Search results for ""Author Holly"
HarperCollins Publishers Cack-Handed: A Memoir
The British comedian of Nigerian heritage and co-executive producer and writer of the CBS hit series Bob Hearts Abishola chronicles her odyssey to get to America and break into Hollywood in this lively and humorous memoir. According to family superstition, Gina Yashere was born to fulfil the dreams of her grandmother Patience. The powerful first wife of a wealthy businessman, Patience was poisoned by her jealous sister-wives and marked with a spot on her neck. From birth, Gina carried a similar birthmark – a sign that she was her grandmother’s chosen heir, and would fulfil Patience’s dreams. Gina would learn to speak perfect English, live unfettered by men or children, work a man’s job, and travel the world with a free spirit. Is she the reincarnation of her grandmother? Maybe. Gina isn’t ruling anything out. In Cack-Handed, she recalls her intergenerational journey to success foretold by her grandmother and fulfilled thousands of miles from home. This hilarious memoir tells the story of how from growing up as a child of Nigerian immigrants in working class London, running from skinheads, and her overprotective mum, Gina went on to become the first female engineer with the UK branch of Otis, the largest elevator company in the world, where she went through a baptism of fire from her racist and sexist co-workers. Not believing her life was difficult enough, she later left engineering to become a stand up comic, appearing on numerous television shows and becoming one of the top comedians in the UK, before giving it all up to move to the US, a dream she’d had since she was six years old, watching American kids on television, riding cool bicycles, and solving crimes. A collection of eccentric, addictive, and uproarious stories that combine family, race, gender, class, and country, Cack-Handed reveals how Gina’s unconventional upbringing became the foundation of her successful career as an international comedian.
£9.99
Cornerstone My Fight Your Fight: The Official Ronda Rousey autobiography
*WINNER British Sports Book Awards SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR*Ronda's new memoir OUR FIGHT is available on 4th April, in Hardback'I have this one term for the kind of woman my mother raised me not to be, and I call it a ‘Do-Nothing B-tch'. It’s the kind of chick that just tries to be pretty and be taken care of by somebody else. That’s why I think it’s hilarious when people say that my body looks masculine or something. Just because my body was developed for a purpose other than f-cking millionaires, doesn’t mean it’s masculine. I think it’s femininely badass as f-ck because there isn’t a single muscle on my body that doesn’t have a purpose because I’m not a ‘Do-Nothing B-tch.'When Ronda Rousey made this speech she inspired women everywhere. Beyoncé even played a recording on-stage and it went viral. But Rousey has been inspiring others her whole career.The journey to the top for the most dominant mixed-martial-arts fighter in history has been filled with challenges. From a childhood marked by speech problems to the painful loss of her father, she grew up repeatedly pushing her mind and body to the limit in order to win. She battled prejudice to become the first female fighter in UFC. Now she is the biggest name in the sport, breaking attendance levels and re-writing the history books with her astonishing knockout victories, most in under a minute. She has also forged a successful Hollywood career as an actor.In this honest and inspiring book, Rousey relives her greatest fights and shares her secrets for success and mental toughness. She reveals how we can all be at our best, even on our worst days, and how we can turn our limitations into opportunities. It will leave you ready to face your own challenges in life, whatever they may be.
£10.99
Columbia Global Reports New Kings of the World: Dispatches from Bollywood, Dizi, and K-Pop
An important dispatch from a new, multipolar order that is taking form before our eyesA vast cultural movement is emerging from outside the Western world. Truly global in its range and allure, it is the biggest challenge yet to Hollywood, McDonald’s, blue jeans, and other aspects of American mass-produced popular culture. This is a book about the new arbiters of mass culture—India’s Bollywood films, Turkey’s soap operas, or dizi, and South Korea’s pop music. Carefully packaging not always secular modernity, combined with traditional values, in urbanized settings, they have created a new global pop culture that strikes a deeper chord than the American version, especially with the many millions who are only just arriving in the modern world and still negotiating its overwhelming changes.Fatima Bhutto, an indefatigable reporter and vivid writer, profiles Shah Rukh Khan, by many measures the most popular star in the world; goes behind the scenes of Magnificent Century, Turkey’s biggest dizi, watched by more than 200 million people across 43 countries; and travels to South Korea to see how K-Pop started. Bhutto’s book is an important dispatch from a new, multipolar order that is taking form before our eyes.“Bhutto’s razor sharp, intriguing introduction to the various pop phenomena emerging from Asia.” —Tash Aw, Financial Times
£11.99
Goose Lane Editions The South Will Rise at Noon
Hot on the heels of Douglas Glover's Governor General's Award for fiction for his riotous novel, Elle, Goose Lane has brought back into print Glover's hilarious novel, The South Will Rise at Noon, originally published in 1988. At the centre of this story of a modern-day knight errant is Tully Stamper, a bankrupt, a liar, a tippler of corn juice and a deadbeat husband who has abandoned his wife and child no fraudulent psychiatric grounds. He is also one of the world's last innocents. The setting for Tully's adventure is Gomez Gap, Florida, a sliver of the Old South turned into a Hollywood backdrop for the movie recreation of a famous Civil War battle. From the time Tully stumbles out of the swamp and into bed with his sleeping ex-wife and her flamboyant film-director husband Oscar Osterwader to the moment when the enraged citizens of Gomez Gap carry him back to the swamp and leave him chained to a pine tree to die, we are Tully's co-conspirators, his partners in crime, sharing his pain, his optimism and his wayward wit. A disarmingly intimate and energetic portrait at once hilarious and cautionary, crazy and bittersweet, The South Will Rise at Noon shows off Douglas Glover's true comic form.
£15.99
Bonnier Books Ltd Paying It Forward: How to Be A Social Entrepreneur
THE TOP 10 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER* With a Foreword by Sir Bob Geldof * 'Essential: full of heart, honesty, humour and helpful advice' - Sir Richard Curtis CBE'Josh Littlejohn is a rockstar of social impact' - Irvine WelshWhen Josh Littlejohn started a small sandwich shop in his home city of Edinburgh, he would never have thought that, within ten years' time, it would be frequented by Hollywood megastars, that he would have opened a string of successful cafés across the UK, and that he would be honoured with an MBE by the Queen. Not to mention raising over £25 million to combat homelessness around the world. And all set in motion by a person in a situation of homelessness, named Pete, walking into his café one day and sheepishly asking for a job. Paying It Forward is part memoir, part manifesto for social entrepreneurship, and part manual for putting purpose ahead of profit. It reveals what social entrepreneurship is and how it can make a difference. How if only 20% of entrepreneurs became social entrepreneurs our world would be in a much better state. How we can 'Calculate Risks', why we should 'Help Just One Person' every day, and that 'If You Don't Ask, You Don't Get'. The path to being social entrepreneur is never a smooth one: Paying it Forward is the compass for finding your own path and making a difference in the world.
£18.00
Simon & Schuster Ltd Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow: My Life
Yesterday, Today, Tomorrowis Sophia Loren's definitive autobiography, revealing her personal journey from the hardship of her childhood in Naples to her life as a screen legend, sharing stories of work, love, and family. Each chapter begins with a letter, a document, a photograph, or object that prompts her reminiscences. In her own words, these memoirs originated as, "Unpublished memories, curious anecdotes, tiny secrets told, all of which spring from a box found by chance, a precious treasure trove filled with emotions, experiences, adventures." In her incredible life story, Loren vividly recounts her difficult childhood in Naples during World War II, remembers her parents and their tempestuous relationship, and reveals the pain of growing up in her grandparents' house with her single, unmarried mother and younger sister. She tells how she got her start by winning a beauty pageant ('La regina del mare') and how her ambition drove her success in cinema before revealing the influence of the producer Carlo Ponti, who cast her in her early roles and later became her husband. Loren takes us behind the scenes of the movies, her early stardom and move to Hollywood revealing intimate and never before shared stories of her famed costars: Brando, Newman, Burton, Peck, Heston, and many more.
£9.99
Orion Publishing Co Eagles - Dark Desert Highway: How America’s Dream Band Turned into a Nightmare
'This could be heaven or this could be hell...'So sings Don Henley on their biggest hit, 'Hotel California', and it is true that the Eagles story was one that blurred the ultimate Hollywood highs and subterranean LA lows beyond recognition. The band that embodied the American dream with globe-straddling success, impossibly luxurious lives, almost supernatural talent also descended into nightmare with bloodletting betrayal, hate-filled hubris, the skeletons of perceived enemies, brutally discarded lovers and former band mates left unburied on the road behind them. The story of the Eagles is a truly gothic American fable: one of ultimate power and rivers of money; of sex and drugs at a time when both were the lingua-franca of sophisticated So-Cal living; of a band who sang of peaceful easy feelings in public while threatening to kill each other in private.Now, for the first time, esteemed music biographer Mick Wall will provide the definitive insight into America's bestselling band of all time, a band who have sold more records than Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones combined, exploring their meteoric rise to fame and the hedonistic days of the 70s music scene in LA, when American music was taking over the world.
£10.99
Little, Brown Book Group A Deal With The Devil: The perfect work place, enemies to lovers romcom!
A temp assistant and the British boss she loves to hate . . . The Devils series is a sexy blend of spice, romance and grumpy men. Prepare to laugh, swoon and cry . . . perfect for fans of Christina Lauren and Emma Chase. He might not be the devil, but working under him for six weeks is my idea of hell.Hayes Flynn is an arrogant jerk known best for his scotch habit and the way he spreads his British "charm" all over Hollywood, never with the same woman twice.He's the last person I want to work for, except he has a face I can't look away from, and the longer we're together, the harder he is to hate. Because under that smug exterior is a heart he doesn't want to show-one that was badly broken a decade earlier.A part of me wants to fix it for him before I leave...but can I do it without breaking my own in the process?Readers can't get enough of A Deal With The Devil 'This novel is a sexy blend of sophistication, banter, friendship, love, and steam. With her effortless prose, Elizabeth O'Roark captured my heart with her charismatic and relatable characters.'⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'One of the best written slow burns I have ever read.'⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'One of my favorite romance reads of the summer! '⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'I'd give it a 10 [stars] if I could.'⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
£9.99
HarperCollins Publishers Inc The Cowboy Says Yes: Rustlers Creek
Welcome to Rustlers Creek, where you’ll meet the cowboys whose hearts are as big as the Montana sky and the women who can’t help but fall in love with them. Hadley Wayne is known all over America as The Cowgirl Gourmet. A beloved star on The Cooking Network, the success of her show has turned her sleepy Montana ranching community into a Hollywood backlot and everyone knows all about her perfect life with her perfect rancher husband—but it’s not real.Zack Wayne has never felt further apart from his wife, even while they play up an ideal marriage for the cameras. They’re living separate lives in separate bedrooms. The love he has for Hadley is still there, underneath mountains of resentment, but he doesn’t know if their marriage can last for much longer. He can’t keep up with the façade anymore, for the cameras or Hadley.When their work forces them to take a break from the constant schedule of the set, they begin to rediscover who they are and why they fell in love all those years ago. If they can mend the hurts that brought them here, will they still want to say goodbye to their life together? Or will the cowboy discover he can only say yes to their future?
£7.21
Transworld Publishers Ltd Glasgow: Tales of the City
Not only has Glasgow produced some incredible personalities, it has also been witness to some of the greatest happenings of our times. These outstanding people and epoch-making events are featured in Glasgow: Tales of the City. As a result of painstaking research, some startling new facts have emerged about the life and times of some of the city's most interesting characters. The many individuals documented in this book include the world's greatest pilot, whose many flying feats are still held in great awe today and unlikely ever to be repeated. He was hailed as a hero in America, they gave a him a ticker-tape reception in New York and Hollywood begged him to be a star. More recently, Glasgow was popularised by a TV programme about the city's tough police officer Taggart. The role of the Glasgow detective made Mark McManus one of Scotland's first international TV stars, and Mark's own life story makes equally compelling reading. Before Billy Connolly, Glasgow's greatest-ever comedian was Lex McLean. He smashed all the box-office records in a Glasgow theatre and became a legend in his own lifetime. His story has never before been told in such detail. This is undoubtedly one of the most fascinating studies of Scotland's largest city ever published.
£9.99
Little, Brown Book Group Bunnyman: A Memoir: The Sunday Times bestseller
The Sunday Times bestsellerA Daily Telegraph Music Memoir of the YearGrowing up in Liverpool in the 1960s and '70s, when skinheads, football violence and fear of just about everything was the natural order of things, a young Will Sergeant found the emerging punk scene provided a shimmer of hope amongst a crumbling city still reeling from the destruction of the Second World War. From school-day horrors and mud flinging fun to nights at Liverpool's punk club, Eric's, Sergeant was fuelled by and thrived on music. It was this devotion that led to the birth of the Bunnymen, to the days when he and Ian McCulloch would muck around with reel-to-reel recordings of song ideas in the back parlour of his parents' council estate house, and to finding a community - friends, enemies and many in between - with those who would become post-punk royalty from the likes of Dead or Alive, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and the Teardrop Explodes to name a few.It was an uphill struggle to carve their name in the history of Liverpool music, but Echo and the Bunnymen became iconic, with songs like 'Lips Like Sugar,' 'The Cutter' and 'The Killing Moon'. By turns wry, explicit and profound, Bunnyman reveals what it was really like to be part of one of the most important British bands of the 1980s.
£20.00
Orion Publishing Co Strange Angel: The Otherworldly Life of Rocket Scientist John Whiteside Parsons
'Forget geek stereotypes. Parsons' life seems straight out of a Hollywood thriller ... Pendle's book leaves us with a taste of genius's energy and fragility' Los Angeles Magazine'You couldn't make it up' Physics World'As a history of space travel, STRANGE ANGEL is a cornerstone ... Highly recommended' Ray BradburyBRILLIANT ROCKET SCIENTIST KILLED IN EXPLOSION screamed the front-page headline of the Los Angeles Times on 18 June 1952. John Parsons, a maverick rocketeer whose work had helped transform the rocket from a derided sci-fi plotline into a reality, was at first mourned as a tragically young victim of mishandled chemicals. But as reporters dug deeper a shocking story emerged. Parsons had been performing occult rites and summoning spirits as a follower of Alesteir Crowley.George Pendle tells Parsons' extraordinary life story for the first time. Fuelled from childhood by dreams of space flight, Parsons was a crucial innovator during rocketry's birth. But his visionary imagination also led him into the occult community thriving in 1930s Los Angeles, and when fantasy's pull became stronger than reality, he lost both his work and his wife. Parsons was just emerging from his personal underworld when he died - aged thirty-seven. In Strange Angel, Pendle recovers a fascinating life and explores the unruly consequences of genius.
£10.99
Little, Brown Book Group Key Of Light: Number 1 in series
The pleasure of your company is desired for cocktails and conversation. 8pm, 4th September. Warrior's Peak. You are the Key. The lock awaits. When Malory Price is issued with the above invitation she is naturally suspicious, especially as Warrior's Peak is a local mansion house straight out of a Hollywood horror movie. But with her overdraft at crisis limit and on the verge of losing her job at a local art gallery, she has little to lose by attending the event. But Malory is about to get more than she bargained for. At Warrior's Peak she finds that she and two other women are the only guests of their mysterious hosts. They are told an amazing story of magic, gods and goddesses; and of three demi-goddesses who have been cast into an eternal sleep, their mortal souls placed under lock and key. And in every generation, three women are born who alone have the power to free them - if they are prepared to accept the challenge. Three women. Three keys to find. If one fails, they all lose. If they all succeed - money, power and a new destiny awaits. It will take more than intellect, more than determination. They will have to open their hearts, their minds, and believe that everything and anything is possible.
£9.99
Penguin Books Ltd Chaplin: His Life And Art
David Robinson's definitive and monumental biography of Charlie Chaplin, the greatest icon in the history of cinema, who lived one of the most dramatic rags to riches stories ever told. Chaplin's life was marked by extraordinary contrasts: the child of London slums who became a multimillionaire; the on-screen clown who was a driven perfectionist behind the camera; the adulated star who publicly fell from grace after personal and political scandal. This engrossing and definitive work, written with full access to Chaplin's archives, tells the whole story of a brilliant, complex man. David Robinson is a celebrated film critic and historian who wrote for The Times and the Financial Times for several decades. His many books include World Cinema, Hollywood in the Twenties and Buster Keaton. 'A marvellous book . . . unlikely ever to be surpassed' Spectator 'I cannot imagine how anyone could write a better book on the great complex subject . . . movingly entertaining, awesomely thorough and profoundly respectful' Sunday Telegraph 'One of the great cinema books; a labour of love and a splendid achievement' Variety 'One of those addictive biographies in which you start by looking in the index for items that interest you . . . and as dawn breaks you're reading the book from cover to cover' Financial Times
£19.99
Orion Publishing Co Eagles - Dark Desert Highway: How America’s Dream Band Turned into a Nightmare
'This could be heaven or this could be hell...'So sings Don Henley on their biggest hit, 'Hotel California', and it is true that the Eagles story was one that blurred the ultimate Hollywood highs and subterranean LA lows beyond recognition. The band that embodied the American dream with globe-straddling success, impossibly luxurious lives, almost supernatural talent also descended into nightmare with bloodletting betrayal, hate-filled hubris, the skeletons of perceived enemies, brutally discarded lovers and former band mates left unburied on the road behind them. The story of the Eagles is a truly gothic American fable: one of ultimate power and rivers of money; of sex and drugs at a time when both were the lingua-franca of sophisticated So-Cal living; of a band who sang of peaceful easy feelings in public while threatening to kill each other in private.Now, for the first time, esteemed music biographer Mick Wall will provide the definitive insight into America's bestselling band of all time, a band who have sold more records than Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones combined, exploring their meteoric rise to fame and the hedonistic days of the 70s music scene in LA, when American music was taking over the world.
£22.50
Sonicbond Publishing Badfinger On Track: Every Album, Every Song
Generally regarded as one of the most tragic tales in the history of rock music, the story of Badfinger does indeed make for an impressively sombre Hollywood-style film script. A Welsh and Liverpudlian musical hybrid, the band was signed to Apple Records, became protégés of The Beatles, produced four global hit singles and two of its members co-wrote the now perennial pop standard ‘Without You’ (covered most notably by both Harry Nilsson and Mariah Carey). Yet, despite all this and having the music world seemingly at its feet, the band found itself plagued by ruinous misfortune and through a combination of unscrupulous business management, record label neglect and just plain bad luck, the dream soon lay in tatters with the band’s story ultimately culminating in the suicides of two of its members, Pete Ham and Tom Evans. However, there is a lot more to the band’s story than just the obvious tragedy and the aim of this book is to help redress the band’s legacy and refocus some much-needed attention on the brilliance of their music, rather than just the trials and tribulations that perpetually dogged them. Badfinger on track … casts a keen critical and analytical eye over the band’s entire musical output – albums and singles – recorded and released during its lifetime. This detailed and definitive guide will not only examine and assess the recordings but will also provide valuable background history and context for each album. Whilst not ignoring the managerial, financial and legal machinations and issues that blighted the band, this book will ultimately focus the spotlight on the band’s musical legacy
£15.99
HarperCollins Publishers Elizabeth Taylor: The Grit and Glamour of an Icon
The first authorised biography of eternal legend Elizabeth Taylor. Known for her glamorous beauty, soap-opera personal life and magnetic screen presence, Elizabeth Taylor was the twentieth century’s most famous film star. Including unseen photographs and unread private reflections, this authorised biography is a fascinating and complete portrait worthy of the legend and her legacy. Elizabeth Taylor captures this intelligent, empathetic, tenacious, volatile and complex woman as never before, from her rise to massive fame at the age of twelve in National Velvet to becoming the first actor to negotiate a million-dollar salary for a film, from her eight marriages and enduring love affair with Richard Burton to her lifelong battle with addiction and her courageous efforts as an AIDS activist. Using Elizabeth’s unpublished letters, diary entries and off-the-record interview transcripts as well as interviews with 250 of her closest friends and family, Kate Andersen Brower tells the full, unvarnished story of the classic Hollywood star who continues to captivate audiences the world over.
£12.99
Little, Brown Book Group The Assassination Of Marilyn Monroe
This book is the fully documented story of Marilyn Monroe's death - a heart-stopping account of the events that led to the circumstances of 4th August 1962. To this day the Los Angeles police and the District Attorney's office have perpetuated a cover-up that was generated over 30 years ago. For the first time in 80 books and acres of newsprint, the complete story of her demise is revealed. It includes the reasons why so many joined the conspiracy of silence. Marilyn's universe is where the glitzy world of Hollywood, the sinister one of the Mafia and the secret one of Washington DC meet. Wolfe uses newly released FBI files and the information of insiders who have broken their silence to give us the resolution of one of this century's most enduring mysteries.From the opening description of the lifeless body to the moment-by-moment account of her final days and hours, THE ASSASSINATION OF MARILYN MONROE explodes every myth concerning her remarkable life and tragic death - as is attested by the generous acclaim of her rival biographers (see 'Reviews').
£14.99
Hachette Books The Great Peace: A Memoir
THE GREAT PEACE is a harrowing, heartbreaking coming-of-age story set in Hollywood, in which young teenage model-turned-actor Mena Suvari lost herself to sex, drugs and bad, often abusive relationships even as blockbuster movies made her famous. It's about growing up in the 90s, with a soundtrack ranging from The Doors to Deee-Lite, fashion from denim to day-glo, and a sad young woman dealing with the lasting psychological scars of losing her virginity against her will at age 12, believing she has little more to offer than her body, yet knowing deep inside she has and desires so much more from life.Inspired by Mena's relatively recent discovery of diary writings and poetry she wrote during this troubled time and then put in storage for years, this book builds on these entries with gritty authenticity and hard-earned maturity. Despite many years of interviews and many miles on the red carpet, Mena has never revealed any part of her challenging adolescence and early career. After years of being taken advantage of by older, more powerful men--a photographer, a manager, a DJ--Mena finally learned how to stand on her own two feet, and reclaimed the power that had been locked inside her the whole time.Within these vulnerable pages, Mena not only reveals her own mistakes, but also the lessons she learned and her efforts to understand and grow rather than casting blame. As such, she makes this a timeless story of girl empowerment and redemption, of somebody using their voice to rediscover their past and redeem and understand their mistakes, and ultimately come to terms with their power as an individual to find a way and a will to live--and thrive. Poignant, intimate, and powerful, this book will resonate with anyone who has found themselves lost in the darkness, thinking there's no way out. Ultimately, Mena's story proves that, no matter how hopeless it may seem, there's always a light at the end.
£22.00
Princeton University Press The Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright
Neil Levine's study of the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, beginning with his work in Oak Park in the late 1880s and culminating in the construction of the Guggenheim museum in New York and the Marin County Civic Center in the 1950s, if the first comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the architect's entire career since the opening of the Wright Archives over a decade ago. The most celebrated and prolific of modern architects, Wright built more than four hundred buildings and designed at least twice as many more. The characteristic features of his work--the open plan, dynamic space, fragmented volumes, natural materials, and integral structure--established the basic way that we think about modern architecture. For a general audience, this engaging book provides an introduction to Wright's remarkable accomplishments, as seen against the background of his eventful and often tragic life. For the architect or the architectural historian, it will be an important source of new insights into the development of Wright's whole body of work. It integrates biographical and historical material in a chronologically ordered framework that makes sense of his enormously varied career, and it provides over four hundred illustrations running parallel to the text. Levine conveys the meanings of the continuities and changes that he sees I Wright's architecture and thought by focusing successive chapters on his most significant buildings, such as the Winslow House, Taliesin, Hollyhock House, Fallingwater, Tailsen west, and the Guggenheim Museum. A new understanding of the representational imagery and narrative structure of Wright's work, along with a much-needed reconsideration of its historical and contextual underpinnings, gives this study a unique place in the writings on Wright. In contrast to the emphasis a previous generation of critics and historians placed on Wright's earlier buildings, this book offers a broader perspective that sees Wright's later work as the culmination of his earlier efforts and the basis for a new understanding of the centrality of his career to the evolution of modern architecture as a whole.
£52.20
Transworld Publishers Ltd Open the Cage, Murphy!: Hilarious tales of the rise of Lily Savage
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'With typical razor-sharp wit and candour, Paul tells of his rise to fame as Lily Savage . . . Riveting.' Daily MirrorFrom Britain's most beloved TV star, Open the Cage, Murphy is an action-packed roller-coaster ride through a decade of Paul O'Grady's life, stuffed full to the gunwales with hilarious stories, extreme situations and outrageous one-liners.A must read for any Paul O'Grady fan, Open the Cage, Murphy follows his brilliant comic creation Lily Savage as she embraces success and world domination beckons.From being involved in a plane crash, to getting caught up in the LA riots and a close encounter with Madonna, the stories come thick and fast. Paul takes us with him to a gay-themed weekend in Butlin's in Skegness, on a rowdy tour with Prisoner Cell Block H - the Musical and into the depths of the Australian rainforest, where he befriends a rare bird that can disembowel a man with a single kick. The dramatis personae include a family of dolphins, Charlton Heston and the ghost of Joan of Arc - and there's a starring role for a certain remarkable dog, Buster Elvis Savage.But whether he's writing about star-studded Hollywood parties, the devastating loss of close friends to AIDS, or late night shenanigans at the end of Blackpool Pier, Paul's wit and humanity never desert him.Open the Cage, Murphy is a genuine delight - all the more so for being delightfully genuine.Readers love Open the Cage, Murphy!' I couldn't put it down . . . Paul comes across as a very intelligent man . . . with a heart of gold under that naughty exterior.' *****'This is such a great read, Paul is excellent when describing things makes you feel as though you are there with him. His humour warmth and caring comes out in abundance.' *****'An excellent read. He takes you through the highs and lows of his life, you laugh and cry with him.' *****
£10.99
Little, Brown Book Group Caliban's War: Book 2 of the Expanse (now a Prime Original series)
NOW A PRIME ORIGINAL TV SERIESCaliban's War is the second book in the New York Times bestselling and Hugo-award winning Expanse series.For someone who didn't intend to wreck the solar system's fragile balance of power, Jim Holden did a pretty good job of it.While Earth and Mars have stopped shooting each other, the core alliance is shattered. The outer planets and the Belt are uncertain in their new - possibly temporary - autonomy.Then, on one of Jupiter's moons, a single super-soldier attacks, slaughtering soldiers of Earth and Mars indiscriminately and reigniting the war. The race is on to discover whether this is the vanguard of an alien army, or if the danger lies closer to home.The Expanse is the biggest science fiction series of the last decade and is now a major TV series.Praise for the Expanse:'The science fictional equivalent of A Song of Ice and Fire' NPR Books'As close as you'll get to a Hollywood blockbuster in book form' io9.com'Great characters, excellent dialogue, memorable fights' wired.com'High adventure equalling the best space opera has to offer, cutting-edge technology and a group of unforgettable characters . . . Perhaps one of the best tales the genre has yet to produce' Library Journal'This is the future the way it's supposed to be' Wall Street Journal'Tense and thrilling' SciFiNowThe Expanse series:Leviathan WakesCaliban's WarAbaddon's GateCibola BurnNemesis GamesBabylon's AshesPersepolis RisingTiamat's WrathLeviathan Falls Memory's Legion: The Complete Expanse Story Collection
£10.99
Pan Macmillan Neighbours: A Powerful Story Of Human Connection From The Billion Copy Bestseller
Neighbours is a novel of friendship, support, trust and love, and what it takes to bring people together, by the world’s favourite storyteller Danielle Steel.Meredith White was one of Hollywood’s most recognizable faces. But a personal tragedy cut her career short and alienated her from her family. For the last fifteen years, Meredith has shut herself away from the world, living in her San Francisco mansion.Then, on a late summer day, a devastating earthquake strikes, plunging the city into chaos. Without hesitation, Meredith invites her now homeless neighbours into her largely undamaged house as the recovery begins.From the respected doctor, to the beautiful young woman whose boyfriend views her as a rich man’s toy, to the brilliant concert pianist in his eighties, each has a story and a closely guarded secret that will slowly be revealed.Strangers become friends and relationships are forged as they support each other through not just the aftermath of the earthquake, but their own personal crises.As Meredith finds herself venturing back into the world she suddenly sees her isolation, her estranged family and even her career in a whole new light. And thanks to the suspicions of one of her new acquaintances, a shocking truth in her own life is exposed . . .
£9.04
Hal Leonard Corporation Action!: Establishing Your Career in Film and Television Production
A life in the movies has been an American dream for a century. Many people dream of becoming Hollywood professionals but either aim too high (by trying to produce their own feature film) or too low (by hanging around restaurants frequented by movie stars) and end up frustrated. Wouldn't it be great if someone who knew what to do someone who had achieved acclaim in the field would walk us through the steps to success? At last here is a book by a seasoned movie and television professional Emmy winner Sandra Gordon that is filled with practical yet highly effective ways to build a career in entertainment. Gordon calls upon her own experience working on the television series PARTY OF FIVE the movie RUDY and many more.ÞÞThere are many books that teach job-seekers how to write resumes or ace interviews but not many books like ACTION! Uniquely designed for individuals who are interested in a career in the entertainment industry whether they are recent college graduates or middle-aged career changers ACTION! takes the formula out of the job-hunting book to the next step telling its readers not only how to write their resumes but where to send them how to keep their jobs once they are hired and how to advance in their career.
£12.99
University of Exeter Press British Cinema and Middlebrow Culture in the Interwar Years
British Cinema and Middlebrow Culture in the Interwar Years offers an understanding of British Cinema between 1928 and 1939 through an analysis of the relationship between the British film industry and other ‘culture industries’ such as the radio, music recording, publishing and early television. This relationship has been seen as a weakness of the British film-making tradition, but Lawrence Napper stages a re-appraisal of that tradition, arguing that it is part of a specific strategy of differentiation from Hollywood cinema, designed to appeal to the ‘middlebrow’ aesthetic of the most rapidly expanding audience of the period—the lower middle class. Lawrence Napper argues that the ‘middlebrow’ reputation for aesthetic conservatism masks an audience and popular culture marked by dynamism. ‘Middlebrow’ texts addressed a British audience on the move, physically (into the new suburbs), socially (as upwardly mobile consumers), economically (employed in new and developing industries, and involved in new modes of living), and culturally (embracing new forms of mass cultural consumption, such as the cinema, the wireless and the best-selling novel). The ability of these audiences to adapt cultures of the past to the media of modern life (through stage or screen adaptations) ensured their negative reputation amongst Modernist commentators and intellectual elites.
£75.00
Little, Brown & Company The Rules of Love & Grammar
Newly jobless, newly single, and suddenly apartmentless, writer Grace Hammond has come unmoored. A grammar whiz who's brilliant at correcting other people's errors, she hasn't yet found quite the right set of rules for fixing her own mistakes.Desperate to escape the city and her trifecta of problems, Grace hits pause and retreats to her Connecticut hometown. What begins as a short visit with her parents quickly becomes a far more meaningful stay, though, as she discovers that the answers to what her future holds might be found by making peace with-and even embracing-the past.As Grace sets out to change her ways and come to terms, finally, with the tragedy that took her older sister's life so many years ago, she rekindles a romance with her high school sweetheart, Peter, now a famous Hollywood director who's filming a movie in town. Sparks also fly at the local bike shop, where Grace's penchant for pointing out what's wrong rattles the owner's ruggedly handsome schoolteacher son, Mitch.Torn between the promise of a glamorous life and the allure of the familiar, Grace must decide what truly matters-and whether it's time for her to throw away the rule book and bravely follow her heart.
£17.09
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Timebends: A Life
'A beautifully structured narrative: tough, very moving, a political testimony of considerable force' - Harold Pinter 'As wise and witty and funny and brave as any of his plays' - Louis Auchincloss 'Wholly admirable' - Anthony Burgess ______________ Arthur Miller's plays have held the world's stages for almost half a century. Among them are Death of a Salesman, The Crucible, and All My Sons, which have been read and performed countless times across the world. His memoir, Timebends, shows that the life of the man is as compelling as his plays. With passion, wit and candour, Miller recalls his childhood in Harlem and Brooklyn in the 1920s and the Depression; his successes and failures in the theatre and in Hollywood; the formation of his political beliefs that, two decades later, brought him into confrontations with the House Committee of Un-American Activities; and his later work on behalf of human rights as the president of PEN International. He writes with astonishing perception and tenderness of Marilyn Monroe, his second wife, as well as the host of famous and infamous characters that have intersected with his adventurous life. Revealing and deeply moving, Timebends is Miller's love letter to the twentieth century: its energy, its humour, its chaos and moral struggles.
£13.49
Amazon Publishing The Hours of You
Can twenty-four hours on an island paradise lead them to an unexpected reunion? When Maggie accepts one last commission before retiring from journalism, she’s given twenty-four hours on a remote tropical island to interview former Hollywood heart-throb Ed Cavanagh. There are just two problems: firstly, Ed doesn’t want anything to do with Maggie’s exclusive, and secondly, he’s the only man who ever broke her heart… It’s a scenario she never expected—to be in paradise with a man she first met as a teenager but has been trying to forget for the past fifteen years. As each precious hour brings back memories of their tangled love story, Maggie is forced to confront the painful twists of fate that kept them apart. Was a different future for them ever possible? Is it still possible now? They’ve both been burned by love in the past, but as the clock ticks down on their time on the island; will this fleeting reunion extinguish the spark between them for good? Or is it one last chance for Maggie and Ed to rekindle that flame to live the love story they always thought possible? This heartwarming and poignant story of forgiveness, hope and love is perfect for fans of Josie Silver, Sally Page and Lucy Diamond.
£9.15
Little, Brown Book Group Bunnyman: A Memoir: The Sunday Times bestseller
The Sunday Times bestsellerGrowing up in Liverpool in the 1960s and '70s, when skinheads, football violence and fear of just about everything was the natural order of things, a young Will Sergeant found the emerging punk scene provided a shimmer of hope amongst a crumbling city still reeling from the destruction of the Second World War. From school-day horrors and mud flinging fun to nights at Liverpool's punk club, Eric's, Sergeant was fuelled by and thrived on music. It was this devotion that led to the birth of the Bunnymen, to the days when he and Ian McCulloch would muck around with reel-to-reel recordings of song ideas in the back parlour of his parents' council estate house, and to finding a community - friends, enemies and many in between - with those who would become post-punk royalty from the likes of Dead or Alive, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and the Teardrop Explodes to name a few. It was an uphill struggle to carve their name in the history of Liverpool music, but Echo and the Bunnymen became iconic, with songs like 'Lips Like Sugar,' 'The Cutter' and 'The Killing Moon'. By turns wry, explicit and profound, Bunnyman reveals what it was really like to be part of one of the most important British bands of the 1980s.
£12.99
St Martin's Press Truly Like Lightning: A Novel
For the past twenty years, Bronson Powers, former star Hollywood stuntman and converted Mormon, has been homesteading deep in the uninhabited desert outside Joshua Tree with his three wives and ten children. Bronson and his wives, Yalulah, Mary, and Jackie, have been raising their family away from the corruption and evils of the modern world. Their insular existence-controversial, difficult, but Edenic-is upended when an ambitious young property developer, Maya Abbadessa, stumbles upon their land. Hoping to make a profit, she crafts a wager with the family that sets in motion a cataclysmic chain of events. Maya, threatening to report the family to social services, convinces them to enroll three of the children in a nearby public school. Bronson and his wives agree that if Maya can prove that the kids do better in town than homeschooled in their desert oasis, they will sell her a piece of their priceless plot of land. Suddenly confronted with all the complications of the twenty-first century that they have tried to keep out, the Powerses must reckon with their way of life as they try to save it. Truly Like Lightning, David Duchovny's fourth novel, is a heartbreaking meditation on family, religion, sex, greed, human nature, and the vanishing beauty of an ancient desert.
£14.99
Transworld Publishers Ltd Betrayal
Tallie Jones is a Hollywood legend. An ambitious and passionate film director, her award-winning productions achieve the rare combination of critical and commercial success. But she has little interest in the glitz and glamour of Los Angeles, instead focusing intently on her work and family.She has close, loving relationships with her daughter, her elderly father and Hunter Lloyd - her co-producer and partner of four years. Completing her trusted circle is Brigitte Parker - Tallie's best friend and devoted personal assistant. They've been friends since film school, and Brigitte's polished glamour and highly organized style provides a perfect balance to Tallie's casual appearance and down-to-earth approach to life.However as Tallie is in the midst of directing her most ambitious film to date, small disturbances start to ripple through her faultlessly ordered world. An audit reveals worrying discrepancies in her financial records, which have always been maintained by her trusted accountant, Victor Carson. Receipts hint at activities of which she has no knowledge. Someone close to Tallie has been steadily helping themselves to enormous amounts of her money. Her once safe world of trusted associates is suddenly shaken to its very core - and Tallie is in shock, trying to figure out who has betrayed her among those she trusts and holds dear...
£12.99
Allen & Unwin Daddy Cool
'Every family has secrets. Ours also has an award-winning biographer. My sister's discoveries astonished me.' Geraldine BrooksWho can ever truly know their parents?He was a glamorous heart-throb, a famous American singer performing in front of Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn, Clark Gable and other stars at the Academy Awards. In the 1930s, his recording of 'Hawaiian Paradise' outsold those of Bing Crosby and Guy Lombardo. So how did he become an Australian infantryman, fighting alongside and performing for his fellow Diggers in Palestine, Beirut, Egypt and New Guinea? Why did he leave Hollywood and the ritziest hotels in America for a modest Californian bungalow in suburban Sydney? And what caused him to cease his endless drifting from one woman to another, one marriage to another, and settle with the love of his life?She was a strong Aussie woman, a talented radio broadcaster and publicity agent. Why did she take a chance on this reckless vagabond and notorious womaniser?Seeking answers, Darleen Bungey turns her forensic skills on her own family, exploring her father's multi-layered and at times tempestuous life with a truthful eye and loving heart.This is a book about a remarkable man who sparked the originality that manifests itself in the writings of both Darlene Bungey and Geraldine Brooks.
£13.49
Abrams Beaches
Gray Malin is the artist of the moment for the Hollywood and fashion elite. His awe-inspiring aerial photographs of beaches around the world are shot from doorless helicopters, creating playful and stunning celebrations of light, shape, and perspective, as well as summer bliss. Combining the spirit of travel, adventure, luxury and artistry, Malin built his eponymous lifestyle brand from a deep passion for photography and interior design. His work forges the synergy between wanderlust and adventure, creating the ultimate visual escape. Beaches features more than twenty cities across six continents: Australia: Sydney; North America: Santa Monica, Miami, San Francisco, Kaua’i, Chicago, The Hamptons, and Cancun; South America: Rio de Janeiro; Europe: Capri, Rimini, Forte dei Marmi, Viareggio, Amalfi Coast, Barcelona, Lisbon and Saint-Tropez; Africa: Cape Town; Asia: Dubai
£31.50
Little, Brown Book Group Radiance
Severin Unck is the headstrong young daughter of a world famous film director. She has inherited her father's love of the big screen but not his exuberant gothic style of filmmaking. Instead, Severin makes documentaries, artful and passionate and even rather brave - for she is a realist in a fantastic alternate universe, in which Hollywood occupies the moon, Mars is rife with lawless saloons, and the solar system contains all manner of creatures, cults and colonies. For Severin's latest project she leads her crew to the watery planet of Venus to investigate the disappearance of a diving colony there. But something goes wrong during the course of their investigations; and her crew limp home without her. All that remains of Severin are fragments. Can these snippets of scenes and shots, voices and memories, pages and recordings be collected and pieced together to tell the story of her life - and shed light on the mystery of her vanishing? Clever, dreamy, strange and beautifully written - Radiance is a novel about how stories give form to worlds.
£9.99
Little, Brown Book Group Empire: A sweeping epic saga of Ancient Rome
In the international bestseller Roma, Steven Saylor told the story of the first thousand years of Rome by following the descendants of a single bloodline. Now, in Empire, Saylor charts the destinies of five more generations of the Pinarius family, from the reign of the first emperor, Augustus, to the glorious height of Rome's empire under Hadrian. Through the eyes of the Pinarii, we witness the machinations of Tiberius, the madness of Caligula, the cruel escapades of Nero, and the chaos of the Year of Four Emperors in 69 A.D. The deadly paranoia of Domitian is followed by the Golden Age of Trajan and Hadrian-but even the most enlightened emperors wield the power to inflict death and destruction on a whim. Empire is strewn with spectacular scenes, including the Great Fire of 64 A.D. that ravaged the city, Nero's terrifying persecution of the Christians, and the mind-blowing opening games of the Colosseum. But at the novel's heart are the wrenching choices and seductive temptations faced by each new generation of the Pinarii. One unwittingly becomes the sexual plaything of the notorious Messalina. One enters into a clandestine affair with a Vestal virgin. One falls under the charismatic spell of Nero, while another is drawn into the strange new cult of those who deny the gods and call themselves Christians. However diverse their destinies and desires, all the Pinarii are united by one thing: the mysterious golden talisman called the fascinum handed down from a time before Rome existed. As it passes from generation to generation, the fascinum seems to exercise a power not only over those who wear it, but over the very fate of the empire. Praise for Steven Saylor: 'Saylor expertly weaves the true history of Rome with the lives and loves of its fictional citizens.' Daily Express 'Saylor's scholarship is breathtaking and his writing enthrals' Ruth Rendell 'With the scalpel-like deftness of a Hollywood director, Saylor puts his finger on the very essence of Roman history.' Times Literary Supplement 'Readers will find his work wonderfully (and gracefully) researched...this is entertainment of the first order.' Washington Post
£10.99
Little, Brown Book Group Nemesis Games: Book 5 of the Expanse (now a Prime Original series)
NOW A PRIME ORIGINAL TV SERIESNemesis Games is the fifth book in the New York Times bestselling and Hugo-award winning Expanse series. A thousand worlds have opened, and the greatest land-rush in human history has begun. As wave after wave of colonists leave, the power structures of the old solar system begin to buckle.Ships are disappearing without a trace. Private armies are being secretly formed. The sole remaining protomolecule sample is stolen. Terrorist attacks previously considered impossible bring the inner planets to their knees. The sins of the past are returning to exact a terrible price. And as a new human order is struggling to be born in blood and fire, James Holden and the crew of the Rocinante must struggle to survive and get back to the only home they have left.The Expanse is the biggest science fiction series of the last decade and is now a major TV series.Praise for the Expanse:'The science fictional equivalent of A Song of Ice and Fire' NPR Books'As close as you'll get to a Hollywood blockbuster in book form' io9.com'Great characters, excellent dialogue, memorable fights' wired.com'High adventure equalling the best space opera has to offer, cutting-edge technology and a group of unforgettable characters . . . Perhaps one of the best tales the genre has yet to produce' Library Journal'This is the future the way it's supposed to be' Wall Street Journal'Tense and thrilling' SciFiNowThe Expanse series:Leviathan WakesCaliban's WarAbaddon's GateCibola BurnNemesis GamesBabylon's AshesPersepolis RisingTiamat's WrathLeviathan Falls Memory's Legion: The Complete Expanse Story Collection
£10.99
Stone Bridge Press Forty-Seven Samurai: A Tale of Vengeance & Death in Haiku and Letters
A remarkable and true tale of loyalty, vengeance, and ritual suicide. . . . In the spring of 1701, the regional lord Asano Naganori wounded his supervising official, Kira Yoshinaka, during an important ceremony in the ruling shogunate's Edo Castle and was at once condemned to death. Within two years, in the dead of winter, a band of forty-seven of Asano's retainers avenged him by breaking into Yoshinaka’s mansion and killing him. Subsequently, all the men were sentenced to death but allowed to perform it honorably by seppuku. This incident—often called the Ako Incident—became a symbol of samurai honor andat once prompted stage dramatization in kabuki and puppet theater. It has since has been told and retold in short and long stories, movies, TV dramas. The story has also attracted the attention of foreign writers and translators. The most recent retelling was the 2013 Hollywood film 47 Ronin, with Keanu Reeves, though it was wildly and willfully distorted. What did actually happen and how has this famous vendetta resonated through history? Hiroaki Sato's examination is a close, comprehensive look at the Ako Incident through the context of its times, portraits of the main protagonists, and its literary legacy in the haiku ofthe avengers. Also included is Sato's new translation of Akutagawa Ryunosuke's short story about leader Oishi Kuranosuke as he awaited sentencing.
£14.99
Temple University Press,U.S. Sons And Daughters Of Los: Culture And Community In L.A.
Los Angeles. A city that is synonymous with celebrity and mass-market culture, is also, according to David James, synonymous with social alienation and dispersal. In the communities of Los Angeles, artists, cultural institutions and activities exist in ways that are often concealed from sight, obscured by the powerful presence of Hollywood and its machinations. In this significant collection of original essays, The Sons and Daughters of Los reconstructs the city of Los Angeles with new cultural connections. Explored here are the communities that offer alternatives to the picture of L..A. as a conglomeration of studios and mass media. Each essay examines a particular piece of, or place in, Los Angeles cultural life: from the Beyond Baroque Poetry Foundation, the Woman's Building, to Highways, and LACE, as well as the achievements of these grassroots initiatives. Also included is critical commentary on important artists, including Harry Gamboa, Jr., and others whose work have done much to shape popular culture in L.A. The cumulative effect of reading this book is to see a very different city take shape, one whose cultural landscape is far more innovative and reflective of the diversity of the city's people than mainstream notions of it suggest. The Sons and Daughters of Los offers a substantive and complicated picture of the way culture plays itself it out on the smallest scale-in one of the largest metropolises on earth-contributing to a richer, more textured understanding of the vibrancy of urban life and art.
£69.30
Scarecrow Press Alex North's A Streetcar Named Desire: A Film Score Guide
Alex North's A Streetcar Named Desire: A Film Score Guide examines the acclaimed score for Elia Kazan's much-celebrated adaptation of Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire (1951). Situating the score within the context of Alex North's life and career, the book begins with an overview of North's musical training and his works up to his first scores for Hollywood in 1950, demonstrating how his experience in writing music for stage, concert hall, dance, and documentaries each contributed to the skills necessary for film composition. Annette Davison uses examples from North's film career to identify and describe his scoring techniques. Using manuscript and archival research, Davison explores both the play's debut stage production and the film's production process, with a particular emphasis on the genesis and development of the music heard in the film. Considering the influence and changes imposed by the film's studio (Warner Bros.), the Production Code Administration, and the Catholic Legion of Decency on the film, Davison explores the impact of these changes on the interpretation of this finely balanced drama, comparing the different versions of the film and its scores. The book concludes with a full and detailed analysis of the jazz-inflected score, taking a holistic approach and using both musicology and film studies to investigate the ways it gives a dynamic shape to the film as a whole.
£40.00
Profile Books Ltd Fashion on the Ration: Style in the Second World War
In September 1939, just three weeks after the outbreak of war, Gladys Mason wrote briefly in her diary about events in Europe: 'Hitler watched German siege of Warsaw. City in flames.' And, she continued, 'Had my wedding dress fitted. Lovely.' For Gladys Mason, and for thousands of women throughout the long years of the war, fashion was not simply a distraction, but a necessity - and one they weren't going to give up easily. In the face of bombings, conscription, rationing and ludicrous bureaucracy, they maintained a sense of elegance and style with determination and often astonishing ingenuity. From the young woman who avoided the dreaded 'forces bloomers' by making knickers from military-issue silk maps, to Vogue's indomitable editor Audrey Withers, who balanced lobbying government on behalf of her readers with driving lorries for the war effort, Julie Summers weaves together stories from ordinary lives and high society to provide a unique picture of life during the Second World War. As a nation went into uniform and women took on traditional male roles, clothing and beauty began to reflect changing social attitudes. For the first time, fashion was influenced not only by Hollywood and high society but by the demands of industrial production and the pressing need to 'make-do-and-mend'. Beautifully illustrated and full of gorgeous detail, Fashion on the Ration lifts the veil on a fascinating era in British fashion.
£9.99
Faber & Faber The Nolan Variations: The Movies, Mysteries, and Marvels of Christopher Nolan
A rare, intimate portrait of Hollywood's reigning 'blockbuster auteur' whose deeply personal billion-dollar movies have established him as the most successful director to come out of the British Isles since Alfred Hitchcock.Updated, with a chapter on Oppenheimer'A masterclass . . . brilliant. Immersive, detailed, meticulous, privileged inside-dope.' - Craig Raine More than just the tinkerings of a glass watchmaker, Christopher Nolan's films have an unerring grasp of the way time makes us feel. Time steals people away in his films, and he takes careful note of the theft. Time is Nolan's great antagonist, his lifelong nemesis. He seems almost to take it personally.Written with the full cooperation of Nolan himself, who granted Tom Shone access to never-before-seen photographs, storyboards and sketches, the book is a deep-dive into the director's films, influences, methods and obsessions. Here for the first time is Nolan on his dislocated, transatlantic childhood, how he dreamed up the plot of Inception lying awake one night in his dorm at school, his colour-blindness and its effect on Memento, his obsession with puzzles and optical illusions - and much, much more. Written by one of our most penetrating critics, The Nolan Variations is a landmark study of one of the twenty-first century's most dazzling cinematic artists.'Christopher Nolan is a wonderfully unlikely contemporary filmmaker. We're fortunate indeed to have him, and fortunate now to have this book.' - William Gibson
£18.00
Little, Brown & Company My Fair Junkie: A Memoir of Getting Dirty and Staying Clean
Growing up in Beverly Hills, the only child of a comedy writer and a fashion designer, Amy Dresner believed that everything was always funny and turned out right. And she needed to believe it. If you could snort it, smoke it, shoot it, or have sex with it, she did. It was never her dream to become an Olympic athlete of self-destruction, but that's what happened.Amy had managed to dodge any real repercussions of her 20-year battle with addiction despite 6 rehabs, 4 psych wards, 3 suicide attempts, and 20 grand mal seizures. But on Christmas Eve of 2011, that all changed. She was high on Oxycontin, in a shitty marriage, and she stupidly pulled a knife on her then husband. She was promptly arrested for felony domestic violence with a deadly weapon. Within a few months, she found herself in a psych ward, penniless, abandoned by her then husband, and looking at a sentence of 240 grueling hours of "community service." For the next two years she would sweep up condoms and syringes on Hollywood Boulevard in the grueling sun as she bounced from various rehabs to halfway houses, all while struggling with sobriety, sex addiction, and starting life over in her 40s. MY FAIR JUNKIE is the shameless, hilarious, and unfortunately--to Amy--true account of it all. A safari through the wild world of addiction, it's a raucous, inspiring story of redemption, and ultimately an insightful tale of courage and metamorphosis.
£13.99
Ebury Publishing She Wants It: Desire, Power, and Toppling the Patriarchy
‘A funny and brutally honest book about what it means to be a woman and what it takes to be a creator, She Wants It is deeply personal but always universal in its unapologetic recounting of a life lived and raw talent shared. Good. Detailed. Honest. Needed’ - Amy PoehlerOne morning, half-awake in a shame spiral about what a shitty mother you are because you’re letting your kid watch so much TV, the phone rings. ‘Jilly? Are you sitting down?’Are you sitting down? means something fucked up is coming…When Jill Soloway’s father, whom they had always understood to be male, came out as transgender, everything shifted. For one, the moment became the inspiration to push through the male-dominated landscape of Hollywood and create the award-winning TV series Transparent. Exploring identity, love, sexuality, and the blurring of boundaries, the show gave birth to a new cultural consciousness. But also, by eventually coming out as queer and non-binary, the lines on Jill’s own gender map began to be erased. This is the story of that journey.She Wants It charts Jill's intense and revelatory experience, growing from straight, divorced, mother of two – to non-binary genderqueer director, show creator, and activist. Written with wild candour and razor-edged humour, it examines who we are, how we make art – and ultimately, who we can become.
£9.99
Penguin Random House Children's UK Bloodlines: The Ruby Circle (book 6)
Bloodlines: The Ruby Circle is the epic conclusion to Richelle Mead's bestselling Bloodlines series , set in the world of Vampire Academy - NOW A MAJOR FILM. Sydney Sage is an Alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets - and human lives.After their secret romance is exposed, Sydney and Adrian find themselves facing the wrath of both the Alchemists and the Moroi in this electrifying conclusion to Richelle Mead's New York Times bestselling Bloodlines series. When the life of someone they both love is put on the line, Sydney risks everything to hunt down a deadly former nemesis. Meanwhile, Adrian becomes enmeshed in a puzzle that could hold the key to a shocking secret about spirit magic, a secret that could shake the entire Moroi world . . . Praise for Richelle Mead:'Exciting, empowering and un-put-downable.' MTV's Hollywood Crush'We're suckers for it!' - Entertainment WeeklyAlso available in the Bloodlines series:Bloodlines (Book 1)Bloodlines: The Golden Lily (Book 2)Bloodlines: The Indigo Spell (Book 3)Bloodlines: The Fiery Heart (Book 4)Bloodlines: Silver Shadows (Book 5)Discover where the story began in the Vampire Academy series:*NOW A MAJOR FILM*Vampire Academy (Book 1)Vampire Academy: Frostbite (Book 2) Vampire Academy: Shadow Kiss (Book 3)Vampire Academy: Blood Promise (Book 4)Vampire Academy: Spirit Bound (Book 5) Vampire Academy: Last Sacrifice (Book 6)
£9.04
Penguin Random House Children's UK Bloodlines (book 1)
The first book in Richelle Mead's bestselling Bloodlines series, set in the world of the international #1 bestselling Vampire Academy series - NOW A MAJOR SERIES ON SKY AND NOWTV.SYDNEY PROTECTS VAMPIRE SECRETS - AND HUMAN LIVES.Sydney belongs to a secret group who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the world of humans and vampires.But when Sydney is torn from her bed in the middle of the night, she fears she's still being punished for her complicated alliance with dhampir Rose Hathaway. What unfolds is far worse. The sister of Moroi queen Lissa Dragomir is in mortal danger, and goes into hiding. Now Sydney must act as her protector. The last thing Sydney wants is to be accused of sympathizing with vampires. And now she has to live with one . . .'Exciting, empowering and un-put-downable.' MTV's Hollywood Crush'We're suckers for it!' - Entertainment WeeklyAlso available in the Bloodlines series:Bloodlines (Book 1)Bloodlines: The Golden Lily (Book 2)Bloodlines: The Indigo Spell (Book 3)Bloodlines: The Fiery Heart (Book 4)*And don't miss: Bloodlines: Silver Shadows (Book 5)*Discover where the story began in the bestselling Vampire Academy series:Vampire Academy (Book 1)Vampire Academy: Frostbite (Book 2) Vampire Academy: Shadow Kiss (Book 3)Vampire Academy: Blood Promise (Book 4)Vampire Academy: Spirit Bound (Book 5) Vampire Academy: Last Sacrifice (Book 6)
£9.04
HarperCollins Publishers Just for December
Evie Bird is a romance writer whose latest bestseller is being made into a Christmas movie. Duke Carlisle is a world-famous actor who has landed the role of leading man. When Evie and Duke meet on set, it’s a frosty encounter – even icier than the cobbled Bavarian streets they're filming on. But after images of them arguing leak to the press and put the movie in jeopardy, they are left with no choice but to fake date until the cameras stop rolling. As the pair start to put their differences aside, their feelings gradually begin to thaw… But can sparks ever really fly in a snowstorm? Laura Jane Williams is BACK with the most romantic read of the festive season. If you love Christmas movies like The Holiday and The Christmas Prince, this is the read to warm your heart with this December. Readers love Just for December: ‘This book has all the elements of a fun romcom that I love. It is dual pov, has great characters who love books and movies, and is enemies-to-lovers and fake dating. What more could you ask for?’ NetGalley Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Such a sweet Christmas story…Loved the characters! Five stars.’ NetGalley Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A five-star read that you need for more than just December! Evie Bird just made me swoon…I felt her in my bones. A must-have Christmas read.’ NetGalley Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A rom com with a difference…There was so much to love about this book! I absolutely adored the movie magic at Christmas setting…An enjoyable festive Hollywood romance that I’d recommend.’ NetGalley Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A must-read book!…I simply fell in love with Laura’s writing style. I loved the chemistry between the characters.’ NetGalley Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Where do I start? I LOVED THIS BOOK! My favourite out of all the books Laura has written so far!’ NetGalley Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A lovely story.’ NetGalley Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
£8.99
Rare Bird Books Wrestling with Angels: A True Story of Addiction, Resurrection, Hope, Fashion, Training Celebrities, and Man’s Oldest Sport
In 1984, John Hanrahan was featured in Interview magazine's iconic Olympic Issue as one of America's top athlete's vying for a spot on the US Olympic Team. He had come within a point of defeating the mighty Soviet world medalist and had defeated other international competitors. He had a shot at a lifelong dream, but then abandoned the final trials. The coach searched frantically for him at LaGuardia airport. He was nowhere to be found. He hadn't exactly fallen off the face of the earth; his face was appearing in worldwide ad campaigns as a top fashion model―but he’d become crippled by addiction, unable to face his competition, and unwilling to confront the severity of his situation.Then, in 1985, Hanrahan died from an overdose. He went to a divine place while a doctor worked frantically to revive him. He was shown the prayers of loved ones and given another chance at life, and he feels he came back for a reason…He returned wanting to shout his story from the rooftops, but was unable to fully share his experiences to help others. He was shackled by the stigma of being judged as an addict, and it wasn’t until he nearly lost his own son to the ravages of addiction that he broke through and gained the strength and courage to tell his story. He describes how he continued to work amidst the craziness of the world fashion markets―Milan, Paris, Zurich, Tokyo, and New York―while trying to find his way toward exorcising the demons of his past and gaining a life worthy of the one he had miraculously regained.He transformed himself to become the trusted personal trainer to influential New Yorkers, such as John Kennedy Jr., Julia Roberts, Howard Stern, Natasha Richardson, Diane Sawyer, Rosie O’Donnell, Mercedes Ruehl, Betty Buckley, and Joan Lunden. He moved his family west and quickly corralled a high-powered Hollywood client base, including Patricia Heaton, David Geffen, Tim Burton, Sandy Gallin, Tara Reid, Beverly DeAngelo, Annabella Sciorra, Cyndi Lauper, Donald De Line, Amy Pascal, Kevin Huvane, Bryan Lourd, Davis Guggenheim and Graydon Carter…all while keeping his past a secret.
£18.99
HarperCollins Publishers Love Me Do
A SUNDAY TIMES BEST BOOK OF 2023 She’s written the perfect romance . . . for someone else Greetings card copywriter Phoebe Chapman knows a good romantic line or two – and it makes her a fantastic Cupid. So when she lands in the Hollywood Hills – a place that proves film stars, golden beaches and secret waterfalls don’t just exist in the movies – she can’t resist playing matchmaker for her handsome neighbour, carpenter Ren. But you can’t hide from love in La La Land. And isn’t there something a little bit hot about Ren, her own leading man next door? EVERYONE ADORES LOVE ME DO ‘A total delight . . . captures all the sunny glamour of LA, but still so relatable and completely hilarious. You need this book in your suitcase this summer!’ BETH O’LEARY ‘My favourite LIndsey book yet, and her funniest . . . I loved it’ DAISY BUCHANAN ‘A new Lindsey book is the next best thing to going on holiday’ MHAIRI McFARLANE ‘A stunner of a summer read . . . Deliciously fun . . . Make sure this one’s on your summer reading list’ GLAMOUR ‘A vitamin D-infused delight’ STYLIST ‘Lindsey Kelk never leaves Phoebe without a quip. It’s all done with an engagingly light touch and plenty of jokes’ Times ‘A gorgeously warm and funny rom-com. A delight’ LOUISE O’NEILL ‘Delicious escapism at its very best. An utterly unforgettable, spirit-lifting summer rom com that’s full of soul, joy, laugh-out-loud moments and meaning. Flawless’ HELLY ACTON ‘Fabulous, feel-good and funny. I loved it! The perfect rom com to pack in your suitcase this summer’ ALEXANDRA POTTER ‘Fun, fizzy and utterly rom-com-tastic, Lindsey Kelk has knocked it out of the park yet again!’ MIKE GAYLE ‘Her books are my go-to comfort reads. Love Me Do transported me to California . . . I loved every minute’ SOPHIE COUSENS ‘Funny and summery and so, so delicious’ SOPHIE IRWIN ‘Blissfully funny’ The i ‘Told with all of Kelk’s trademark humour and warmth, Love Me Do is an essential holiday read’ Red ‘Lindsey’s books make the ideal summer read’ Woman & Home ‘A funny, heartwarming romcom … will whip you up into a feelgood frenzy, yearning for sunnier climes and a hot dalliance of your own’ Heat ‘A perfect summer read’ Closer
£8.99