Matt Haig

Into_the_tunnel said:

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Does he really think the whole of Italy is like the Amalfi Coast?

He lives in Brighton, in one of the most affluent areas of the U.K. and he has the fucking nerve to say that we as a country would want to move to Italy as though it is a homogeneous area of outstanding national beauty

No Matt, there are really deprived areas of Italy, just as there are beautiful and outstanding areas in England (you live in one of them ffs).

Stop being a privileged twat. Own your privilege and fuck off.

(I haven’t expressed what I want to say very well. In a word I think it he is being really offensive to the Italians, to people who live in areas that may not be as pretty and affluent as he would like (Grimsby and Stevenage for example) and just anyone actually- he is pissing me off.

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so poorly thought-out, quite offensive really. he's deleted it from Twitter and replaced it with a very deep and wise chapter about hummus

he's also doing a signing and this picture just says it all... double denim, eyes closed, not to mention, we're still meant to be distancing ya prune!

I've squiggled the entire person he's with cos they don't deserve to be identified at all

Made an account solely to reply to this thread.

I’m a super small-time writer on Twitter and one day Matt followed me out of the blue. In fact, he followed a lot of people from the writing community. He seemed like a decent bloke and interacted with most people.

Then his fame jumped up, and sure enough he unfollows us all and no longer interacts with the same people he used to. I know this really doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things and it’s hardly the biggest crime in the world but for somebody who sells the idea of connecting with people and being vulnerable, he was sure quick to slam that door shut once he ascended above us plebs.

Really rubbed me the wrong way.

been workshopping something. original for comparison:



Hummus (kachoochoo's version)

i love cooking, me, but also not cooking, that seems too hard. oh, hummus, how I love thee. your creamy yet sharp flavour, your smooth yet textured, er, texture. always waiting to offer your comfort. like a chickpea blanket of love. like all good middle class and aspirational working class people, I loooove yotam ottolenghi. he's a comfort blanket of middle eastern love made of complicated and lengthy lists of ingredients. I love music too, music is healing. let's have a musical break

"- will I cook like ottolenghi again?
- well of course you will
- well, I couldn't before
(piano break)
ottolenghi, ottolenghi
ottolenghi, ottolenghi
ottolenghi, ottolenghi
ooh ooh ottolenghi
(ottolenghi, ottolenghi)"

I love hummus, I love yotam ottolenghi, next up is my adoration of ocado, just gotta finish my first romance novel that features cupcake recipes at the back. big love

1. His addition of the Yotam quote makes me want to curl into a tiny ball and cry tears of rosewater.

2. Your version is a millionty times better than his. No wonder he is pissed off.

3. A new IG story has revealed a new page, mountain (will there be any pages of the book he doesn’t show on SM?).

Valley (Tunnel’s version)
In order to traverse a valley you may need to build a bridge. Bridges often have flaws that mean they are unsafe to cross. Have faith that your bridge will hold on despite the flaws. You will hold on despite the flaws. Hold on.

I have already read more of this book than I ever intended and it is bilge. Is he taking the piss with this?

Vanelope said:

I have already read more of this book than I ever intended and it is bilge. Is he taking the piss with this?

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you'd think he was, wouldn't you?

but, apparently, this kinda shit is catnip for his fans and we're all just haters for thinking that this is simply reductive nonsense

I might message him (I won’t) and ask him about his connected page. Can there ever be an entirely altruistic act Matt? Is that the point you were getting at in this page of tosh? Because if you were, it isn’t exactly an original idea.

Twat.

kachoochoo said:

you'd think he was, wouldn't you?

but, apparently, this kinda shit is catnip for his fans and we're all just haters for thinking that this is simply reductive nonsense

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His shite makes me irrationally angry. It is such trite twee garbage. It just makes you wonder why you are still desparately unhappy after looking at the sea and eating grapes. And loving yourself.

Rocketsocks said:

Made an account solely to reply to this thread.

I’m a super small-time writer on Twitter and one day Matt followed me out of the blue. In fact, he followed a lot of people from the writing community. He seemed like a decent bloke and interacted with most people.

Then his fame jumped up, and sure enough he unfollows us all and no longer interacts with the same people he used to. I know this really doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things and it’s hardly the biggest crime in the world but for somebody who sells the idea of connecting with people and being vulnerable, he was sure quick to slam that door shut once he ascended above us plebs.

Really rubbed me the wrong way.

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Yeah, I can see why that would be annoying.
It cements my impression of him that he’s a twat.

Rocketsocks said:

Made an account solely to reply to this thread.

I’m a super small-time writer on Twitter and one day Matt followed me out of the blue. In fact, he followed a lot of people from the writing community. He seemed like a decent bloke and interacted with most people.

Then his fame jumped up, and sure enough he unfollows us all and no longer interacts with the same people he used to. I know this really doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things and it’s hardly the biggest crime in the world but for somebody who sells the idea of connecting with people and being vulnerable, he was sure quick to slam that door shut once he ascended above us plebs.

Really rubbed me the wrong way.

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What a git!

Yeah, cynicism is definitely a coping strategy as are a lot of things. It’s not a one size fits all Matt, you helmet. I think people can do without your ‘life, laugh, love’ bollocks right now.

Haig claims to get hate because people don’t like Stoic attitudes but then writes a book called Comforts, rants in public about how much the opinions of other people bother him, and claims Ferris Bueller teaches a Stoic lesson because of some thin Marcus Aurelius quote on beauty?

A real Stoic would read in the first paragraph of Epictetus’s Handbook that your reputation is something outside of your control so it should have nothing to do with your happiness. If he read further, he’d know when you’re claiming to be a philosopher, you should expect people to ridicule you and you should come back with, “Why go so easy on me? I also cherry-pick relatable mental illnesses and hide behind my wife, don’t you know?”

A real Stoic wouldn’t fill a book called Comforts with things like pasta and pizza. These are external things and not in our control. Real Stoic comforts are things like choosing wisely, being kind, not letting anyone get inside your head, and knowing that you’re free in your mind no matter what is happening around you. It’s a philosophy that best serves people in rough conditions — how to hold on to what you can control when the situation around you isn’t great. It got me through early psychosis, but that’s not too relatable. Not many psych wards have great pizza ovens.

Nothing wrong with pizza and pasta, but that’s not Stoicism. Or Buddhism. Or Taoism. Maybe Epicureanism, but they would be more likely to focus on friendships and good conversation and remembering happier times — things almost anyone can find. They wouldn’t tell you that you only have today to steal your dad’s car.

I agree with an earlier comment here. I think he’s just a bit thick and wrote a relatable memoir at an opportune time. If he had any balls as a philosopher or guru, that opinion wouldn’t make him see red all over Twitter.

I’ve wandered into this thread from the J Monroe one. Wow chaps, it seems I’m not alone my opinions on MH. Used to really enjoy his books - read the Radleys and The Humans, know people that found something helpful in ‘How to stay alive’. Thought he was basically A Good Guy…

He’s gone beyond it now and he really is Mr internet Meme now. Twee little motivational phrases that are plastered over Instagram. King of navel-gazing introspection. Hey plebs, feeling sad? Have a glimpse into my lovely privileged life in Brighton by the sea, that’s sure to perk you up.

He’s another of the enthusiastic amateurs spouting ‘advice’ about mental illness - buy his books everyone and you’ll be saved!

Argh! He really winds me up.

Just

kachoochoo said:

you'd think he was, wouldn't you?

but, apparently, this kinda shit is catnip for his fans and we're all just haters for thinking that this is simply reductive nonsense



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Just word vomit. Stuff that most of us would think about whilst we're doing the washing up or having a shower and then forget he thinks is a meaningful message from god and puts it in a book.

hollowcrown said:

Just

Just word vomit. Stuff that most of us would think about whilst we're doing the washing up or having a shower and then forget he thinks is a meaningful message from god and puts it in a book.

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He’s selling shed loads of books though. https://giphy.com/g8a4XudONT2aQ

hollowcrown said:

Just

Just word vomit. Stuff that most of us would think about whilst we're doing the washing up or having a shower and then forget he thinks is a meaningful message from god and puts it in a book.

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he’s hoovered up the eat pray love crowd - oh great another straight white man telling us all how to think. No one would publish that stuff if it was written by anyone else but he has fans who will buy all his nonsense

I was listening to a podcast on Spotify and he’s doing an ad for his new book

I am convinced he's just a psyop face for an algorithm based bot which generates saccharine platitudes based on whatever 'self care twitter' nonsense is spouting on the daily. The 250 word paragraphs he writes are on the verge of nonsensical, I can barely understand them He churns out so many books it's bizarre. Pulling my tinfoil hat down over my ears coz I don't want CBT hummus rays beamed into my brain. Beep boop!

notes for radio 4, so like jack's post its!



one (1) person in twitter went, "haha, he pronounces it 'tor-til-a'"



from a 2015 interview, idyllic childhood to a Brighton townhouse, how very oiky



loneliness, wow, these are all profound original thoughts that are definitely worth £16.99rrp

kachoochoo said:

notes for radio 4, so like jack's post its!

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one (1) person in twitter went, "haha, he pronounces it 'tor-til-a'"

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from a 2015 interview, idyllic childhood to a Brighton townhouse, how very oiky

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loneliness, wow, these are all profound original thoughts that are definitely worth £16.99rrp

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He’s so fucking fragile, clearly all his extremely clever self help techniques don’t work otherwise he wouldn’t be so touchy. All the adoration he gets, yet he beams in on what one person says

Extract from The Comfort Break Book
by kachoochoo, aged 37 and 1/12

Oik

I am an oik. I see no trouble with this
I am an oik. You can be too

Be as oikish as you can. From your Brighton townhouse, where you read your Camus and Pooh.

Go be a Midlands oik. Eat the pizza. Eat the pasta. Rake in the cash

Get yourself a lil Twitter beef. mmm, beef.

I am oik

Namaste