The Joy of Sheds: Because a man's place isn't in the home

by Frank Hopkinson

The Joy of Sheds is a shed miscellany that chronicles man’s need for a small space on his own. It’s a humorous look at every aspect of the shed experience, mixed with shed facts and some practical information too. Many famous people have created in sheds. Inventor Trevor Baylis thought up the clockwork radio in a shed, George Bernard Shaw wrote Pygmalian in one and Dylan Thomas would compose poetry in his. The average UK male does not tend to devote his shed to poetry, though. Along with chapters on how to customize your shed into an exotic creation, "Pimp Your Shed", there are "Shed Facts": Almost a fifth of men have had an accident in a shed, it’s the single most dangerous place in the home after the kitchen. Other chapters include "Shed Vision", on the typical items stored in sheds, and "The Genus Shed", which places the shed in the Linnaean order of buildings. "Shed Experience" pulls in shed stories from around the world, but particularly Australia, and there are also tales of the "Euro-Shed". There are chapters on "Sheds in Literature" ( Lady Chatterly’s Lover and Cold Comfort Farm ), "Sheds at the Movies", and "Sheds in Music".

Genres: Nonfiction, Humor, Gardening

160 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2012

Reviews

[Bettie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bettie's Books

[Allie Bates · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this compendium on sheds. You know In Forrest Gump, that Bubba monologue about shrimp? It's pretty much the same thing, except that the topic is sheds instead of shrimp. (I think I would prefer shrimp, since at least they can be eaten.) Apparently there are at least as many ways of building, using, and cuddling up to sheds as there are preparing and eating shrimp. I don't want to be unfair, but sheds are not my forté. Probably this book a good gift for someone who is a backyard builder of sheds. But then I am reminded of my sister, whose back yard faced another yard in which someone had built a shed that had a nice porch and rocking chairs on it. She hated that shed, and sacrificed several feet across her back yard to grow shrubbery to hide what she thought of as a monstrosity. So give this carefully. I know the book has an audience of shed-lovers, but there are shed-haters out there too.

[Andy · Rating 2 out of 5]

compendium of various broadly shed related trivia
books written in sheds, music written in sheds, what people do in their sheds

some of the more unusual sheds might have benefited from colour pictures

[Ches Torrants · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable miscellany: quirky stories, anecdotes, and some very practical hints. I liked the humorous image of the reclusive and eccentric shed devotee.

[Michael Hillman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lots of "shed" stories, but overall disappointing. I had hoped to be inspired to build my own shed.

[AL · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's just all over the place

[Jack · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Christmas gift, made because I have built my own sheds. So, naturally, I hoped this would be a good read.

It's a cut-and-paste job amassing more shed trivia and quotes than I thought could possibly exist. It is just not to my taste, everything is a little too bland. I guess I just wanted a little more effort from the author: an attempt to get behind the clippings and Google searches.

I was disappointed because I wanted to like this. There's nothing particularly wrong about this book, it's just that's there's nothing particularly right about it either.

[Nick Turner · Rating 3 out of 5]

A whole e-book about sheds! With jolly colour clip art illustrations and black-and-white photographs. Mainly adopts a male point of view but some female shedders are mentioned. I read a review copy from the publisher.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny look at "Shed Culture." Makes me want to get my garage in order so I can start enjoying it!