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‘I find happiness in cutting my toenails’: Karl Pilkington set to delight fans at Manchester book signing

If you asked most people which celebrity they would most like to see inside the mind of, Karl Pilkington would be fairly high on everyone’s list.

The Mancunian star of An Idiot Abroad and the Ricky Gervais Podcast is famed for his bizarre outlook on life and for his love of a good moan.

Luckily through his latest book, ‘The Moaning of Life: The Worldly Wisdom of Karl Pilkington’, readers the world over can all get a glimpse inside the workings of his mind as he tackles five of the biggest issues in life.

And Karl’s fans also have the opportunity to get even closer to their idol tomorrow as he signs copies of his book at WHSmith in Manchester Arndale at 12pm.

The book runs through what Karl makes of life, running through having kids, getting married, getting a job, being happy and ultimately dying.

It’s safe to say that the book is packed with gems from Karl’s mind, which prove to be as thought-provoking as they are hilarious.

Karl has been with his partner Suzanne for almost 20 years but they have yet to get married, mainly because Karl doesn’t like the fuss and he likens being invited to a wedding to being summoned for jury service.

To see what the wedding lark is all about, Karl travels to the world’s wedding capital Las Vegas, where he finds the idea of a drive thru wedding rather appealing while also revealing his dislike for naked cherubs.

“I’ve always found cherubs a bit sinister,” Karl writes.

“The idea of winged babies flying around with no nappies on seems like an accident waiting to happen – there would be shit everywhere.”

Karl also considers what it would be like should he and Suzanne separate and as such meets Vinnie, a professional pick-up artist, who teaches him how to approach women with the help of the mantra ‘it’s not going to suck itself’.

Vinnie also informs Karl that men who have great sex do better at all levels, prompting Karl to share his own thoughts on the matter.

“Don’t get me wrong – the sex thing, it’s alright,” Karl says.

“But I’m not a great believer in going at it all night. Get it done, get to sleep; it’s not something you should drag out.

“I’ve had neighbours who do that and it drives me up the wall.

“To me it’s like getting a sofa through a doorway; you can waggle it about and try different angles, but you just want to get it in the hole, just get it done.”

Karl confesses that the subject he found most troubling on his travels was the task of finding out what makes us happy.

Regular viewers/readers of Karl’s work would probably be unlikely to describe the somewhat grumpy Mancunian as ‘happy-go-lucky’ but that is exactly what Karl claims to be.

He believes that he is more content than most people and finds happiness where others don’t.

“I find happiness in simple things like cutting my toenails,” Karl explains.

“When you have time to look over your feet, life must be good.”

It is these musings that make the book what it is – like a journey through the weird but frankly thoroughly reasonable views of the enigma that is Karl Pilkington.

It is difficult to imagine that he enjoys book signings but fans of Karl can get their own copies of ‘The Moaning of Life’ signed on Saturday by the ‘happy-go-lucky’ star and enjoy the 356 pages of hilarious musings. 

Image courtesy of ITV via YouTube, with thanks.

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