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Books Books Review Self improvement

Snazzy Granny Book Review – ‘The subtle art of not giving a fuck’ by Mark Manson

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Look I think this swearing in a book title to get our attention has had its day.

Maybe it’s because I am a bit of a prissy missy at heart, but to me the F word loses its impact when it is overused.[ Although I confess I have used the word myself but that is only in relation to cyclists and never to their faces – always to their bums].  

To me, the swearing lost its impact after a while, as I used to say to the young fat lawyer when he kept retelling the same tedious joke

“It was funny the first time”

But now when I browse the self-help bookshelves, I can scarcely see a title without the f**** word in it.

Mark Manson’s book has been on the bestselling non-fiction lists for ages now. Absurdly I didn’t have to buy a copy because my husband’s best friend bought me a copy of the book for Christmas – now there’s a story in itself. Why the f******would he do that?  Sorry about that, but reading the book is like going to a Billy Connolly concert, you just can’t help swearing for the next week.    

Swearing aside, and there is a lot of swearing in this book, his point is that we must ration the things that we give a f**about. 

In other words, he suggests we reserve our angst for what really matters like family, friends, health, anything that is important to you – and you say fuck to everything else. Or as my Mum once said when the young fat lawyer threw my front door key onto the roof of the garage.

“Choose your battles dear”.

We save our fucks for what really matters particularly those people who have stayed around long enough to give a fuck about. We should be comfortable with the fact that we don’t have to feel comfortable all the time.  We don’t have to give a fuck about anything that doesn’t seem important.

Clark Gable said the same thing years ago in the film “Gone with the Wind”

Frankly my dear I don’t give a damn.

Books Books Military Review

Snazzy Granny Book Review – Platoon Leader

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Military memoirs are usually written by high ranking officers from the comfort of their quaint cottages in the Cotswolds.

  “Contact” was the first of this genre of book written by a front-line squaddie.  AFN Clarke, the author was, of course, not a squaddie for long and went on to be commissioned as an Officer and Platoon Commander with Britain’s elite Parachute Regiment. It is a tale of courage and resilience.  It is a painful tale that at times is deeply personal.  It is angry and raw and yet despite all this it reveals a warm human being full of compassion for his soldiers. We are not surprised to learn that he is now a passionate member of the peace movement for Northern Ireland

He paints a painful brutal scenario of exhausted soldiers who were often despised by both sides and even to this day are vilified for what was indeed a thankless task of keeping Catholics and Protestants apart. He describes living amongst the people but not of the people.  Living rough, not washing, and carrying everything he needed to sustain living in a Burgen that he had to carry on his back.  Being the leader of the patrol is a lonely job balancing the task of being respected by his platoon, friendly but not too friendly, not overstepping that balance.

 His experience made him what he is today.  Physically damaged, mentally saddened, but strong and more human that when he embarked on his first tour of duty. It is not just a story of a platoon in Northern Island in the 70’s it is a tale of a man’s growth through the experience. A fascinating man, a soldier an adventurer, a sailor, a horseman, a racing driver and a qualified pilot. In addition, he has all the human qualities I would like my grandchildren to have.

All of this in “Contact” the book. It is written with a passion for getting the story down.  No wonder the army didn’t like it. It is a major contribution to our understanding of war and how people act. It should be read by every mother who is bewildered when her son returns from the battle front exhausted and damaged, by politicians who send these young men into battle. It belongs rightly on the reading list of every soldier about to face “Contact” and on the shelves of every University library under the heading “Peace Studies”.

Books Books Fiction Review

Snazzy Granny Book Review – ‘Lady in Waiting’

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I am a bit of a closet royalist despite 30 years living in Australia, so I was very eager to read this book for some gossip on the life of Princess Margaret.  I could not wait for it to be available in a book shop in Australia.  So, I purchased the audible version.   It was a disappointment. There is a good reason that actors read these types of books.  Lady Glenconner, whilst very affable on Graham Norton [that is what sucked me into buying the book] has a flat delivery and seemed to be in a hurry to get to the next sentence.

It is a good read though and I confess I loved it.   Aristocrats stuff up their lives just like we peasants do but if they are all like Lady Glenconner they just do not seem to realise it. Anne Glenconner was married for 50 years to a bullying, manipulative and thoroughly spoilt man who was clearly in need of psychiatric treatment. The book is worth buying just to read about his incredible toddler tantrums on aeroplanes and sexual debauchery. Her loyalty was all to no avail however because he disinherited her and left his fortune to a man servant….and she was suprised!.   She devoted her life to him and to Princess Margaret and left her sons to the care of nannies and consequently failed miserably.  A rum lot they turned out to be. Neglect, death and drug addiction were the consequences of her misplaced loyalty.

Time and again when Princess Margaret beckoned, she rushed to her instead of taking care of her sons.

It was fun to read but for me this book was spoilt by some petty and unkind words regarding the then Governor General of Australia, Sir Roden Cutler VC.  She poked fun at his chivalry and old school values. Big mistake.  Australians hold Sir Roden Cutler, close to their hearts. He was war hero and holder of the VC at the age of 25 in World War ll and a perfect gentleman. She should be ashamed of her words. The shady characters in her book, whilst amusing cannot hold a candle to him. To her discredit even in the picture section she can’t resist a snide remark. I believe she is coming to Australia, good luck with that Lady Glenconner.  Don’t mess with our National Treasures if you want to flog your book.

Books Self improvement

Book review – the sirt food diet

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It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a woman in possession of a large backside must be in need of a diet book.
As I browse the diet section in my local bookstore, I realise that I have bought them all – and most of them are sitting on my shelves -at home.
But I will give it one more chance, so I buy the “the Sirt food diet” on Amazon Kindle. I choose the Kindle edition so that the book will not sit on my kitchen shelf and mock me when I fail again. Adele’s amazing weight loss is all down to this diet apparently and who knows I might even be able to sing in tune.


However, I am not encouraged when I see it is not written by a doctor or dietician but two celebrity nutritionists. I am never sure what a “nutritionist” is. It is a bit of a vague category. Is it someone who has studied at university to be a qualified dietitian? or is someone who has done a few courses online or even someone who works at a private gym and makes it all up. I know that I should be relying on evidence-based research.
The diet is based on sirt foods (SIRTS). It is thought that certain natural plant compounds (polyphenols) may be able to trigger the body into weight loss and miraculously at the same time maintain muscle mass and protect from chronic disease. It all sounds very encouraging and possibly too good to be true.


Most of these ingredients are easy to find and not bad at all. Red wine, strawberries, extra virgin olive oil, dark chocolate, walnuts and kale. I can do that.


The diet consists of 2 phases and involves making three green juices a day. The authors suggest that one should use a juicer but I didn’t have one and I thought I would be losing out on fibre so I put the kale, apples, celery and other stuff in my new fancy Vitamix, which I bought at great expense for my last diet.


Whilst the green juice was a bit hard core and did make a bit of a mess in my kitchen the diet allowed one proper meal a day and the recipes for those were fabulous -miso and sesame glazed fish, prawns with buck wheat noodles and vegetarian options too. “Him indoors”, who should lose weight but does not think it is doable enjoyed all these meals. Just don’t mention the diet word.

I think this diet is for me, the food is beyond delicious, quite unlike any boring diet food I have tried before. Don’t get me started on diet food like “light and sleezy”. My secret stash of sirfood bites sits in my fridge and is my go-to sweet treat. No guilt then. If you can get through the three days which are 1000 calories, then you will enjoy it – and lose weight. I have lent it to the fat lawyer, watch this space.