Mini Book Reviews 2025 #2

An Ongoing Rundown of my thoughts on all books I'll read between May - August 2025

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Title: The Absurd Life of Barry White

Author: Rob Harris Genre: Comedy Pages: 254

A slice of life. That's what The Absurd Life of Barry White reads like, and I was okay with that. The character of man-child Barry is well written, and I quickly warmed to him. The cast of characters around him are plenty likeable too, each helping you understand him and his relationship with this lovable, quaint Welsh village he calls home.

The book isn't as funny as the blurb would have you believe, but it's an endearing tale that hits all the feel-good notes with some laughs along the way. I never fully laughed out loud, but there were plenty of lines that brought a smile to my face.

The tale is supposed to be about Barry White Jr acclimatising to his newfound wealth, but the book takes a little while to get going, establishing its world and characters, so the inciting moments don't kick the main tale into gear until around the third way mark.

In the end, I enjoyed my time with Barry's absurd life more than I expected, yet not quite as much as I'd hoped. It's a well-written tale and full of great lines and characters. Though the ending didn't leave me as fulfilled as I had hoped, it was still an entertaining and heart-warming affair that went down as smoothly as a pint in Barry's hand would.

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Title: Heroes: Mortals and Monsters, Quests and Adventures

Author: Stephen Fry Genre: Mythology & Folklore Pages: 415

Coming Soon...

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Title: Man V Fat: The Weight Loss Manual

Author: Andrew Shanahan Genre: Health Pages: 240

2025 marks the year I finally committed to sticking to a weight-loss journey. I've looked into diets, started attending the gym regularly, and even invested in a personal trainer.

As the Man V Fat book suggests, it's an introductory help guide for people looking to lose weight, and acknowledges the limited environment for that with men. (It has increased in visibility since the book was first published in 2014) But it remains a very good book to help you understand weight gain and how to beat it.

Split primarily into 3 easy-to-digest sections;

1. Understand why you got fat

2. Learn how to lose weight

3. Create a winning structure.

The book's structure helps readers navigate its contents easily, and the information given is helpful and invitingly written to make you feel supported and prepared by the book, ready for the larger task at hand. In between information is members and their stories to help you feel inspired and share their take on what worked for them. the first step is something other weight loss information tends to skim, helping you understand how you got to this position is the best way to avoid it, after all, "Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it".

It's not an essential read, but it helped give me some extra knowledge and was an enjoyable, informative read that I took in whilst working towards my own goals. It's a great addition to people looking to start losing weight, filled with an easily navigable layout, and clear timeline and some questions to help set you on your own journey.

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