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Little Guide To Unhip
Now updated! Have you ever worried about not being quite hip enough? Or maybe you are one of those who flaunts your unhipness with abandon. Either way, Little Guide to Unhip is for you. Although it charts my own personal unhip top 50 with the likes of Gilbert O’Sullivan, Morris Dancing, Vicar of Dibley, Shopping Trolleys and Brolleys, I picked those characters, characteristics, attributes or material objects with a universally unhip feeling to them. Each is given an unhip rating up to five for you to keep a count of your own and includes personal anecdotes. There is also a 'bubbling under' list for a further those unhips things not quite making the top 50.
This book carries a warning: some readers may seriously dent their coolness if caught reading this material!
This book carries a warning: some readers may seriously dent their coolness if caught reading this material!
- GenresHumor
ebook
First published June 4, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 11, 2011
I enjoyed this little book a lot. The fact that I am from Liverpool (like the author), am in my early 50's (again like the author) and seem to have a very similar caustic sense of humour to the author no doubt helped.
To be honest, after reading it, I am not really any the wiser as to my hip or unhip status, and frankly who cares, but I did laugh out loud on several occasions, quietly chuckled to myself a lot and often smiled or indeed grimaced wryly, as I recognised signs of both my own flaws and vanities as well as those of others within the text....so it gets my vote.
To be honest, after reading it, I am not really any the wiser as to my hip or unhip status, and frankly who cares, but I did laugh out loud on several occasions, quietly chuckled to myself a lot and often smiled or indeed grimaced wryly, as I recognised signs of both my own flaws and vanities as well as those of others within the text....so it gets my vote.
August 16, 2018
I really enjoyed this little guide, no pun intended! I have the feeling that I am a similar vintage to the author because there were an awful lot of things that sounded terribly familiar - getting into my jeans in my teens by means of laying on the bed and using a metal coathanger, being just one of them, lol.
As a person who mostly reads thrillers, it made a nice change to just read something lighthearted like this. I would recommend it to everyone, especially if you are over 40, umm, over 50, like me :)
4.5 stars.
As a person who mostly reads thrillers, it made a nice change to just read something lighthearted like this. I would recommend it to everyone, especially if you are over 40, umm, over 50, like me :)
4.5 stars.
August 1, 2018
The best I can say about my level is unhip that I take solace in theory that like a ribbon secured as a loop, I am so desperately unhip that I thus border on a a hitherto uncharted level of ultra-hip!
This was a gloriously tongue in cheek book that is at once a top fifty list and also a gentle ode to sisterhood as the shared Liverpool upbringing is laid bare.
I laughed an awful lot, mostly at myself throughout.
i lost count of my unhip scores, so little hope for me.
This was a gloriously tongue in cheek book that is at once a top fifty list and also a gentle ode to sisterhood as the shared Liverpool upbringing is laid bare.
I laughed an awful lot, mostly at myself throughout.
i lost count of my unhip scores, so little hope for me.
August 8, 2018
A lovely little tongue in cheek book about everyday things and whether or not they are hip or unhip.
Each thing rated on its unhipness.
Although some of them were things I didnt know about as I dont live in U.K I was still able to have a giggle about their unhipness.
I would recommend this book, it will lighten your day and leave you with a smile.
Each thing rated on its unhipness.
Although some of them were things I didnt know about as I dont live in U.K I was still able to have a giggle about their unhipness.
I would recommend this book, it will lighten your day and leave you with a smile.
July 20, 2011
Undisputedly hilarious. Each 'Unhip' entry is anywhere from a single paragraph to two pages in length and although you turn the pages with trepidation, it is trepidation-with-giggles. It's like a comic version of Russian roulette: you hope NOT to find yourself in the next entry, you turn the page and – Bang! - another cringeworthy 'Unhip' custard pie splats squarely in your fizzog! No matter how 'Hip' you think you are, the likelihood of you getting through this book unscathed is zero (or less).
Convinced you're 'Unhip' to the marrow? Relax, you're in good company.
If you're so far beyond the pale that you have no idea what being 'Hip' or 'Unhip' means, this book is a must-read for you. Why? Because it will clarify your niche, perhaps for the first time in your life, in the sociocultural context, which means, at the very least, that if your friends continue to snigger behind your back about your Gilbert O'Sullivan albums, you will know enough to retaliate with sniggers of your own: tidy homes; bungalows; sitting downstairs on the bus: go get 'em!
Regardless of whether we consider(ed) ourselves 'Hip' or 'Unhip' or simply clueless, Little Guide to Unhip's wise and witty entries join together to provide us with an understanding of ourselves in relation to our culture and our perception of how we have or have not adjusted to it. Or even if we have never given it a thought or, ('The horror! The horror!') have been completely unaware of it.
You might think you're above all this facile trivia – if so, be afraid, be very afraid, as this merely indicates an off-the-scale level of naiveté: it will hurt all the more when you laugh as the beige rug is pulled from beneath your feet...
All this and the wonderful bonus of Kate Rigby's autobiographical vignettes scattered throughout.
Guinea pigs? Elasticated waists? Committees? Umbrellas? Holiday in Austria? You need this book!
Convinced you're 'Unhip' to the marrow? Relax, you're in good company.
If you're so far beyond the pale that you have no idea what being 'Hip' or 'Unhip' means, this book is a must-read for you. Why? Because it will clarify your niche, perhaps for the first time in your life, in the sociocultural context, which means, at the very least, that if your friends continue to snigger behind your back about your Gilbert O'Sullivan albums, you will know enough to retaliate with sniggers of your own: tidy homes; bungalows; sitting downstairs on the bus: go get 'em!
Regardless of whether we consider(ed) ourselves 'Hip' or 'Unhip' or simply clueless, Little Guide to Unhip's wise and witty entries join together to provide us with an understanding of ourselves in relation to our culture and our perception of how we have or have not adjusted to it. Or even if we have never given it a thought or, ('The horror! The horror!') have been completely unaware of it.
You might think you're above all this facile trivia – if so, be afraid, be very afraid, as this merely indicates an off-the-scale level of naiveté: it will hurt all the more when you laugh as the beige rug is pulled from beneath your feet...
All this and the wonderful bonus of Kate Rigby's autobiographical vignettes scattered throughout.
Guinea pigs? Elasticated waists? Committees? Umbrellas? Holiday in Austria? You need this book!
July 19, 2010
It was obvious from the beginning that this book was going to be a laugh.
It was obvious from near the beginning that it was also going to be an assault course - could I jump over the hurdle of every chapter unscathed?
Gilbert O'Sullivan - no worries there
Elasticated waists - not my fault
Morris dancers - you jest
Austria - don't care if I don't go there again
And triumphantly on until 'TIM' - Tim? Yeah, Tim is one of the unhippest names in the universe according to Kate Rigby. I lost it at birth or soon after.
Now I am too ashamed to stand in a pub next to a Morris dancer. He is a better man than me.
Take the test; feel the humiliation.
It was obvious from near the beginning that it was also going to be an assault course - could I jump over the hurdle of every chapter unscathed?
Gilbert O'Sullivan - no worries there
Elasticated waists - not my fault
Morris dancers - you jest
Austria - don't care if I don't go there again
And triumphantly on until 'TIM' - Tim? Yeah, Tim is one of the unhippest names in the universe according to Kate Rigby. I lost it at birth or soon after.
Now I am too ashamed to stand in a pub next to a Morris dancer. He is a better man than me.
Take the test; feel the humiliation.
December 8, 2010
This book is hysterical but at the same time it shares wonderful stories and shows us just how ridiculous life can be; and that laughing at things that seem so huge at the time really helps put everything in perspective. It's fun, light, and a wonderful gift for anyone for any occassion...I highly recommend it..Patricia aka Columbia Layers of the heart
April 19, 2015
An amusing read, with the occasional flash of real insight. Well written and impeccably presented. While it may be British in many of the references, there is no reason it should not strike a chord with Americans as well. So much of our culture is world-wide these days.
December 20, 2010
A thoroughly enjoyable trip into nostalgia and some of the absurdities thereof.
May 19, 2016
I was expecting this book to have some kind of balance about what is good about being unhip. I was expecting support for the idea that one should neither reject nor embrace pop culture just because it is currently hip Also, being deliberately unhip or unfashionable does carry some risks, and I was interested in comments about how to balance those.
But the book seems only to talk about particular things that are unhip in the British culture in particular. Because what thing are unhip change fast, that makes this book the opposite of timeless.
I did not read the whole book, but the example of umbrellas being unhip was in the first few. Who knew? Who believes it? Put "cool umbrellas" in a search engine and enjoy the diversity.
Maybe if the author and you share some kind of culture match then each of these is hilarious, as it seems to be for some readers. But all the high ratings made this book extra disappointing for me.
But the book seems only to talk about particular things that are unhip in the British culture in particular. Because what thing are unhip change fast, that makes this book the opposite of timeless.
I did not read the whole book, but the example of umbrellas being unhip was in the first few. Who knew? Who believes it? Put "cool umbrellas" in a search engine and enjoy the diversity.
Maybe if the author and you share some kind of culture match then each of these is hilarious, as it seems to be for some readers. But all the high ratings made this book extra disappointing for me.
July 19, 2010
It was obvious from the beginning that this book was going to be a laugh.
It was obvious from near the beginning that it was also going to be an assault course - could I jump over the hurdle of every chapter unscathed?
Gilbert O'Sullivan - no worries there
Elasticated waists - not my fault
Morris dancers - you jest
Austria - don't care if I don't go there again
And triumphantly on until 'TIM' - Tim? Yeah, Tim is one of the unhippest names in the universe according to Kate Rigby. I lost it at birth or soon after.
Now I am too ashamed to stand in a pub next to a Morris dancer. He is a better man than me.
Take the test; feel the humiliation.
It was obvious from near the beginning that it was also going to be an assault course - could I jump over the hurdle of every chapter unscathed?
Gilbert O'Sullivan - no worries there
Elasticated waists - not my fault
Morris dancers - you jest
Austria - don't care if I don't go there again
And triumphantly on until 'TIM' - Tim? Yeah, Tim is one of the unhippest names in the universe according to Kate Rigby. I lost it at birth or soon after.
Now I am too ashamed to stand in a pub next to a Morris dancer. He is a better man than me.
Take the test; feel the humiliation.
December 13, 2012
I absolutely loved this ..as I read through it, I felt myself mentally checking off all the unhip things in my life, and ended up by wondering if this writer was a personal friend or family member of mine as it was spot on. Imagine the hilarity when I got to the section called 'Timothy and June'.
Eagle-eyed readers will note that my name is, in fact, June..and I am proud to be officially unhip...
I think I might have been hip once, for about 5 minutes in 1984..now I leave it to the young'uns. The only 'hip' I am thinking about is a hip-replacement..!
Eagle-eyed readers will note that my name is, in fact, June..and I am proud to be officially unhip...
I think I might have been hip once, for about 5 minutes in 1984..now I leave it to the young'uns. The only 'hip' I am thinking about is a hip-replacement..!
August 25, 2014
I wanted to like this, but just didn't find it funny. Perhaps I'm simply not in the target audience, being ten years younger than the author and so having no experience of most of the things she classes as "unhip".
March 21, 2012
This is a fabulously funny read as long as you are happy to admit that you are tragically middle-aged and unhip! Love Kate's work.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews