The Book Report #110

Episode #109

Diddly Squat: Home To Roost – By Jeremy Clarkson

The Book

First published in 2024 by Penguin Random House UK and distributed around the world with Penguin Michael Joseph.

My copy is a first-edition hardback and has 218 pages with advertising for the diddly squat shop and all of the other books Mr Clarkson has written over the years.

What Did I Think?

This is the fourth book from the fourth series of the successful TV series Clarkson’s Farm. Where we get a collection of the articles written for the Sunday Times, we continue with the adventure of Mr Clarkson and his crew, dealing with the ups and, mainly, the downs of being farmers. The costs and sacrifices they all have to make to try to make a living, which by all accounts is near-impossible. Mr Clarkson also gives his views of the world at the time of writing this book.

He doesn’t hold back, and I don’t blame him.

One of the main things Mr Clarkson has to deal with is being able to do anything within the grounds of farming; you have to jump through so many hoops, but anything coming into the country doesn’t get the same treatment. Making it even harder for British-grown produce to get on the market.

No Rest

And it doesn’t stop there: Mr Clarkson writes about how there is no rest during holidays. He writes about what he is up to while everyone else in the world is doing what a normal family would do on Christmas Day.

Mr Clarkson has to do his rounds on the farm, feeding the animals and fixing anything damaged that may have happened during the night. And even the occasional escaped animal.

This book continues his journey of wanting to expand his empire by opening a pub. Mr Clarkson’s dream is to supply the pub and now the restaurant with British-made produce. Mr Clarkson isn’t going to let anything get in his way and finds out how much everything will cost.

Naturally, he goes back to what he is known for: Cars, and goes through the motions of writing a report on various cars he has enjoyed driving over the years and comparing them to what he drives today, which is always nice to see and read.

This is a short trek summary of everything that happened during the series and during his life, living on the farm. And as always, this is a light read, and if you are generally a reasonably paced reader, you should have this read within a day.

Would I Recommend?

Of course. Yes, I recommend this book.

Do you enjoy drama with some pain and toil at someone else’s expense? The ups and downs that happen during life. And generally enjoy Mr Clarkson’s view of the world. This may be the book for you.

Please give this book a go.

Would you like to purchase your very own copy?

You could try these online stores: Amazon UK/USA and Waterstones. AbeBooks UK/USA, Barnes & Noble, or eBay UK/USA.

Alternatively, you could try your local bookshop or even your local library.