Having failed to load it to Kindle (a common problem it appears) and fought away on the horrible Shelf app, it wasn't so much a journey through life as a set of columns, grubby and unpleasant in many places, a journey into a man's mind and I'm not sure I really wanted to go there!

This book started well, but I lost interest the more it went on.
I loved the opening chapter about Sunday Brunch - it really made me laugh - but i didn't get that connection or humour from any of the other chapters.
I actually found the book quite sad the more it went on - not sure if i'm on my own with this. I feel Golby is somewhat lost, but just keeps plodding on. So felt sorry for him.

This book was just OK - but wanted more!

I found this book consistently funny and often quite poignant, if less compelling than the authors previous and I occasionally found the format a bit of a slog (though it did mean it was easy to pick up and put down). Enjoyed the more heartfelt stuff over some of the immature bits - but that is probably just me being old. Really enjoyed the chapter on Football Manager ngl. Similar vein to Golby’s previous work + column though I think he’s written better and I’d like to see him maybe tackle something a bit more ambitious than the piecemeal work this format of book delivers - though I identify with his difficulty with trying to do anything other than drink pints in the sun in life and can’t disrespect that at all!

NetGalley/publisher note: had to read this as a pdf on the app as it wouldn’t send to Kindle and I nearly gave up because of the formatting. Also makes the book super inaccessible which is a shame for disabled reviewers.

Unable to download file - l I’ve been a NetGalley user for a couple of years and not had any problems sending to kindle, other than a short delay which is rectified by turning the kindle off and on again. I sent to kindle as normal but it hasn’t arrived after two hours of trying. I have checked that my kindle is added on my NetGalley account, and that my kindle is set up to receive NetGalley emails. I’ve also tried restarting my kindle and syncing.

I quite enjoyed this weird little book, which - apart from its analysis of the state of news media in this country - could have been written in 1998, at the time when 'lad novelists' like the Hornbys, Baddiels and Parsonses were plying their trade.

In fact, this writing style reminded me most of David Baddiel's 90s adult novels - gorgeous, incredibly accurate descriptions, but tragically low on plot and self-awareness.

One of the reasons I actually like hanging out with lads is that they also consider a two-hour info-dump about The Sopranos to be top conversation, and I often can't do that with women. However, even I was tested by the 'fantasy football' and 'pen,' chapters, which just gave me the rage.

All in all, this was chocker with potential but I'd love to see what Joel Golby could do when applying his considerable talents to meatier plots, and potentially having a less punchable hero. Er - four stars.

Four stars is funny humorous dark entertaining Joel Golby has written a really fun read.I enjoyed it from beginning to end.#netgalley #fourstars

Four Stars by Joel Golby is a funny, sad, relatable book about life’s challenges both big and small.

Big fan of Joel's work at Vice and enjoyed his previous book. I really love his writing style so this was a treat to read. I liked the structure, and found it quite moving, as well as a bit grotty and dark at times. Relatable too. 4 stars, obviously.

I absolutely loved the idea of this book as it poses questions of what is and isn't important to us in this modern era.

I really enjoyed this. Kicking off with an annihilation of Tim Lovejoy was a strong place to start and I think it delivered what it promised.
Fans of the columns and social media output of Golby will enjoy this, obviously, but I think there is something there for newcomers to enjoy too.
I thought the chapter about his dad was very moving and reminded me of the recent series of Big Boys. Some surprisingly tender moments interspersed with the comedy, and beautifully written too.