How to Leave Twitter, by Grace Dent

Yes, I finished a book!  Though this isn't going to be much of a review, considering I read it on my stupid Kindle and now can't be bothered to shuffle through finding pithy funny bits or locating the contents page to make sure I've covered everything...  Which is why I'm getting rid of the Kindle - but more on that another time!

REVIEW: HOW TO LEAVE TWITTER: MY TIME AS QUEEN OF THE UNIVERSE AND WHY THIS MUST STOP (4.5*)

by Grace Dent (Faber and Faber, 2011)

I'm not sure some of the other reviewers on Amazon have been reading the same book as me.  Two and a half stars as an average customer rating?  Shocking!  Hopefully I'll tip the balance a little bit in Dent's favour because I LOVED IT!

For me she absolutely nailed the Twitter experience on the head.  At the very beginning, she writes about how you join Twitter: the vehement hatred and outright denial of the pre-Twitter individual, and how their curiosity eventually gets the better of them and they become hooked, just like everyone else.  I DID THAT.  She explores the kinds of people who inhabit the Twitter universe, the online personas, the different breeds of celebrity and how they interact with the masses, how people use it in everyday life, the conversations, the viral videos and links, and Twitter cliques.  There is a glance at the social politics of following and unfollowing, and the etiquette of messaging other people without looking like an eejit.  The good, the bad and the downright ugly, it's all here - and as far as my own Twitter wanderings go, it's absolutely spot-on.

Perhaps I enjoyed this book so much because I (unlike some of the other reviewers, it seems) adore Dent's snarky, pithy, perceptive and relentlessly barbed brand of humour.  Sooooo, here's the deal: if you love writers/comedians/funny people like Caitlin Moran, Charlie Brooker, Chris Addison and Marcus Brigstocke, and are an actual bona-fide Twitter user, this might the book for you.  If you despise social media or prefer your humour a little softer and more cuddly, you might want to give this one a miss.  Hey, you can't win 'em all!  

P.S. Of course, Grace Dent is still on Twitter.  It's like Hotel California - you can check out but you can never leave!  You can follow her at @gracedent.