Rating: 
Summary: Whinging and Cringing After Dufferin
Review: It says everything about this book, really, that the title comes from an intensely colloquial joke that is too obscene to repeat here. Frost on My Moustache is a travel humor book that focuses far more on humor and cursing than it does on the travel. But what it lacks in actual information it more than makes up for in laughter - the kind of oh-god-just-let-me-take-another-breath laughter that can lead to hospitalization, insanity, and inexplicable joy. However, Moore - and his book - aren't for everyone. Moore is very colloquially British - he uses lots of pop culture references that will not be obvious to most Americans (or Europeans or Australians or...). He's also very much like a certain kind of aging college student: perpetually intoxicated, foul-mouthed, inclined to rant and whine. But despite it all, he's lots of fun, and while you might not like him, you'll love reading about his travels. The word that most often gets used in Tim Moore book reviews is "Bryson." The comparisons between Tim Moore and Bill Bryson are apparently unavoidable. And, to a certain extent, they hold true: both writers are very funny, both are extremely tightfisted, both spend an awful lot of time complaining. But Moore is not Bryson. At most, he could be described as an embryo Bryson - he hasn't yet learned the secrets of a wide appeal, a cultivated air, or a dignified approach to life. Moore curses, he wails, he throws regular temper tantrums, he's sulky and lazy and fixated. And he eats a lot of hot dogs. Don't expect thoughtful cultural exposition, insightful observations, or descriptions of the local cuisine from him. But I promise you: if you pick up Frost on My Moustache, you will experience frequent bouts of all-out hysteria. This book is well worth buying and reading, not once, but again and again.
Rating:
Summary: Whinging and Cringing After Dufferin
Review: It says everything about this book, really, that the title comes from an intensely colloquial joke that is too obscene to repeat here. Frost on My Moustache is a travel humor book that focuses far more on humor and cursing than it does on the travel. But what it lacks in actual information it more than makes up for in laughter - the kind of oh-god-just-let-me-take-another-breath laughter that can lead to hospitalization, insanity, and inexplicable joy. However, Moore - and his book - aren't for everyone. Moore is very colloquially British - he uses lots of pop culture references that will not be obvious to most Americans (or Europeans or Australians or...). He's also very much like a certain kind of aging college student: perpetually intoxicated, foul-mouthed, inclined to rant and whine. But despite it all, he's lots of fun, and while you might not like him, you'll love reading about his travels. The word that most often gets used in Tim Moore book reviews is "Bryson." The comparisons between Tim Moore and Bill Bryson are apparently unavoidable. And, to a certain extent, they hold true: both writers are very funny, both are extremely tightfisted, both spend an awful lot of time complaining. But Moore is not Bryson. At most, he could be described as an embryo Bryson - he hasn't yet learned the secrets of a wide appeal, a cultivated air, or a dignified approach to life. Moore curses, he wails, he throws regular temper tantrums, he's sulky and lazy and fixated. And he eats a lot of hot dogs. Don't expect thoughtful cultural exposition, insightful observations, or descriptions of the local cuisine from him. But I promise you: if you pick up Frost on My Moustache, you will experience frequent bouts of all-out hysteria. This book is well worth buying and reading, not once, but again and again.
Rating: 
Summary: Introducing the "contender for Bill Bryson's crown"
Review: Sample reviews for Tim Moore's FROST ON MY MOUSTACHE.Caveatlector: read this book and your sides will ache. ". . .a veryfunny book that is also first-class travel writing" --Nina King, Washington Post "This book made me laugh out loud helplessly in public, like an escaped psychopath; I simply didn't care." --The Observer "One of the funniest books I have read in a long time, and one from which Moore emerges as a contender for Bill Bryson's crown as king of comic travels." --The Sunday Times
Rating: 
Summary: Modern-day Arctic exploits of a British curmudgeon
Review: Subtitled, "The Arctic Exploits of a Lord and Loafer," this seemed right up my alley because I just can't resist books about the frozen north. The author, Tim Moore, is an Englishman, and he makes sure that the reader doesn't forget it. His trip is patterned on that of a British aristocrat, Lord Dufferin, who sailed his yacht to from Iceland to Norway and eventually to the town of Spitzbergen near the Arctic Circle in 1856. Moore uses a copy of the travelogue that Dufferin wrote at the time for reference, and did some additional research by paying a visit to Dufferin's royal descendents for more background information. All this makes for an interesting premise, especially since the author is well acquainted with Iceland since his wife is Icelandic and he is able to provide some interesting insights and observations about that place. He can't exactly replicate Lord Dufferin's travels though. After all, Tim Moore doesn't have his own ship and is making his pilgrimage alone. And so he books passage on a number of commercial Norwegian vessels to get where he wants to go. Also, instead of transversing Iceland with a team of horses, he opts for a bicycle. The whole book is intended to be humorous as the self-effacing hero sets out on his travels. Perhaps it is humorous to a British audience. But, as an American, I missed all of the jokes and even though I read some passages several times, I still was not able to understand some of the incidents he described. This surprised me because I have no trouble with Charles Dickens. But his modern-day witticisms were completely lost on me and I soon found myself getting annoyed. Mr. Moore presents himself as an out-of-shape curmudgeon and proud of it. He complains throughout about everything, and mostly about his physical discomfort. The reader is treated to long and detailed descriptions of his constant seasickness as well as every muscle ache. Most of the people he meets are disagreeable, the meals awful and the prices exorbitant. He keeps going though, trying to prove that if Lord Dufferin could do it, Tim Moore could do it too. Along with way the I did learn a bit of history and geography about this area of the world as well as more than I ever wanted to know about Lord Dufferin. The author also did take me to a part of the Arctic I know little about, although he made it seem so bleak and cold and inhospitable that I have little interest in ever going there myself. It's too bad I didn't understand his humor because it might have brightened the bleak landscape he painted. Not recommended, especially for American readers.
Rating:
Summary: Modern-day Arctic exploits of a British curmudgeon
Review: Subtitled, "The Arctic Exploits of a Lord and Loafer," this seemed right up my alley because I just can't resist books about the frozen north. The author, Tim Moore, is an Englishman, and he makes sure that the reader doesn't forget it. His trip is patterned on that of a British aristocrat, Lord Dufferin, who sailed his yacht to from Iceland to Norway and eventually to the town of Spitzbergen near the Arctic Circle in 1856. Moore uses a copy of the travelogue that Dufferin wrote at the time for reference, and did some additional research by paying a visit to Dufferin's royal descendents for more background information. All this makes for an interesting premise, especially since the author is well acquainted with Iceland since his wife is Icelandic and he is able to provide some interesting insights and observations about that place. He can't exactly replicate Lord Dufferin's travels though. After all, Tim Moore doesn't have his own ship and is making his pilgrimage alone. And so he books passage on a number of commercial Norwegian vessels to get where he wants to go. Also, instead of transversing Iceland with a team of horses, he opts for a bicycle. The whole book is intended to be humorous as the self-effacing hero sets out on his travels. Perhaps it is humorous to a British audience. But, as an American, I missed all of the jokes and even though I read some passages several times, I still was not able to understand some of the incidents he described. This surprised me because I have no trouble with Charles Dickens. But his modern-day witticisms were completely lost on me and I soon found myself getting annoyed. Mr. Moore presents himself as an out-of-shape curmudgeon and proud of it. He complains throughout about everything, and mostly about his physical discomfort. The reader is treated to long and detailed descriptions of his constant seasickness as well as every muscle ache. Most of the people he meets are disagreeable, the meals awful and the prices exorbitant. He keeps going though, trying to prove that if Lord Dufferin could do it, Tim Moore could do it too. Along with way the I did learn a bit of history and geography about this area of the world as well as more than I ever wanted to know about Lord Dufferin. The author also did take me to a part of the Arctic I know little about, although he made it seem so bleak and cold and inhospitable that I have little interest in ever going there myself. It's too bad I didn't understand his humor because it might have brightened the bleak landscape he painted. Not recommended, especially for American readers.
Rating:
Summary: The components of this book didn't quite gel
Review: This book had the ingredients of a great travel book. First, the author is very witty at times. Second, he chose Iceland, which is one of Europe's more intriguing nations, and the fact that his wife is Icelandic gives him some bicultural insights. Third, travel books need some sort of 'hook' or theme, and Moore's theme is to retrace the travels of Lord Dufferin, a 19th-century adventurer. Moore starts with an overview of life in Iceland (the best part), discusses a cross-Iceland bicycle journey (too many pages dedicated to a fairly uneventful trip), then describes a boat trip from Iceland to Norway (during which he's incapacitated by seasickness), and eventually works his way north to the Norwegian island of Svalbard. One of the reasons this book didn't 'work' for me is that the author comes across as a disagreeable person. He tries to be funny and entertaining, but refers to his outbursts of temper directed at others often enough that one is left wondering how disagreeable Tim Moore really is in real life.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely hilarious!
Review: This is one of the funniest books I've read in years. I'm not normally a lover of travel writing, but I couldn't put this down and was sorry when I got to the end. The style of Frost on My Moustache is witty and unpretentious and the content unusual and extremely amusing. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Its funny, very funny
Review: Tim Moore has written one of the best travel books I've read in the last five years. His humour is contagious and one finds oneself urging him on as he battles across the northern seas in the footsteps of a 19th Century British aristocrat. Icelanders with a sense of humour about their own country's idiosyncrasies will find the book a delight. The remaining 98% of the population will demand the author is detained and given the full bottom inspection treatment next time he passes through Reykjavik airport. If you enjoy Bill Bryson then you will enjoy Moore. Moore is as funny but is significantly more insightful and ruder! As a regular traveler to Europe this is one of those books I would recommend packing to read as you zip over the pond to the UK (or even Iceland!)
Rating:
Summary: Perhaps it's just because I'm British but...
Review: To be considered more than just a good book, any travelogue has to show more than simply intelligence, humour or stylish writing. It requires a good theme - the writer needs to have an original and clearly defined purpose. In all of these criterion (and more presumably)Moore has surpassed all of my own expectations that I had before I bought it. The humour is, in places very English, but that should not deter anyone else from reading it. The only real reason why Tim can't be regarded as an equal to Bill Bryson is because unlike Bill, who has lived in Britain and America for vast periods of time, Moore only knows life in Britain. This alone is probably enough to put lots of Americans, Canadians, Australians etc. off but the fact that many people cant understand the jokes must be very frustrating. Personally, I understood it all but that's firstly because of where I'm from and secondly because I'm a cynic and enjoy reading books where the writer is self-depreciating. The book is informative and witty but something tells me that an attempt at another travel book might prove foolish on his part. He would need at least as good a theme and would need to sustain his humour over an even longer period. Read this one though - it's good.
Rating:
Summary: Quirky Nordic Travelogue
Review: Wonderful, quirky, moaning travelogue. Tim goes around Iceland and parts of Norway. Tim Moore does not travel well. He does not like some of the places he travels to. He doesn't even get to some he plans on. Real travelling. Great writing. Easy reading with several belly-laughs thrown in. Highly recommended.
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