – I just went online and bought the rest of Nick Spalding’s books and downloaded them on my Kindle, of course.

Review was posted on Amazon, Goodreads, and the following Facebook readers pages:  Women Reading Great Books; Book, books and more books; Sixties Plus Reading Room; I'm Not Obsessed, I Just Love to Read

Disclaimer: I received this book from Netgally for review purposes.

Four in a half stars!

Can I just say that I think this is the first humourous book that I found actually funny? I feel like it's so hard for comedy to come across well in books without either feeling dry or like they're trying too hard but this hit the sweet spot for me and I loved that. 

BUT it was hard to read on a smartphone 😂 I consistently felt guilty the entire time since the whole book is about unplugging and a digital detox. Gotta admit though it did make me want to partake. 

Quaint and charming with a lot of heart, this book goes by fast and has a wide set of whimsical characters. I found it entertaining and would read by this author again. Would recommend!

Wonderful book about "unplugging" from technology. I really enjoyed this book. I think we could all learn a valuable lesson and spend more time together rather than on devices. This is my first book by the author. I look forward to reading more!

I loved this book! Such a funny look at modern life and how we have become slaves to the internet and how it stops us connecting with the world around us. Yes it was a bit cringeworthy in places, but somehow even those bits worked, I think we can all relate to someone like Ollie who can’t even order his tea without checking the reviews on the internet, I’m sure it would make a good gift for many people we want to give an unsubtle hint to.

I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley and Amazon Publishing. The narrative looks at a very modern problem - how many times have you been out with friends to find they spend have their time with fingers twitching over the phone? How many times do you stay up late just to finish something online? Technology os overtaking Andy's life leaving him with both physical and psychological issues. He jettisons people in favour of online gaming until things deteriorate enough to send him to the doctor who prescribes an technological detox. His best friend, a journalist, decides to follow his journey reporting on it in a local paper.

What follows is an hilarious journey through life without the aid of facebook, twitter or google. There are times when Andy's inability to do something as simple as use a road atlas seemed a bit ridiculous but there are other parts that really did make me laugh out loud. However it is not only a story of hapless non tech life but also carries a message about building dependence on anything. It typifies the writing of Nick Spalding which I invariably enjoy, it is a really engaging and pacy read set in the climate of our times

On NG it is classified as Women's lit and I find this slightly confusing as its MC is male and its message is gender neutral. To me this book fits contemporary fiction and humour,  although there was rather too much information about bowel movements for my liking  it was overall a real escape from real life

Utterly brilliant.

Logging Off is, on the surface, a light-hearted romcom about a man detoxing from the online world and finding love, laughs and friendship in the real world outside. There is plenty of truth and food for thought hidden under the jokes about bowel movements and blind dates.

Andy, the first-person narrator, is adorable. Not only is his tech addiction (and hypochondria) eminently relatable, but so is his narrative voice – witty, wry, self-deprecating and full of the charming, hopeless helplessness exuded by Brits like Hugh Grant and (the fictional character, portrayed so well by Renee Zellweger) Bridget Jones in romcoms. Reading his story feels like having an intimate chat with your best mate; the one that can narrate their woes in a way that has you howling with laughter, even as you sympathise.

His ‘journey’ of giving up technology for a couple of months is made far more believable because the author doesn’t just show us a one-sided, Internet-is-evil argument. Instead we see that some of Andy’s trials are caused by the Internet, but just as many are caused by lack of it. It is a more nuanced take than I had expected from the tongue-in-cheek tone, and made me think about the issue much more deeply than a preachier take on the subject would have achieved.

Plus, Andy just doesn’t come across as the lecturing type. If anything, he’s more like Brian from Monty Python’s famous satire, trying to tell everyone to stop following him and think for themselves, with about the same effect for the most part!

A few of the side characters are just cyphers – the Instagram star, the conspiracy theorist – but the ones that got more than a bit part, like Grace, Fergus, Colin, Wilberforce and Puggerlugs are all great too… very memorable.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun, easy read, with some romance, some laughs and some interesting takeaways about finding your own individual balance.



I’ve spent the morning googling digital detoxes to see if anyone can give me any advice that can help me.
The Internet is full of conflicting reports on their effectiveness. Some people swear by them, some people think they are the work of the devil.
This is no surprise.
I’ve already proved that one of the laws of the Internet is if you punch a load of symptoms into a search engine, it gets you diagnosed with terminal cancer every single time. Another law is that if you seek an opinion on a subject matter – any subject you like – you will get as much fulsome support for it as you do harsh criticism.

– Nick Spalding, Logging Off


Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog

If potty humor - literally, lots poop - doesn't hinder your ability to appreciate this book, you will find that it is full of many keen insights regarding our modern day dependence on technology. The contrast between the humor and the moments of understanding provides a good balance, each one keeping the other from becoming too much. 
I appreciate Andy's ultimate realization that the goal is to find balance so that one can experience genuine connection with others; it is not a trite or easy answer like complete technology avoidance might be, but rather the more complex challenge of using technology intentionally. 
I laughed out loud at many parts, and find myself still thinking about other more serious sections even weeks later in my own daily attempts to stay connected to both the world and those closest to me. 

CAUTIONS

LANGUAGE: several uses of F***, as well as taking the name of God in vain
POOP humor: think Dumb& Dumber or teenage boy and you have the right idea, nothing too crass but be in the right mindset :)

Perfect reading for me as with this covid-19 I've been glued to every kind of media. Thought provoking, funny and relevant! It throws up lots of thoughts about how you'd cope without all the technology we use on a daily basis, I found the lack of sat-nav particularly funny and, for me, very relevant as i use it all the time..so what if??

I chuckled away all through the book and vowed to  'log off' more often myself.  I just wonder if I'll cope?

Great book, thoroughly recommend to everyone!

Thanks to Amazon Publishing UK and Nick Spalding for a complimentary ARC of this novel via NetGalley and the opportunity to provide an honest review

Always an enjoyable read, I have read several of Nick Spalding's books and they always make me giggle. His writing is easy to read and the characters are always relatable. The topic of a society that is constantly 'plugged in' is very apt!