Why Mummy Drinks by Gill Sims - what did you think?

Go on to World of Books website. It only cost me £3. Absolutely hysterical book. And even though I am not yet a mother I can still relate to this book due to copious nieces and 2 nephews.

I did enjoy this but I think I prefer the blog. I did initially relate to Ellen but actually I couldn't really understand why she struggled and needed to drink when she had quite an enviable life. Her children were healthy and normal, no money worries, worked part time in stress free job, loving husband, supportive family and friends, good social life ... just hard to sympathise why she was so frazzled.

The story itself was far fetched especially the relatives. I did enjoy it though and I like her writing style.

I love the Facebook posts so was thrilled to to be given the chance to read it. I struggled to find the time as my now grown up moppets still seem to demand eleventy billion things a day! There are some truly hysterical parts in this book, especially the Christmas scenario where she can't say no to anyone and ends up a frazzled wreck. I remember the "Playground Nazis", I am not from this small town, so started off being ignored then ended up on all the school committees! Beneath the gloss and gin, lots of mummies struggle! However, the thing that infuriated me was the attitude to council housing and tenants. My parents still live on the council estate I was brought up in, they have great neighbours, who work hard to support each other, although their tipples are more Tesco than the wonders of Waitrose! A very entertaining read about a mum struggling to be her own woman, despite the best attempts of various putrid children and her pukefest of a pup! A great book to pop in your pal's stocking! Then you can discuss it over a gin-sampling aka a book club!

I'm really enjoying this book ( don't get as much time as I'd like to read, so I'm only up to December so far!!). I'm finding it really funny and identifying with a lot of stuff in it, such as the competitive parents at the school!
I was slightly confused at first as I thought it was a book version of the Peter and Jane page on Facebook, which is the author's real life - I didn't realise this was a fictional novel. I was baffled as to why her husband was calling her Ellen! Then the penny dropped - it was a work of fiction loosely based on the goings-on of the P&J page!!
It's very funny anyway and I'm liking it for light bedtime reading. Good work Gill Sims, I will look forward to reading more from you.

Thanks for letting me read a free copy of this book.

I quite enjoyed it for a quick light-hearted read in the bath. The writing was engaging and sometimes funny. But the alternative situation write-ups got tedious quickly, and if I'm honest, I think I'm a bit over mummy blogs. A year ago, I lapped up Hurrah for Gin, Unmumsy Mum etc but I just think the genre has been done.

I would be interested in books about other subjects/fiction by Gill Sims as I do think she has the knack for witty writing.

I enjoyed reading this book but didn't love it. It follows in the vein of many Mummy blogs and books about the difficulty of having children and whilst I appreciate it isn't always a bed of roses, the book just didn't do it for me. Perhaps a little too light hearted for my serious nature. Thanks anyway Mumsnet.

Many thanks to Mumsnet and HarperCollins for a copy of this book.

The writer of the ‘Peter and Jane’ Facebook page gives the characters their first novel. The book is written in diary format, and is from the point of view of Peter and Jane’s mother, Ellen, as the antics of the 2 youngsters prove to be one of the many things that drive her to drink. As Ellen counts down the days till her 50th birthday, she recounts a bitter-sweet exploration of the challenges of trying to juggle employment with running a family, of parent-child relationships, of the physical and emotional changes a body goes through at that point in one’s life, and ultimately of the pitfalls of marriage and “In-Laws” relations.

The structure of the book does come across as a series of vignettes. And the situations depicted are often extremely surreal. The escapades of the Sister-In-Law’s family, for example, really push the boundaries of belief. And ultimately, there are some serious parenting issues that need to be addressed (constantly swearing and using the F-word in front of your young children, rewarding your young daughter with ice-cream and treats on the way home from being in trouble for fighting at school, etc.). But to really appreciate this book, the authenticity of the scenarios shouldn’t be taken too seriously. Instead, the book should be viewed as a full-on slapstick comedy caper. It is chock-block full of swearing, and infused with mad-cap humour and irony. The section recounting the Christmas Family visit, especially with the introduction of Louise (the sister-in-law mentioned above) and her family, is absolutely hilarious.

In summary, a funny, well-crafted, modern day family escapade, with enough happening to keep you reading to the end.

I enjoyed most of it, but the SIL was way too far-fetched.

I enjoy reviewing books, but I have mixed feelings about this one. As others have said, very Bridget Jones and also reminded me of the Bad Mothers Club book, which started/was part of the Bad Mothers forum, alas now no longer in existence. So, not a unique take, which possibly annoyed me more than it should. Some genuine wit, some a bit caricature-esque hard going scenarios, and yes, continuous references to FML and Elventybillion got a bit wearing in the end... I liked that it did address some of the issues of 'attempting perfection and failing', and human but less than noble reactions to events and people. I am probably older than the demographic the book is aimed at, so I might have found it funnier 10/15 years ago, so it while it wasn't hard work to read, I wasn't desperate to get back to it either.

Thank you for sending me a copy of this book to review.

I read the Peter and Jane thread on Facebook so was looking forward to reading this. I thought the cover and illustrations on the front were eye catching and funny and the inside of the book did not disappoint either. It reminded me a lot of Bridget Jones but a lot more realistic when it
came to parenting stories. It was a quick and easy read, assisted by the diary entry style which made you want to read more. Whilst the content wasn’t unique, that didn’t detract from my enjoyment, and part of the pleasure was in anticipating what was coming next.

I hope the book does well and is a success for the author.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a light read but it made me laugh and was relatable. I would recommend this book to other parents, especially those who don’t want to read anything too in-depth.

Thank you for sending me this book.

The grown up version of the Adrian Mole Diaries.

I have just finished reading this book and it was great. Very funny and relatable, I don’t usually read this type of book but I found it refreshing and very enjoyable and it has given me a good laugh the past few weeks! Would highly recommend, thank you for sending it.

I’m really glad that I won my copy; I never win anything so thank you!

I’ve read the odd post on Facebook and found her writing funny so was looking forward to it. I think however that, whilst I enjoyed it, it was a very light read with two dimensional characters. It wasn’t a book that you could read cover to cover, more a dip in and out of read. Also whilst my life is frequently frazzled I didn’t find the book ‘embarrassingly relatable.’ Working part time and having regular nights out with friends is pretty enviable to me! I also skimmed over the two versions of events, both perfect and ‘true’ as I found it tedious.

All in all it was an enjoyable read but I wouldn’t be recommending it. Thanks for the opportunity though!

OMG this is laugh out loud funny. We can all relate. How many of us are undervalued and overworked? Our day does not end when we get home cos we can’t just veg out on the sofa when we get home. When the sister visits for Christmas with a huge brood of children can life get any worse for the character in this story? I read the book over a few nights and always with a glass of wine in my hand, for research purposes only you must understand.
I enjoyed it. Thanks for a good giggle.

I've been full on belly laughing at this for days. Even my dad, who is a massive fan of the facebook page, has stolen it for a quick look and he never reads books!

I haven't read the book and not sure that I want to really but the highlight of DH and I's Friday night is the (slightly) drunken reading out loud of the FIAF posts.

Thank you so much for my copy, I loved it as much as I thought I would. It really was laugh out loud funny apart from the deep groans of recognition at the many familiar parenting fails!
Enjoy with a large glass of wine and a warm glow of feeling that you’re not alone!

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I follow Peter and Jane on facebook, so I was looking forward to reading this book and I have not been disappointed.
It is very funny, honest and makes me both laugh out loud and not feel like such a sh*t mum lol

I loved this book! There are some very realistic, all been there, sort of moments, and some very unrealistic moments (making £1000s on an app that apparently only took a day to create...) but the characters were sweet, and it was a light hearted read. Nice to have something light that isn't all about meeting the dream man and getting married. I read some parts out loud to my husband and actually laughed out loud at some parts. Think my SIL would find this very funny too, as well as a couple of friends. Would definitely recommend for Xmas holiday, 'at home with the kids' reading.

This book wasnt really my cup of tea. It is a very light hearted read and was certainly entertaining in parts but on the whole i found the book to rely too much on tired cliches. I didn't feel like the book had much substance to it- the whole scummy mummy thing leaves me a bit cold. It was a very easy read but not funny to me and too much of a cliche. Sorry

I really didn't like this book. I wanted to like it and to read funny mum anecdotes that would take me away from my own family and make me laugh but despite the fact I'll usually read anything, I just found it really tiresome and I gave up.

This book might be aimed at people who will read it and think "Yes! That's my life! Haha, that happened to me!". I love Mumsnet for exactly that and find posters I encounter here are far more humorous and relatable for that sort of feel-better comradeship reading. In this book the anecdotes weren't witty enough and I found the tone insufferably annoying. This is written in the style of Bridget Jones, as diary entries with chapters from September through the school year, which is quite an appealing format to dip in and out of, and I do really like the yellow cover.

This book didn't give me any reason to read someone else's relatively dull life with small children and a dog instead of living my own. I have never read the 'Peter and Jane' Facebook page so maybe I am just not the right audience. Sorry.

Thank you for the opportunity to read the book. I hadn't read 'Peter and Jane' so it was my first introduction to the writing of Gill Sims. Like others I felt it was similar to Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones. The principal characters are quite similar - deliberately flawed. I really related to Ellen's vision of how she wanted family life to run and how the reality didn't measure up. The description of their marriage didn't initially seem very healthy but I viewed it as how a hassled grumpy Ellen was viewing it and reporting it - similar to how my close friends over-exaggerate their husband's irritating misdemeanours over a ranty glass of wine!
I think many of us do relate to needing a drink after a tough day of juggling, although appreciate again this was probably exaggerated more for comic effect.
I liked the addition of Louisa (Amaris) and her brood. Again not all of us will have to deal with such extreme in-laws but we can all relate to family dramas and the curious habits of house guests!
An entertaining light read. I would definitely recommend to other mums (and dads to see what we put up with!)

Thanks for the opportunity to read the book. I started it not having read the authors other book so didn't know what to expect.
It is light hearted and very true in parts to a mum life however I felt some things were cliched and maybe fml isn't a northern thing but I didn't click with saying that and the mum says it a lot. The reality of a mum getting that much drink in seemed unreal...unless I just dream about doing it more however tiredness and the thought of more weight gain creeps in to stop me drinking that much when i know exercise is lower down the pecking order of mum life. That said the book is a light hearted look at the funny things that happen so imagine most can relate. It feels like I have read all the funny memes on a Mum/women's life in one boom though. Enjoy those still reading.