How Hard Can It Be?

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Filled with smart insights...Kate makes good company. You can't help rooting for her." — The New York Times Book Review The best part of this book was the absolutely horrible trashy novel the main character writes for the evil...ummm...woman. It's so horrible that all you can do is laugh, especially at all the words for penis she comes up with. "Skin flute, pork sword, love muscle..." I think this book could have been a lot funnier than it ended up being. I thought it would make me laugh quite a bit, but there were only a few instances where I thought anything was particularly funny. I did love the short chapters though, and the fact that Kate calls her memory "Roy." All I could picture was this little old man shuffling around in her head finding her memories. She would often talk to "Roy" as well which was pretty funny. How Hard Can It Be? is that rare thing: a sequel that matches and even surpasses the original’ Daily Telegraph Pearson has found a way to explore pressing questions--the delaying of marriage and childbearing, the dangers of social media, the growing anxiety of teenagers and their trouble gaining independence as young adults, the crushing pressures on people caring for both their kids and their parents--without sacrificing story for sermon." -- The Weekly Standard

Monday, 1:37 A.M. Such a weird dream. Emily is crying, she’s really upset. Something about a belfry. A boy wants to come round to our house because of her belfry. She keeps saying she’s sorry, it was a mistake, she didn’t mean to do it. Strange. Most of my nightmares lately feature me on my unmentionable birthday having become totally invisible and talking to people who can’t hear me or see me. Kate has a decent resume, her problem is her age, and competing with all the twenty/thirty-somethings in the workforce. "Lie," say her friends. "Or at least twist the truth a little." (my paraphrasing) So she becomes 42, on paper. Although not my usual genre, I had heard many good things about Allison's previous book 'I Don't Know How She Does It', and so decided to enter the giveaway for 'How Hard Can It Be?'. I'm delighted I won as I loved this book! (I will now definitely be seeking out the first one to read too). Although this is a continuation of 'I Don't Know...', it stands by itself as well and I wasn't confused by the story at any point. From a career as a local journalist in the north of England, he rose to public prominence as a presenter of the original format of Top Gear in 1988. Since the mid-1990s Clarkson has become a recognised public personality, regularly appearing on British television presenting his own shows and appearing as a guest on other shows. As well as motoring, Clarkson has produced programmes and books on subjects such as history and engineering. From 1998 to 2000 he also hosted his own chat show, Clarkson.I'm not going to lie, I don't think this book is for everyone. If you don't see the humour in movies like The Hangover or Bridesmaids, if you've never laughed at a video of some guy getting hit in the junk by a ball or if you're looking for a serious read with dramatic undertones and a message of deep social and political import then you will probably hate this book. However, if you're looking for a brilliantly written, hot mess of hilarious shenanigans that will make you laugh until you pee, root for the underdogs and swoon like a Southern Belle then you're going to love How Hard Can It Be. Go read it!! This book is written by former television presenter Jeremy Clarkson, I chose to read this because I have read several other books by him and their humorous and interesting topics have hooked me to his books. This book is written by small newspaper articles made by Clarkson put together to form a book.

Even though I'm 22 years younger than the main character, I found I could relate to her on many levels in my hopes and fears for the future. I think any woman could find something in common with Kate Reddy. An extremely likeable character, the witty prose of this book swept me up in laughs, and at some points wrapped me in sorrow too. It's a novel about the juggling act women do on a daily basis when trying to manage kids, home and work, all while struggling with personal changes and finding little help from those around you. That leaves Kate to find a job to support poor Richard and their teens, Emily and Ben, while she juggles caringfor her eightysomething mum and Richard’s parents, who are coping with his mother’s dementia. Kate’s fixer-upper of a home outside Londonis a money pit, her credit rating has plunged and she’s experiencing the aches and energy drain of perimenopause. So Kate has to give up freelancing and get a job. To prepare for it, she made her family move closer to London. While she’s gearing up for competing against much younger people in what seems to be to be hedge fund banking (getting rich people to invest to get richer), meanwhile her daughter’s toxic “best friend” somehow oopses the wrong sort of selfie of the daughter onto the Internet, and makes sure it goes viral. The daughter goes ballistic, of course. Final Thought: I think that lovers of (the book) I Don't Know How She Does It will be happy with how this one turns out. I do like Kate as a character and I thought there were a few very loveable characters in this book. Some of the lingo was a little confusing, but nothing I couldn't handle. I think this book would be much better in movie form though so I hope that happens. How Hard Can It Be? is a funny, interesting look at sexism/ageism in the workplace, turning 50, and dealing with everything life can throw at you. This morning I decided to transfer all the pictures of the sky and our kitchen scissors from my iPhone on to my computer. This is easy enough if you have about four spare weeks, the temper of someone who’s actually dead and a master’s degree in American business-speak."Seven years later, Kate Reddy is facing her 50th birthday. Her children have turned into impossible teenagers; her mother and in-laws are in precarious health; and her husband is having a midlife crisis that leaves her desperate to restart her career after years away from the workplace. Once again, Kate is scrambling to keep all the balls in the air in a juggling act that an early review from the UK Express hailed as "sparkling, funny, and poignant...a triumphant return for Pearson." Jeremy Clarkson is outspoken. We all know that, given recent comments that made worldwide media headlines. He’s also very funny, not only on the TV, but in print too. How Hard Can it Be?, which Top Gear fans will know as one of the show’s catch cries (along with ‘Loser!’ and ‘That’s not gone well, has it?’). This is not a book of Top Gear anecdotes (how good would that be?), but the fourth collection of his newspaper columns published in the UK. This may be a detractor for those readers in the UK, but not for those Down Under. (These are not motoring columns, although cars and other transport do feature occasionally, but articles on what is wrong with the world at large). Also, I found myself not matching the intended "cohort parameters" for the readers of this book. This book elaborated in considerable detail about the discomforts of perimenopause and unpredictable menstrual cycles. I can accept that these are realistic issues for women, but I am an older white male conditioned to feel uncomfortable with too much such information.

This book was really funny and interesting and I had a lot of fun reading this book. I think that the style that this book was written in was really good and entertaining. Overall I enjoyed this book a lot Kate Reddy is heading towards a significant birthday, and it's a birthday that she's not quite ready to embrace - it's the big 50!Then there’s India, which I can’t take seriously until its air force has some planes with fewer than three wings. Yes, they have nuclear missiles – but could they actually hit Islamabad with them? ‘I very much doubt it,’ said an Indian professor chum of mine recently. ‘I’m not even certain we could hit Pakistan.’" Kate Ready is almost 50, she is returning to the workforce and finds herself having to lie about her age to be considered for employment. Her husband is distant and appears to be more into his self-help books and bike riding than he is in her or their marriage. Her daughter has taken an inappropriate picture of herself and it was posted on the internet, she has aging parents and is dealing with the onset of menopause. Kate has a lot going on in this book.