{"title":"Ben Aitken","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"a-chip-shop-in-poznan-ben-aitken-paperback-travel-memoir","title":"A Chip Shop in Poznan by Ben Aitken - Non Fiction - Paperback Travel Memoir","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDetails\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCondition: New\u003cbr\u003eFormat: Paperback\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 9781785786266\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Icon Books\u003cbr\u003eAge Range: Adult readers\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOverview\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA Chip Shop in Poznan: My Unlikely Year in Poland is Ben Aitken's candid, funny travel memoir about swapping Britain for a minimum-wage job in a Polish chip shop. Curious about what Polish migrants had left behind, Aitken flew to a city he barely knew and spent a year peeling potatoes, riding buses, and quietly falling for a country most travel writers overlook. The result is a warm, witty portrait of modern Poland told through unglamorous, ground-level experience rather than tourist cliché, ideal for readers who enjoy honest, humour-laced non-fiction.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the Book\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn 2016, long before Brexit forced the question of who belongs where, Ben Aitken decided to find out for himself what Polish emigrants to the UK had actually left behind. Rather than researching from an armchair, he bought a one-way ticket to Poznan, a city he confesses he'd barely heard of, and took a job in a fish and chip shop on the minimum wage. What follows is a memoir built from the ground up: shifts behind the fryer, bus journeys to small towns, conversations with nuns, football fans, and everyday Poles, all filtered through Aitken's self-deprecating, observational humour. The book resists the usual travel-writing tropes of grand landmarks and neat conclusions, instead finding insight in laundrettes, milk bars, and the quiet dignity of ordinary lives. Along the way, Aitken's curiosity about migration and belonging deepens into something more personal, and the year abroad reshapes his own sense of purpose, even nudging him toward an unlikely ambition to stand for the European Parliament. Praised by reviewers as one of the funniest travel books of its year, it combines proper reporting instincts with genuine warmth for a country too often ignored by British travel writers. It's a book about class, migration, and unfashionable places, told without condescension and with a great deal of wit.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA genuinely funny, self-deprecating first-person travel memoir\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGround-level, working-class perspective rarely found in travel writing\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThoughtful reflection on migration, identity and Brexit-era Britain\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePraised as a Times bestseller and one of the funniest books of its year\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCompact paperback, perfect for commuting, holidays, or gifting\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBrand new condition — ideal for personal reading or as a gift\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBen Aitken grew up in Portsmouth, spent time in a boyband, and worked as a carer before turning to writing. He is the author of several books, including Dear Bill Bryson: Footnotes from a Small Island, A Chip Shop in Poznan, The Gran Tour, and The Marmalade Diaries. He writes for The Guardian and The Times, and was named TCG Travel Journalist of the Year in 2024. His warm, funny, human-centred style has made him a trusted voice in contemporary British travel writing.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhy You'll Love This Memoir\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFunny, honest, and unexpectedly moving, this is travel writing with heart rather than glamour. Perfect for readers curious about modern Europe, migration, and the everyday lives behind the headlines — a brilliant gift for memoir and humour fans alike.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePlease Note: Dispatched in UK ISBN \/ UK edition, cover as shown.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ben Aitken","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56477695115646,"sku":"SNG13947","price":5.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0642\/4549\/8093\/files\/a-chip-shop-in-poznan-ben-aitken-paperback-travel-memoir.jpg?v=1784395634"},{"product_id":"ben-aitken-4-books-collection-set-travel-memoir-non-fiction-paperback","title":"Ben Aitken 4 Books Collection Set - Travel Memoirs \u0026 Humour Non Fiction - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTitles in This Set:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nThe Marmalade Diaries\u003cbr\u003e\nThe Gran Tour\u003cbr\u003e\nDear Bill Bryson: Footnotes from a Small Island\u003cbr\u003e\nA Chip Shop in Poznan\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition:\u003c\/strong\u003e Brand New\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFormat:\u003c\/strong\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eISBN:\u003c\/strong\u003e 9781785789106 (lead title, The Marmalade Diaries)\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/strong\u003e Icon Books\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eAge Range:\u003c\/strong\u003e Adult \/ General Readers\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOverview:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nStep into the wry, warm-hearted world of Ben Aitken with this four-book paperback collection of British travel memoir and humour. Spanning a room-share with an octogenarian widow, six coach holidays with pensioners, a minimum-wage year in Poland, and a homage to Bill Bryson, these books celebrate curiosity, resilience, and everyday comedy. A brilliant bundle for fans of funny, human non-fiction, ideal for gifting or a rainy afternoon.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the Books:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nThe Marmalade Diaries follows Aitken's move into a London room only to discover the catch: Winnie, an 85-year-old widow who doesn't suffer fools, sparking an unlikely friendship across a fifty-year generation gap. The Gran Tour sees Aitken swap city life for six budget coach holidays with pensioners old enough to be his grandparents, searching for the wisdom that only comes with age. In A Chip Shop in Poznan, a Times bestseller, Aitken relocates to Poland on a whim, frying chips on minimum wage while exploring a country most Brits know little about, milking cows, missing buses to Auschwitz, and learning what the Poles left behind. Dear Bill Bryson: Footnotes from a Small Island is Aitken's irreverent homage to the 1995 travel classic Notes from a Small Island, retracing Bryson's route hotel-for-hotel and meal-for-meal, with fresh eyes on a changed Britain. Across all four books, Aitken's voice is self-deprecating, sharply observant, and endlessly good-humoured, blending memoir, reportage, and travelogue into stories that are as moving as they are funny. Together they form a bestselling body of work praised by the Daily Mail, the Spectator and The Times.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKey Benefits:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFour complete paperback books by acclaimed travel writer Ben Aitken in one great-value set.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIncludes the Times bestseller A Chip Shop in Poznan and Daily Mail Book of the Week The Marmalade Diaries.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBlends humour, intergenerational friendship, and cultural travel writing across Britain and Poland.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIdeal gift for readers who enjoy memoir, travelogue, and wry British wit.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBrand new condition, ready to read or gift straight away.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the Author:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nBen Aitken was born under Thatcher, grew to six feet, and is an Aquarius. Raised in Portsmouth, he has worked as a carer, spent a year frying chips in Poland, and traced Bill Bryson's classic UK route for a living. His books blend travel writing, memoir, and social observation with warmth and self-deprecating humour, earning acclaim from the Daily Mail, the Spectator, and The Times. Aitken writes regularly for The Guardian and The Times.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhy You'll Love This Set:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nFour books, four journeys, one unmistakably funny and generous voice. Whether gifting a curious reader or building your own shelf of feel-good non-fiction, this collection delivers laughter, warmth, and genuine insight into ordinary lives lived extraordinarily well.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePlease Note: Books will be dispatched with the UK ISBN and UK edition cover as shown in the listing images.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Ben Aitken","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56739830071678,"sku":"PLD12987","price":26.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0642\/4549\/8093\/files\/ben-aitken-4-books-collection-set-paperback-front.webp?v=1784425436"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.letsbuybooks.com\/collections\/ben-aitken.oembed","provider":"Lets Buy Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}