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James Acaster's Classic Scrapes
**THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER**
'I don't think I've ever read a book that has made me cry with laughter as much as this one. It was very difficult reading it in public as I looked like a madman' - Richard Herring
'James Acaster has a brilliant comic mind, crackling with energy every bit as much as his corduroy slacks' - Milton Jones
James Acaster has been nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award five times and has appeared on prime-time TV shows like MOCK THE WEEK, LIVE AT THE APOLLO and RUSSELL HOWARD'S STAND UP CENTRAL.
But behind the fame and critical acclaim is a man perpetually getting into trouble. Whether it's disappointing a skydiving instructor mid-flight, hiding from thugs in a bush wearing a bright red dress, or annoying the Kettering Board Games club, a didgeridoo-playing conspiracy theorist and some bemused Christians, James is always finding new ways to embarrass himself.
Appearing on Josh Widdicombe's radio show to recount these stories, the feature was christened 'James Acaster's classic scrapes'. Here, in his first book, James recounts these tales (including never-before-heard stories) along with self-penned drawings, in all their glorious stupidity.
'I don't think I've ever read a book that has made me cry with laughter as much as this one. It was very difficult reading it in public as I looked like a madman' - Richard Herring
'James Acaster has a brilliant comic mind, crackling with energy every bit as much as his corduroy slacks' - Milton Jones
James Acaster has been nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award five times and has appeared on prime-time TV shows like MOCK THE WEEK, LIVE AT THE APOLLO and RUSSELL HOWARD'S STAND UP CENTRAL.
But behind the fame and critical acclaim is a man perpetually getting into trouble. Whether it's disappointing a skydiving instructor mid-flight, hiding from thugs in a bush wearing a bright red dress, or annoying the Kettering Board Games club, a didgeridoo-playing conspiracy theorist and some bemused Christians, James is always finding new ways to embarrass himself.
Appearing on Josh Widdicombe's radio show to recount these stories, the feature was christened 'James Acaster's classic scrapes'. Here, in his first book, James recounts these tales (including never-before-heard stories) along with self-penned drawings, in all their glorious stupidity.
320 pages, Paperback
First published August 24, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,371 reviews
February 2, 2018
Shame he dies in the end.
April 29, 2019
I'm really going to miss James' stories. He's a great storyteller and he's gotten himself into enough wacky scrapes to make his tales book-worthy. There are occasional and genuine "WTF?!" moments, side-splitters, and snort-laugh inducers herein!
The book is full of car crashes that seem to happen around every turn, sleeping in bushes dressed in a dress, cabbage-related pranks, and quite a few hilariously terrible festival and party-going experiences. There's a whole section in which a rather early midlife crisis at 18 years of age drove Acaster to start manically attacking his bucket list. This sent him off skydiving for charity, singing karaoke, doing stand-up and playing in numerous failed bands, during which time inevitable hijinks ensue.
Would I be as interested in this book if I wasn't already familiar with James Acaster via British panel gameshows like 8 out of 10 Cats and Would I Lie to You?? Probably not. But I'm glad I found him and that my enjoyment of his quirky comedy led me to his memoir.
I'd suggest listening to the audiobook version narrated by Acaster himself. Being a standup comedian and knowing his material through and through, he delivers a great performance. This is not comedy in the energetic, balls-to-the-wall vain of Eddie Murphy or Robin Williams. This is observational humor with well-crafted callbacks from a unique voice that takes some getting used to. The Acaster cadence needs to grow on you. Let it and enjoy!
The book is full of car crashes that seem to happen around every turn, sleeping in bushes dressed in a dress, cabbage-related pranks, and quite a few hilariously terrible festival and party-going experiences. There's a whole section in which a rather early midlife crisis at 18 years of age drove Acaster to start manically attacking his bucket list. This sent him off skydiving for charity, singing karaoke, doing stand-up and playing in numerous failed bands, during which time inevitable hijinks ensue.
Would I be as interested in this book if I wasn't already familiar with James Acaster via British panel gameshows like 8 out of 10 Cats and Would I Lie to You?? Probably not. But I'm glad I found him and that my enjoyment of his quirky comedy led me to his memoir.
I'd suggest listening to the audiobook version narrated by Acaster himself. Being a standup comedian and knowing his material through and through, he delivers a great performance. This is not comedy in the energetic, balls-to-the-wall vain of Eddie Murphy or Robin Williams. This is observational humor with well-crafted callbacks from a unique voice that takes some getting used to. The Acaster cadence needs to grow on you. Let it and enjoy!
April 20, 2018
Wonderful!
Unlike many others who have praised this, I couldn't read it in a day. In fact, it took me considerably longer. I found that if I savoured it - and 'dipped-in', it seemed so much funnier.
He insists all in here is exactly how it happened and I'd like to think that's true. My memory wouldn't be able to pull that much detail from childhood though!
Worth a read!
Unlike many others who have praised this, I couldn't read it in a day. In fact, it took me considerably longer. I found that if I savoured it - and 'dipped-in', it seemed so much funnier.
He insists all in here is exactly how it happened and I'd like to think that's true. My memory wouldn't be able to pull that much detail from childhood though!
Worth a read!
March 14, 2022
Listened to the audiobook, narrated by the man himself, whilst on a road trip - literally laughed out loud, multiple times. Not just ‘heh’s or fast exhales, actual laughter. Hilarious. I want him to have a good life, but also I do want him to get into more scrapes so he has to write a second book about them...
September 20, 2020
im in love with this man
March 2, 2021
I don't think I've read anything as funny as the first half of this book since John Niven's 'The Amateurs' four years ago. The second half, though? Meh...
August 21, 2024
Let me start this by saying I love James Acaster. I recall first seeing him in 2011 on Russell Howard’s Good News and being an avid follower ever since. I will seriously watch anything he’s in. He might actually be my ultimate favourite comedian, which made picking up his memoir a no-brainer. 301 pages of Acaster hilarity? Yes, please.
Unfortunately, being such an Acaster fan meant that I was already familiar with a large bulk of the stories recounted in this book. Having binge-listened to Josh Widdicombe’s podcast on my morning commutes to college when studying A-Levels, I greatly enjoyed Acaster’s segment on it where he would recount an embarrassing anecdote dubbed by Widdicombe and listeners as ‘Classic Scrapes’. I’d often have to stifle in my laughter so as to not look absolutely crazy when out in public.
That being said, Acaster’s Classic Scrapes book does have a lot of new stories as well as old favourites he’s told on the podcast. It’s written in such an engaging tone that captures Acaster’s awkward appeal. There were so many times whilst reading that I would genuinely giggle out loud or face palm at Acaster’s terrible yet utterly hilarious life decisions. A personal favourite of mine is the story of how James jazzed up the old nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpy to the tune of the hit song ‘La Bamba’ in a music lesson and thus becoming a classroom popstar sensation.
I did really enjoy James Acaster’s Classic Scrapes, it reminded me just why I adore him. There’s quite honestly never a dull moment in the book, but it’s not one I would recommend devouring in one sitting. It’s a bit of a pick-me-up read that you come back to every so often for a good laugh. Some of the stories, whether you’ve heard them on Widdicombe’s podcast or not, are just sheer comedic genius that you just want to savour them.
However, I heartily recommend that you also purchase the book in audio format as I don’t think you can beat really listening to James tell them in his usual quirky, comedic manner. Or, alternatively, I believe a few of Acaster’s ‘scrapes’ have been ripped from Widdicombe’s podcast and exist on YouTube in audio format so maybe give them a listen there too if you’re tentative about investing in the book.
Read this review and more on my blog!
Unfortunately, being such an Acaster fan meant that I was already familiar with a large bulk of the stories recounted in this book. Having binge-listened to Josh Widdicombe’s podcast on my morning commutes to college when studying A-Levels, I greatly enjoyed Acaster’s segment on it where he would recount an embarrassing anecdote dubbed by Widdicombe and listeners as ‘Classic Scrapes’. I’d often have to stifle in my laughter so as to not look absolutely crazy when out in public.
That being said, Acaster’s Classic Scrapes book does have a lot of new stories as well as old favourites he’s told on the podcast. It’s written in such an engaging tone that captures Acaster’s awkward appeal. There were so many times whilst reading that I would genuinely giggle out loud or face palm at Acaster’s terrible yet utterly hilarious life decisions. A personal favourite of mine is the story of how James jazzed up the old nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpy to the tune of the hit song ‘La Bamba’ in a music lesson and thus becoming a classroom popstar sensation.
I did really enjoy James Acaster’s Classic Scrapes, it reminded me just why I adore him. There’s quite honestly never a dull moment in the book, but it’s not one I would recommend devouring in one sitting. It’s a bit of a pick-me-up read that you come back to every so often for a good laugh. Some of the stories, whether you’ve heard them on Widdicombe’s podcast or not, are just sheer comedic genius that you just want to savour them.
However, I heartily recommend that you also purchase the book in audio format as I don’t think you can beat really listening to James tell them in his usual quirky, comedic manner. Or, alternatively, I believe a few of Acaster’s ‘scrapes’ have been ripped from Widdicombe’s podcast and exist on YouTube in audio format so maybe give them a listen there too if you’re tentative about investing in the book.
Read this review and more on my blog!
April 2, 2020
How is this man still alive?
August 29, 2017
This is such a great book. Acaster's stories are wonderful. The one with the punchline of "Here's your Banbury cake" made me laugh out loud. I love it so much I'm considering visiting Banbury and seeing if I can recreate it. Acaster describes nu-metal perfectly and he has amused me greatly. If you were a bit awkward in your younger years this book will make you smile with relief that you weren't as awkward as Acaster (and if you were, I'd like to read your book).
November 27, 2020
I love James Acaster and this is the second book I've read of his. For some reason, even though his TV stand-up has me laughing like crazy, hearing him deliver the same material in an audiobook isn't as funny to me. It can't be his writing because it's literally the same material that he's written for shows. It must be his delivery that really brings it home.
October 31, 2020
3.5 stars
this is the most chaotic good book i have ever read
this is the most chaotic good book i have ever read
September 4, 2024
Chapter 1- this is already one of the funniest books I’ve ever read. You need to read this hilarious book, especially if you’re incredibly depressed. I think every single chapter made me laugh out loud. I recommend the audiobook because everything is better with his delivery. 5 stars
April 9, 2020
(Audiobook review)
This was absolutely fantastic, I'm a big James Acaster fan, and the stories in this book are absolutely bonkers. Kept me very entertained and gave me proper laughs which are needed at the moment! Would highly recommend the audiobook so you get James's delivery as well.
This was absolutely fantastic, I'm a big James Acaster fan, and the stories in this book are absolutely bonkers. Kept me very entertained and gave me proper laughs which are needed at the moment! Would highly recommend the audiobook so you get James's delivery as well.
April 9, 2022
At first I didn't get why people would laugh out loud, surely it can't be that funny, but it was and I did too so I would definitely recommend reading this when you're feeling a bit down about life and want someone to tell you that failing miserably is the best thing you can do sometimes
June 15, 2021
4.5🌟
Hilarious. Obviously.
I cry laughed at one point while reading.
Hilarious. Obviously.
I cry laughed at one point while reading.
July 25, 2019
This is easily the funniest book I've ever read.
July 15, 2022
genuinely the best book i have ever read. what a silly guy.
October 7, 2023
Thoroughly enjoyed the ‘scapes’ ! A light hearted and funny read !
December 29, 2023
eureka!
December 6, 2018
I laughed out loud on the first page, and carried on in a similar vein from there. This succession of stories about Acaster messing stuff up, often in spectacular fashion, is inevitably uneven but frequently painfully funny. The story about the singer in his nu-metal band is genuinely one of the funniest things I have ever read (it made me cry with laughter on a train) and ‘Fell Foot Sound’ and ‘Cabadging’ are both classics, though there’s at least one great joke in even the most minor scrapes, and the cumulative effect – with most of them littered with callbacks – is joyous.
Though the efforts to segue from one tale to the next are a little laboured, and Acaster’s written voice isn’t always as striking as the one he employs in stand-up (I think because it shouldn’t just be the same, even if sharing that sublime deadpan incredulity), now and then he’ll throw in something moving or profound. Mostly though it’s just very, very funny, which is really what you want from a comedy book. I haven’t laughed this hard at a book in a couple of years.
Though the efforts to segue from one tale to the next are a little laboured, and Acaster’s written voice isn’t always as striking as the one he employs in stand-up (I think because it shouldn’t just be the same, even if sharing that sublime deadpan incredulity), now and then he’ll throw in something moving or profound. Mostly though it’s just very, very funny, which is really what you want from a comedy book. I haven’t laughed this hard at a book in a couple of years.
April 24, 2025
An enjoyable read, though in truth a bit patchy in places.
James Acaster is one of my favourite comedians. He does whimsy and quirk very well. This book is a chronological journey through his life to date, stopping off at events that could only happen to JA. The best of the scrapes in my view involves him sleeping rough in a bush next to Basingstoke train station wearing a red dress and with his head in a plastic bag. I know Basingstoke station well - I wouldn't wish that on anyone.
Chortle rather than belly laugh funny.
If you are intrigued try out Acasters Springleaf comedy podcast, well worth a listen
James Acaster is one of my favourite comedians. He does whimsy and quirk very well. This book is a chronological journey through his life to date, stopping off at events that could only happen to JA. The best of the scrapes in my view involves him sleeping rough in a bush next to Basingstoke train station wearing a red dress and with his head in a plastic bag. I know Basingstoke station well - I wouldn't wish that on anyone.
Chortle rather than belly laugh funny.
If you are intrigued try out Acasters Springleaf comedy podcast, well worth a listen
December 3, 2017
I like James Acaster. He has a unique style and a quirkiness that sets him aside from the punsters and the do-you-remember-Spangles standups. Unfortunately what makes him a funny performer hasn't translated too well to the printed page. Anecdotes too feel both forced and long-winded and (often fatally) just not funny. I haven't heard the radio shows from which these tales derive, but it does feel at times as if the book is an unedited transliteration and maybe a bit of judicious editing would have heightened the impact of tales that probably come alive in a club or theatre.
January 16, 2022
I was dubious because while James is one of my favourite comedians, I’ve never found comedy to translate very well to books and honestly can’t remember ever laughing out loud at a book. However I laughed out loud so many times during this book, the stories are so ridiculous and well told that even those I had heard before were equally as funny in the written form! Brilliant book
July 3, 2018
I think my favourite comedian memoir I've read so far. Maybe because so many of the classic scrapes are so close to stories of my own... I just could never tell those stories in such a funny way!
October 10, 2018
Loved it. Highly recommended.
August 22, 2021
A handful of decent stories, but every single one ended with the thought of "this would be better to hear on stage."
April 25, 2020
Its very rare that I laugh out loud in a book, but the first line of this masterpiece had me almost in tears. The first line always sets the tone for the book, and, boy, this book did not disappoint. The best part of the stories told is that I could hear James' voice telling them, implausible as they may seem yet painstakingly funny and true. All the tales had a link to those previous, which gave the book a sense of togetherness, it tied the stories together perfectly.
I especially loved 'Xmas Tree', laughing throughout as a result of the deadpan, sarcastic tone of James' writing - it had me in stitches. Whilst the tales aim to simply provide humour, many also have, to some extent, a profound message that, once recognised, add another dimension to the book.
James Acaster's Classic Scrapes is extremely funny, (which is perfect to read during a pandemic!!) and I am looking forward to rereading this in the near future... after I pick up his next book and 'cabadge' my friends!
I especially loved 'Xmas Tree', laughing throughout as a result of the deadpan, sarcastic tone of James' writing - it had me in stitches. Whilst the tales aim to simply provide humour, many also have, to some extent, a profound message that, once recognised, add another dimension to the book.
James Acaster's Classic Scrapes is extremely funny, (which is perfect to read during a pandemic!!) and I am looking forward to rereading this in the near future... after I pick up his next book and 'cabadge' my friends!
December 31, 2021
Entertaining accounts of mishaps from Acaster's childhood and adulthood. I especially liked the childhood stories, plus the one adulthood story where he becomes involved in an expensive, time-consuming vendetta of pranks with a nine-year-old boy. That one has been on radio and television as well as in this book. Google "cabadging" if you want to know more.
January 16, 2025
I always enjoy a James Acaster joint. I giggled and had a great time. A+ start to my reading this year.
February 2, 2025
I got this on a whim as it was on sale, and it was the best impulse buy I've made in years - it is one of the funniest books I've read in years!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,371 reviews