The Book That No One Wanted to Read

by Richard Ayoade

Hello! I'm a book!

I can say with all modesty that The Book That No One Wanted To Read might be the most important book of all time. Why? Because it’s the first book to have been written by a book. Most books are written by authors. Here is what some of them have to say about this

“A very—very—funny book that’s also a playfully philosophical exploration of why we write and why we read.”—Mac Barnett, author of Sam and Dave Dig a Hole and What Is Love?

“The book everyone should read … a hilarious but heartfelt guide to the power of the imagination in every child.”—Piers Torday, author of The Last Wild

A book that narrates itself! Richard Ayoade and a host of friends help this book tell its own story with multiple voices, music, and sound effects.

Genres: Humor, Middle Grade, Fiction, Audiobook, Childrens, Books About Books, Comedy

Audible Audio

First published October 6, 2022

About the author

Richard Ellef Ayoade is a British comedian, film director, screenwriter, television presenter, actor, and author best known for his role as the socially awkward IT technician Maurice Moss in Channel 4 sitcom The IT Crowd, for which he won the 2014 BAFTA for Best Male Comedy Performance.

Reviews

[Kerri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Richard Ayoade's humour conveyed in the form of a book written by a book. Funny, more poignant than I had expected (sorry about that underestimation Mr. Ayoade!) and perfectly illustrated. I had great fun reading this.

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this hilarious and sweet. I love reading books about books and books about writing. If I was still an elementary school teacher/librarian, I'd use this as an introduction for a lesson or unit on writing fictional stories or writing from an inanimate object's perspective. There's actually quite a lot that can be used to explore many concepts and beliefs, including how to love ourselves, someone, or something beyond external appearances.

I guess I can see why some people didn’t like it… if you don’t like quirkiness, it’s probably not for you.

[Mlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hallo allemaal *zwaait*
Ik ga het in deze review toch maar delen, heel binnenkort komt mijn allereerste grote jeugdboek uit bij uitgeverij Clavis: *Spannennnnnnd!!!* Het heet 'De Omzwervingen van Boek' en staat nog niet op goodreads, maar.. wordt wel aankomende maandag gedrukt.

Afgelopen maand was ik met mijn (schoon)zussen een weekend in Belgie, o.a. naar Boektopia en daar vond mijn zus dit boek. 'Hé, dit lijkt op jouw verhaal!'
Die moest ik meenemen natuurlijk en.. het was heel grappig om te lezen. De auteur is begonnen met hetzelfde uitgangspunt: een boek als hoofdpersonage, alleen.. is hij er echt een compleet andere kant op gegaan.

Ik de jeugdromanzijde met als thema vluchten/migratie/oorlog ->
<- Deze auteur meer de 'Boomhut-met-112-verdiepingen-zijde' :D
Maar dan wél met dezelfde start. Ondanks dat ze heel verschillend zijn, zitten er dus toch zinnen in en gedachten waarbij het net lijkt alsof we elkaars gedachten hebben gelezen. En dat was wel grappig om te lezen :D (want we hebben tegelijk geschreven, dus dat is onmogelijk).

Daarom een extra bonusster voor deze collega-auteur 0:D zou hem wel eens willen spreken en... oordeel verder: leuk laagdrempelig boek met humor en illustraties. Ook zeker heel geschikt voor kinderen die normaal níet zo graag lezen. Brengt de magie van boeken op een originele manier aan de man.

Zo :) nu verdwijn ik weer onder de radar (ik ga een speciaal auteursaccount openen), tot de volgende review!

[D'Arcy · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s Richard Ayoade in book form - what’s not to love??

[Julie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I listened to this book twice, just in case I missed something, however it didn't improve on the second listening. It wasn't as funny or witty as I was expecting, and, even worse - it repeated the old cliché of the shushing fusty librarian in a musty library and my heart sank.

I am a frequent visitor to several libraries and visit libraries on my travels both near and far, here and abroad - there is nothing more joyful than the sound of children of all ages discovering books and other materials in our libraries.

People meet, share stories, discuss books and ideas, create crafts, complete research, learn new skills, learn how to download books to their devices, play with various educational materials, or complete jigsaw puzzles etc. in our libraries. They are not shushed.

Librarians come in all varieties and they share a love of listening to individuals who are looking for that special reading experience and like magicians - they often provide a reading experience that is beyond our expectations and leave us hungering for more.

Richard Ayoade - when did you last visit your local library? I encourage you to go at your earliest convenience, as I think you will be surprised at the warmth of the welcome, the buzz of happy sounds of people reading and sharing, and the sheer variety of physical and online materials available.

[Valentina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zgodna (jako) i duhovita knjiga za male, ali i za nas velike. Knjiga koja govori o tome kako bi knjige trebale izgledati, o čitanju, knjižnicama, poanti pisanja. Odlični fontovi i prored. Zanimljive, duhovite ilustracije koje se izvrsno nadopunjuju s autorovim humorom. Lijepo ju je držati u ruci, listati, biti tužan, smijati se….lijepo je bilo provesti vrijeme u njenom društvu.

[Kailey (Luminous Libro) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once upon a time, there was a book that no one wanted to read. Maybe it was dry and boring. Maybe the cover was unattractive. Maybe the book was high up on a shelf where no one could reach. Or maybe the book was biding its time until a special reader came along.... YOU!

This book is so hilarious and weird. It goes off on these crazy tangents with silly jokes before finally getting to the actual story, and then it veers off into another wild tangent. I love it! The story was not at all what I expected.

The humor can be a little bit gross sometimes with farts, poop, vomit, and other yucky things. Not exactly my style of humor. But most of the jokes were really fun and made me chuckle.

The illustrations are what make this book so hilarious! There are lots of weird puns and odd quips that are then illustrated in an explanatory style as if this were a textbook. If someone's "eyes fall upon" something, there is a cartoon illustration of a person's eyeballs hanging out of their head. There is also a chart showing the "Loudness of Different Dropped Items", where a dropped handkerchief, an ornamental bowl, a drum kit, and an angry hen are listed "In Ascending Order of Loudness". There is an educational groups of charts which show the likelihood of "Fun" in a pie chart, an equation, an XY graph, and a bar graph. Delightful!

I like that (underneath the silliness) we get to explore some deep ideas about why we love to read and what is truly important in the stories we write or share. Imagination and courage are essential in life, and we get those from the books we read.

My favorite part of the story is when the book and the reader begin to really connect through sharing their worst fears and anxieties. They have to be vulnerable with each other and trust that the other one will accept them and encourage them. To read or write is to open your heart and share a story with someone else, and that takes courage. Simply beautiful!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.

[Melissa Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful

[Sue Oshin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a POV of The Book That No One Wanted To Read. The dialog between human and the book in the library. There is some facts that i would like to share;

📚 What is it that makes you want to read a book? They say you should never judge a book by its cover. But how else can you decide whether you might like it? You cant read a book to work out whether you want to read that book because, by that stage, you will have already read it.

📚 People who underline certain words means ALL THE WORDS ARE IMPORTANT!

📚 Why books that sell a lot of copies are called “bestsellers”. What was “best” about how they were sold? They just sold “more” than other books. They should be called “moresellers”

📚 There are people who say they like the way books smell. Well, these people hadnt smelt THE BOOK THAT NO ONE WANTED TO READ because it was a musty old stinker, mingling the aroma of mould, the dankness of dust-smothered moss and the far-off scent of sports-day socks.

📚 What exactly the contents of THE BOOK THAT NO ONE WANTED TO READ? Its a trick question because no one knew. No one had ever opened that book on account of no one wanting to read it ever.

📚 Text book or school book facts; no one want to read them, though. People just have to read them.

[&#x1f336; peppersocks &#x1f9e6; · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reflections and lessons learned:
“I sometimes wonder whether you couldn't say the same is true of us books. If no one can read us, what are we?
If no one sees you, are you even a person? How would you know you were real? You'd be invisible!*
Us books need to be seen. We need to be held. We need to be heard. I think that's why children make the best readers, because they know that these things are also true of them.**”

Meta meta meta! Lovely stuff with gorgeous illustrations. If you like books (and should you even be on goodreads if you don’t? Should there be a badreads with a reverse rating system…?), with a bit life philosophy weaved through, this is for you. A good librarian doesn’t just look out for the less prominent books either… as we all should… with just a little bit of heart for everything

Jan 23 audiobook first listen: COCKER NARRATION KLAXON!! A fabulous performance of course…

[Becs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why has nobody thought of this before?! Utter genius. A book, told as though by the book itself, filled with belly laughs, ire and actually a good lesson or two as well!

I absolutely loved this book. I’m not exaggerating when I say that it really made me laugh so much. The illustrations are fun, it’s essentially a life lesson and literacy lesson all in one, and the concept is amazing.

It’s “sort of” a story, but it’s more just a conversation with the book about books! What bookworm wouldn’t love that?! The irony is that, just as the book says, I would have ignored this on the shelf because of the cover if it hadn’t been sent to me for a review - so I have to urge to be better than me and go out and buy it for yourself, cover and all.

ARC provided from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Reilly Zimbric · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has inspired me to use the word “shush” in various forms in my daily life.
Shush.
Shushing.
Shushed.
Shushable.

[AP · Rating 2 out of 5]

just tremendously boring

[Jennyfer · Rating 5 out of 5]

High up on a dusty shelf, in a library created by your imagination sits a book. It doesn't want you to read it, because it is scared of the fate that awaits books nobody wants - to be *pulped*. (As an aside this gave me a giggle because the book is primarily narrated by Pulp's Jarvis Cocker)

As the book (voiced by the inimitable Richard Ayoade ) argues why it should be left alone, you, the reader (narrated by Lydia Fox) put forward a case to why the book should be opened.

No spoilers, but this is a funny, heartwarming book filled with empathy, creativity and an extraordinary number of tangents. Ayoade's humour is perfectly balanced by the serious tone of Cocker's narration, and the fourth wall is not just broken - it's shattered as the book invites you along for the ride.

Thoroughly enjoyable kids audiobook, with a fantastic cast.

[Edward Amato · Rating 4 out of 5]

I cannot recommend enough to prospective readers who are unfamiliar with Richard Ayoade's humor to watch a few shows of either "The IT Crowd" or"Travel Man" prior to reading this. This book is for young readers, i.e. European children getting a start in education and reading or Americans preparing for college. Like David Sedaris' oeuvre, I kept hearing Ayoade's voice throughout the book that kept me laughing. Tried to make it last longer to read before going to sleep at night but could not stop myself from finishing.

[Bart Verdeyen (cafeaulivre on Youtube) · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,5 stars

This is a silly, little book, with silly, little illustrations, but sometimes, that's all you need.
It is the story of a book, told by a book. It's the story of a character, and that character might well be you.

It's funny, witty and a fun read, especially if you're a fan of Richard Ayoade's absurd sense of humor.
And if you are, then you'll probably hear all the words in this book spoken by his voice while reading it!

[Carlota · Rating 2 out of 5]

Se calhar vou ser má mas vou dar duas estrelas. Sim, quando comecei o livro já tinha a noção de que não ia ser um livro para mim e que só o estava a ouvir porque queria um audiobook rápido (este tinha 50 minutos). Porém, o facto de haver imensa gente a dizer que o livro era super engraçado foi uma motivação. Mas piada nem vê-la. Ouvi-lo foi simplesmente "mehh" e confesso que a minha atenção estava a 70% só.
ANYWAY... PRÓXIMO!!

[Claire Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute. I love a book that writes itself, and the illustrations were on point!

[Trevor Abbott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect book for readers of all ages
Absolutely brimming with smiles

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute and somewhat funny.

[Sami · Rating 5 out of 5]

i think every person who's ever used ai to write a story should read this book. it's probably a little over their reading level but i'm sure they'll figure it out!

[Isabella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review to follow

[Sarah Booth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ayoade is absolutely mad, completely off his rocker, and this makes for a very entertaining short book. It's even more enjoyable when he and some companions read it aloud. A good book to relax to or use as a bedtime story even if you're an adult or perhaps especially if you're an adult. It's nice to fall asleep with a grin on your face, or you can listen to it just to get out of a sour mood. It's a book about a book and so filled with nothing too deep, but lots of fun and silliness.

[Miss Syreena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorably charming. Love the illustrations and footnotes! Written for kids but will still leave grown ups smiling. (Don’t be a bookist. Remember that books are alive and not our property and we should always be respectful).

[Erin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very disappointed. Ordered this for my library and was excited when I realized Richard Ayoade wrote it. Immediately started reading it and it's just terrible. So many stereotypes of old shushing librarians and dusty libraries. Clearly he hasn't been to one in a while. I also hate when there's an abundance of footnotes. Just ruins the flow.

[Starr ❇✌❇ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

This was a cute, if rambling meta story. The illustrations really take the cake, and I enjoyed the moments of direct 4th wall breaks. The ending wound up being sweeter than I expected too (though possibly because I didn't really expect enough story for there to be an ending, ha). Reading this in Ayoade's voice definitely increased enjoyment.

[Jochen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Een boek over een boek dat in dialoog gaat met een lezer. Lekker meta, vol humor en leuke illustraties, prima vertaling door Edward van de Vendel... Dit boek lees ik beslist opnieuw, wat wel knap is voor een boek ´dat niemand wilde lezen´. (Wel vraagtekens over de leeftijdscategorie; beleeft de leeftijdsgroep voor wie dit boek in de markt wordt gezet, er ook even veel plezier aan?)

[Tina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed by this! It gets 1 star for being by the lovely Richard Ayoade and the other star for mentioning Ipswich.

[Lydia H. Deetz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a somewhat quick read but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Clara Levi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must for any reader, so clever & cutesy.