James Acaster's Guide to Quitting Social Media: Being the Best You You Can Be and Saving Yourself from Loneliness: 1

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Pretty disappointing. If 'Classic Scrapes' was his memoirs/genuinely funny anecdotes honed over time, and 'Perfect Sound Whatever' was an interesting deep dive into music (which appealed to me as a big music fan with wide-ranging tastes), this is basically just one long, incredibly overworked joke/allegory.

The acclaimed comedian joined the Chris Evans Breakfast Show with Sky to talk about his new book, James Acaster’s Guide to Quitting Social Media. It will be Acaster's third book, following on from2017'sClassic Scrapes– a collection of his embarrassing anecdotes –andthe 2019 memoirPerfect Sound Whatever, about how he turned to obsessively collecting the music of 2016 in response to a tough year. James continued: “Really early on in the book… I’m the first person outside of Tom to ever join Myspace. For months, it’s just me and Tom, being best friends on there. And everyone thinks, ‘Well, this is a real scoop, I can’t believe James Acaster was the first civilian to ever join Myspace!’”I cannot stress enough that this is NOT A SELF-HELP BOOK! I was a fan of James Acaster's comedy before reading this so I fully understood that it was not a self-help book but it seems that some of the reviewers on here and elsewhere thought that it was. It's probably best described as a farcical comedic book about how to quit social media by completely unrealistic means, you aren't going to get any tips on how to realistically quit social media within it.

As you may have guessed, the book gives a fictitious account of James giving up social media, but it is also based on truth. “In real-life, I have quit social media. That is real,” he confirmed. “People would ask me about it in interviews, and say, like, ‘So, why did you quit? How did you quit? What advice would you give other people? What’s your life like now?’. All my answers would be so dull, so I started making up answers instead. I started making up stupid things that I’d done, stupid reasons why I’d quit. Like Daisy Jones and the Six, this book was meant to be listened to. I 100% suggest that everyone listens to the audiobook- absolutely hilarious. This book is a cross between what we loved about Repertoire and The Colbert Report. Do NOT expect this story to actually strongly resemble the real life of James Acaster…that would be a rookie mistake- especially because he said he wanted this to be a fiction book. This epoch-defining tome will finally solve the riddle of how we can stay off social media and still find the dizzying highs that come with each tweet. It's not an exaggeration to say that this book will change lives.’ If you want to get off social media and leech your brain of all the toxic things that social media has planted in there, deep deep within your brain, this is the book for you.His life is amazing and yours could be too if you buy JAMES ACASTER'S GUIDE TO QUITTING SOCIAL MEDIA, BEING THE BEST YOU YOU CAN BE AND SAVING YOURSELF FROM LONELINESS VOL. 1. Employing the help of a mysterious, wealthy benefactor named Clancy Dellahue, and an ever-growing gang of misfits (aka the Tangfastic Crew), James found ways to replace his online friends (he joined the scouts) and spy on his exes (climbing ropes, zip lines, fake moustache) as well as anonymously bullying strangers, seeing photos of everyone's dogs, getting public figures fired, arguing with everybody about everything, and so much more. James Acaster's Guide to Quitting Social Media, Being The Best YOU You Can Be And Saving Yourself From Loneliness, Vol. 1 will be published byHeadlineon August, 18. Acaster himself shifted up his comedic style and stand-up persona in a recent special, Cold Lasagne Hate Myself 1999, which he self-released on Vimeo last year. In it, he is much more political, more open about his own life and recent crises, and markedly combative and hostile. It is an interesting tonal shift for Acaster, something he admits in the special he does not enjoy doing typically but felt necessary for the circumstances and that specific material. This is James’ third book, following on from 2017's Classic Scrapes and 2019's Perfect Sound Whatever. When speaking about writing it, he told Tom (Allen - not Tom from Myspace!): “I loved it. Just getting completely lost in a ridiculous world, where the character all the way through the book is trying to find replacements in the real world for what social media used to give him. So, a lot of silly capers. Making my own memes, making my own gifs, with a full film crew, and forming a whole cult by the end as well, so I got to really let my imagination run wild.”

Employing the help of a mysterious, wealthy benefactor named Clancy Dellahue, and an ever-growing gang of misfits (aka the Tangfastic Crew), James found ways to replace his online friends (he joined the scouts) and spy on his exes (climbing ropes, zip lines, fake moustache) as well as anonymously bullying strangers, seeing photos of everyone’s dogs, getting public figures fired, arguing with everybody about everything, and so much more.Whilst reading the book I varied between 1 and 3 stars, there were times within the first few chapters where I almost gave up on reading it as it was just too puerile for me. However I persevered because although on the surface it was silly, underneath there were elements of a quite clever take on how nonsense social media really is. I particularly "enjoyed" the section on celebrity deaths and how the general public think it's perfectly acceptable to tweet the family of the celebrity to tell them how they will miss the person who they most likely never met and how tweeting condolences often because a top trumps game of who liked the celebrity the most/who is the most upset which if you considered doing this in real life you'd be considered inappropriate and stalker-y. His life is amazing and yours could be too if you buy James Acaster's Guide to Quitting Social Media, Being the Best You You Can Be and Saving Yourself from Loneliness Vol. 1. Funny, fantastical and forthright, this is an indispensable survival guide to the real world' - Daily Mail If you want to laugh at just some absolutely absurd ways of living, this book is definitely for you. If you’re looking for an actual self help guide that will help you delete social media….why did you come to James Acaster for that advice in the first place. Instead, James Acaster has written a tour de force. Perhaps, the first great bildungsroman of the digital age. And as any author from the time when ‘bildungsroman’ was an acceptable turn of phrase knows, the heart of a novel is truth. Which Acaster has provided in spades. Not literal truth, that would be boring. It is subtle truth. Improved truth. Paying homage to the first great fantasy film of the digital age, Shrek, Acaster’s book has layers. He might be discussing electric eels, Chatburn, mooning, spam (the food and the internet sensation), or any other funny sounding word available, but what he is really discussing, is the human experience.

You will also need to do everything the book tells you to. Including helping us promote the book by tweeting about it. This is a self-help book like no other. Because you are not helping yourself, James Acaster is helping you.James Acaster is due to release a new book in August, called James Acaster's Guide to Quitting Social Media, Being The Best YOU You Can Be And Saving Yourself From Loneliness Vol. 1. But that's not all - with its practical advice and actionable tips, this guide is the perfect way to take control of your social media habits and start living a more fulfilling life. It's like having a roadmap to a happier and more authentic you.