Back to Me is one of those books you start reading, laugh out loud at, then quietly think: “Oh no… I know ALL these people. And worse — I might BE some of them.”
Quentin Drummond Anderson basically takes you on a world tour of conversational madness: the Serial Interrupter, the Humblebrag, the Empathy Mirage merchant who says “I totally get you” before turning it straight back to themselves, the One-Upper who can’t let anyone else have a single win… they’re all here, and described with the kind of accuracy that makes you wince and grin at the same time.
What makes the book brilliant is that it’s not just comedy — it’s genuinely insightful. The cultural bits (British apologetic interrupting vs. American enthusiastic interrupting vs. Nordic glorious silence) are spot-on. And the chapters on Zoom-era “talking heads” had me howling; anyone who has sat through a video call will feel deeply, tragically seen.
I came for the humour, but stayed for the uncomfortable truth: we’re all guilty of at least one of these sins of conversation. This book makes you laugh, it makes you think, and it might even make you a better listener.
Highly recommended — especially if you’ve ever left a dinner party exhausted by someone else’s TED Talk about themselves. Or given one.