Andrew Collings - That's Me in the Corner review

As a big fan of the Collings and Herrin podcast (which has ended – sobsob), I decided to try reading Andrew Collins’ book, That’s Me in the Corner. I’ve already read Richard Herring’s How Not To Grow Up (I’ve reviewed it on this blog) and was really surprised. I really enjoyed it, so I really wanted to like this book.

TMITC recounts Collins’ various jobs as he reaches the age of 40. Some of it is good, I enjoyed the early bit about his job at Sainsbury’s and his take on the supermarket hierarchy there, both for the most part, it was not interesting enough, and perhaps slightly self-indulgent. I felt Collins namedrops a lot which can be a bit frustrating, and I think due to my age, I haven’t connected with the book as I don’t understand the rock/indie musical or 80s/early 90s references. Overall, the writing style just isn’t strong enough – it mostly reads like a list of anecdotes, factual for the most part, with the odd celebrity name dropped in and there is little to gain from reading this. HNTGU was captivating as Herring had a set theme – reaching the age of 40 and whether he should be more adultlike – and incorporated several events from his life. You don’t need to have prior knowledge to read it, it is pretty accessible for any reader, whereas I felt like I was missing something when reading TMITC. Another thing that was successful about HNTGU was Herring’s writing content – it is witty and interesting, and it also probes deeper into his feelings about career, life, health, history and his love life. Collins doesn’t do anything of the sort, and it seems quite pointless and shallow on some level. I frequently found myself skim-reading or skipping large chunks whereas with HNTGU I was hooked on every page and could not put it down.

That being said, I do enjoy Collin’s wry throwaway observations which are casually thrown in and I enjoyed the chapter about writing for Eastenders but taken as a whole, it isn’t my cup of tea. Perhaps I am being too harsh, Collins isn’t a comedian like Herring so I can’t expect it to be a hilarious read and maybe it is unfair to compare TMITC to HNTGU, but I do expect to enjoy and get something out of reading the book, but sadly, with Collins’ book, I don’t get anything at all. 2 stars.

*It was announced that Richard Herring is to get married yesterday – perhaps he had finally grown up after all!