Stuff Brits Like: A Guide to What's Great About Great Britain

by Fraser McAlpine

If you’re looking for the best biscuit to dunk in your tea, the ideal temperature at which to serve real ale or the perfect pasty for your trip to the seaside, you either
 
A)      Have been desperately seeking a book exactly like this one or,
B)      Have secretly become British without realizing it.
 
If you chose A, congratulations, you are an Anglophile! And, if you chose B, don’t panic. With the help of  Stuff Brits Like , you will soon discover the joy of these and many more delightful British peculiarities and can develop an upper lip as stiff as any you’ve seen on  Downton Abbey .
 
British native Fraser McAlpine set out to do for his countrymen what Stuff Parisians Like did for their neighbors across the channel—offering a guide to their particular tastes and eccentricities with all the cheeky wit you might expect from the people who gave you Noël Coward and Eddie Izzard.
 
You may know to say football instead of soccer and crisps instead of chips. You may even know why taking the piss is more fun and less unsanitary than it sounds. But with Stuff Brits Like , you’ll be ready for the next pub quiz in no time.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, Humor, British Literature

369 pages, Paperback

First published July 7, 2015

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up because of the description on the back, which said that if you were interested in these topics, you may "have secretly become British without realizing it." That seemed to describe me, but after reading these many 2-3 page entries (not sure how many--over 50, I'd guess), there was still a lot I didn't know about being British! There's a huge range of topics, from food to movies to "Grade-B Swear Words" to feminism and beyond. I think my favorite chapter heading was: "Driving to wet beaches and sitting in the car." Of course there's as big a variety of people in Britain as there is anywhere else, but I did recognize many of these from my own observations, so it was a lot of fun to read. I'd recommend it to all other Anglophiles with a sense of humor.

[Jill H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book for the Anglophile so of course I loved it. As we all know British English and American English is very different and some habits and behaviors vary widely. This book describes some of those oddities and why they exist. It covers everything from warm beer to queuing up at a bus stop. Lots of fun and answers a bunch of questions that even Anglophiles have. Recommended.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book that does a good job of explaining lots of British customs and quirks in a very large number of short entries. The shortness of the entries keeps it readable, the writing is suitably entertaining, and the research seems to be reasonably solid. It is not, however, rigorous. The entries are too short to really get into the debate about origins. There are things that are missing, and plenty of things that are not unique to the British, mostly because they are found in commonwealth countries throughout the world (e.g. Boxing Day). However it is still a good and informative read.

[GeoLyceum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun collection of essays from Fraser McAlpine, the lead writer for the BBC's Anglophenia blog for American Anglophiles. Each essay covers a single topic, explaining why the subject is near and dear to British hearts (even if it's something they don't actually like, such as the weather or Marmite-flavored toothpaste). You will discover explanations for British phenomena such as the Christmas pantomime (or "panto" for short), long running soap operas like "Coronation Street," and foodstuffs like curry with brief yet packed histories and illustrations of usage. You might also be introduced to British institutions such as the BBC Shipping Forecast - if the world ends, the Shipping Forecast will go on. Each essay also ends with a small feature on how to work the subject into conversation, as well as how to mess up working it into conversation. There is also a small glossary of slang at the end which can be helpful in deciphering (decrypting?) movies and TV shows.

[Doug Miles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of us Americans, if we haven’t visited the UK, get our information and impressions of Great Britain from imported television shows like Monty Python, Dr. Who and Downton Abbey. Humorist and author Fraser McAlpine, in his book “Stuff Brits Like, A Guide to What’s Great About Great Britain”, illustrates the many differences of our neighbors across the pond in a light-hearted and humorous collection of essays. I recommend the book for anyone looking to understand our British brethren better. I spoke with Fraser McAlpine and that conversation can be heard here: http://dougmilesmedia.com/?p=1565

[TUNG NGUYEN · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reminds me so much of the UK in general and London in particular.
Makes me want to come back.
I miss how British play with their words, and how that talk about the weather...
I love them when they say sorry without doing anything that's worth saying "I am sorry"...
Cute and Funny.

[Rachael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book informational and also funny. I would snicker at some chapters and send parts to my friends (who are British) from them to laugh at. The parts about making fun of Americans was exceptionally great to share with my friends and ask them if that's how they saw me.

[Harron68 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 'must' for fans of British art, be it music, films, humor, or general grumpiness! I luvved this look at the quirks and nurks of the culture. Simply put, it's top hole!!!! Four friggin' stars mate!

[Apex157x · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love it!

[Lauren Weems · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was such a fun read! I love everything about the UK and its people, so it was fantastic to get some more insight on their favorite things and mannerisms.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very quick and enjoyable. Short chapters about everything from Coronation Street to the proper way to eat a biscuit.

[Len · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting dive into British culture. Fun to read, and informative for those who'd like to know more about what the culture besides Benedict Cumberbatch and Doctor Who.

[Suzanne Carr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat enjoyed the read. Each chapter was its own topic, from Vegemite to Radio shows.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really funny

[Angela Hedworth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book more. However, chapters such as British people like cars is not really what makes Great Britain great.

[Jaynie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really liked this. Only gave it four stars because there is a lot of British culture references in there that McAlpine didn't explain. Keeping it for awhile.

[Bookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

A guide for Anglophiles I spotted this at the bookstore a few months ago and made a note to look into this book. It's pretty much what it says on the tin: "A guide to what's great about Great Britain." Author McAlpine takes the reader though various topics that are uniquely (?) British, such as their love of tea, queuing, the Royal Family, James Bond, the BBC, the NHS etc. etc. Each topic, person, media, etc. gets anywhere from a page or so to a few. Not in-depth or scientific but a good quick explainer.
 
Some things will be quite familiar (tea) but there were definitely many things I didn't know about such as his section on "Embarrassing Foreigners." I'm not entirely sure that's something that's really special about the British (go most anywhere you can probably find parallels). But as written elsewhere it's probably not going to be anything earth-shocking if you are familiar with British shows, culture, etc. I also generally found some topics not of interest (rugby, some of the shows/movies mentioned, etc), but even having a very brief explainer on both the BBC and NHS were helpful to have context in light of recent news.
 
I would have liked a Table of Contents and/or an index (there's a glossary of terms at the end).
 
There's not much to say because most of it's fairly formulaic and once you read a few entries you'll get how the rest of the guide goes. I considered buying it when I saw it at the store but I think it was better I managed to borrow it instead. For the Anglophile that is perhaps not familiar with McAlpine's site (he runs the Anglophenia, the BBC blog) then it might be a good read. It also might be a good gift (a supplementary travel guide?) to say a student studying abroad or someone visiting the country for the first time or a hardcore Anglophenia.
 
Otherwise I'd recommend this for a fun library borrow or maybe a bargain buy if you really like it.

[JLiv · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very lovely book, quite an enjoyable read. You have to get into this routine many short chapters but after that: happy days! Very funny, no matter if you know a lot about the Brits or not! It certainly would be a great gift for anyone but I bought for myself and don't regret it at all! I adore his style of writing, and I love the book as well because one definitely learns something!
I can recommend this book very much, it is just hilarious!

[Amanda [Novel Addiction] · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this because I like Brits, and therefore I want to know what Brits like. A lot of this I already knew, but it was still a very interesting read.

[Kerrikoala · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, I guess? I skipped a few chapters because I just didn't care why Brits like those things. I'm an Australiaphile. (Is there a book for that? Stuff Aussies Like?)

[Kat Sommers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny (unsurprising given it's by Mr McAlpine) and spot on!

[Tae · Rating 4 out of 5]

More informative and funnier than its genre could ever have hoped for. Great fun!

[GM · Rating 1 out of 5]

so boring

[Xiangting Lim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful read for anglophenia fans.