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Autobiographies and Biographies


Michelle

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My initial response when seeing this thread was " oh, I don't read autobiographies" and then suprised myself by remembering three I've read recently!

 

Sir Rannolph Feinnes book is excellent

 

Peter Kay - not the new one, his first, which is very, very funny

 

Paula Radcliffe - a bit disapponted in this, as I'm a admirer of what she has acheived and her personal drive to succeed, but her writing style isn't good.

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Frankie Boyle is the only one i would consider reading from that list although i have seen an advert for a new Peter Kay book so i think i will have to invest in that first.

 

I'm so looking forward to reading Frankie Boyle's book. I read an extract from it the other day and chuckled my way through. Not too sure about the Peter Kay one, I'd be a bit disappointed if it wasn't as good as his first (which made me chuckle).

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'Tall, Dark and Gruesome' by Christopher Lee is worth reading for anyone with any interest in this great actor. It's a very informative, quite gentle read, detailing not only his well known horror roles, but also some unexpected ones I wasn't aware of (such as when he played as the homosexual leader of a biker gang in 'Serial', a role he loved for being so different to the kind of character he's often stereotyped as!) It also includes charming annecdotes about people he worked with, such as the late, great Peter Cushing who he speaks of with great affection.

 

And, of course, the man himself recently received a knighthood!

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Thank you, Morbit Hermit. I am very selective re: memoires but Tall, Dark and Gruesome sounds fabulous. I grew up with Hammer horror films, I had all of the Lee/Cushing Dracula ones taped off the telly!

 

ETA: Apparently, it's been adjourned to include more recent roles such as those in Star Wars and Lord of the Rings, under the new title of Lord of Misrule. I must say I did like the previous title better, but the 100 or so extra pages will hopefully make up for it...

 

Incidentally, I think I need to get hold of Serial as well - it sounds oddly awesome.

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My pleasure! I haven't seen Serial either, but it certainly seems well worth watching!

 

It's funny in the book, they initially tell him the role he will play in Serial has a 'different side to his character', and he thinks: here we go, it'll be some typical horror twist, like he'll turn into a werewolf or something... but when they say he's a gay biker he becomes even more keen to do the role as it's something so different to what's expected from him!

 

I adore the old Hammer Horror films too, and it's endearing to read about how Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing were such good friends in real life.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Frank Zappa's auto 'The real Frank Zappa book' is brilliant, inside the crazy mind of a genius, from what he named his pets to his censorship battles. Patrick Humphries' bio of Nick Drake makes for an interesting if slightly morbid read. Spike Milligan's war memoirs are hilarious. Lance Armstrong's two auto's are a good insight into fighting cancer and riding til your head explodes

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I really want to read the autobiography of Lenny Bruce, one of my favourite comedians, and one of the main inspirations to almost every great comedian that followed him.

 

I also want to read Mr. Nice by Howard Marks, as my normally reliable mate raves about it; and he is a fellow South Welshman :)

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I really want to read the autobiography of Lenny Bruce, one of my favourite comedians, and one of the main inspirations to almost every great comedian that preceded him.

 

The man was a legend. May i also suggest Bill Hicks, Love AllThe People. Very similar and an excellent read

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  • 2 weeks later...

Today's (Dec. 19, 2009) Wall Street Journal has a review of a monumental biography of Dostoyevsky, over 50 years in the making!

 

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703442904574595130313483584.html

 

An excerpt from Michael Dirda's review of Dostoyevsky: A Writer In His Time by Joseph Frank.

 

... Dostoevsky is the most harrowing novelist in the world. As Mr. Frank says: "It is this union of uncommon social sensitivity with agonized religious probings that gives his work its properly tragic character and its unique place in the history of the novel." "The Brothers Karamazov" certainly belongs on the same shelf as the Book of Job and "The Oresteia," "King Lear" and "Paradise Lost." Such works are fundamentally psychomachias
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Just been reading on Stephen Fry's latest blog entry (2/1/10 - 'Ave atque Vale') on his official site that he is following up on "Moab is My Washpot". Looking forward to that.

 

(Sorry, can't put a direct link up yet. :) Maybe someone can pop one up for now to make it easier to find.)

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I do feel like a kid saying this, but the only autobiography I've ever loved is Boy-- Tales Of Childhood by Roald Dahl. It was written with children in mind, so the stories inside were all very funny and interesting. I'm generally not a fan of non-fiction, and autobiographies and biographies aren't to my liking as there isn't anybody I'm particularly interested in, and if there is I'd usually just check Wikipedia.

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