Reading: Jeremy Hardy Speaks Volumes

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Jeremy Hardy Speaks Volumes is a collection of excerpts from Hardy's comedy - mainly from the radio version of his stand-up, Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation, but also some pieces from newspaper columns, early stand-up sets and his contributions to The News Quiz and I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue - interspersed with reminiscences from fellow comedians and friends. I find reading funny things difficult, as being able to see all the text on the page means my brain has already seen the punchline before I actually "read" it, so it's not laugh-out-loud funny in the same way as listening to Hardy was, but it's a lovely reminder of a much-missed favourite comedian, both his humour and his passionate political beliefs. (In other circumstances, I think it might have been a book I would have dipped in and out of rather than reading from cover to cover, but in fact a book made up of snippets and fragments was the perfect thing for my unfocused lockdown brain.)