Shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award 2019, Diary of a Somebody is a unique mix of poetry and diary by the unofficial Poet Laureate of Twitter, the enigmatic Brian Bilston. The idea of him writing a poem every day for a year, sounded like a fun read, and to be fair, I actually did enjoy most of the poems. topical, witty, thoughtful * Irish Times * The pseudonymous Brian Bilston turns the base metal of comic verse into gold . A great comic novel is distinguished by something above and beyond the honourable aim to tweak the funny bone; consider, for instance, the bravura inventiveness and energy of Martin Amis’s Money.

In a similar way to Morrissey and John Cooper Clarke, [Bilston] has the ability to make the mundane both funny and beautiful – whether that's taking out the bins or procrastinating on Twitter . To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. If you want a bit of light hearted relief from the world around you, then Brian Bilston is your man. Dominic Kearney * Irish News * A welcome reminder of the joy to be had when you put yourself in the hands of someone who knows their way round both a joke and a bittersweet narrative .

Not halfway through the book and I just can't take anymore of this male Bridget Jones who reliably screws everything up and is deeply, inconsistently stupid (doesn´t know who Gaudi is! He has published two collections of poetry, You Took the Last Bus Home (Unbound, 2016) and Alexa, what is there to know about love? A really light-hearted read, comprising many humorous and clever poems and amusing day-to-day events as Brian tries to cope with his boring job, his mad next-door neighbour, the members of his poetry club and book club and his broken marriage.

His ex-wife has taken up with a new man, he seems to constantly disappoint his long-suffering son, and at work he is drowning in a sea of spreadsheets and management jargon. So when Salt mysteriously vanishes, Brian comes under suspicion, not least from Mrs McNulty, his spiritualist neighbour and fan of Countdown (“She claims that amidst the vowels and consonants there are hidden messages from ‘the other side’. I predict that Brian Bilston will soon be * Reader's Digest * Brian Bilston is a laureate for our fractured times, a wordsmith who cares deeply about the impact his language makes as it dances before our eyes -- Ian McMillan Brian Bilston is bringing poetry to the masses .The Oldie * If you like a) laughing or b) words which rhyme with each other, you will love Brian Bilston -- Richard Osman Achingly funny. But can Brian’s poetry save him from Toby Salt, his arch nemesis in the Poetry Group and potential rival suitor to Brian’s new poetic inspiration, Liz? It’s January 1st and Brian Bilston is convinced that this year, his New Year’s resolution will change his life. The book picked up in excitement in the ninth month, but it was too late, and even though the book became more exciting, the main character never improved quite enough for you to feel too happy about any good coming his way. Brian has such a knack of observing and capturing and magnifying the absurdities of life and language and people – things that you never realized other people noticed or found ridiculous too, or never found an adequate way to express.

So here comes Brian Bilston, using his gift of turning the mundane, the everyday into a diary entry and/or a poem, using the power of wit and the ability to mine the language for puns and other delights. It is indeed mainly these things but with unfathomable pivot tables and blocked dishwasher pumps thrown in.

Bilston has perfected his comic voice, which brings to mind a bitter man-child with spades of misanthropic charm and a dash of Alan Partridge-esque pedantry. It's January 1st and Brian Bilston is convinced that this year, his New Year's resolution will change his life.

He has also published a collection of football poetry, 50 Ways to Score a Goal (Macmillan, 2021), and his acclaimed poem Refugees (Palazzo, 2019) has been made into an illustrated book for children. Brian Bilston should be Poet Laureate -- John O'Farrell The English comic novel, whose death this year was announced prematurely, is actually alive, well and in the safe hands of Brian Bilston -- Jonathan Coe * The Times * In a similar way to Morrissey and John Cooper Clarke, [Bilston] has the ability to make the mundane both funny and beautiful - whether that's taking out the bins or procrastinating on Twitter . So maybe you should also read this novel in short bursts, pausing to savour its individual brilliancies, such as this tweet on Star Wars Day: “Her name was Yoda / A show girl she was. Alastair Mabbott * Herald * In 1892, George and Weedon Grossmith published The Diary of a Nobody, now a classic of comic writing.Bilston’s book of poems, on the other hand, allows the reader to dip in at will; like Brian’s beloved custard creams, they are best consumed in twos or threes, rather than upending the whole packet at once. It's a big comparison to make, in comic novel terms, but Brian Bilston - parodist and 'poet laureate of Twitter'- is worthy . He was a little slash lot self-absorbed (to the point of forgetting his young son's birthday - who would do that), never had a drivers license, rightfully got made redundant from a job where he did nothing and the only thing he seemed to strive for was to appear smarter than he actually was.