A Man's Got to Have a Hobby: Long Summers with my Dad

by William McInnes

William McInnes' bestselling memoir, A Man's Got To Have A Hobby, takes us back to the long summer holidays of the 1960s and 70s, and the last of the baby-boomer childhoods. William writes with humour and affection about his family, and especially his mum and dad, who talked to the TV set and enjoyed life in their house near the bay.

William McInnes is a talented writer and a natural storyteller. A tail-end baby boomer, he recalls summer holidays that seemed to go on forever, when he and his mates would walk down to fish in the bay; a time when the Aussie battler stood as the local Labor candidate and looked out for his mates; and a time when the whole family would rush into the lounge room to watch a new commercial on TV.

He writes about his father - a strong character who talks to the furniture, dances with William's mother in the kitchen, and spends his free time fixing up the house and doing the best for his family. In William's writing you can hear his father speaking and listen to his mother singing.

This is a book about people who aren't famous but should be. It's about cane toads and families, love and hope and fear, laughter, death and life. Most of all, it is a realistic, down-to-earth book by a man who had a great time growing up. His warmth and humour come through on every page. This Australian memoir tells of a time that will be familiar to many readers and a delight for all.


'McInnes applies a deft touch to a swag of recollections, shaping a yarn that should be listed with the national treasures' - The Courier Mail

'This will make you laugh till you cry' - The Age

'A perfect balance between humour, humility, seriousness and light, laughter and tears' - Sunday Telegraph

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography, Humor, Australia, Book Club, Autobiography

288 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Darryl William McInnes (born 10 September 1963) is one of Australia’s most popular stage and screen actors.

His leading roles in Sea Change and Blue Heelers have made him a household name. The mini-series Shark Net and My Brother Jack earned him widespread critical acclaim. He has been nominated for numerous stage and screen awards, and has won a Variety Club Drama Award in 1997 and two Logie awards for Most Outstanding Actor in 2000 and 2004.

William grew up in Queensland and has travelled extensively throughout Australia. He now lives in Melbourne with his two children. He was married to the late film maker Sarah Watt.

Reviews

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listening to William McInnes read this book was heart warming. It's a love story to a family growing up in what feels like simpler times but really may not have been. The voices he uses are wonderful giving a sense of time and place to his story. Being of a similar era and having spent much of my time Joe Bjelke Peterson's Queensland there was a familiarity to the yarn and echos of the men and women from my childhood. Thanks William, I hope you know you made me cry.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable very Australian audiobook. Brilliantly narrated by the author.

[Rachel Salmond · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up and read it a few weeks ago, soon after I'd returned to Australia from 5 years in the US. I loved being wrapped up in McInnes's family and distinctively Australian childhood for a day or two. It's a great read for anyone coming back home. Bits of it keep on coming back to me as I reacquaint myself with life in a small Australian town.

[Nicki Hardiman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not normally a non fiction fan, but I love McInnes as an actor and so read this on first release. I soon discovered it was only to be read in public if you didn't mind being the crazy person laughing out loud to themselves.
I loved every moment of this book, and McInnes writes with such familiarity it's like we're having a conversation.
I guess I connected with the story because it made me think of my grandad and uncles out on the farm, and I recently talked my uncle into buying a copy with my review.

An Australian must read. Funny, poignant, heartfelt, genuine and oftentimes raw, I would gladly read it a million times over.

[Dale Harcombe · Rating 3 out of 5]

When you read this it's like hearing William McInnes talk. It was bought for my husband. I read it and enjoyed it. He's never bothered.

[Helensvale Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book from the moment I started reading it. I loved the words he used to describe places and events from his childhood & you could imagine yourself being there. On a plane recently I struggled trying not to laugh out loud and ended up in tears from doing so.
An excellent read

[Sal Goeldner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I grew up on "the Peninsula" a few years ahead of Billy so this was wonderful reading about how simple family life was and the fun we had in the local community with local identities and beloved places. Very refreshing. PS Our family wasn't as nuts as Billy's though !

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a brilliantly written book, I felt like I lived in this household. I laughed so hard at some of his stories that tears rolled down my face, real laugh out loud parts. Touching when needed this book is a great memoir and it'll be one I recommend to everyone.

[Jacquie South · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a lovely book - warm and entertaining. I laughed out loud, and I cried too. What more can you want?! Read it!

[Virginia]

lovely, like him

[Lyn Ambrose · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second time I have read this book. I loaned it to an overseas friend many years ago and it was recently returned to me. I always enjoyed William's humour both in and out of character as an actor and also as a writer. The book is really about his father and it is easy to see that his father influenced William's personality and humour as he grew up. His Dad is a nice bloke and a funny bloke.

William is the second of five children and also a father himself at time of writing about growing up in the McInnes family, a family that is typical of an Australian suburban family from the late 1950s onwards. The recollections are funny and as I have seen William act I could actually hear his voice as I read the book again. It is guaranteed to put a smile on the face of anyone who grew up in this time.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

I listened on audio read by the author. William is a natural storyteller. The era screams through on every page - William is at the tail end of the baby boomers and the stories he tells of his Australian childhood will have a tinge if recognition to any Australian from a white middle class background of the 70s.
The stories of his relatives dying are especially poignant.
I was a bit disappointed the audiobook was abridged, and so was missing many of the stories I would have had access to in the paper version. There is nothing remarkable or interesting about the book. A few nice stories that warm your heart or make you laugh.

[Susan Laughton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It was LOL funny. It made me remember my father who also had funny sayings.
It was a time when you didn’t have to worry about offending anyone. People seemed to have a good sense of humour and very funny sayings.
I will definitely be reading another one of William McInnes books. It is so good to belly laugh 😂😂😂😂

[Derelict Space Sheep · Rating 4 out of 5]

42 WORD REVIEW:

What starts as a gentle memoir grows in McInnes’ telling (and especially his reading), becoming at once a character study and tribute to McInnes’ larger-than-life father, a nostalgic piece of Australiana, and a moving reflection on childhood and the love of families.

[Belinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This really captured that 1970s Aussie nostalgia for me. Some hilarious moments mingled with sadder memories. Not the most remarkable book you’ll ever read but certainly enjoyable enough. I’d like to listen to the audio version.

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. McInnes is so skilled at bringing his father to life - great writing. I really could hear the bloke speaking - so authentic. The humour kind of petered out toward the end…but overall it’s a smashing read and truly evocative of Australia in the 70s.

[David Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good quick read. McInnes writes well. I found there to many similarities between his father and mine.

[MelbourneSharonB · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyable, made better as I listed to the audio, read by McInnes. Sometimes funny, sometimes sad - as any story reflecting on life is.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I have enjoyed this audiobook more than most because it was read by the author. It was full of warmth and laughter. But it was mostly about family love.

[Marion Brownlee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very entertaining I love his voices of other people

[Joanne Rosenzweig · Rating 1 out of 5]

List of events not a story. Single theme of flatulence. Poorly edited.

[Leonie Youngberry · Rating 4 out of 5]

The audiobook is wonderful - you will laugh and you will cry! McInnes is a great observer and storyteller.

[Lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious, nostalgic, heartwarming, deeply moving. The bonus was hearing it read by the author; his timing is perfect!

[Lisa Burres · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a book club choice, not one I would have chosen however I really enjoyed it. Made me laugh several times. I'll read more from him.

[Joanne Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read of an Australian upbringing.

[Stephen Swan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honest, poignant and laugh-so-much-I‘m- shaking funny

[Tarni M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will listen to a Mcinnes yarn for as long as they exist

[Leanne Fatchen Archer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very amusing and interesting

[Bev Maybury · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this - even laughed out loud at times!

[Steve lovell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thirty odd years ago, flying back from a shortened holiday in the UK in response to family news that my father was desperately ill, I knew on return that possibly my life would not been as I had known it prior to departure. After arrival, I sat by him during his last hours and kissed him on the forehead once he had passed. It was my first experience of losing someone I loved beyond words – as poignant now as it was then, especially as I am sixty, the age he was then. Dad never knew his grandchildren, whom he would have loved beyond words, and to this day I miss him.
I wish, after reading ‘A Man’s Got To Have A Hobby’, that I had the detail of memory and the wordsmithery of McInnes to do him justice in print as the author has done for his own father, Col, in this most engaging of memoirs. McInnes writes with dignity, delicacy but nonetheless humour of the difficult last years of his dad’s time on the planet, and has now in more recent times had to cope with the death of a loved wife. Maybe, given time, he will be in a position to recount that terrible event similarly.
This tribute to Col’s life, recounting the years the author was growing up in Redcliffe, the peninsula to the north of Brisbane, is a pure joy to read, and to some extent mirrors my own early journey far away to the south in Burnie. Like my own father, McInnes’ dad wasn’t a perfect man, but was deeply loved by wife and offspring. Col’s idiosyncrasies, his colourful way with Aussie lingo and his ability to be self-made paralleled my Fred and my experiences with him. The highlight of the whole affair, though, is the author’s yarnspinning – not just chortle inducing, but whole deep health-giving belly laughs rise up.
Growing up in the fifties and sixties, Australia was a far different place to today – it was more innocent, rougher around the edges, but kids roamed free, made their fun instead of it being digitally produced and, above all, took risks. A father’s wrath would have to be faced if such free-wheeling caused issues around the neighbourhood, but without doubt in both our cases, love underpinned all.
McInnes transports us through all this beautifully and with a comic touch. Col certainly wins hearts with his knockabout ways and linguistic convolutions. It is a gem of a book.