Janet Street-Porter has made a name as a straight-talking media executive. She has appeared in numerous reality-TV shows and edited The Independent on Sunday for two years. She has five books under her belt, including her memoirs and a foreword to a recent edition of Incest, by the Marquis de Sade.

You’ll probably find her latest opus under the ‘Self-Help’ section in book stores, but Life… is not your average rule book. Street-Porter has an opinion on about everything in life, ranging from fashion (‘White clothes were invented so the Daily Mail could print pictures of well-known women on holidays looking like total trollops in their sun wear’) to careers. The best chapter probably is the one dealing with travel and holidays: never forget your guidebook and hang out with the locals. Much of her advice is based on common sense; it’s what your mother would probably be telling you, should you care to listen, but with a Street-Porter-sized dollop of humour. It might act as a wake-up call that your life isn’t  that bad and that yes, it can be improved with some simple things, including ignoring those dictats from the glossies.

The design of the book is probably as important as the content. Playing on fonts, colours and sizes, the result is at times slightly messy and distracting from the words. The overall feeling is quite similar to the one you get going through someone’s scrapbook, giving Street-Porter’s message that much authenticity.

Life is too F***ing Short is a 176-page long pep talk which will show you that in the end no matter how much advice you read, you’re the only one steering your life!

Life’s too F***ing Short by Janet Street Porter is published by Quadrille and available to buy online here.