Gerry Samper is truly such an amusing character.

His presence always brings a sense of joy and entertainment. It is always an absolute delight to join him in his travels and travails.

As he embarks on his adventures, one can't help but be drawn into his world of excitement and unpredictability.

Whether it's facing unexpected challenges or uncovering hidden gems during his travels, Gerry's unique perspective and humorous take on life make every moment with him a memorable one.

His ability to find humor in the most unlikely situations is truly remarkable and adds an extra layer of charm to his already engaging personality.

Joining Gerry in his travels and travails is not just a physical journey but also a mental and emotional one, filled with laughter, learning, and unforgettable experiences.

Less of a Scream

In our daily lives, we often encounter situations that might make us want to scream. However, it is important to learn to control our emotions and express ourselves in a more composed manner. Screaming can be a sign of frustration, anger, or stress, but it doesn't always solve the problem. Instead, we should try to communicate our feelings calmly and rationally. This way, we can better understand the situation and find a more effective solution. By reducing the amount of screaming in our lives, we can also create a more peaceful and harmonious environment for ourselves and those around us. So, the next time you feel like screaming, take a deep breath, count to ten, and try to express yourself in a more positive way.

This is a truly mean and cynical book that serves as a follow-up to Cooking with Fernat Branca. It took me a considerable amount of time to once again immerse myself in the character of Gerald Sampler. He is not only bitchy and critical but also extremely funny. The humor in this book is very British and clever. I would highly suggest having a dictionary handy while reading it, unless you are okay with not fully understanding the nuances.

I found myself literally laughing constantly during certain sections, despite my best attempts to hold back. In fact, I laughed so uproariously in one particular cafe that a woman felt the need to comment as she was leaving. It was quite an embarrassing yet enjoyable experience. The author has a unique way of presenting the story and the characters, which makes it a captivating read.

Overall, if you are a fan of British humor and don't mind a bit of meanness and cynicism, this book is definitely worth checking out.

Witty, funny, brilliant. These three words perfectly describe the unique charm of a person or a piece of work.

A witty individual has the ability to come up with clever remarks and quick comebacks, leaving others in stitches and impressed. Their sense of humor is sharp and their mind is always working overtime to find the most humorous and unexpected ways to express themselves.

Funny people, on the other hand, have a natural talent for making others laugh. They can tell jokes, perform skits, or simply be themselves and bring joy and laughter to those around them. Their presence is like a breath of fresh air, lightening up the mood and making everyone feel good.

And then there are the brilliant ones. These are the people who possess extraordinary intelligence and creativity. They can solve complex problems, come up with innovative ideas, and make significant contributions to their fields. Their minds are like a wellspring of knowledge and inspiration, constantly flowing and enriching the world around them.

In conclusion, being witty, funny, and brilliant is a rare and wonderful combination. It can bring joy, laughter, and inspiration to those around us, and make the world a more interesting and colorful place.

This is the second book that has made me laugh out loud while reading, probably in years.

It is highly recommended. It is like a cross between P.G. Wodehouse and John Walters. The writing style is engaging and full of humor.

The first book that made me laugh in a while was the first book in the series, Cooking with Fernet Branca. That book also had its share of hilarious moments and unique characters.

This second book continues in the same vein, with its witty dialogue and absurd situations. It's a great read for anyone who loves a good laugh and enjoys light-hearted fiction.

I can't wait to see what the author comes up with next in this series.

The further adventures of the nightmare gourmet continue. This time, in an effort to remain upright, he has made a significant switch from Fernet Branca to prosecco.

During the day, he embarks on his culinary escapades with a newfound spirit. The prosecco, with its light and bubbly nature, seems to give him a different kind of energy.

He explores various restaurants and eateries, sampling dishes that he hopes will satisfy his unique palate. Along the way, he encounters both familiar and new flavors, each one adding to his ever-growing list of gastronomic experiences.

As the day progresses, the nightmare gourmet finds himself enjoying the prosecco more and more. It pairs well with many of the dishes he tries, enhancing the overall dining experience.

Whether he is indulging in a rich pasta dish or a delicate seafood creation, the prosecco seems to be the perfect accompaniment.

With each sip and each bite, the nightmare gourmet continues to embrace his love for food and drink, all while maintaining his upright stance with the help of his new favorite beverage.

Who knows what other adventures await him on his culinary journey? Only time will tell.

This movie is very funny indeed.

It has many hilarious moments that can make the audience burst into laughter.

However, when compared to the first one, it just doesn't quite measure up.

The first movie had a certain charm and uniqueness that this one seems to lack.

Maybe it's the story, or perhaps it's the characters.

Whatever the reason, it fails to capture the same magic as its predecessor.

Nonetheless, it's still an enjoyable movie that can provide some entertainment.

But if you're looking for something truly outstanding, you might want to go back and watch the first one again.

Overall, it's a decent effort, but it could have been better.

Amazing Disgrace by James Hamilton-Paterson is the second installment in the series that commences with Cooking with Fernet Branca. Hamilton-Paterson still manages to infuse humor into this book, yet it has a harder and more depressive undertone. I had a greater preference for the first book due to its unadulterated adult silliness.

Once again, Gerald Samper is eking out a living by ghostwriting the autobiographies of sports celebrities. While he may earn his daily bread in this manner, he would never stoop to doing something as mundane as eating plain bread. He enriches his life by devising (according to his own definition) gourmet recipes and singing improvised Italian opera arias. These activities make his life more enjoyable, but they often have the opposite effect on those in his immediate vicinity.

This book picks up a couple of years after Cooking with Fernet Branca concludes. Neighbor and frenemy Marta has a reduced role this time around. She mainly exists in the thoughts of “Gerree!” Samper does make some headway in his goal of eventually ghostwriting for serious musicians. In the meantime, his current project is a ghostwritten autobiography of a one-armed grandmother who is a solo around-the-world sailor.

After reading two out of the three books in this trilogy, I am inclined to read the final installment: Rancid Pansies. The reviews of that book lead me to believe that I may not enjoy it as much as the first, but I am eager to find out what becomes of Gerald. Additionally, since the opinions of others have lowered my expectations, I might end up enjoying it more. However, being aware that my enjoyment could be enhanced due to lowered expectations might actually be raising my expectations, which could negatively impact my reading pleasure. Enough of this heavy thinking. Moving on.

Amazing Disgrace has its share of laugh-out-loud moments and delves deeper into Samper’s life. He relishes living in Italy, with the occasional trip back to England. His career is progressing well, and his analysis of life brings a smile to my face.

In the name of science, many strange and unexpected things can occur.

Prosecco has now taken the place of Fernet Branca, and those of us who believe Fernet Branca to be the upholder of universal balance and the keeper of all that is good have a premonition that accidents are soon to come, perhaps in an avalanche-like manner.

When everything becomes embarrassingly awkward, it's important to remember that it's all for science.

Who is more deserving of a fantastic autobiography than our one-armed sailor granny Millie? She singlehandedly crossed the oceans and inspired many to embark on voyages without fruit-de-mer to save crustaceans and sea snails from the hot pots and pans of master chefs.

However, Gerald, not taking the job of writing Millie's autobiography too seriously, teams up with British oceanographers and soon discovers that our beloved Millie may not be the heroine she claims to be. There was a bit of collateral damage when she took a shortcut between vessels carrying trawls with sensitive measuring equipment. Now, we'll never know if the Teutonic plates southwest of Gran Canary will collide and cause a tsunami that could destroy most of southern Europe. Thanks a lot, Millie.

Encouraged by this discovery, Gerald decides to do his best to contribute to Millie's downfall, which will surely boost book sales.

But there are other things on Gerald's plate as well.

As a bit of an academic, he can't resist responding to a kind email from a small family-run biotech company in Asia. Although Gerald considers himself adequately endowed, a solemn promise of growing into a really well-endowed stud piques his scientific interest in natural remedies, as in Asian medicine. He figures that a 30-day dosage of one small pill couldn't possibly do any harm, and after all, it's for the sake of science.

So he swallows the pill, waits a couple of days, and then picks up the measuring tape. He repeats this process, and the effect is... unprecedented.

While digging a grave for dear Millie takes up some of Gerald's valuable time, he also positions himself as the would-be biographer of Max Christ, the famous conductor.

The introduction at Max's country mansion goes well at first, but then Gerald makes a mistake in a dark room. Mental note: local plumbers are not to be trusted!

There are more disgraceful events in store for the faithful reader before Gerald Samper almost meets his downfall.

The story highlights cooking with mice, a visit to a doctor specializing in "Men's Health", the return of the neighbor, and the final downfall of Millie - who ends up, so to speak, quite well-hung.

The book is witty and well-written, although it may not be considered literary art. It gets a 3½ for entertainment value and writing style, which would be a solid 3 stars on Goodreads.

For those who told me that Amazing Disgrace wasn't as funny as Cooking With Fernet Branca: OMG, they were so wrong.

Other than the cover image / design (which, sadly, is really ugly and stupid), this book was every bit as awesome as the first one. And I seriously can't wait to read Rancid Pansies!

This is volume 2 in the Gerald Samper story. Gerald lives in relative isolation in the remote Italian countryside. There, he spends his time ghostwriting autobiographies for famous sports figures (whom he despises) and concocting horrifying "delicacies" in the kitchen. He's smart, snarky, witty, and mean, and it's so much fun to read about him.

This volume has him much gayer (literally; I'm not being a dick) than the first one, which seems more in character to me. Though Disgrace doesn't have much of Marta, his neighbor and nemesis in Cooking, we are treated to a bunch of new characters who are just as awesome and fun.

There's Millie, the one-armed granny who sails solo around the world in her yacht – she's also Gerald's latest ghostwriting subject, and he hates her with such intense vitriol that it nearly melts the letters off the page. We also meet Adrian, a sexy government scientist and Gerald's sometimes lover; Dereck, Gerald's old pal (and maybe ex?), who's a hairdresser to the stars and a painfully obvious gold-digger; plus some composers, some New Age hangers-on, a child obsessed with feces, Mr. and Mrs. Pro-Wang, and many more. They are all terrific characters.

In addition to all this, of course, we get to spend another three hundred pages in Gerald's head, listening to him riff on countless ludicrous topics, like penile enlargement, the inexcusability of puns, anagrams, ancient cheeses, panda labia, a nationwide weep-a-thon, and who knows what else.

The best thing I can do to recommend these books is to give a sample. So here's Gerald pondering how young lovers managed to neck in the back of horse-drawn carriages in the pre-car era:

How carnal could they have become in the lee of a looming equine backside, the black purse of its anus periodically discharging hot wet mulch and its velvet ears swivelling back against the starlit sky like furry radar dishes? Surely they would have felt too much surveilled by that great brute witness? The close presence of a living, breathing creature periodically gusting ammonia and methane would hardly have been less inhibiting than the peeping Thomism of the parish priest himself.

Ah ha ha ha. If you don't think that's charming and dryly hilarious, then these books are probably not for you.

A rare talent has emerged, one whose wit is truly astonishing and makes people shake their heads in wonder. It's as if we can envision a highly literate English version of Larry David. Just imagine the kind of absurd scenes that would unfold, and that's precisely what one discovers within the pages of this remarkable book. Miraculously, by the end of the book, all these seemingly disparate elements come together in a seamless and satisfying way.

Marta, for the most part of the story, remains in the background as she has mysteriously vanished. However, this doesn't dampen the overall charm and appeal of the narrative. Instead, the author skillfully brings forth another cast of characters, each one highly colorful and unique. Their antics and interactions add depth and excitement to the story, making it a truly engaging read from start to finish.

This book has its moments of great fun and a really engaging story.

However, the narrator's language is a bit of a drawback. He is overly pretentious and tries too hard to be 'witty'. What's more, he constantly refers to himself in the third person. While this was somewhat humorous in the first 20 - 30 pages, as the book progresses, it starts to make the reading experience increasingly difficult.

Fortunately, the book is relatively short. This means that despite the challenges presented by the narrator's style, I was still able to persevere and find out how the story ended.

Overall, it's a bit of a mixed bag. The story itself has its charms, but the narrator's idiosyncrasies can be a bit off-putting at times.