Robin Ince's Bad Book Club

The Bad Book Club epitomises smart and sophisticated humor. In his show celebrating wonderfully predictable literature and poorly written prose, Robin Ince demonstrates a comedic style that is effective without resorting to crude stereotypes or shock tactics, and intellectual without becoming elitist.

The show forms part of Ince’s promotional tour for his book of the same title that claims to be "One Man’s Quest to Uncover the Books That Taste Forgot". While there is a risk that a show with the premise of judging mediocre literature could descend into a cruel and scathing attack, Ince instead employs gentle satire. Moreover, he expresses an ironic and contagious enthusiasm for the extracts he reads. From books on killer crabs to the romantic clichés in Mills and Boon novels, Ince celebrates the absurd and encourages the audience to do the same.

Whilst one may not grasp every reference made to philosophers or journalists, Ince’s tangents on his young son, politics and atheism mean that the show is by no means restricted to literary cognoscenti. Ince demonstrates he is more than capable of the quick wit more commonly associated with his peers. Indeed, Ricky Gervais fans may recognize Ince as the support act for his live DVDs.

Nonetheless, Ince is perhaps right when he states - in a spell of self-deprecating humour - that he would be incapable of selling out arenas. The show’s content is bound to attract a narrower audience - made evident by the more mature crowd at The Stand. That said, Ince is not simply the geek that he first appears. Rather, his geekish tendencies combine with his new found disregard for what other people think, his pedigree of 8 years at the Edinburgh Fringe and his countless writing credits, to create a show that will undoubtedly surprise those willing to give it a chance.