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You Are The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread
By Samantha Renke. 2022
'A powerful book on how to live boldly and love your fabulous self' Fearne CottonWe are made to think that…
what makes us human - our flaws, failures, and heartaches - are things to keep hush-hush. Being unapologetically imperfect is seen as something we should be embarrassed by. But what I've learned is that we all experience the same insecurities. We just aren't talking about it. Well, I'm here to break the silence.For starters, I have way too many nipple hairs. I prefer the company of my pets to other people. And repeatedly I question Am I normal? I was born with brittle bone condition and so far, I've broken my bones 200 times. But most of the hurdles I face don't come from my disability, they come from things we all experience.In this book, I will share the lessons I have learned and why you should embrace your uniqueness as what makes you fabulous. We spend a lot of time living by others' expectations and it's only when you stop, that you start saying yes to life. Irrespective of who you are and the obstacles you might face, you can do whatever you want. Be free and unapologetically you.A Year on Our Farm: How the Countryside Made Me
By Matt Baker. 2021
Escape into nature with Matt Baker's fascinating journey through the natural year and family life on the farm'A delight' Countryfile…
Magazine_______Matt Baker finds his calm on the farm.Surrounded by nature with his family, dogs, array of sheep, Mediterranean miniature donkeys and a whole host of wildlife in the farm's ancient woodland, Matt shows us how the power and beauty of the countryside can bring joy to us all.Following the ever-changing seasons of the year, we see woodland animals emerge after a long winter of hibernation and lambs begin to gambol in April. We hear the dawn chorus in the height of summer and see the preparations unfold for the harsh and wild winter months.Peppered with hand drawn sketches, unforgettable moments from Matt's TV career and stories of a landscape you'll fall in love with - from its sun-soaked pastures to 6ft snow drifts - Matt reveals how the outdoors has made him who he is today.Would The Real Gerry Ryan Please Stand Up
By Gerry Ryan. 2008
Gerry Ryan on life, the world, the universe - and a few things besides. Here are his experiences, stories and…
opinions drawn from nearly thirty years of talking to the nation. It's a sharp, punchy read all told in his no-nonsense, irreverent, straight to the bone style. It's the best, the worst, the funniest, the most outrageous. And threaded through it's the story of coming of age as a broadcaster at the same time as Ireland became a truly modern country. A smart, sassy and wildly entertaining read.Withdrawn Traces: Searching for the Truth about Richey Manic, Foreword by Rachel Edwards
By Sara Hawys Roberts, Leon Noakes. 2019
New discoveries and a fresh perspective, with unprecedented access to Richey's personal archiveOn 1 February 1995, Richey Edwards, guitarist of…
the Manic Street Preachers, went missing at the age of 27. On the eve of a promotional trip to America, he vanished from his London hotel room, his car later discovered near the Severn Bridge, a notorious suicide spot.Over two decades later, Richey’s disappearance remains one of the most moving, mysterious and unresolved episodes in recent pop culture history. For those with a basic grasp of the facts, Richey's suicide seems obvious and undeniable. However, a closer investigation of his actions in the weeks and months before his disappearance just don’t add up, and until now few have dared to ask the important questions.Withdrawn Traces is the first book written with the co-operation of the Edwards family, testimony from Richey’s closest friends and unprecedented and exclusive access to Richey’s personal archive. In a compelling real-time narrative, the authors examine fresh evidence, uncover overlooked details, profile Richey's state of mind, and brings us closer than ever before to the truth.Willie Nelson: The Outlaw
By Graeme Thomson. 2006
In this intimate and engaging biography, Graeme Thomson interviews Nelson himself, his band and those who knew him best en…
route to discovering the real Willie Nelson. The Outlaw brilliantly describes a complex and compelling man whose life and music reflect something fundamental at the heart of twentieth-century America. Thomson's revealing portrait is a timely reminder of the stature and achievements of a true living legend. Covering everything from dirt poor beginnings in Texas, global fame in the 70s, four marriages, the death of a son and affairs with Amy Irving and Candice Bergen up to his current position as a 73-year-old pot smoking man of the road, Thomson's account emerges as the first detailed, clear-eyed account of Nelson's fascinating life.Why Do I Say These Things?
By Jonathan Ross. 2008
Why is catalogue shopping responsible for Jonathan Ross's inimitable sense of style?Why might wearing cape and mask be a fast…
track to heaven?Why does Jonathan wince every time he sees a Hoover?And why did he fall in love with a deep-sea diver?Why? Because this is Jonathan Ross. And nothing is out of bounds when it comes to talking about life as he knows it. From sex and pugs to rock 'n' roll and genital warts, Jonathan holds forth as only he can. This sharply observed, laugh-out-loud, outrageous page-turner will leave you asking just one question . . . Why didn't he write it sooner?Where Have I Gone?
By Pauline Quirke. 2012
Pauline Quirke was a skinny child, a slim teenager, a curvy woman, then - according to her bathroom scales (curse…
them) - just plain fat. Yes, the 'F' word. Tipping the scales at nearly 20 stone, with creaking knees and a dodgy ankle to boot, at the beginning of 2011 Pauline had reached a crisis point. Something had to change, and fast. It was never going to be an easy ride, but with her trademark warmth and sense of humour, Pauline recounts the highs and lows of the rollercoaster year in which she whips herself, and her life, into shape - with a fair few tales from her celebrated forty-year acting career thrown into the bargain. She reveals all: from the strain of working long hours away from home on one of Britain's most popular soaps to renewing her wedding vows and reuniting with her Birds of a Feather co-stars; from battling the bulge and facing the naysayers to rediscovering the joys of airline travel . . . without a seatbelt extension.Honest and revealing, Where Have I Gone? is brimming with brilliantly funny anecdotes and truly moving moments. So put your feet up and join Pauline as she embarks on the most incredible year of her life.Where Have All the Bullets Gone? (Spike Milligan War Memoirs)
By Spike Milligan. 1985
VOLUME FIVE OF SPIKE MILLIGAN'S LEGENDARY MEMOIRS IS A HILARIOUS, SUBVERSIVE FIRST-HAND ACCOUNT OF WW2'The Godfather of Alternative Comedy' Eddie…
Izzard______________ 'Back to those haunting days in Italy in 1944, at the foot of Mount Vesuvius, with lava running in great red rivulets down the slope towards us, and Jock taking a drag on his cigarette and saying, "I think we've got grounds for a rent rebate."' Where Have All the Bullets Gone? sees our hero dispatched from the front line to psychiatric hospital and from there to a rehabilitation camp. Considered loony (and 'unfit to be killed in combat by either side'), he becomes embroiled in his own private battle with melancholy. But it is music, wit and a little help from his friends - including one Gunner Harry Secombe - that help carry him through to his first stage appearances . . . ______________'Desperately funny, vivid, vulgar' Sunday Times 'Milligan is the Great God to all of us' John Cleese 'That absolutely glorious way of looking at things differently. A great man' Stephen FryWhen Ziggy Played Guitar: David Bowie, The Man Who Changed The World
By Dylan Jones. 1972
And then there was David Bowie, the uber-freak with the mismatched pupils, the low-tech space face from the planet Sparkle.…
This was Bowie's third appearance on TOTP but this was the one that properly resonated with its audience, the one that would go on to cause a seismic shift in the Zeitgeist. This is the performance that turned Bowie into a star, embedding his Ziggy Stardust persona into the nation's consciousness. With a tall, flame-orange cockade quiff (stolen from a Kansai Yamamoto model on the cover of Honey), lavishly applied make-up, white nail polish, and wearing a multi-coloured jump-suit that looked as though it were made from fluorescent fish skin (chosen by Ziggy co-shaper, the designer Freddie Buretti), and carrying a brand spanking new, blue acoustic guitar, a bone-thin Bowie appeared not so much as a pop singer, but rather as some sort of benevolent alien, a concept helped along by the provocative appearance of his guitarist, the chicken-headed Mick Ronson, with both of them unapologetically sporting knee-length patent leather wrestler's boots (Bowie's were red). 'Most people are scared of colour,' Bowie said later. 'Their lives are built up in shades of grey. It doesn't matter how straight the style is, make it brightly coloured material and everyone starts acting weird.' Suddenly Bowie - a man called alias - had the world at his nail-varnished fingertips, and in no time at all he would be the biggest star in the world.When I Was a Nipper: The Way We Were in Disappearing Britain
By Alan Titchmarsh. 2010
In When I Was a Nipper Alan Titchmarsh goes on a personal and nostalgic journey through post-War Britain in search…
of treasured values and traditions that were once the soul of society. With characteristic wit, warmth and humour he draws on the experience of his own childhood, and also takes a broader perspective, creating a wonderfully detailed and evocative portrait of a way of life that is fast disappearing, and asks what can we learn from this era of austerity to make our lives better today?Born in Yorkshire in 1949 and brought up in a Britain still recovering from World War 2, Alan remembers a time of relative calm, when it was enough to return home at night knowing that the house would still be standing. We were known throughout the world for our patience, resourcefulness and resilience. 'Mustn't grumble' was almost a national catchphrase, and queuing was second nature. Peppered with wonderful archive photographs and advertisements, When I Was a Nipper takes us back to those days, down high streets and through farmyards, on to trolley buses and into local pubs. As we move towards a global economy, as communities fragment and customs are lost, When I Was a Nipper captures a world that is fast receding into history. It's powerfully nostalgic for those who remember those days, but it's also Alan's timely call to all recession-hit Brits to heed the lessons of austerity Britain: 'make do and mend'; 'look on the bright side' and 'take the knocks on the chin'.What's My Motivation?
By Michael Simkins. 2003
As a boy, Michael Simkins always wanted to be someone. While his friends were out getting laid and stoned, he…
was tucked up at home dreaming of his name in lights, of holding an audience rapt, of perhaps becoming a TV heart-throb, or having someone, anyone, ask for his autograph in the supermarket. This is the true story of an obsessive pursuit of acting fame. It is a life marked by occasional hard-fought successes and routine helpings of ritual humiliation: scout hut Gilbert and Sullivan, dodgy rock operas, sewage farm theatre workshop, Christmas panto hell, straight-to-video film flops, leading roles in Crimewatch reconstructions and dressing up as a chicken to advertise TV dinners. It is a hilarious tale of turgid theatre, tights, trusses and tonsil tennis with Timothy Spall.What's It All About?
By Cilla Black. 2006
Cilla Black is without doubt one of Britain's most treasured personalities. Generations have grown up with Cilla's music, TV shows,…
and performances. But how much do we really know about 'the girl with the bright red hair and the jet black voice'? What's It All About? is Cilla's own story, told for the first time ever. It's the story of a woman who has worked ceaselessly to stay at the top for forty years despite setbacks and personal tragedy; a life of incredible highs and terrible lows. In this deeply personal autobiography she tells her unique story in intimate and vivid detail for the very first time. This is the real Cilla Black.Victim
By Matthew Smith. 2003
Suicide? Or murder? Marilyn Monroe's death in August 1962, apparently a suicide, shocked the world. A Hollywood star, a global…
icon, why would she have killed herself? Yet the coroner's report stated her death was due to a massive overdose of 47 Nembutal capsules. But what about the discrepancies between the official report and the scene of her death? What about the forensic evidence that went missing shortly after she died? Matthew Smith has constructed a startling new version of events. His interpretation is based not only on the full and true forensic evidence from the time, but also on the tapes that Marilyn made for her psychiatrist in the days and weeks before her death, tapes that portray a woman in full charge of her life and looking forward to a bright, busy, successful future. Forty years after her death, Marilyn remains an icon and a mystery. Matthew Smith's investigation into her death will lead to a new understanding of what really happened on the night of August 5th 1962 and in the weeks leading up to it.Victoria Wood: The Biography
By Neil Brandwood. 2016
'One of the great British comedians and all-round entertainers of her generation' Guardian'Bittersweet but scalpel sharp' Radio Times'One of Britain’s…
finest ever performers ... a sublime and unparalleled crafter of words' Independent Victoria Wood's wit and humour endeared her to millions of TV viewers for over four decades. Writer, producer and actress of television shows such as As Seen on TV and Dinnerladies, Victoria was often voted the funniest woman in Britain. Her rise to stardom, from her early years in Lancashire to the successes of the sell-out shows at the Royal Albert Hall, is sympathetically and honestly portrayed by Neil Brandwood. This meticulously researched and written biography provides an insightful account of the life and career of one of Britain's best-loved comediennes.The Virgin Banker
By Jayne-Anne Gadhia. 2017
Jayne-Anne Gadhia, the straight-talking CEO of Virgin Money, looks back at the events that have influenced, shaped and inspired her…
to become one of the most powerful women in banking.With anecdotes from her life before becoming a banker, including beating the bullies and experiencing racism as part of a mixed race marriage, through to building a business from scratch, working at RBS under Fred Goodwin just before the financial crash, and steering Virgin Money to become a listed business, breaking boundaries along the way, professionally and personally.Jayne-Anne shines a light on issues surrounding the role of women in banking and the alpha-male dinosaurs that dominate the industry. She draws on the relationships and deals that have shaped her career so far, including her personal experience with mental health issues, which has helped her attitude and approach to both her business and personal life. This is not a conventional biography, nor a ‘how to do it’ business book. It is a candid, fresh and fascinating insight into being a woman in business, the financial crisis and the way in which business can be conducted as a force for good.Whatever It Takes: A Story of Family Survival
By Elaine Lordan. 2007
Elaine Lordan is well-known to millions as EastEnders' Lynne Slater. Yet the real-life heartache and loss she came to suffer…
eclipsed even the rollercoaster troubles of her TV character. After leaving the show, Elaine lost her beloved mother when she took her life under a train. Then later that same year, just two days after her wedding, Elaine lost James, her one-year-old son and only child, to a rare condition. Whatever It Takes is the story of a no-nonsense working-class girl who hit the big time and enjoyed several happy years as one of the nation's favourite soap stars. Things took a downward turn as her heavy drinking and affair with a married man led to her being hounded by the press. Yet Pete would become the love of her life and together they would experience the unfathomable joy of having a child. This flush of happiness was short-lived, though, as Elaine felt the full impact of her mother's death, while her son James battled for life. It wasn't long before family life revolved around the hospital - hoping for the best, but fearing the worst.Full of larger-than-life characters from her boisterous Irish family and close circle of north London friends, Elaine tells her story with heart-wrenching candour. In this life-affirming memoir of overcoming tragedy, we see how Elaine's indomitable spirit and innate humour have carried her through even the bleakest moments, and how one woman's 'sink or swim' approach has ensured her survival.What Would Dani Do?: My guide to living your best life
By Dani Dyer. 2019
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER - includes brand new chapter, illustrations and photos!Dani Dyer stole the nation’s heart with her genuine…
warmth and honest personality when she won Love Island. She proves that you don't need to succumb to peer pressure, be swayed by all too perfect Insta-images or behave in a way that's not true to who you are. Her first book shows she is wise beyond her years as she shares her experiences around growing up, bullying, relationships, insecurities and living in the spotlight.Revealing everything you ever wanted to know about Dani, from dating disasters and life in the Dyer household to how she blow-dries her eyelashes, as well as her hard-learned advice on how to be more confident, What Would Dani Do? offers Dani's unique take on the world and her guide to living your most authentic life. Always relatable and at times vulnerable, Dani gives a laugh-out-loud and truly heartfelt account of her journey from Canning Town daughter of Danny Dyer, to runaway Love Island winner and the nation’s sweetheart.What the **** is Normal?!
By Francesca Martinez. 2014
If you grow up in a world where wrinkles are practically illegal, going bald is cause for a mental breakdown,…
and women over size zero are encouraged to shoot themselves (immediately), what the hell do you do if you’re, gasp … DISABLED? Whatever body you’re born into, the pressure to be normal is everywhere. But have you ever met a normal person? What do they look like? Where do they live? What do they eat for breakfast?And what the **** does normal mean anyway?This is the award-winning wobbly comedian Francesca Martinez’s funny, personal, and universal story of how she learned to stick two shaky fingers up to the crazy expectations of a world obsessed with being ‘normal’.We Need to Talk About . . . Kevin Bridges
By Kevin Bridges. 2014
The comic autobiography of 2014 A comedian's autobiography? I wonder if he's ever used humour to deflect from his insecurities?…
To avoid being bullied? Is there heartache behind the humour? I wonder if he's a manic-depressive? Tears of a clown? Yes, all of that. Discover the hilarious life-story of one of Britain's best-loved comedians in Kevin Bridges' brilliant memoir. 'First of all, I have never written a book before, you probably haven't either, so there we have it; a connection is established between reader and writer . . .' Aged just 17, Kevin Bridges walked on stage for the first time in a Glasgow comedy club and brought the house down. He only had a five-minute set but in that short time he discovered that he really could earn a living from making people laugh. Kevin began life as a shy, nerve-ridden school-boy, whose weekly highlights included a cake-bombing attack by the local youths. Reaching his teens, he followed his true calling as the class clown, and was soon after arrested for kidnapping Hugh Grant from his local cinema on a quiet Saturday night. This was a guy going somewhere - off the rails seeming most likely. Kevin's trademark social commentary, sharp one-liners and laugh-out-loud humour blend with his reflections on his Glaswegian childhood and the journey he's taken to become one of the most-loved comedians of our time.'. . . Hopefully now you'll take this over to the till and I can accompany you for the next wee while. That's the benefit of book shops, reading the little bit and then deciding if the author deserves to be part of your carefully selected 3 for 2 deal, or part of your plane journey, train journey, your next bath, your next shite.' Praise for Kevin Bridges:'The Best Scottish Stand up of his Generation.' The Scotsman 'A wonderfully dry and deadpan Glaswegian comic . . . one the most exciting talents to have emerged from Scotland since Billy Connolly' Guardian 'Kevin Bridges might just become the best stand-up in the land . . . he will go and deliver a one-liner that you want to jot down and frame' The Times 'Wonderfully sharp, assured stand-up from the preternaturally gifted young comic' IndependentInside this book, you'll find stories of 50 extraordinary people such as:Evel Knievel, who jumped his motorcycle over 14 Greyhound…
busesThe Iceman, the most well-preserved human, found in the ice after 5,300 yearsSam Patch, who jumped Niagara Falls for $75Helen Thayer, who walked to the North Pole aloneRoy Sullivan, who was struck by lightning 7 timesThese intriguing facts and hundreds more await curious readers, amateur historians, and anyone who aspires to the altogether extraordinary!