Is It Just Me Or Is Everything Shit?: The Encyclopedia of Modern Life - Tapa dura

There are perky self-help books and then theirs is IS IT JUST ME OR IS EVERYTHING SHIT?, an A-Z rant about the naffness of modern life that's so relentlessly bitter it's actually rather uplifting. Dissing everything from Keane ("Tom Chaplin's face has no edges") to cardboard-tasting paninis to the overuse of Manolo Blahniks as a metaphor it's, dare we say it, more piercing than a Manolo heel (MARIE CLAIRE)

Bilious old-codgering taken to the highest possible level as authors vent anger over the crassness and mediocrity of modern life cf. "juice drinks", Otis Ferry, Kabbalah, foot spas, Sam Taylor-Wood and pubs playing "mellow dance grooves". Excellent entry (TIME OUT)

A life-affirming guide to the modern world (ESQUIRE)

One of the many things that irritates these guys is rave reviews: so I'll just say it's very funny and recommend you to buy it. Unless of course you're a big fan of the Daily Mail (Stewart Prebble, author of Grumpy Old Men)