The Actual One audiobook

Hilarious book. I now want to listen to Carter USM whilst making a papier mâché animal/dvd box set storage unit.

Really enjoyed this- a great perspective of "growing up" and life in your 20s. Brilliantly written, some hilarious stories and profoundly bizzare yet prescient moments.

Isy Suttie is a 30-ish single actress/comedian quickly realizing that all her friends are growing up, starting families, and being more serious about life, and she is feeling left behind. When she breaks up with her boyfriend right before her annual New Year's Eve getaway with her friends, she finds herself wondering what she's doing with her life, and how it compares to her friends. When one of her friends tells her not to worry about the state of her romantic life because now that she's broken up with "The One" the next guy she dates will be "The Actual One." Isy likes this theory, yet isn't in any real hurry to find her Actual One. That is, until her mom decides to plunge Isy into online dating, without Isy's knowledge or approval. After checking out the online dating scene and not being that impressed, Isy is up for anything, so she agrees to allow her mom to set up a dating profile and pose as Isy to find decent men to practice on. With the caveat, however, that Isy will only go on an actual date with whomever her mother chooses, if Isy cannot find a suitable man on her own within a certain time frame.Although this story seems to be about Isy searching for The Actual One, the supporting stories of adventure, supporting case of characters, and the fact that Isy gets into some pretty entertaining scrapes along the way are what really makes this book. Well-written by a woman who is not afraid to humiliate herself make this a quick, funny read. I won a copy of this book via First Reads.

As a twenty-something reading Issy's memoirs, the awkward and often painfully relatable moments from her formative years rung true but left me comforted. I admire Issy for her frank and unapologetically British sense of humour with stories that often had me cackling. Her funniest moments shining through in the rambling tangents on the core narrative. Would highly recommend this book if you're struggling to make ends meet in London, feel like everyone around you is abandoning the fun for countryside and babies, and have left a string of failed romances behind you.

Isy Suttie’s style is light and breezy, occasionally self-deprecating (which is so not what the indulgent 2020s are all about, mamma) but the overall feel is of a young person trying to make sense of the idea that people feel the urge to suddenly stop having fun and get babies. Not that that is the whole theme of the book, but this is what came through as the strongest message for me - an underlying notion that it is no longer the norm to want the whole mortgage/marriage/babies/Volvo end to life. Mind you, Suttie does spend a lot of the book trying to find someone with whom she will probably (inevitably) end up getting that mortgage/marriage/babies/Volvo life - and I bet there won’t be a Roy bookshelf in sight.

While I was hoping for stories and anecdotes about her time on Peep Show, this collection of stories (bookended by New Years' trips to the sea) was even better. I really like Isy Suttie's writing style and (being a fan of her comedy) I could hear the words in her voice, in my head.Hers is a relatable, friendly, and seriously funny voice.Highly recommended for fellow bookish awkward girls like myself, who look forward to finding out what all the fuss is about re:growing up and being mature.

I would probably have given this around a 3.75 or 3.5, but that isn't available, so 4 it is, and I am not mad about it. This was a collection of stories from Suttie's life, stories that show what a struggle it is to become a true adult, how some of us go into it kicking and screaming, living a decent life, but unsure of what exactly an adult is.There are things that we do, things that we shouldn't do, and all the things in between, and these stories cover that quite well.

I really enjoyed this book. Short, easy to read amusing anecdotes that do have a vague narrative woven throughout them. Some bits were laugh out loud funny, some bits were amusing, some bits were just lovely. A nice non-serious light read to start off the year with.

I thought I was taking my peep show fandom too far by reading this but it was actually a delightful book and totally funny

Hilarious and lovely. Didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did.

I like Isy Suttie. I am going to go out on a limb and say that she is a swell gal. Strangely, the aforementioned reasons were not why I bought her book – The Actual One. If I am being absolutely honest, it took me a while to marry up who Isy Suttie was with the quirky funny girl I sometimes saw on 8 out of 10 Cats does Countdown. Once the two connected I had a ‘Huzzah’ moment because I realised that I was about to enjoy the book I was reading.You see I have a strange feeling that Isy Suttie is my spirit animal…in human form. When she says things that some would see as quirky or odd I totally get it. I like Suttie’s naïve way of seeing the world. It is how I see the world; a world where you can make the best out of a bad situation by seeing the funny side of things.Anywho, in her memoir The Actual One, Suttie discussed the banal life changes that people seem desperate to comment on. Almost like life is a orienteering trail and you have to find certain points to be deemed as doing well. Found a boyfriend yet? Tick. Moved in together yet? Tick. Engaged? Cross. Ouch. It is that period late into your twenties when people start settling down or getting married or having babies and you think should I be playing catch-up? Or should I still be playing beer pong…or in Suttie’s case ‘All Crevices’.Basically, The Actual One is a book for a) anyone who hasn’t quite got their shit together yet and b) a guide of what not to say for those smug people who have.This is one of the funniest books that I have read in a while and I implore you all to read it.The Actual One: Or How to Avoid Settling Down For as Long as Possible by Isy Suttie is available now.Follow Isy Suttie (@Isysuttie) on Twitter or visit her official website www.isysuttie.com.For more titles from W&N (@wnbooks) please visit www.wnblog.co.uk.

Book Review Summary:The Actual One is a wildly funny autobiography which is a must for those people in the twenties. Book Review: So this book came out over a year ago and I am only just getting to this review this now in the new year. This basically sums up my life. Anyway to the book. This was one of those books that I did just find randomly on NetGalley and thought the cover was interesting so requested it, not knowing what it was a the time, however, being a fan of memoirs and biographies so I got like with this one. I did enjoy this book although this was the first time I had heard of Isy Suttie the author but I thought that this was a nice introduction to her and that work. Although the book did not really focus on her work and was more about navigating her life in her twenties and thirties which as someone who was unaware of her jobsI did not feel excluded from the story. I did enjoy aspects of her life, included in the book and so many of them were very funny and it was refreshing to read about someone as awkward and unfortunate as me. The story of the penguin, anything that features her parents and her love life and me holding back laughs, quite bad when at the time I was sharing a room with my sister.Although I have only just turned 20, thus not relating to some of the stories and her life, I still did like this book, however, I can't say that I'm really looking forward to what they might hold. The Verdict:Overall, though I did enjoy this book, giving me truly laugh out loud moments, it is great for anyone who is a fan of Suttie's work or anyone who loves a good, fun autobiography.

The book follows Isy from her late 20's in to her 30's where she is surrounded by all her friends slowly getting married and having babies. Isy is happy for her friends but feels they're all still too young and at the beginning of the book Isy is on the cusp of breaking up with her Boyfriend. The following chapters follow Isy as she goes on dates, goes on holiday with her friends and goes to parties and she slowly comes to terms with the fact she is no longer 21. Isy is a great writer, she writes with a nice flow and good description which lends well to an easy to read narrative which when coupled with her comedy background leads to some funny anecdotes.I really enjoyed this book and I'd recommend it for anyone after a light read, particularly if you are in your late 20's-30's but to be honest I think anyone who's already lived through this period of their life would find themselves nodding and laughing along. If you're looking for a book focusing on Isy's career in Comedy or her work as an Actress then this isn't the book for you as she barely mentions either.

Any reluctant settler downers will find much to agree with in this book. It’s very, very funny and has a lovely cast of characters. I like the Matlock saying “custard cousins” and will use it instead of the Oxford equivalent phrase “sperm sisters” from now on. I love how Suttie carries her past with her in a good way and how she mostly doesn’t bother with embarrassment. I learnt things I didn’t expect to from this book, like making someone a giant papier maché penguin won’t lead automatically to true love.

The tale of one woman from Matlock's quest for loveIsy Suttie is very good at what she does. Like ridiculously good at what she does. Which is tell stories, with songs thrown in. This time, though, it's her story she's telling rather than that of Pearl and Dave or, well, any of the other couples she's told stories about. From a love that takes the form of a papier mache penguin to one that survives vomit, Isy's story is one of hope, chaos, list, longing, skinny dipping and Daft Punk. With beautiful comic strips.And songs at the back of the book. With sheet music.