The book is centered around the letters that might go to an advice columnist such as the USA's Dear Abby, or what's called an agony aunt in Britain. The author says that many of the questions are inspired by actual questions, even though the letters and responses are jazzed up for comic effect. The rest are obvious inventions. Ringwood used to write them for a local astronomy society newsletter.

Who is the audience? Amateur astronomers and their families and friends are most likely to find it amusing, as they're aware of the sometimes obsessive behavior of astronomers. And newbie observers would get a good deal of useful information from a seasoned observer. It could be fun light reading for anyone.

The author says Above all, the purpose of the book is to entertain.

The good 1. I liked the structure of the book: the letter and response, then some genuinely sensible advice, stories, histories and information.

2. There is an index, a commendable practice that some authors don't follow.

3. I enjoyed reading some new stories. For example, I didn't know that the McDonald Observatory in Texas has a telescope with three bullet holes in its primary mirror. In February 1970 an employee suffering a breakdown took a shot at his supervisor. After missing his first target he shot at the telescope. The mirror is fused silica, so not only did it survive, but the 107-inch reflector lost only an inch of its capability. This was such an amazing story, even for Texas, that I looked further. Click here to see William Keel's photo taken down the telescope tube.

4. I found some of the book entertaining. This comment, for example, could almost be an aphorism: Acquiring a new piece of astronomical equipment immediately initiates a protracted bout of cloudy weather. It also applies to any interesting astronomical event. The first time I saw Perseid meteors from west Wales was in 2013 - after years of cloudy night skies for the duration of every Perseid season. This is a problem of living in Britain.

For the reader who asked, I know the sky must clear eventually, but how can I improve my seeing conditions? the response was simple. Emigrate.

And someone could make a comedy sketch out of the suggested ways of dealing with a neighbor's tree that blocks your view of the sky.

The not-so-good I felt that the book's author finds himself much funnier than I do. But humor is an individual thing. I recall watching an in-flight comedy movie that I thought was cringingly unfunny. Yet someone else watched it and laughed loudly throughout.

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Astronomers Anonymous - book review