Out of the Ordinary: True Tales of Everyday Craziness

by Jon Ronson

Out of the Ordinary is Jon Ronson at his inimitable hilarious, thought-provoking and with an unerring eye for human frailty not least his own.
Jon Ronson s subjects have included people who believe that goats can be killed by the power of a really hard stare, and people who believe that the world is ruled by twelve-foot lizard-men. In Out of the Ordinary , a collection of his journalism from the Guardian , he turns his attention to irrational beliefs much closer to home, investigating the ways in which we sometimes manage to convince ourselves that all manner of lunacy makes perfect sense mainstream, domestic, ordinary insanity.
Whether he finds himself promising his son that he will be at his side for ever, dressed in a Santa costume, or trying to understand why hundreds of apparently normal people would suddenly start speaking in tongues in a Scout hut in Kidderminster, he demonstrates repeatedly how we all succumb to deeply irrational beliefs that grow to inform our everyday existence.

Genres: Nonfiction, Essays, Humor, Journalism, Short Stories, Memoir, Contemporary

328 pages, Paperback

First published January 3, 2006

About the author

Jon Ronson is a British-American journalist, author, and filmmaker. He is known for works such as Them: Adventures with Extremists (2001), The Men Who Stare at Goats (2004), and The Psychopath Test (2011).
He has been described as a gonzo journalist, becoming a faux-naïf character in his stories. He produces informal but sceptical investigations of controversial fringe politics and science. He has published nine books and his work has appeared in publications such as The Guardian, City Life and Time Out. He has made several BBC Television documentary films and two documentary series for Channel 4.

Reviews

[Caroline · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book consists of a series of articles that Ronson wrote for The Guardian. I enjoyed the first half a lot, where Ronson writes hilariously about his and his family's eccentricities. (Why the seeming endless adoration of his young son though, whilst only referring to his wife in terms of a chilly disapproval between them?) But he was very funny, and the first part of the book had me lying in bed, hiccuping with laughter.

I found the second half of the book both unattractive and boring. I hated the long article he did on Jonathan King, who during the time he wrote about him was convicted as a paedophile. I found it prurient and rather nauseating, whilst feeling I had learnt nothing of value - I'd just immersed myself in gross guk. I found the piece about the religious group donating kidneys also rather weird and unpleasant. I was less turned off by the group's effort to give to others, albeit in a strange way - than by Ronson's obsession with them. The final piece about Stanley Kubrick's hoarding of fan letters was just boring.

I adored Ronson's book The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry - and I think his off-beat humour and perspective on life - in that instance - was a perfect fit. I don't think he meshed so well with his subjects in the second half of this book.

[Barry · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this as a Christmas present and I really don't understand why. Actually, I don't really understand the reason for the book.

The book is a collection of journalism from The Guardian's Jon Ronson. I only really know of him from being Frank Sidebottom's keyboard player in the 80's. (Incidentally, there is a nice piece on Sidey. I still miss Sidey since his death four years ago).

The book allegedly focusses on tales of 'everyday craziness'. Most of the book is his journalism and diary entries where my overwhelming emotion and thought is 'middle-class wanker' for pretty much everything he says. I'm simply not interested in his D-list hack life and his suburbia values. His accounts of his son actually portray his little boy as a particularly unpleasant child which I'm sure is not the intention. The blurb on the back describes the book as funny, witty and thought provoking. It's none of those and actually quite uninteresting. That said, it's a quick read because he has an easy writing style - as befits his career as a journalist. I just find his privileged life boring - I suspect the accusation of Guardian readers as left wing middle class professionals is justified based on the content of this book.

The second section of the book has a couple of pieces on Stanley Kubrick and a Christian group that altruistically want to donate kidneys. They are so-so.

What is an excellent piece is his year spent in contact with the former pop mogul and paedophile Jonathan King. What is interesting reading this piece today is in the context of Operation Yewtree in Britain right now where a number of high profile celebrity paedophiles and sex offenders are facing justice (this book is about ten years old now). What's somewhat prophetic is how King and his cohorts saw themselves as individuals having consensual sex with teenage boys, being victimised by a homophobic media and establishment rather than the paedophile ring they were. There is even justification that 'we were all at it back in the day' (as a postscript former DJ and colleague of King Chris Denning was interviewed for the story with various protestations of innocence - in 2014 he received 18 years for historical sex offences against children as young as 9). It's a good piece which looks into the mind of an 'untouchable' celebrity, the bubble they lived in and how investigation into historical sex offences isn't black and white. A particularly good piece bearing in mind how many of that set have been convicted since.

[Nick Davies · Rating 3 out of 5]

A slightly mixed bag - the first half of this was mainly anecdotal tales about the author’s life, times he behaved slightly oddly and/or experienced quirkiness in others. As an illustration of how we’re all prone to have our own strange ways, it was fairly light and entertaining - though I did find it all a little light and clearly ‘cobbled together’ from columns he’d written. The second half explored four journalistic projects in more depth - the trial of Major Charles Ingram, a cult who advocated its members volunteer to donate a kidney to a stranger, the trial of paedophile Jonathan King, and taking the opportunity to look through the belongings of Stanley Kubrick after his death. More interesting, this latter part did however feel slightly patchy at times and I suppose the compiling of these chapters together did also feel a little clunky. Nevertheless, partly Danny Wallace, partly Louis Theroux, this was interesting but not Ronson’s best work.

[Cath Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book by John 'Men Who Stare at Goats' Ronson would have been much improved if the contents had matched the title. More than half of it consisted of Ronson's old columns, recycled, and most (if not all) of these columns consisted of Ronson's giving us the usual fall back of the desperate storyless journo - tales from everyday everyday. Articles about being a Dad, being a husband and occasionally about being a journalist. If there was something interesting or crazy about Ronson's life, I could live with that. But there isn't. He's fitfully amusing in a Louis Theroux, professionally vague sort of way, but if I'm parting with my hardearned, I expect more than the occasional smile. The parts of the book which are actual reporting are better: Ronson covered the Jonathon King trial and also delves into the world of people who feel compelled to donate organs to complete strangers. That's genuine crazy, interesting crazy - not titillating, but thought provoking. Even so, Ronson plays this material with such a straight bat that I found myself longing for the occasional opinion or moment of outrage. No such luck.

[Alyson Walton · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tale of two halves. As of reading, part two was my favourite. Not my most liked of his work.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book of two halves, both equally entertaining. The first half is in diary form, musings on life as a father. Second half is a collection of his articles from the Guardian. Very easy and effortless. Wish the Kubrick section was longer, absolutely fascinating.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of Ronson's columns from a national newspaper. I've read one or two of these before but Ronson never fails to entertain.

[Zoë · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a hugely entertaining book. In the first half Ronson lets us in on his petty, funny little thoughts, knowing his behaviour might seem odd. Having established his own oddness, in the second half of the book he visits with the odd and the criminal. Fans of David Sedaris will enjoy this book, as will fans of the TV show Peep Show. The way in which Ronson is trying to make sense of other people’s worlds is aided by his first showing us that he recognises his own peculiarities.
I bought the second book, What I Do: More True Tales of Everyday Craziness as soon as I finished this book.

[Ian Kavanagh · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's easy to dismiss Jon Ronson as another sardonic, slightly sneering commentator on the more peculiar members of society. In fact though there is something uniquely human about him and his commentary. He is also extremely funny. This book is highly readable. Not meaningful perhaps but highly enjoyable.

[Helen King · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining, some sections laugh out loud funny, but some were too long and dragged. But a nice reminder that - although there are some really wacky people out there, if we look at ourselves (or at least, the people that Jon comes into contact with, including his own family, and in fact, himself), we might find we too are fairly odd, with peculiarities and irrationality too.

[Deana Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first half of this book outshines the second but for the Ronson completist (which I am) it won't disappoint.

Guffawed out loud on several occasions.

[Kathrin Passig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zeug, das der Autor in Schubladen liegen hatte. Mit lustigen Stellen in der ersten Hälfte.

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read and loved three other books by Ronson. When I read the introduction for this book, I worried. Part 1 was to be about Ronson's own life, with Part 2 being the more familiar Ronson territory -- his interactions with nutters. Part 1 promised to be a hard slog in order to get to Part 2.

But it wasn't. It was wonderfully bizarre and quite funny. Vintage Ronson, in other words. If you really listen to how people talk to each other, it's rarely like in the movies, or most fiction books. He also has good advice for dealing with bad neighbors, Goths at Starbuck's, and offering to sign copies of your book at a bookstore.

I did a quick Google check to see if Ronson was still married, as his wife comes off as being a bit of a harpy. They apparently still are. Ronson makes himself seem like a hard guy to live with, which certainly explains his wife's frustration with him. It may seem odd that a man on the telly so often like Ronson is never recognized in public, but that's the world for you.

Part 2 was also vintage Ronson. He has articles about, among other things:

* Jonathan King, ex-pop mogul and convicted nonce. I suspect that he raped Peter Gabriel so Genesis could get that first album deal, but Gabriel has stayed quiet on the subject. Ronson does manage to interview a victim. Very disturbing stuff.
* The Who Wants to be a Millionaire cheating scandal trial, which occurred around September 11, 2001. Genuinely funny.
* The Jesus Christian cult, which is at turns funny and disturbing. Ronson's observations about brainwashing being a frequent occurrence in our daily lives is spot on. The cult leader would turn out to be the person Ronson hated the most. And this from a guy who interviewed Alex Jones and David Icke. Unfortunately, this cult is still active.
* Stanley Kubrik, who was more of a nutcase than I possibly imagined. He apparently had, among other things, an obsession with sans serif typfaces. Holy hell.

The book is a compilation of newspaper articles Ronson wrote, with postscripts about what happened after the article was published.

This is the last Ronson book left on the Open Library, so hop on over there to check this out before it gets taken off, too.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m a bit biased in this review because I think everything Ronson writes is gold, and this collection is no exception. Yes, the entire second half can be found in Lost At Sea , and the first half also includes a short, article-length version of “The Frank Sidebottom Years,” which Ronson would re-write and expand for the book and film. So why bother tracking down this book if only half contains material not published elsewhere (and, truth be told, the other half can be found online)?

The answer is that the other half is some of Ronson’s best writing: clever, honest, hilarious, self-effacing, and relatable, even if you don’t happen to have a wife and child -- a topic that figures into a number of the essays. I don't trust that these essays will remain online forever, so I opted to buy the book to own the essays permanently. I think it was well worth the purchase.

Many of the essays -- including the brief-but-brilliant "Out of the Ordinary" vignettes -- describe Ronson’s attempts to be a GREAT DAD, often ending in embarrassing or humiliating fashion. (Fans of Larry David’s autobiographical character in Curb Your Enthusiasm will dig these pieces.) The highlight of them all is actually the opening essay in the collection: Ronson’s attempt to bring his wife and son to Lapland, Finland, for a visit to a magical Christmas village to meet Santa Claus. Ronson’s son, who seems just as happy to stay at home and visit “Body Worlds,” is exhausted from the flight and just wants to sleep. The resulting essay is a memorable reflection on how we try to create fictionalized, ideal worlds for our children (and ourselves) based on totally unrealistic societal pressures. I think it might be my favorite piece from Ronson.

Highly recommended, along with just about anything else Ronson has written.

[Keen Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars!

“She only looked hurt because you tipped her awkwardly.”

BEWARE! Most of these pieces appear in the excellent “Lost At Sea” Nicky, and “The Frank Sidebottom Years” appears in a fuller, fleshed out version, with pictures in “Frank”. If like me you have already both of these books then it is slim, but still worthwhile pickings in here.

For those of you not familiar with “Lost At Sea” we go inside the home of Stanley Kubrick, we delve into the world of Christian fuelled, altruistic kidney donations, we peep at cheating in national (internationally syndicated) game shows and we learn of a number of court cases involving deeply sinister and disturbing sex crimes. The piece, “Out of The Ordinary” was an absolute delight from start to finish. It’s the story of Pal Mickey, a cat called Monty and a muzzled, sponsored dog by the name of Tessa and a whole lot more.

Even though I had read most of the stuff in here before, I still laughed aloud a good few times during this. He is gifted at exploring the mundane, pettiness of the everyday and through his cuttingly insightful observation he manages to put a really funny spin on it. There were plenty of clever hooks and sharp one liners throughout and Ronson makes a number of excellent points on matters trivial and serious subjects too.

[Mustafa Ameer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had heard of Jon Ronsons other works, and was always interested by the titles and blurbs. Initially I thought he was a psychologist from the titles and what seems to be his subject matter - looking into peoples thinking and the extremes of behaviour. So, seeing his name again I, as I often do, impulse bought the book.

Admittedly, initially I was disappointed - moreso because I didn't know what I was reading. It seemed like insights from interviews and experiences in an often unrelated way by each chapter. I think I should have read some of his other books first, in a sense, before getting on to this one.

With that said though, I did find the style of writing compelling, and started to get used to his journalistic 'voice' quite quickly. The earlier chapters demonstrating his personality - his humour and his relationship with his son and his wife with some pleasant exchanges and experiences. Some chapters, particularly later in the book - more deep, serious and often graphic undertones which made for engaging reading.

Oh, and a fellow Cardiffian too. That's always a plus.

[Akin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ronson, like his counterpart and sort-of rival Louis Theroux (whom he namechecks, wryly) practices a polite, British version of Gonzo journalism. It isn't all bad, but it has its weaknesses. These are all the more evident in this compilation of Guardian articles - using family (ineffectually, sometimes cruelly (I think) as a foil for his humour, occasional lapses in self-reflection, over-emphasis in reporting the story as opposed to having a story told. In small doses these may be forgiven or overlooked, but when they recur again and again, well...

British don't do Gonzo well because they are too self-conscious. Ronson tries to mediate (mitigate?) this by interrogating his motives at every turn. On the whole, unsuccessfully. He is aware of this, but the tension between the two is never negotiated successfully.

The collection seems pointless in the sense that if a reader came to Ronson cold, the book will fail to do justice to his undoubted talent as a storyteller. But there you are. The road to hell and so on...

[Cait · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have listened to a few interviews with Jon Ronson, and I really enjoyed the first season of the Butterfly Effect, but this didn't quite do it for me.

Part of it was that I found his relationship with his wife and son kind of annoying (sorry, Jon). It just kind of seemed like they gave Joel whatever Joel wanted and caused problems for themselves. It also seemed like Jon took Joel's side more than he took his wife's.

Another part is his damn good journalism. For example, toward the end of the book when interviewing Jonathan King and talking about whether or not it would be fair to prosecute Mick Jagger for sleeping with teenaged girls in the 1970s . . . That just made me uncomfortable. Like, no. King did a bad thing. I hate that Jon befriended him and made me feel like there's a gray area there where I could excuse King's actions, especially with this Larry Nassar stuff in the news. But I suppose it's his job to write thought-provoking articles, so mission accomplished.

[Viktoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jon Ronson writes for the Guardian and this is a collection of some of his pieces for the paper. Mixed bag for me, some stories were interesting, entertaning while some are not as much. I do admire that he is capable of spending lengthy time with his subjects and even when he thinks very little of some he doesn't let that show, doesn't judge.

I enjoyed his piece on Jonathan King (ex pop star from the UK) as it also showed interesting insight into the world of the rich and famous from '60ies to '90ies.

It is an easy book to read if you are looking for something you can read a bit then put down while you don' have to worry about forgetting the storyline when picking it up again.

[Karl Strobl · Rating 4 out of 5]

More good stuff from Ronson

Ronson has a knack for treating the unusual as perfectly normal and conversely for seeing the perfect strangeness in ordinary things. He thinks he is humorous. I think that in saying that, he doesn't give himself enough credit for seeing things simply from an unusual - and therefore enriching - angle. I highly recommend it for lightbl reading of very high quality. If you also happen to think it's funny, that's just another bonus.

[Sydne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a mixed bag, unfortunately. It starts off with some really engaging stories that I enjoyed a lot. Then it is followed by a section of one page stories that I found quite tiring, as I had to get used to a different story every 40-50 seconds (one of the reasons I am not a fan of short stories!) Then comes a section of really long articles. Two of those really dragged on for me, one I liked. The book finishes as it starts; strong and engaging.

[Loay Leon Hady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wish he was a friend

I’ll admit I’m a big fan of all his books. So this is perfect for someone interred in the adventures he has me. Always funny and revealing, and as the book intimates at one point: how you imagine Louis Theroux would be if he was funnier and not on television. Highly recommended for anyone interested in anything ‘zany’

[Vince · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't think Ive ever read a book in a day before but knocked this over on a day with a long bus ride. Ronson is a very talented writter with infectious dark humor, honesty and clever insights. This is a collection of stories that all make the point that the things we believe are weird and disconnected from reality. Challenging and interesting.

[D · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was the perfect 'in-between heavy reading pit stop' for me- something with light humour and quirkiness. A fan of Ronsons writing for some years-in this light-hearted volume of essays he writes with keen insight, on topics from Santa to quiz cheaters; whilst delivering his usual brand of comic exaggeration.

[Monzenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fact that it's a breezy read helps cement my five-star review. I am aware there are a lot more interesting Ronson books, so the fact that he was able to make a book out of a mixed jumble of stories is certainly a positive. I saw a lot of stories and a lot of personalities in one tiny book - and I am glad to have started Ronson with this.

[Chuck Sherman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only reason I give it a four is because I had already read half the book in a different book. This was previously published in UK and not released in USA and I bought it not realizing that so I was a little disappointed although it was my fault. I did enjoy rereading the previous stories.

[Harold Good · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first novel of Jon Ronson that I’ve read, but even though it was only very short stories, it was well written and a great easy read. I’ll definitely be looking out for more of his work, I’d recommend.

[Odd Ball · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.8 stars. As a collection of Ronson's writing for The Guardian, this has no over-arching structure or narrative, with the 'chapters' lasting everything from one page to 60. But as with everything he writes, it's never less than entertaining, frequently amusing and often bizarre.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some of the articles are excellent, although the best are included in other of his books. The middle diary section is dull and just makes Ronson come cross as a neurotic and not particularly pleasant person