Autobiography: arts and entertainment Books

Book SynopsisLouise Thompson was a star of Made in Chelsea for eight years. She is the owner of two fitness brands - Turtle Method and Pocket. Louise speaks openly online about her experiences of PTSD and working through mental health problems, in order to help others who have been through similar experiences. She lives in London with her fiancé Ryan Libbey and their son Leo.

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Book SynopsisA memoir by the iconic singer-songwriter chronicling her story from her beginnings in Brooklyn through her remarkable success as one of the world's most acclaimed musical talents, to her present day as a leading performer and activist. From her marriage to Gerry Goffin, with whom she wrote dozens of songs that hit the charts, to her own achievements, notably with 'Tapestry', which remained on the charts for more than six years, to her experiences as a mother, this memoir chronicles one of music's most successful and fascinating stars. The book includes dozens of photos from King's childhood, her own family, and behind-the-scenes images from her performances over the years.Trade Review'If you've ever wanted to walk alongside a world class musician ... this is your starting point ... well worth the read. Just be wary not to be found singing too loudly, too badly and in public -- Cerys Matthews The Times I read her memoir exclaiming, 'Oh, did she write that?' again and again Daily Mail King's story is a valuable addition to the story of American rock and pop Sunday Express What a memoir, intelligent, honest, self-effacing, well-written Independent

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Book Synopsis'Before the sixties, you were a child and then you were a man. You went to school and then you went to work. That changed. Our generation changed it.'Roger Daltrey is the voice of a generation, and this is his story.This is the story of his tempestuous school days and his expulsion, age 15, thanks to his authoritarian headmaster, Mr Kibblewhite. That could have been where the story ended, as the life of a factory worker beckoned, but then came rock and roll. Making his first guitar from factory off-cuts, Roger formed a band that would become The Who, one of the biggest bands on the planet.This is the story of My Generation, Tommy and Quadrophenia, of smashed guitars, exploding drums, cars in swimming pools, fights, arrests and redecorated hotel rooms, but also how all those post-war kids redefined the rules of youth.This is not just a hilarious and frank account of more than 50 wild years on the road, it is the definitive story of The Who and of the sweeping revolution that was British rock 'n' roll.

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Book Synopsis*** THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER***From adventures at Central Saint Martins to The Great British Sewing Bee, go behind the scenes of Esme Young's amazing life...At age five, Esme was asked to write in her notebook, but instead, she filled it with drawings - the only way she knew to express herself. At seven, when it was discovered she was partially deaf, she found refuge in her sketchbooks. Shortly after, Esme made her first garment and a passion for sewing and designing was born. As a teenager, she made her way to London where her creative journey truly began.Living in a squat with other young creatives, Esme made the most of her time; studying at Central Saint Martins, launching a clothing line called Swanky Modes with three friends and £50 each, watching Notting Hill Carnival with David Bowie, and altering a dress for Cher. The '90s saw a career move into costumes for films, where she designed outfits for Trainspotting, Bridget Jones's Diary and The Beach, before she moved onto the small screen herself.A celebration of a creative life lived differently, Behind the Seams is a reminder that it's never too early, or too late to pick up a needle and start stitching in a new direction.

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Book Synopsis''A simply astonishing achievement. The quality, depth, emotional power and terrifying honesty of Alan Davies''s story-telling take the breath away'' Stephen Fry''This hugely affecting book is brave, insightful and, at times, funny about things it is hard to be funny about'' Jo BrandThe story of a life built on sand. In the rain.In this compelling memoir, comedian and actor Alan Davies recalls his boyhood with vivid insight and devastating humour. Shifting between his 1970s upbringing and his life today, Davies moves poignantly from innocence to experience to the clarity of hindsight, always with a keen sense of the absurd.From sibling dynamics, to his voiceless, misunderstood progression through school, sexuality and humiliating ''accidents'', Davies inhabits his younger mind with spectacular accuracy, sharply evoking an era when Green Shield Stamps, Bob-a-Job week and Whizzer & Chips loomed large, a bus fare was 2p - and childreTrade ReviewA simply astonishing achievement. The quality, depth, emotional power and terrifying honesty of Alan Davies's story-telling take the breath away. And what a story he has to tell. What a writer he is. Alternately funny, sad, frightening, sweet, savage and tender, Just Ignore Him will never leave you. I always knew that the dumb bewildered puppy persona that Alan so brilliantly projects was a mask for an acute, sensitive, powerfully intelligent and insightful mind, but nothing prepared me for such a tour de force of writing, for what is destined to become an instant classic. Not a klaxon but a peal of church bells and a twenty-one gun salute. Just Adore HimTender, funny and unusually inspiring -- David SedarisOne oft repeated speculation about comedians is that their "otherness", as children, led them to take on the mantle of class clown in order to deflect bullying. In truth, the reality is so much more difficult to unravel. In this book Alan Davies explores the complexity of events in his childhood whilst maintaining his trademark sardonic humour, warmth and intelligence. It's very, very sad at times, but a fascinating look at how childhood tragedy and trauma were treated in that era and how, leavened with humour, one individual/stand-up comic tries to make his way from the dark to the light -- Jo BrandA heart breaking but also uplifting memoir written with wit, wisdom and great humanity -- Ben EltonThe book is written extremely well . . . There have always been many reasons to admire Alan Davies. Now we can add extraordinary courage -- Jake Kerridge * Mirror *Davies explores the complexity of his youth with warmth, intelligence and at times even humour. The narrative shifts seamlessly between the 1970s and the present day . . . important and insightful -- Emma-Lee Potter * Daily Express *Raw and compelling * Observer *Suffused with Davies's trademark dry humour, balancing heartbreak and hope with a steady hand * Radio Times *Surely the bravest memoir of the year * Sunday Times *An intimate, open-hearted book * Guardian *Required reading . . . fantastic -- Graham NortonA sad, brave and beautifully written memoir * Independent *

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Book SynopsisFrom the bestselling author of The Dutch House, Commonwealth and Bel Canto, Winner of The Women's Prize for Fiction and the Pen/Faulkner Award.When Ann Patchett and Lucy Grealy met in college they began a friendship that would define their lives. Lucy Grealy lost part of her jaw to childhood cancer, and a large part of her life to chemotherapy and endless reconstructive surgeries. Stoic but vulnerable, damaged by bullying but fascinated by fame, Lucy had an incandescent personality that illuminated those around her.In this tender, brutal book, Ann Patchett describes Lucy's life and her own platonic love for her. Truth & Beauty is the story of the part of their lives that they shared the camaraderie and comedy, the tribulations and tragedy of true friendship. A portrait of unwavering commitment through success, failure, despair and drugs, this is what it means to be part of two lives that are intertwined.Trade Review'A luminously detailed book…Truth & Beauty, Patchett's account of her relationship with Grealy, is not a story of commonplace camaraderie. Theirs is a love story, a first-love story, an account of devotion so intense that it compares to conventional friendship as closely as double cream does to Dream Topping' Observer ‘An inspired duet…riveting’ Joyce Carol Oates ‘An extraordinary, painful, but ultimately celebratory memoir’ Red ‘A loving, clear-sighted portrayal’ Elle ‘Equal parts catharsis and work of art, Ann Patchett’s beautifully executed book is sincerely inscribed with Lucy’s inordinate value as a friend’ TLS

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Book SynopsisA SUNDAY TIMES, TELEGRAPH, ROUGH TRADE, PITCHFORK AND UNCUT MUSIC BOOK OF THE YEARSHORTLISTED FOR THE PENDERYN MUSIC BOOK PRIZEMusician and artist Cosey Fanni Tutti has continually challenged boundaries and conventions for four decades. As a founding member of the hugely influential avant-garde band Throbbing Gristle, as one half of electronic pioneers Chris and Cosey, and as an artist channelling her experience in pornographic modelling and striptease, her work on the margins has come to reshape the mainstream. Shocking, wise and life-affirming, Art Sex Music is the fascinating memoir of an inspirational woman.

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Book SynopsisTony Christie has topped the charts in countries all around the world with `Is This The Way To Amarillo', `I Did What I Did For Maria', `Avenues & Alleyways' and has achieved critical acclaim for his more recent works with Richard Hawley and Jarvis Cocker. Tony's albums have achieved several Gold and Platinum discs and he was the only singer in 2005 to have a single release and album simultaneously at Number 1. Now for the first time Tony tells of his illustrious, colourful career that started in the small South Yorkshire town of Conisbrough and today sees him as a singing legend with fans throughout the globe. It is a story packed with emotional and financial highs and lows, fantastic characters and Tony's deep-rooted love of family. If you thought you knew Tony Christie you will now as he opens up about his loves, his sorrows and his amazing life! TONY CHRISTIE The Song Interpreter is the official autobiography of an icon in popular music whose voice sounds as good today as when he first hit the charts in 1971.

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Book SynopsisA lover of books like The Alchemist and The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, Russ delivers a short, potent, inspirational, raw, and honest book that gives readers a way to find self-belief and unlock their potential.

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Book SynopsisFor many fans, David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust era remains the most extraordinarily creative period in his career. As a member of Bowie's legendary band at the time - The Spiders From Mars - Woody Woodmansey played drums on four seminal albums: The Man Who Sold The World, Hunky Dory, The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars and Aladdin Sane. Woody's memoir, which he started work on in 2014, focuses on this key period and brings it to glorious life. With the confidence of youth, Woody always thought he'd be in a famous band but the nineteen-year-old rocker from Hull never expected to be thrust into London's burgeoning glam rock scene, and also into a bottle-green velvet suit and girl's shoes. Playing with Bowie took him on an eye-opening and transformative journey. In Spider From Mars he writes candidly about the characters who surrounded Bowie, recalling the album sessions as well as behind-the-scenes moments with one of the world's most iconic singers. The result is an insightful, funny, poignant memoir that lovingly evokes a seminal moment in music history and pays tribute to one of the most outstanding and innovative talents of our time.

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Book SynopsisTHIS SUMMER'S MOST EXPLOSIVE READ. GET READY FOR TRUTHS AND BOMBSHELLS. 'Staggeringly honest... Katie is one of showbusiness's great survivors,' Bryony Gordon 'Katie is the best storyteller,' Jamie Laing'Katie is a survivor,' Elizabeth DayCelebrating twenty years since her bestselling debut autobiography, Being Jordan, and a stellar thirty-year career, This Is Me is Katie Price as you've never heard her before - raw and reflective. Katie explores the incredible highs and devastating lows of her life and turbulent career, as well as the journey she's beenon to get to where she is today.From her first forays into glamour modelling when she was just 17 years old, through a wild ride of Playboy mansions, Eurovision Song Contests, reality TV and everything in between, This Is Me is the true story of Katie's life behind the headlines. Bu

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Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER. ORDER THE HILARIOUS BOOK FROM TIKTOK AND INSTA SENSATION HAYLEY MORRIS, NOW!_____'An insightful, intimate account of modern life that is a joy to read, with shades of Dolly Alderton's Everything I Know About Love.' - Scarlett Sangster, iNewsBrain: We left the oven on!Me: No don't say that, I've not got time for this!Brain: The house is probably on fire!Me: Stop it, I need to write this book description.Brain: But the blazing fire.Me: We didn't even use the oven today.Brain: But what if -Me: No. We're not doing this, I'm finishing this description.Hello there! Hayley Morris here. Or you might know me as the Brain Girl, and don't be fooled...it's not because I'm outrageously smart. Just an avid overthinker. I'm on a mission to prove once and for all that You. Are. Normal. Running through imaginary arguments whilst showering, hiding your knickers in the nurse's office before they look directly into your vagina, or not knowing how to be a normal human when you have the plumber over. I've spent the majority of my life saying and doing embarrassing things that wake me up in a cold sweat at 3am as my Brain reminds me of every minor detail.In this book, I've overthought absolutely everything so you don't have to. I'll be talking about everything from dating to discharge, mental health to menstrual cups. I might not be able to banish your anxiety or make you feel 100% comfortable in your skin, but I hope I can at least give you a break from the constant brain chatter and we can rejoice and laugh at how similar we actually all are.DON'T OVERTHINK IT. ORDER NOW.'Hilarious...I absolutely loved this book! I almost wet myself from laughing!' Dr Amir KhanTrade ReviewCalling all avid overthinkers, this funny and honest book is here to give you a break from the constant brain chatter. * Stylist *Hilarious...I absolutely loved this book! I almost wet myself from laughing! * Dr Amir Khan *Hayley Morris's debut is a fresh, very funny take on 21st-century high-functioning anxiety... an insightful, intimate account of modern life that is a joy to read, with shades of Dolly Alderton's Everything I Know about Love -- Scarlett Sangster * iNews *A fresh, laugh-out-loud take on 21st-century high-functioning anxiety, Hayley Morris's honest and easy-to-read debut is a joy. It's a zeitgeist novel for our times, exposing just how normal it is to feel abnormal... Morris' insightful narrative to modern life feels like confessing to a best friend. Hayley Morris is most definitely an author to watch. * Press Association *TikTok's funniest comedian * Sunday Times (praise for online content) *

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Book SynopsisThis book chronicles Zunar’s fight through cartoons from 2009 to 2018. Peppered within the pages of this book are some of Zunar’s timeless philosophies on cartooning, which have kept him going despite the odds stacked against him – arrests, court charges, banning of books, travel ban. In this book, Zunar also sheds light on the methodological approach he utilises in his cartoons to effectively deliver his messages. From the conception of a cartoon right down to inking it, Zunar bares what goes on his mind when he draws these cartoons. From being labelled controversial to becoming an award winning cartoonist, this is Zunar’s fight through cartoons in his own words.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"A rueful, battle-scarred, darkly witty observer of his own life and times." -- New York Times "In his poetic memoir, I Dreamed I Was a Very Clean Tramp, Hell takes us on a tour of a lost world and stakes out his place in cultural history." -- Los Angeles Times "Hell brings to his new autobiography more literary experience than your typical rock memoirist...I Dreamed I Was a Very Clean Tramp ultimately celebrates passion, in all its complicated, sometimes dangerous forms." -- USA Today "This valuable book... is not only an absorbing cultural history but also a clear-eyed story that superbly channels the attitude expressed in the first blurt to his best-known song 'Blank Generation': "I was saying let me out of here before I was even born." -- Boston Globe "Mr. Hell has an excellent new memoir, I Dreamed I Was a Very Clean Tramp, that describes that wild, reckless and important era in downtown Manhattan with candor, wit and reverence." -- The Observer "His book shines its own dirty light. Which means it has lots of sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll. Pick up I Dreamed I Was a Very Clean Tramp, if you want poetry and insight." -- Spin "There are many shivery, illicit pleasures in this louche memoir... Hell was a virtuoso of taste, a critic with a sensibility so fine and unconventional it bordered on its own form of art... weird and singular and superbly self-aware." -- BookForum "Hell is an enthusiastic reporter of the critical artistic crossover of the avant-garde art scene and the world of punk rock... his account rings true and it entertains... a treasure both to those present during gritty, heady '70s NYC and to those not." -- Time Out New York (4 Stars) "Hell brings his searingly honest songwriting style to this candid and page-turning memoir... [Hell's] portrait of the artist searching for himself offers a glimpse into his own genius as well as recreating the hellishness and the excitement of a now long-gone music scene in New York City." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) "A skilled writer...In recalling the days when love came in spurts, Hell is precise, telling a lot without ever seeming to tell too much. He nails the essence of both scenes and people, from rock peers to exploitative record producers...A deft, lyrical chronicle." -- Kirkus "Hell is a fine writer and full of self-knowledge, and part of the pleasure of this randy, drug-addled memoir are his descriptions of New York during the bad old days when crime was rampant and the streets filthy. A compelling and entertaining memoir." -- Booklist "[Hell] almost single handedly created 'punk' as we know it... Few people have been as important--yet as underappreciated as Richard Hell. Poet, musician, fashion icon and terrific, terrific writer. Chances are, you have been deeply influenced by Richard Hell your whole life. You just didn't know it." -- Anthony Bourdain "Richard Hell designed and executed a sustained performance of rock stardom as if he had invented the concept himself. Radically self-aware, he wields prose keen as a diamond knife, sharpened by the light of the moon." -- Luc Sante, award winning author of Low Life "An exquisite snapshot of early punk possibility--that so beautifully captures the exuberance of starting a band!" -- Legs McNeil "Charming and impossible, Hell is the first (and best!) name in punk rock. His insights are informed by the romance of running away to the mystery heard in the rowdy grooves of a dirty LP or in the pages of a thumbed book of verse." -- Thurston Moore "Tramp gave me the same feeling I had as a kid... I cozied up and fell in love with a world that wasn't mine. There are very few books that make me want to start writing my own; this is one of them." -- Kathleen Hanna "Other rock bios are tasteful and cautious - you feel the writer take you to a certain point but then pull back... Hell will take you right there, and that is why this book is an honest and special treat." -- Dean Wareham

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Book SynopsisIn this memoir of loss, acclaimed writer and comedian Rob Delaney grapples with the fragile miracle of life, the mysteries of death, and the question of purpose for those left behind.When you''re a parent and your child gets hurt or sick, you not only try to help them get better but you also labour under the general belief that you can help them get better. That''s not always the case though. Sometimes the nurses and the doctors can''t fix what''s wrong. Sometimes children die.Rob Delaney''s beautiful, bright, gloriously alive son Henry died. He was one when he was diagnosed with a brain tumour. An experience beyond comprehension, but an experience Rob must share. Why does he feel compelled to talk about it, to write about it, to make people feel something like what he feels when he knows it will hurt them? Because, despite Henry''s death, Rob still loves people. For that reason, he wants them to understand.A Heart That Works is an intimate, unfTrade ReviewThis book is so rich with grief and love and pain and humor and an incandescent, purifying, flame-throwing wrath. Though Delaney can't bring Henry back, he can - and does - show enough of him to the world to make a reader see him a little bit, know him a little bit, and fully love him. What an unbelievable gift -- Lauren GroffWhat a read. Its beauty and pain and humour and anger will help many people. This is a beautiful monument -- Richard OsmanThe weaving of the joy and pain, the love and loss, the absurdity of grief, is done so beautifully. It feels like a message in a bottle, a despatch, a communication from the depths of suffering and despair that ultimately brings a message of great hope -- Cathy RentzenbrinkIt is a gift, it's an immense piece of work. It's brilliant. It's needed, like a deep, physical draught of something strong and cold -- Russell T. DaviesI could have read about Henry for a thousand pages. It is impossible not to share in Delaney's tenderness, his attention, his anger, his night-black humor, and impossible not to see his son through his eyes: loved, learning, smiling ecstatically. I will turn to this book again and again, to feel deeply and to learn about this world from Henry -- Patricia LockwoodWarm and vivid and heartbreaking, humane and somehow even funny, Rob Delaney has written a very special tribute to a very special boy, and a beautiful treatise on what really matters in life -- Monica HeiseyI got to know Henry through Rob's words. His sweet soft head. His amazing smile . . . I cried a lot but also felt hopeful because life goes on and Rob talks you through how that happens. I am in awe. It's a love letter to fatherhood and the most beautiful tribute to a child who is so deeply adored. This book will sit with me for a very long time -- Dawn O'PorterDelaney is a phenomenal storyteller . . . A Heart That Works is in the same league as The Year of Magical Thinking in its stark, clarified articulation of grief * Buzzfeed *I love this book, and it is a tough ride, filled with grace and beauty and unimaginable pain. I cried a number of times, laughed a lot, grieved with the Delaneys, and underlined so many moments of courage, exposure, humanity and the deepest meaning. All I can say is Wow -- Anne Lamott, author of BIRD BY BIRDThis book is unlike anything I've ever read. Brutally honest, powerful, like a beautiful howl. A love letter to Delaney's precious boy. To his wife. His family. To parenthood. It is a book that will help so many grieving parents. I loved everything about it -- Laura Zigman, author of SEPARATION ANXIETYEmotionally raw, yet masterfully told. At the heart of this intimate story of coming to terms with the death is a stubborn embrace of life itself -- Mat Johnson, author of PYMI don't think I've ever read anything before that captures the enormity and power of parental love, how radical it is, how transformative and total -- Eleanor CattonIt taught me a lot about grieving, life, death and parenting. Every parent should read it. Every human should read it -- Philippa PerryThis is such an important, intimate and powerful book. It's unflinching. It stares grief right in the eyes and forces you to do the same -- Sue PerkinsBeautiful, funny, tender -- Lauren Laverne, Radio 6 Music Breakfast ShowSimply beautiful -- Nihal Arthanayake, Radio 5 LiveTender, perceptive and strangely, darkly funny amid unconscionable tragedy... This is a rallying call against the polite timidity that we often show grief * The i *A viscerally extraordinary book -- Elizabeth Day * How To Fail *Vital and very, very funny... As much as I wish he hadn't had to write it, I am glad he did. Because such deaths do happen. And they largely happen in private... That he is able to do so with such guiltless, funny and disarming honesty is testament to the profound effect of Henry's short but meaningful life -- Rory Kinnear * Guardian *Rob Delaney shows us his big, beautiful, messy, angry, kind, wise heart and gives us a full life to live instead of the half-life we have been living. I can't say enough about the seismic shift this book created in me -- Sarah PolleyLike Catastrophe, which laughs at and celebrates the messiness of married life, A Heart That Works is tragicomic, a jumble of joy and fear and laughter and pain... bleakly fun * Observer Magazine *A devastatingly candid account of a parent's grief that will have readers laughing and crying in equal measure... Few would attempt to bring humor and levity to such an unbearably sad story, but Delaney manages to do so with grace, sincerity, and warmth * Kirkus Starred Review *The book is remarkable for how deeply it delves into the granular aspects of death... This memoir is a big-hearted depiction of personal pain, urging readers to appreciate what they have * Sunday Independent *The most moving, thought-provoking and intimate account of navigating grief that you're likely to read... Delaney's book is shot through with profound anger, flashes of humour and most of all the enormous, all-encompassing love he feels for Henry and his family * Daily Express *How do you go on when the very worst happens? That's the question Catastrophe star and comedian Delaney grapples with in this raw account of losing his two-and-a-half-year-old son Henry to brain cancer in 2018. There are moments of dark humour amid the heartbreak, but expect to start crying on page 17 * Grazia *Wrenching . . . A Heart That Works is heartbreaking (and how can it not be?), but it's also an affecting portrait of a father's love for his son * Time *A heart-breaking, consoling, funny and angry lament . . . life-changing * Irish Times *[Delaney's] meditations on loss, family and hope are so profound you'll come out the other side of this book a different person * i news, Best Books of 2022 *A raw, painful and, at times, darkly funny memoir . . . As heartbreaking as the book may be, Delaney's pitch black humor buoys even the toughest moments . . . Delaney's book is ultimately about all-encompassing, heart-exploding love. * New York TImes *A love story unlike any other -- Mia FarrowThe pain comes less from horrifying details than from the way Delaney lures us into contact with the very aspects of our lives that are easiest to ignore: our fragilities, our constant proximity to calamity, our powerlessness to control what life brings, or when * New Yorker *A wrenching, unflinching and somehow often funny memoir * USA Today *It is a relief to read an account of grief that is not a series of hard-won life lessons wrapped in a gratitude journal . . . The result is a book that sings with life . . . That a book about a dead child is at times laugh-out-loud funny is a testament to Delaney's skill; in the hands of a lesser writer, the humor could seem dismissive or grasping instead of the natural release valve of a person who is highly attuned to the absurdity of the awful * Washington Post *A book that'll break a heart, and put it back together again...A life changing read * Stylist *Achingly beautiful * People *Extraordinary . . . it brims with chaotic life * Sunday Times *It is laugh out loud funny, and cry out loud sad, and warm as a huge log fire in winter and I could have carried on reading it for 1000 pages. * Mark Haddon *

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Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER   ‘He writes as well as he acts, with insight, truth and passion’ – Sir Ian McKellen ‘Highly entertaining... You don’t need to be a fan of Stewart the man of stage and screen to be as beguiled by the decades of professional acting that follow’ – The TimesThe long-awaited memoir from iconic, beloved actor and living legend Sir Patrick Stewart. From his acclaimed stage triumphs to his legendary onscreen work, Sir Patrick Stewart has captivated audiences around the world and across multiple generations in a career spanning six decades with his indelible command of stage and screen.  No other British working actor enjoys such career variety, universal respect and unending popularity, as witnessed through his seminal roles – whether as Captain Jean-Luc Picard of Star Trek fame,

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Book SynopsisThe goddaughter of Igor Stravinsky and a graduate of Hollywood High, Eve Babitz posed in 1963, at age twenty, playing chess with the French artist Marcel Duchamp. She was naked; he was not. The photograph made her an instant icon of art and sex. Babitz spent the rest of the decade rocking and rolling on the Sunset Strip, honing her notoriety. There were the album covers she designed: for Buffalo Springfield and the Byrds, to name but a few. There were the men she seduced: Jim Morrison, Ed Ruscha, Harrison Ford, to name but a very few. Then, at nearly thirty, her It girl days numbered, Babitz was discovered—as a writer—by Joan Didion. She would go on to produce seven books, usually billed as novels or short story collections, always autobiographies and confessionals. Under-known and under-read during her career, she’s since experienced a breakthrough. Now in her mid-seventies, she’s on the cusp of literary stardom and recognition as an essential&mdash

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Book SynopsisA RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEKAn affectionate and revealing account Funny,sad, real, rueful.' The TimesWarm, rambling and self-aware' GuardianThe long-awaited, rambling, tender, and very funny memoir from Adam BuxtonRamble/'ramb(?)l/Verb1. walk for pleasure in the countryside.Dr Buckles and Rosie the dog love rambling in the countryside.'2. talk or write at length in a confused or inconsequential way.Adam rambles on about lots of consequential, compelling and personal matters in his tender, insightful, hilarious and totally unconfused memoir, Ramble Book.'Ramble Book is about parenthood, boarding school trauma, arguing with your partner, bad parties, confrontations on trains, friendship, wanting to fit in, growing up in the 80s, dead dads, teenage sexual anxiety, failed artistic endeavours, being a David Bowie fan; and how everything you read, watch and listen to as a child forms a part of the adult you become.It's also a book about the joys of going off topic and letting your mind wanderTrade Review‘I recommend Ramble Book… There are wonderful, melancholy passages about his father, and Bowie, and 80s nostalgia, perfect for those of us who get teary-eyed remembering the first time we heard Dexys Midnight Runners or whatever.’ Jon Ronson ‘Give yourself some love with Adam Buxton’s funny and moving Ramble Book.’ Stylist ‘Had me guffawing and bawling simultaneously.’ Daily Telegraph ‘Like listening to your most goofily funny friend on his finest form.’ Daily Mirror ‘A work that feels spontaneous and fresh… The triumph of the book is Buxton’s account of his relationship with his father. The ways in which Adam’s expectations of an emotional reconciliation fail to match reality make for some beautifully tragi-comic scenes.’ Daily Express ‘An extremely funny and insightful coming-of-age story.’ Mail on Sunday ‘Eminently relatable and effortlessly readable with a penchant for sly jokes just when you don’t expect them.’ Chortle

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Book Synopsis''To feel as though you belong and knowing who you are are both the most important necessities of life and essential to one''s wellbeing. This historic, inspirational book demonstrates that'' Baroness Floella Benjamin, OM DBE''White, one of Britain''s boldest journalists, has produced a warm, witty, delightful memoir which deserves to be widely read'' Sathnam Sanghera, author of EmpirelandHome is a vital base for us to thrive, yet, for some, the question of where home is isn''t as simple as an address.Depending on circumstance, ''home'' may not simply be where we rest, eat and sleep. With the concept of home comes questions of ancestry, identity and belonging, and the understanding that there is no one fixed idea of what or where home is.In No Place Like Home, Charlene White boldly shares her own story and understanding of home as a Jamaican Londoner exploring all the smells, memories and voices from her childhood. <

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Book Synopsis'It’s a wildly satisfying and moving read ... I loved this special book' – Graham Norton Six years ago, Jo Caulfield was about to go on stage when she found out that her big sister Annie had cancer. Not the best way to start a nationwide comedy tour. But the tour turns out to be a welcome distraction for both sisters. As Jo reports back from various hotels and service stations, they revisit their childhood and adolescence while navigating Annie’s illness, learning through trial and error how to behave when someone you love gets sick. The Funny Thing About Death is a hilarious memoir of two unconventional girls growing up in the 1970s. They didn’t fit in at the Air Force bases they were raised on or the strict convent boarding school they were sent to. The Air Force was obsessed with communists and the nuns were obsessed with the Virgin Mary, neither of which were of interest to Jo or Annie. Annie was witty, spiky and greedy for life, rushing to be ‘interesting’ and experience adventures. She travelled the world and became a screenwriter and broadcaster. Jo was equally rebellious but didn’t have a plan. She just wanted to be interesting like her big sister and thought it might involve eyeliner, smoking and being in a band. Like her stand-up, Jo Caulfield’s caustic wit and razor-sharp observations make her account of life with her sister, even in the worst of times, as entertaining as it is touching and relatable.Trade Review'Profound and very funny...full of brilliantly observational material… extraordinary' * Mail on Sunday *'There’s so much I’d like to say about this book. It’s a wildly satisfying and moving read. Big laughs combined with rare insight and heartbreak. The writing is so readable and unfussy and the humour is done so well, never forced or shoehorned. I loved this special book' -- Graham Norton'I devoured it in one sitting. Loved it: funny, warm, engaging' -- Emma Kennedy, actor, comedian, writer'Suffused with tenderness, warmth and some heartbreaking fragility...Caulfield has delivered a fitting tribute to her sister that, crucially, you suspect Annie would sneakily delight in' * Chortle *'I was blessed to sit in a room making up jokes with Annie Caulfield. Jo has captured her big sister’s sense of humour and humanity beautifully' -- Lenny Henry'Laughter isn’t just for the good times. Laughter is what gets us through the toughest times, and Jo Caulfield demonstrates that beautifully in this heartfelt and hilarious book' -- Jimmy Carr'A remarkable and cathartic read... Caulfield manages to capture the enormity of grief perfectly' * Scots Magazine, Book of the Month *'I knew Jo Caulfield was funny, one of the funniest comics around, but her book is also moving and surprising. A brilliantly engaging read' -- Susan Calman'Jo's writing is a masterclass in letting the catastrophe of loss speak for itself. Amidst heartache and grief shines the joy of the extraordinary sibling bond, so often taken for granted. A superb read' -- Shaparak Khorsandi'Packed with humanity... a reminder that laughter is what gets you through the tears' * Press and Journal *'Warm and tender, frequently very funny and, ultimately, incredibly moving tale of siblings and cancer. Without a shred of mawkishness, the book manages to move seamlessly from funny to tragic' -- Jenny Eclair'Where do you start with the death of a beloved sibling? I wish I’d started on page one of Jo’s book. She navigates the treacherous waters of bereavement and its unpredictable behaviour and emotions in this open, funny, sad, wry and highly readable gem' -- Jo Brand'Excellent writing with heart, truth and comedy rolled into one important journey' -- Helen Lederer'Sweet, brutal, funny, intimate and totally compelling, this is a brilliant meditation on grief and sisterhood - and a celebration of the seemingly inconsequential details and random moments that bind us to each other' -- Viv Groskop'If this book was just a eulogy, that would be more than enough reason to say that you must read this, but it offers readers so much more. It is an inspirational book about love, fragility, loss and the bond between two sisters. Captivatingly told and filled with enchantment, it made me glad I had known Annie and glad that I know Jo' -- Robin Ince'It manages to both break your heart and get you giggling' -- Teddy Jamieson * Sunday Post *'A beautiful, bold portrait of a much-loved sister that will speak to everyone who has loved and lost and everyone who is yet to lose someone. Honest, raw, surprising, life-affirming, and because it's Jo Caulfield, of course, it's very, very funny. You'll laugh, cry, breathe and want to read it again' -- Deborah Frances-White, author and host of The Guilty Feminist'a story of two women carving out their place in the world, each with their experience of not fitting in and their own rebellious spirit' * The Bookseller *'This memoir is every bit as exquisitely funny and poignant as one would expect. Jo's a massive talent' -- Paul Sinha'Caulfield is sharp and funny, capturing childhood eccentricities marvellously, alongside the cathartic necessity of humour in the darker times. Her writing in honest and highly readable, intimate without being mawkish or overly sentimental' -- Victoria Nangle * Beyond the Joke *'Structurally it’s fascinating, as the story of their lives together is juxtaposed with the arc of Annie’s illness... a comforting, moving and on occasion incredibly funny read' -- Phil Jupitus * Irish Independent *'This book conveys the awfulness of grief, but Caulfield’s admiration for Annie - a fellow writer and tremendous wit - makes an even greater impression... Caulfield speaks perceptively about the intricate nature of mourning' -- Julia Bueno * Times Literary Supplement *

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Book SynopsisBorn the son of Scotland''s last telescope-maker, Stuart Braithwaite was perhaps always destined for a life of psychedelic adventuring on the furthest frontiers of noise in MOGWAI, one of the best loved and most ground-breaking post-rock bands of the past three decades.Modestly delinquent at school, Stuart developed an early appetite for ''alternative'' music in what might arguably be described as its halcyon days, the late ''80s. Discovering bands like Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine, and Jesus and Mary Chain, and attending seminal gigs (often incongruously incognito as a young girl with long hair to compensate for his babyface features) by The Cure and Nirvana, Stuart compensated for his indifference to school work with a dedication to rock and roll . . . and of course the fledgling hedonism that comes with it.Spaceships Over Glasgow is a love song to live rock and roll; to the passionate abandon we''ve all felt in the crowd (and some of us, if lucky enough, from the stage) at a truly incendiary gig. It is also the story of a life lived on the edge; of the high-times and hazardous pit-stops of international touring with a band of misfits and miscreants.

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Book SynopsisThe Woman in Me is a brave and astonishingly moving story about freedom, fame, motherhood, survival, faith, and hope. In June 2021, the whole world was listening as Britney Spears spoke in open court. The impact of sharing her voice—her truth—was undeniable, and it changed the course of her life and the lives of countless others. The Woman in Me reveals for the first time her incredible journey—and the strength at the core of one of the greatest performers in pop music history.   Written with remarkable candour and humour, Spears’s ground-breaking book illuminates the enduring power of music and love—and the importance of a woman telling her own story, on her own terms, at last.  ____________________________________'The sharpness of her perspective is a miracle... May her truth pose a legitimate threat to the system that exploited herTrade Review'It’s nearly impossible to come out of it without empathy for and real outrage on behalf of Spears, whose admitted bitterness over the dire circumstances of the last decade-plus of her life – she no longer speaks to her family, and says she has no immediate plans to return to recording – is tempered by an enduring, insistent optimism' * New York Times *'The Woman in Me tells a focused story that makes inarguable the ties between patriarchy and exploitation, and deserves to be read as a cautionary tale and an indictment, not a grab-bag of tabloid revelations. After all Spears has lost, the sharpness of her perspective is a miracle … May her truth pose a legitimate threat to the system that exploited her.' * Guardian *'A cautionary tale about fame and the corrupting influence of money. And, just maybe, a glimmer of hope for a woman whose adult life has been dictated by others.' * BBC News *'Britney Spears holds nothing back in her short, bittersweet and extremely powerful memoir. Ultimately, The Woman in Me is a story not about music so much as about the way that women are still routinely mistreated in the music business. That it hasn’t turned into a complete tragedy is a testament to Spears’s essential fortitude of spirit – something that burns off these pages.' * Telegraph *'Anyone who has followed Spears over the years – and, due to the sheer force of her cultural ubiquity, that’s probably all of us – will want the very best for her. There is nothing tidy about trauma and recovery, and I hope The Woman in Me has been cathartic for her. It’s certainly not the end of her pain, but it’d be nice if it’s the beginning of a new chapter.' * Independent *'There are anecdotes and namedrops, sure, and the writing is casual, conversational as though she’s spilling it all in a classic Britney Instagram caption, but to see it as simply a famous person’s memoir is underselling it: this is a text that dissects the notion of the “mad woman”, that unpicks the nature of celebrity and highlights some huge failings in the American legal system. The power of this book is the fact that it exists at all.' * i *'Spears’s prose contains more compassion and perspective than bitterness or self-pity.' * The Times *'A cautionary tale about coercion, misogyny, control, exploitation, and the insidious grip of the patriarchy… Spears shares this story, which will undoubtedly be dissected and recounted elsewhere, with astonishing clarity.' * Dazed *‘one of pop’s great cautionary tales. . . erases the people-pleasing Mouseketeer to express rage against the music industry, celebrity culture and her family. Whether it’s read as a document of Noughties misogynist pop culture. . . it’s a remarkably intimate testimony from somebody still coming back from the edge' * The Times, Books of the Year *‘one of the biggest book deals ever…a genuine page-turner’ * Financial Times *'With quietly vengeful fury, the pop star recounts how she was exploited by not just her industry but her own family. The most riveting music book of the year by far' * Telegraph, Best Books of 2023 *

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Book SynopsisAn “extraordinarily brilliant” and “pleasurably naughty” (André Aciman) investigation into the Shakespeare authorship question, exploring how doubting that William Shakespeare wrote his plays became an act of blasphemy…and who the Bard might really be.The theory that Shakespeare may not have written the works that bear his name is the most horrible, unspeakable subject in the history of English literature. Scholars admit that the Bard’s biography is a “black hole,” yet to publicly question the identity of the god of English literature is unacceptable, even (some say) “immoral.” In Shakespeare Was a Woman and Other Heresies, journalist and literary critic Elizabeth Winkler sets out to probe the origins of this literary taboo. Whisking you from London to Stratford-Upon-Avon to Washington, DC, she pulls back the curtain to show how the forces of nationalism and empire, religion and mythmaking,

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Book Synopsis'WHICH IS THE BEST BAND I'VE BEEN IN? THE SMALL FACES WERE THE MOST CREATIVE, THE FACES WERE THE MOST FUN,THE WHO WERE THE MOST EXCITING. THESE WERE ELECTRIFYING DAYS IN MUSIC. WE WERE ALL UNTRIED, UNTESTED. WHAT WAS STOPPING US? NOTHING.'As drummer with the Small Faces, Faces and later The Who, Kenney Jones' unique sense of rhythm was the heartbeat that powered three of the most influential rock bands of all time.Beginning in London's post-war East End, Kenney's story takes us through the birth of the Mod revolution, the mind-bending days of the late-1960s and the raucous excesses of the '70s and '80s. In a career spanning six decades, Kenney was at the epicentre of many of the most exciting moments in music history and has experienced everything the industry has to offer. He jointly created some of the world's most-loved records, hung out with the Stones, Beatles, David Bowie, Keith Moon and Rod Stewart, and suffered the loss of close friends to rock 'n' roll excess and success. The legacy created by Kenney and his band mates has influenced acts as diverse as Led Zeppelin, the Sex Pistols and Oasis. Now, for the very first time, Kenney tells the full story of how a young Cockney Herbert played his part in the biggest social transformation in living memory - the people, the parties, the friendships, the fall-outs, the laughter, the sadness, the sex, drugs, and a lot of rock 'n' roll, while also opening up about his own deeply personal battles and passions, too. This is a vivid and breath-taking immersion into the most exciting era of music history and beyond.

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Book SynopsisGive them a feckin'' great time with the hilarious and remarkably honest autobiography from the star of Mrs Brown''s Boys, Brendan O''CarrollA story of humour born of pain, success wrung from adversity and of the steely ambition beneath the affable exterior - Sunday Life__________ ''What? What is it?'' ''You''re colour-blind.'' Nothing? Nothing? I was aghast. ''But that could be dangerous. I mean, when I start to drive how will I be able to tell traffic lights?'' ''I''ll give you a hint, son, the red one is on the forking top.'' Before he became the nation''s favourite Mammy, Brendan O''Carroll was known simply as Brendan. The youngest of ten children from a poor family in Dublin, Brendan left school at the mere age of 12 to begin what would become a long and varied working life. He would go on to be a waiter, a publican, a window cleaner and a publisher amongst other jobs. TTrade ReviewA story of humour born of pain, success wrung from adversity and of the steely ambition beneath the affable exterior * Sunday Life *

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Book Synopsis''Fantastic'' Nick Hornby''Beautifully written'' Sunday Times''Truly remarkable'' Rolling StoneUnfaithful Music and Disappearing Ink is the long-awaited memoir from Elvis Costello, one of rock and roll''s most iconic stars.Born Declan Patrick MacManus, Elvis Costello was raised in London and Liverpool, grandson of a trumpet player on the White Star Line and son of a jazz musician who became a successful radio dance band vocalist. Costello went into the family business and had taken the popular music world by storm before he was twenty-four.Costello continues to add to one of the most intriguing and extensive songbooks of the day. His performances have taken him from a cardboard guitar in his front room to fronting a rock and roll band on your television screen and performing in the world''s greatest concert halls in a wild variety of company. Unfaithful Music describes how Costello''s career has somehow endured for almost four decades through a combination of dumb luck and animal cunning, even managing the occasional absurd episode of pop stardom.This memoir, written with the same inimitable touch as his lyrics, and including dozens of images from his personal archive, offers his unique view of his unlikely and sometimes comical rise to international success, with diversions through the previously undocumented emotional foundations of some of his best known songs and the hits of tomorrow. The book contains many stories and observations about his renowned co-writers and co-conspirators, though Costello also pauses along the way for considerations on the less appealing side of infamy.Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink is destined to be a classic, idiosyncratic memoir of a singular man.Trade ReviewThe book is fantastic - maybe the best about music by a musician that I've read....The stuff about the collaborations alone - McCartney, Burt Bacharach, Allen Toussaint, the Roots, the Brodsky Quartet - is riveting * Nick Hornby *Better written than your average rock memoir ... Costello is one the greatest writers of the 20th Century. It's funny, observant and clear of purpose * Times *By turns lachrymose, self-flagellating and impassioned. Unsurprisingly, it is beautifully written. It is also often extraordinarily moving. -- Dan Cairns * Sunday Times *Streaked with some of the best writing - funny, strange, spiteful, anguished - we've ever had from an important musician ... dark gems twinkle here in abundance. * New York Times *[Unfaithful Music] is truly remarkable in the way it presents a riveting, honest portrait of the author and the many A-listers he's tread the boards with, while ricocheting through the years at an almost breathless pace ... even the most ardent Costello fan will come away having learned more about the man than any of us ever dared hope to discover -- Jeff Slate * Rolling Stone *Long one of music's wittiest, smartest, and most perceptive lyricists, Costello has done his legacy proud with his new book, which, thankfully, goes far beyond his angry-young-man days, most movingly in its frequent reminiscences about the relationship between the singer and his musician father * New York Magazine *In a world littered with uneven (and largely ghosted) celebrity memoirs, "Disappearing Ink" is a beautifully written revelation ... The book is not just for fans. "Unfaithful Music" is a lyrical tale that stretches across generations, geography and a century of popular song." * Washington Post *Costello ultimately emerges as a clever, compassionate, self-aware man, brave enough to acknowledge his faults and fortunate enough to have overcome the worst of them * Sunday Telegraph *Written elliptically, episodically beautiful ... this man's knowledge is breath-taking * Observer *Every page exudes his deep love and knowledge of modern music * Guardian *Remarkable for its breadth and candour about everything: childhood, family, marriages, musical collaborations, love life, heroes, villains, screw-ups (even the most painful) and his songs...there are treasurable moments in profusion for admirers panning for gold...or diving for pearls * MOJO *His witty, word-playing voice transmits loud and clear....there are smart snapshots of vanished worlds...all his sins and virtues are displayed in this stylish, astute book -- Victoria Segal * Sunday Times *A truly weighty rock memoir ... There's plenty of insight into his art here, a smattering of gossip, a wealth of pop-cultural knowledge, and just enough self-flagellation to keep things interesting * NME *A series of wryly comic tales that surely deserve the full Penguin Classic treatment randomly afford Morrisey * GQ *Without doubt, one of the greatest self-penned appraisals of a popular entertainer's life and work...What makes this book a classic (yes, you heard me) is the beauty of the writing, the seemingly effortless imagery of situations, saints and sinners (EC puts himself in the latter category, often), and the persuasive nature of the text that should make even the most casual reader clamour for more after 670 pages * The Quietus *One of the finest musical biographies I have ever read ... an engrossing and rewarding read -- Keith Bruce * The Herald *The greatest songwriter of our generation ... a tremendous read -- Jonathan RossIt really is stunning. Hugely illuminating, fiercely passionate, funny, moving and beautifully written. -- Mark BillinghamTypically sharp and funny on songwriting * Telegraph Books of the Year *The writing is as good as you would expect from such an accomplished lyricist. The tone is wise, warm and often rueful, befitting a 61-year-old elder statesman, and the story a compelling one * Mail on Sunday *For serious music fans? It has to be Elvis Costello's Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink (Viking). Utterly definitive and clearly, painstakingly penned by Costello himself, who doesn't want to miss a detail -- Kitty Empire * Guardian *Writers like Costello because he's always taken writing seriously. That's obvious to anyone who pays attention to his lyrics, and it's even more apparent to anyone who reads Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink, his charming new autobiography. The book is refreshingly free of salacious gossip and needless name-dropping; it's an intelligent self-assessment from a musician who went from angry young man to elder statesman of pop ... a defiantly fun autobiography. -- Michael Schaub * NPR Books *This is a big book, literally, by one of the best rockers in the business. Given the singular, and eclectic, nature of his career, it is no surprise that Elvis Costello's anecdotal autobiography is an idiosyncratic journey through his music and the people and places that have inspired him ... A must for Costello fans everywhere. * Booklist (starred review) *Costello's prose cuts with the same spiky wit and observational power as his well-known lyrics ... packed with great lines, vivid anecdotes ... a treat for his many fans. * Kirkus Reviews *Plenty of tales to keep the pages turning. Readers will be fascinated by Costello's stories...his book feels like a discussion between friends over a pint. * Publishers Weekly *Often brilliant and wholly idiosyncratic -- David Ulin * Los Angeles Times *Revelatory, evocatively crafted, [and] highly entertaining -- David Fricke * Rolling Stone *A winningly droll and good-natured guide to his life and many works throughout -- Clark Collis * Entertainment Weekly *Punctuated with sardonic and self-aware truths * Pitchfork *Vivid ... It's not surprising that one of rock's most literate songwriters would pen such a deep, free-form memoir * Houston Chronicle *Elvis Costello delivers an impeccably detailed autobiography. He's often as brilliant at turning a phrase in prose as he is in his lyrics * Paste Magazine *Enthralling ... This is family history as musical encyclopedia, and to listen to Costello recount his life is to be buttonholed by an enthusiastic fan. Fandom for Costello is inseparable from the compulsion to write songs and, it seems, to understand his own life ... Fortunately for the fan of Costello's music the topic of discussion is often his own songs, and he is, unsurprisingly, a witty and eloquent guide -- Paul Grimstad * New Republic *[Costello] pens books with the same clever writing that he uses in song -- Kathy Flanigan * Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel *Costello['s] book is capacious, clever, and full of heart and soul -- Dan DeLuca * Philadelphia Inquirer *The story unfolds like a movie that jumps across time, more thematic than chronological, as boyhood anecdotes and obsessions intersect with mature songs and adult reckoning.... The book doubles as a selective mini-history of 20th century music, as told by a discerning guide. He addresses artists both towering (Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Johnny Cash) and relatively unheralded (David Ackles, Robert Wyatt) with a fan's affection and music scholar's insight -- Greg Kot * Chicago Tribune *With an encyclopedic knowledge and appreciation for, and deep love of, music, and with an expressive power and heart, Costello's memoir will take its place in the highest echelons of the genre * Library Journal (starred review) *His book is almost essential as an idiosyncratic history of 20th-century pop music * Express *Studded with entertaining anecdotes -- Evening Standard Best Music Books of 2015

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Book Synopsis''Kerry''s an incredible writer and this memoir is so raw, vulnerable and honest'' MICHELLE OBAMAAward-winning actor, director, producer, and activist Kerry Washington shares the deeply moving journey of her life so far, and the bravely intimate story of discovering her truth. While on a drive in Los Angeles, on a seemingly average afternoon, Kerry Washington received a text message that would send her on a life-changing journey of self-discovery. In an instant, her very identity was torn apart, with everything she thought she knew about herself thrown into question.In Thicker than Water, Washington gives readers an intimate view into both her public and private worlds - as a mother, daughter, wife, artist, advocate, and trailblazer. Chronicling her upbringing and life''s journey thus far, she reveals how she faced a series of challenges and setbacks, effectively hid childhood traumas, met extraordinary mentors, managed to grow her career

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Book Synopsis'During downtime on the pottery throwdown Keith made my hair curl with some of his tales - he's a great raconteur and recounts his story in this book as he does in real life - with joy, charm & mischief.' - Sara Cox'Fans of Throw Down will enjoy this warm autobiography.' - Daily Mail'An engaging read by an endearing, unassuming man who has always stayed true to his passions.' - Daily MirrorBallet dancer. Front man in an almost famous band. Judge on The Great Pottery Throwdown. How did all that happen?By accident mostly. But I always say we make our own luck. What if an art teacher hadn't given me a lump of clay? What if the band had been really successful? What if I hadn't taken a photograph of a bowl to the buyer at Heals in London? What if she'd hated it? Or hadn't seen it... What if I hadn't agreed to dress up as Adele to make a crazy YouTube video? Every chapter of my book is based around an object (usually a pot) that's been significant in my life. It's just a trigger to let me go off in a lot of different directions and tell a few stories. A lot of stories. Dyslexia. The art teacher who changed my life. My Mother. My Father. A life-changing job interview with a man who lay under his car throughout. That video.Sifting through half-forgotten memories, trying to pick out the golden nuggets from the stuff that is definitely dross has been a curious, and at times hilarious, sometimes sad, but definitely enlightening process. So here it is - my pottery life with some very loud music and some pretty good dancing. And a lot of throwing, fettling and firing. Oh ...and a good dose of anxiety.

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Book SynopsisA Long and Varied Career John Lyons started his acting career as a founder member of the ‘East 15 Acting School’ in 1961. Upon leaving he went into the Professional company of the school ‘Theatre Workshop’ which at the time was under the direction of Joan Littlewood. In the intervening 50 years John’s career has been both long and varied, covering both West End musicals and straight plays, including three separate years in ‘The Mousetrap’ and tours both in England and The Continent with the Musical " Oh! What a Lovely War" But his career went beyond the stage. His TV appearances are numerous (over 500) ranging from ‘Upstairs Downstairs’ Play for Today’ ‘The Sweeney’ to ‘On the Buses’ ‘George & Mildred’ and ‘The 19th Hole with Eric Sykes. John Lyons is of course best known for playing Sir David Jason’s long suffering sidekick D.S. George Toolan in ‘A Touch of Frost’ which ran for a very successful 17 ½ years and currently being repeated daily on ITV3. Panto has played a very big and fun time in John’s life, starting in 1997 with productions of Dick Whittington and Aladdin with the Comedian Jim Davidson, playing Bristol. Palace Theatre Manchester, Mayflower Southampton etc, over a period of ten years. And John is still working. John is in great demand on the after dinner speaking circuit, personal appearances at ‘On the Buses’ reunions and numerous P & O Cruises talking about ‘An actor's life - the beginning and conclusion’ – ‘The Touch of Frost Years’ (his 17 years in a Touch of Frost with clips, outtakes, clips of pranks played on him). This is the story of John Lyons, Not Just George. You'll laugh, we promise, you might cry, and you'll get a look at the life of one of the most prolific actors of our time.

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Book SynopsisFor fans of David Sedaris, Tina Fey and Caitlin Moran comes Furiously Happy from Jenny Lawson, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Let's Pretend This Never Happened.In Let's Pretend This Never Happened, Jenny Lawson regaled readers with uproarious stories of her bizarre childhood. In Furiously Happy she explores her lifelong battle with mental illness. A hysterical, ridiculous book about crippling depression and anxiety? That sounds like a terrible idea. And terrible ideas are what Jenny does best.As Jenny says: 'You can't experience pain without also experiencing the baffling and ridiculous moments of being fiercely, unapologetically, intensely and (above all) furiously happy.' It's a philosophy that has - quite literally - saved her life.Jenny's first book, Let's Pretend This Never Happened, was ostensibly about family, but deep down it was about celebrating your own we

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Book Synopsis'Wishful Drinking is a touching and incisive account of bipolarity, addiction and motherhood.' Independent ‘No motive is pure. No one is good or bad – but a hearty mix of both. And sometimes life actually gives to you by taking away.' Carrie Fisher in Wishful DrinkingIn Wishful Drinking, Carrie Fisher told the true and intoxicating story of her life with inimitable wit. Born to celebrity parents, she was picked to play a princess in a little movie called Star Wars when only 19 years old. "But it isn't all sweetness and light sabres." Alas, aside from a demanding career and her role as a single mother (not to mention the hyperspace hairdo), Carrie also spends her free time battling addiction and weathering the wild ride of manic depression. It's an incredible tale: from having Elizabeth Taylor as a stepmother, to marrying (and divorcing) Paul Simon, and from having the father of her daughter leave her for a man, to ultimately waking up one morning and finding a friend dead beside her in bed. Carrie Fisher's star-studded career included roles in numerous films such as The Blues Brothers and When Harry Met Sally. She was the author of four bestselling novels, Surrender in the Pink, Delusions of Grandma, The Best Awful and Postcards from the Edge, which was made into a hit film starring Shirley MacLaine and Meryl Streep. Carrie's experience with addiction and mental illness – and her willingness to talk honestly about them – made her a sought-after speaker and respected advocate. She was truly one of the most magical people to walk among us.Further praise for Carrie Fisher:-[Shockaholic] is the finest, funniest chronicler of the maddest celebrity mores.' Sunday Times'Fisher has a talent for lacerating insight that masquerades as carefree self-deprecation' Los Angeles Times'She is one of the rare inhabitants of La-La Land who can actually write' New York Times

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Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLERSHORTLISTED FOR THE PENDERYN MUSIC BOOK PRIZE'Tender, wise and funny' Sunday Express'Beautifully observed, deadly funny' Max PorterBefore becoming an acclaimed musician and writer, Tracey Thorn was a typical teenager: bored and cynical, despairing of her aspirational parents. Her only comfort came from house parties and the female pop icons who hinted at a new kind of living.Returning to the scene of her childhood, Thorn takes us beyond the bus shelters, the pub car parks and the weekly discos, to the parents who wanted so much for their children and the children who wanted none of it. With great wit and insight, Thorn reconsiders the Green Belt post-war dream so many artists have mocked, and yet so many artists have come from.Trade ReviewA beautiful writer . . . Exceptional . . . Made me catch my breath . . . Her language is straightforward, chatty, easy-to-read. Musical. Though Thorn tells us sharp truths, we gobble them up because she delivers them in such a deceptively pretty, poignant way -- Miranda Sawyer * * Financial Times * *Hugely enjoyable, quirky and funny -- BERNARDINE EVARISTOWhen Thorn digs into her adolescence, the book sparks with wit and poignancy, helped by extracts from her teenage diaries that she smartly exploits for comedy and bathos * * Sunday Times * *Tender, wise and funny * * Sunday Express * *I adored this. Wise, tender, beautifully observed, deadly funny. A Green Belt memoir classic -- MAX PORTERReaders of Thorn's two previous memoirs will recognise the tone of this book, with its beautifully clean style, careful self-questioning and pervasive likability * * Guardian * *What a wise and funny book. Nostalgic but unsentimental, Thorn beautifully captures the aspirations, ennui and angst of suburban teenage life. I loved it -- DAVID NICHOLLSTracey Thorn's memoir of growing up in suburbia finds the extraordinary in the ordinary . . . Thorn is a writer who can "give the mundane its beautiful due" . . . [A] delightful, incisive memoir -- Frank Cottrell-Boyce * * New Statesman * *A book that dazzles with a quiet rebellion, resilience and hope -- ELIF SHAFAKAnother Planet is about being a teenager in suburbia in the 1970s, and revisiting one's own youth from middle age. It touches on class, culture, music, plum jam and parenting teens. It's wonderful. You'll read it in one go -- NINA STIBBE

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Book Synopsis'A fascinating call to arms full of insight' IndependentAfter four decades broadcasting to the nation each night, Jon Snow gives vent to his opinions on the state of our nation . . . the good news and the bad newsIt is rare in history that so many nations in the developed world are in crisis at the same time. There has been a disintegration of trust in political leaders and in the media that holds them to account. For all the progress humankind has made, for all the inventions and new technologies, our society is being undermined by inequality. To fix it, we must begin by seeking out the truth about our world.In The State of Us, Jon Snow traces how the life of the nation has changed across his five-decade career, from getting thrown out of university for protesting apartheid to interviewing every prime minister since Margaret Thatcher.In doing so, he shows how the greatest problems at home and abroad so often come down to inequality and an unwillingness to confront it. But that is not our fate. Despite the challenges, Snow has witnessed profound social progress. In this passionate rallying cry, he argues that at its best, journalism reflects not just who we are now, but who we can be.We've had enough of division; the future is for us.Trade ReviewA call to arms from one of the great television journalists of his generation -- Robert McCrumNow he can finally tell us what he really thinks about everything... His book represents a break in a half-century of silence; and it is trenchant in surprising ways. -- Zoe Williams * Guardian *The State of Us looks at how Britain has changed in Snow's lifetime... His argument is supported by shocking statistics... Snow builds a strong case. * The Tablet *A fascinating call to arms full of insight * Independent *A rallying cry for change... In The State of Us, Snow untethers himself from the ropes of broadcasting impartiality and finally lets fly his opinions on everything from government spending to Boris Johnson to the Iraq War started by Tony Blair... It's serious stuff, yet there is also a deftness to Snow's writing. * Irish Times *

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Book Synopsis'There is no one on earth quite so wonderful' STEPHEN FRY'As outrageously entertaining as you'd expect' Daily ExpressBAFTA-winning actor, voice of everything from Monkey to the Cadbury's Caramel Rabbit, creator of a myriad of unforgettable characters from Lady Whiteadder to Professor Sprout, MIRIAM MARGOLYES, OBE, is the nation's favourite (and naughtiest) treasure. Now, at the age of 80, she has finally decided to tell her extraordinary life story - and it's well worth the wait.Find out how being conceived in an air-raid gave her curly hair; what pranks led to her being known as the naughtiest girl Oxford High School ever had; how she ended up posing nude for Augustus John as a teenager; why Bob Monkhouse was the best (male) kiss she's ever had; and what happened next after Warren Beatty asked 'Do you fuck?' From declaring her love to Vanessa Redgrave to being told to be quiet by the Queen, this book is packed with brilliant, hilarious stories. With a cast list stretching from Scorsese to Streisand, a cross-dressing Leonardo di Caprio to Isaiah Berlin, This Much Is True is as warm and honest, as full of life and surprises, as its inimitable author.Trade ReviewGleefully outspoken and bursting with hilarious anecdotes, gloriously larger than life . . . I pity every person that is not me right now, drinking in the glory of Margolyes at 80 -- Eva Wiseman * Observer *Startling, thrillingly outspoken, provocative, potty-mouthed and exhilarating . . . THIS MUCH IS TRUE is never boring. Her personality is so likeable she can only leave you wanting more -- Lynn Barber * Daily Telegraph *Reads like the Wife of Bath's memoirs -- Simon CallowWickedly honest . . . When I was reading this book on a train, a stranger asked if I was OK because I was crying with laughter -- Hadley Freeman * Guardian *An irreverent, straight-talking, riotous romp through an extraordinary life * Sunday Post *If there is a silver lining to last year's lockdown, it's the fact that Miriam Margolyes finally had time to write her life story . . . invigoratingly outspoken . . . gloriously shocking . . . and captures her force-of-nature personality. Buckle up, you're in for a wild ride -- Charlotte Heathcote * Daily Mirror *Now 80 - and no less outrageous and outspoken, the actress presents vignettes from her life that will induce guffaws as much as gasps * The i *Blisteringly honest and hugely entertaining * Daily Record *Ebullient and bosomy -- Roger Lewis * The Times *Stories galore . . . Miriam Margolyes has a life worth immortalising in print . . . An unapologetic account of a life well lived. As irrepressible as ever, Margolyes's warmth and wit shines through * Radio Times *Blisteringly honest and hugely entertaining * Daily Record *There's so much in the book; each chapter offering a tidbit of information both interesting and hilarious... It's full of life and vigour, as if you're conversing with a friend you've known for a long time * Irish Examiner *Brilliant stories abound in this memoir... which is honest, poignant and wildly indiscreet. * The Guardian *As compelling, forthright and irrepressible as its author * Choice Magazine *Miriam Margolyes' autobiography is crass, brash, rude, crude, funny and sad, and as delightful and surprising as Miriam herself * Good Housekeeping *As outrageously entertaining as you'd expect * Daily Express *Potty-mouthed and thrillingly candid, Margolyes's account of her career from teenage nudemodelling for Augustus John to sexy voiceover work for Ann Summers to playing Harry Potter's Professor Sprout is a riotous joy * Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisOn screen, Danny Trejo is the most recognisable anti-hero in Hollywood. But off screen, he is so much more. The ultimate hard-knock-lifer, and a true man of the world, he has all the stories, and all the scars. Raised in an abusive home, Danny struggled from an early age with heroin addiction, doing time in some of the country's most notorious prisons, before breaking into acting. Starring in modern classics and cult hits alike, including Heat, Breaking Bad, From Dusk Till Dawn and Sons of Anarchy, Danny has worked with silver-screen icons like Robert De Niro and Charles Bronson. Now, Danny recounts how he survived the horrors of jail, rebuilt his life, and drew inspiration from the adrenaline-fueled robbery heists of his past to forge his on-screen legend. Redemptive and raw, Trejo is an unforgettable journey through tragedy, pain, and success. Told with cowboy appeal, gritty rebel wisdom, and total honesty, these are outlaw stories from the frontiers: the frontiers of prison, of Hollywood, and of life.

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Book SynopsisThe funny, warm and moving diaries of a man at the centre of one of the world''s most influential comedy troupes.Michael Palin''s diaries begin when he was newly married and struggling to make a name for himself in the world of television comedy. But Monty Python was just around the corner . . . This engaging volume is a window into the world of Monty Python, from the group''s early cult success to the global superstardom that followed. Amongst tales from the making of THE HOLY GRAIL and LIFE OF BRIAN are stories of the three-day week and the various trials of a peripatetic life, told with Michael''s trademark warmth and good humour.

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Book SynopsisShirley, The Life of a Botanical Adventurer is the remarkable story of Dr Shirley Sherwood, scientist, author, travel writer, gardener as well as mother and grandmother. Following the tragic death of her brilliant scientist husband, Michael Cross, in a freak air crash in 1964, she was left as a 30-year-old widow with two young boys aged four and three. For the next twelve years she worked as a key member of the Nobel Prize-winning team which developed Tagamet, the first block-buster drug (sales of over $1 billion a year). After her marriage to Jim Sherwood in 1977, she left science to concentrate full-time on the huge task of restoring the fabled Orient-Express train, probably the most luxurious and exotic form of travel ever devised. The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, running between London and Venice, was relaunched in 1982, ninety-nine years after its first journey. Sherwood's history of the project sold more than 400,000 copies. The Orient-Express train was just the beginning. The Sherwoods went on to create the five-star Orient-Express Hotels company (now Belmond), which owned some of the finest hotels in the world, including the Cipriani in Venice, the Mount Nelson in Cape Town and the Copacabana Palace in Rio. They pioneered new train routes across the Alps, started the Eastern & Oriental Express running between Singapore and Bangkok- crossing over the Bridge on the River Kwai- opened up tourism in Myanmar with the first cruise ship to operate on the Irrawaddy, and took over the railways of Peru, which run all the way to Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca. Her most lasting achievement, the one of which she is proudest, is the Shirley Sherwood Collection of contemporary botanical art, which she started in 1990 and now includes over 1,000 paintings and drawings representing the work of more than 300 contemporary botanical artists from 36 countries. She has mounted exhibitions in many prestigious locations including the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, Kirstenbosch in Cape Town and the Real Jardin Botanico, Madrid. The Shirley Sherwood Gallery in Kew Gardens is the first museum to be dedicated to modern botanical art and her books, which often accompanied her exhibitions, have been largely responsible for re-establishing botanical art in its rightful place as an important art form. These are just some of the many achievements in a long and rich life, vividly described in this book.Trade Review"Shirley Sherwood put botanical art firmly back on the agenda with her incredible collection and her unremitting quest for only the very best." – Sir Roy Strong CH FRSL “A remarkable and sophisticated life of science, travel and passion for the best of contemporary botanical art." - Sir Peter Crane FRS "Shirley is an inspiration in how to use one’s gifts wisely and live life well. Her memoir is a delight." - Dame Mary Archer"this is a compelling tale of a life rich in incident and bravery" -- Steven Desmond

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Book SynopsisExperience how it feels to be the subject of a blasphemy prosecution! Find out why ''wool'' is a funny word! See how jokes work, their inner mechanisms revealed, before your astonished face! In 2001, after over a decade in the business, Stewart Lee quit stand-up, disillusioned and drained, and went off to direct a loss-making musical, Jerry Springer: The Opera. Nine years later, How I Escaped My Certain Fate details his return to live performance, and the journey that took him from an early retirement to his position as the most critically acclaimed stand-up in Britain, the winner of BAFTAs and British Comedy Awards, and the affirmation of being rated the 41st best stand up ever. Here is Stewart Lee''s own account of his remarkable comeback, told through transcripts of the three legendary full-length shows that sealed his reputation. Astonishingly frank and detailed in-depth notes reveal the inspiration and inner workings of his act. With unprecedente

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Book SynopsisTHE FIRST EVER OFFICIAL BOOK—BEYOND THE STORY is a remarkable archive—truly everything about BTS in one volume.

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Book SynopsisA NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER''A glimpse to the person behind the glamour and drama . . . you get a real sense of the beating soul of Megan Fox'' ? Glamour''A wry and moody meditation on sadness and heartbreak'' ? Vogue''[Fox] opens up in poetic detail and remarkable honesty about the hardest times in her life'' ? Good Morning America''Not an expose, but rather a message to other women about speaking up'' ? USA TodayMegan Fox showcases her wicked humour throughout a heart-breaking and dark collection of poetry. Over the course of more than 80 poems, Fox chronicles all the ways in which we fit ourselves into the shape of the ones we love, even if it means losing ourselves in the process.''These poems were written in an attempt to excise the illness that had taken root in me because of my silence. I''ve spent my entire life keeping the secrets of men, my body ach

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