“Wiffle Lever to Full” - by Bob Fisher
Available from Amazon and places that sell, books.

Would you buy a used Dalek from this man ?

I bought this book as I suspected it may be good, Bob has a pleasant wit about him when he’s on the radio, and I’m a bit of geek, so I thought “what the hell” and handed my beer vouchers over to the nice people at Amazon.

In a nutshell it’s what happens to Bob and his long suffering mates and partner when he decides to indulge himself by going to a series of sci-fi conventions (yes, where people dress up as obscure (and not so obscure) characters for sci-fi shows, Dr Who, Star Trek etc.) over the course of a year. It’s also the author trying to put growing up in the 80’s into the context of his life now, what’s stayed, what’s changed, who has he lost contact with, who would he like to have kept in touch with.
It’s littered with references to growing up in the suburbs of Teesside, and with the odd reference to the Boro thrown in.
Don’t let that put you off, you don’t need to know the route the number 13 bus took to get what Bobs on about, but it does give you bonus points if you do.
It’s written in a style somewhere between Bill Bryson and Harry Pearson (of the “Far Corner”). As such it is funny, in places, very funny, it’s also very touching. The loss of relatives, the love of a partner, the utter desolation of getting a sh*t xmas present from parents who should know better, are all dealt with.
Beer and it’s drinking feature quite strongly in this book and it’s no worse for it. Unlike Bob, who discovers that a hang over and a bloke dressed as a cyberman are not good companions.
Best moments - watch out for the curse of the knitted Robin of Sherwood.

7.5 out of 10, definitely worth getting if you harbour geek tendencies or like reading about people who have geek tendencies, or you just like genuinely funny books.