Interesting because I'm interested in that subject
How useful was it?
Of some use
Would you read it again?
No, never
Value for money
Satisfactory
Advantages:
Contains a lot of Moyles Wit and Observations
Disadvantages:
Feels Rushed and not as good as it could have been
Recommend to potential buyers:
no
Full review
He is one of those people that you will either love or hate, it's a bit like the whole Marmite effect but personally I actually quite like listening to Chris Moyles in the morning. Following the success of his first book in 2006 it seemed inevitable that he would be writing a second, but just why it came so quickly after the first one seems a bit of a puzzle. I've still to read his first but when I seen this one on offer in Tesco I decided to pick it up and give it a go, but The Difficult Second Book wasn't just difficult in title, it was also difficult to read.
The book is described as an insight into the double life that Moyles lives. In the mornings he is the award winning host of Radio's breakfast show, helping millions of people to start their day. Then for the rest of the day he is just your average guy, with the exception of a few celebrity mates. Throughout the book he looks at events over the last couple of years and also talks about how he came to be the self-proclaimed saviour of Radio 1.
Having woken up to Moyles on the way to work for the last 5 years I've actually enjoyed listening to him whilst stuck in traffic. I thought the book would be an extension of the radio show and while to a degree it is, there just seems something a little forced about it all. The ideas for each of the 18 chapters seems to have been a little rushed and in fact one of these is apparently republished from the first book word for word.
I found the writing style to be a little bit too simple and with the book running at 320 pages long I expected it to be quite a long read. While the book did take me a while to read it was more due to not really getting into the subject matter. The chapters and pages flew by really quickly when I picked the book up but it was actually being in the mood to pick it up in the first place. I found the style of writing that Moyles has adopted to be quite hard to get into and read at certain times. Of course that's because, as he admits himself, he isn't an author and from that point of view to write 320 pages is a good effort.
It is very much a book for fans of his radio show and while I certainly wouldn't read it again, if you like Moyles it is worth a read. It does give a good, if a little simple view into his life and at times it is very amusing. The whole book though does seem very forced and it's almost as if the publishers wanted to cash in on the success of his first book while it was still fresh by rushing through the writing and release of a second book in quick succession.
Overall it's a bit of a shame really. As a fan of Moyles and his radio show I was a little disappointed in this second book. It does have his usual comical approach to it and the honest edgy assessment of his guests and friends. It's a reasonable read but certainly not something that anyone who dislikes Chris will want to read, which he freely admits himself. It is a disappointment, but if you like Moyles it is probably something you'll be able to read once without giving up on it.
