I was sleeping in what might reasonably be described as a ditch though I tried not to think of it in those terms for morale reasons . . . Robert Skinner arrives in the city searching for a richer life. Things begin badly and then surprisingly get slightly worse. Pretty soon hes sleeping rough and trying to run a literary magazine out of a dog park. His quest for meaning keeps being thwarted by endless jobs beagles house parties ill-advised love affairs camel trips and bureaucratic entanglements. Sometimes a book catches the spirit of the times. Id Rather Not is about work escape and that something more we all need. I was told this man came from the Adelaide Plains and so commenced to read his work. By the time I realised Id been viciously misled and he actually grew up in Magill it was too late. I was already completely in love with the book. Its an absolute bag of lollies. -Annabel Crabb Robert Skinner writes with humour intelligence and heart. Pick up this book and you may never put it down. -Tony Birch This book is like a big properly made gin and tonic drunk outside in a garden on a perfect Saturday afternoon. -Cate Kennedy [Skinners writing is] underpinned with what it is to be alive on this planet at this moment. -Michael Winkler No one writes better when the stakes are lower. -Sam Vincent My heart leaps whenever I see Robert Skinners by-line; I know I am in for a hilarious literary treat complete with wry pearlers gallows truths and wicked timing. People will say he is Australias Sedaris but hes not. Hes Robert Skinner and hes a bloody marvel. -Anna Krien A funny and affecting celebration of the glorious choices we so often have about where to go and how to get there. -Jim Shepard Brevity may be the soul of wit but the nimble economy of this slim volume will make readers pine for more. A decidedly skewed hilarious collection of life reflections and colorful storytelling. -Kirkus
