Saturday, December 31, 2016

Adventures With the Wife in Space

Book 78 of my 2016 Reading Challenge
read from September 30 - October 03

Adventures With the Wife in Space: Living With Doctor Who
by Neil Perryman

Summary (via Goodreads)
Neil loves Sue. He also loves Doctor Who. But can he bring his two loves together? And does he have the right?
In January 2011, Neil Perryman set out on an insane quest to make his wife Sue  watch every episode of the classic series of Doctor Who from the very beginning. Even the ones that didn't exist any more. And so, over the next two and half years, Sue gamely watched them all: William Hartnell (the Miserable Git); Patrick Troughton (the Scruffy Drunk); Jon Pertwee (the Pompous Tory); Tom Baker (the Mad One); Peter Davison (the Fit One); Colin Baker (the Court Jester); Sylvester McCoy (the Crafty Sod) and Paul McGann (the One-Night Stand). The result was a wildly successful and hilariously revealing blog called Adventures With the Wife in Space.
But the adventure continues. From awkward years at school, terrified of giant insects, Daleks and rugby players, to even more awkward years as an adult, terrified of unexpected parenthood and being called a Whovian, here Neil tells the all too true story of life as a Doctor Who fan. Funny, honest and surprisingly brave, he also captures perfectly the joy - and fears - of sharing the thing you love with the people you love.
Adventures With the Wife in Space is, at its heart, the story of Doctor Who, and its fans, seen through the eyes of two people - one who knows almost nothing about the programme and another who knows way too much.

My Opinion
He's very funny and is definitely a true fan of Doctor Who.

I loved the interaction between him and his wife and once he actually got to the part in the book where they were watching the episodes I read it straight through.  Unfortunately for me, that didn't start until page 161 which felt like false advertising.  And he started off that section by saying the reader should probably visit the blog for the full adventure...ummm, what's the point of this book then?

Overall, disappointed with the book but would've enjoyed his blog (but do not plan to visit it now).  I give the book pre-blog (until p. 161) 2 stars and the blog (the rest of the book) 4 stars so I averaged it on Goodreads for a 3 star rating. 

A Few Quotes from the Book
"So to recap: comedy shoes, Mr Logic hair, chronic acne and a big squashed nose. Where girls were concerned, I could ill afford the additional handicap of a deep enthusiasm for, and encyclopaedic knowledge of, Doctor Who. So Doctor Who had to go."

"The Doctor had been a wonderful role model. He taught me to oppose violence (when he wasn't committing genocide) and to embrace justice, equality, curiosity and compassion."

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