chrysalis_stage Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 I got both of Pamela Stephenson's books on Billy Connolly from the charity shop and look forward to reading them - Billy and Bravemouth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueB Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 Oh and while I think of it.... I've been meaning to get hold of Dear Fatty by Dawn French - anyone else here read it? I havent yet its one of the books collecting dust on my bookshelf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephanie2008 Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 I havent yet its one of the books collecting dust on my bookshelf Snap! I have it, I started it a while ago but haven't yet finished it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honestfi Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 Snap! I have it, I started it a while ago but haven't yet finished it uh, okay i may see if my "esteemed" library has a copy. I've read quotes from it in Readers Digest (is it just me, or has that journal really gone downhill in the last 5 years) and it sounded really good, and very honest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pipread Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 Oh and while I think of it.... I've been meaning to get hold of Dear Fatty by Dawn French - anyone else here read it? I havent yet its one of the books collecting dust on my bookshelf Snap! I have it, I started it a while ago but haven't yet finished it Same here! I read the first couple of pages and haven`t picked it up since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honestfi Posted September 2, 2009 Share Posted September 2, 2009 As ever, thought of a couple I've read... Peter Ustinov's Dear Me - found it rather dull, frankly, shame really. I'm sure there's a few people here that have read one or two of Clive James's Unreliable Memoirs series, I've read the first and found it very funny, apparently though some of them are not up to his usual standard. Also The Real James Herriot biography written by his son, Jim Wight. Although interesting, the unfortunate consequence after reading this was I lost total interest in the James Herriot books. James Herriot (or Alf Wight) didn't really want his biography written, and somehow I understood why after reading this book - let's just say that some of his stories weren't altogether...truthful....and some incidents just plain made up. Made me a bit angry actually. This may sound a bit severe to some, but I guess if you read it you may see where I'm coming from. Okay, okay, so he did paint a very good picture of 30s, 40s and 50s Yorkshire, a place that he obviously loved, along with describing the dramatic improvements that were going on in the veterinary profession AND the James Herriot books were always catalogued as 'fiction'....but the publishers always marketed them more as non fiction...which is just a tad annoying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honestfi Posted September 10, 2009 Share Posted September 10, 2009 OMG, I've just started reading Sun On The Water - I was in floods reading the first chapter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pilgrim Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 I once read a book called Maverick in Mauve about one of the Vanderbilt offspring and found their lifestyle very interesting - just getting on a plane one day and going someplace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 . Also The Real James Herriot biography written by his son, Jim Wight. Although interesting, the unfortunate consequence after reading this was I lost total interest in the James Herriot books. James Herriot (or Alf Wight) didn't really want his biography written, and somehow I understood why after reading this book - let's just say that some of his stories weren't altogether...truthful....and some incidents just plain made up. Made me a bit angry actually. This may sound a bit severe to some, but I guess if you read it you may see where I'm coming from. Okay, okay, so he did paint a very good picture of 30s, 40s and 50s Yorkshire, a place that he obviously loved, along with describing the dramatic improvements that were going on in the veterinary profession AND the James Herriot books were always catalogued as 'fiction'....but the publishers always marketed them more as non fiction...which is just a tad annoying. I felt a little deflated after reading this book too honestfi although I didn't really mind that all his stories weren't strictly factual. I often feel like this after reading biographies (but I KNOW I'll keep reading them never-the-less). You build up a picture of the author from their books and the biography never quite seems to match. Maybe it's more a case of putting them on a pedestal and then finding they are human just like the rest of us ...I really shouldn't be disappointed at all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewell Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 Also The Real James Herriot biography written by his son, Jim Wight. Although interesting, the unfortunate consequence after reading this was I lost total interest in the James Herriot books. James Herriot (or Alf Wight) didn't really want his biography written, and somehow I understood why after reading this book - let's just say that some of his stories weren't altogether...truthful....and some incidents just plain made up. Made me a bit angry actually. This may sound a bit severe to some, but I guess if you read it you may see where I'm coming from. Okay, okay, so he did paint a very good picture of 30s, 40s and 50s Yorkshire, a place that he obviously loved, along with describing the dramatic improvements that were going on in the veterinary profession AND the James Herriot books were always catalogued as 'fiction'....but the publishers always marketed them more as non fiction...which is just a tad annoying. I have just bought this book. I might give it a miss then as i love the James Herriot stories and would hate to lose that. For some reason it doesn't appeal to me as much as it did when i bought it anyway. I have just got hold of a Roald Dahl biography from the liabary. Not started it yet. But i am looking forward to it. I am wondering if i should reaqaint myself with some of his work first though. I'd love to read Fantastic Mr Fox and Georges Marvelllous medicine again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honestfi Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 I have just bought this book. I might give it a miss then as i love the James Herriot stories and would hate to lose that. For some reason it doesn't appeal to me as much as it did when i bought it anyway. I knew before reading the book that not only was James Herriot not his real name, but that all of the characters names had been changed too, and I naturally thought there would be a bit of "artistic" licence. (Although 'Siegfried' apparently didn't talk to him for months after the way he was potrayed in one of the stories - perhaps Alf got a bit too close to the bone...) But some of the very basic facts of his life: where he got his first job, where it was, how he met his wife, how he got the partnership etc etc....all made up. I felt somewhat let down. I have just got hold of a Roald Dahl biography from the liabary. Not started it yet. But i am looking forward to it. I am wondering if i should reaqaint myself with some of his work first though. I'd love to read Fantastic Mr Fox and Georges Marvelllous medicine again. Yeah, now that one sounds a good one, must look out for that one from the library. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Book Fiend Posted September 20, 2009 Share Posted September 20, 2009 I've only ever read two (auto)biographies. The first was Moab is My Washpot by Stephen Fry. Absolutely fantastic book, probably the funniest thing I've ever read. Also quite sad and strangely beautiful! The second was Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life by Jon Lee Anderson. I decided to read this because like most people I'd heard of Che Guevara and seen him on numerous posters, but I knew absolutely nothing about him. Firstly, this is a really big book! It took me a year to read it (I was reading other things at the time) but it was soooo worth it! Jon Lee Anderson spent several years in Cuba whilst writing this book, and had the cooperation of the Cuba government and Che Guevaras widow. He also had access to several previously unpublished writings by Che Guevara. The result is in incredibly detailed book! As well as covering the whole of Che Guevaras life, the book also gives a good insight into South American history and the cold war. Anderson also manages to be very unbiased, which I think is very important when dealing with such an emotive figure. The book is quite easy to read, but because of the sheer amount of information I could only read about 10 pages at a time before I had to stop and digest what I had read! However, please don't let this put you off. Whatever you think about Che Guevara, he lived a fascinating life and I doubt you will find a better book about him than this one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busy91 Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 The only autobiography I have ever read was Charlie Chaplin's, which was a fascinating read. To be honest, I am not that interested in this type of book, it just isn't my cup of tea. There are too many of them now imo. I read this, thanks for reminding me, I'd forgotten. There was one floating around in our public library. Very interesting book indeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Another one I liked was Nigel Slater's 'Toast' ... very funny, moving and honest. A sort of childhood remembered through food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 I liked Toast but the sort-of sequel Eating for England was dreadful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 (edited) The second was Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life by Jon Lee Anderson. Oh dear, you've just reminded me that I've had this book for over twelve years and still haven't read it. My parents bought it for me on my 17th birthday and it is now languishing in the loft. I'm sure it wouldn't take me too long to get through as I'm already quite familiar with Che's life and legacy, but, as you said Book Fiend, it is a really big book! I can't say that I read much auto/biography. There just aren't all that many people I want to know about. Of course, that hasn't stopped me stockpiling a fair quantity of those that do interest me and the vast majority have one thing in common: they're all by or about people who are either dead or well on their way. Living people just don't seem to have the same appeal to me as dead ones! I certainly find no appeal in reading about today's modern celebrities, whose ghost-written works clog up the biography shelves. It's bad enough seeing them on TV without reading about their first 25 years as well. Of those auto/biographies I have actually got around to reading, The Autobiography of Malcolm X was a compelling and eloquently written work. Isaac Deutscher's Stalin was quite brilliant (I haven't read all of his trilogy on Trotsky). Fred Kaplan's biography of my literary hero, Gore Vidal was wonderfully exhaustive and does justice to its subject. Andrei Gromyko's Memories should have been more interesting than it was, given that in his fifty years on the world stage he surely met more world leaders than anybody else in history. A few people have mentioned Charlie Chaplin's autobiography. I read this some years ago and thought it was fascinating inasmuch as the subject himself was such an extraordinary man but I don't feel he gave very much away. I have a fondness for reading about great comedy figures, perhaps because their private lives often tend to contrast sharply with their public persona's. Among those I'd recommend are: Babe: The Life of Oliver Hardy by John McCabe, On the Way I Lost It by Frankie Howerd, Hancock by Freddie Hancock and David Nathan, Just Williams by Kenneth Williams and Bud and Lou: The Abbott and Costello Story by Bob Thomas. Among those amassed auto/biographies that I would like to read in the foreseeable future are: A Life in Our Times by John Kenneth Galbraith Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant The Real Life of Anthony Burgess by Andrew Biswell Out of Place by Edward Said The Past is Myself by Christabel Bielenberg Stan and Ollie: The Roots of Comedy by Simon Louvish The Time of My Life by Denis Healey Harpo Speaks! by Harpo Marx My Life by Leon Trotsky Iris: A Memoir by John Bayley A Sort of Life by Graham Greene High Spirits by Joan Sims Within Whicker's World by Alan Whicker John Steinbeck: A Biography by Jay Parini How I Grew by Mary McCarthy My Silent War by Kim Philby Karl Marx by Francis Wheen My Last Breath by Luis Bunuel Palimpsest by Gore Vidal Orson Welles: The Stories of His Life by Peter Conrad Alexandra Kollontai by Cathy Porter Morecambe and Wise by Graham McCann Plus, I'd like to squeeze in some of the really celebrated biographical works, such as The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini, The Education of Henry Adams, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, Rousseau's Confessions, Words by Jean-Paul Sartre, Speak, Memory by Vladimir Nabokov and Goodbye to All That by Robert Graves. I guess that would be enough to be going on with! Edited September 25, 2009 by Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Book Fiend Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 Oh dear, you've just reminded me that I've had this book for over twelve years and still haven't read it. My parents bought it for me on my 17th birthday and it is now languishing in the loft. I'm sure it wouldn't take me too long to get through as I'm already quite familiar with Che's life and legacy, but, as you said Book Fiend, it is a really big book! You should read it...it's fantastic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funrun Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 joan sutherland for school dare to fly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honestfi Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 Success, Dear Fatty was in the library today, so have started it tonight, love it so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 I don't read much autobiography, since I prefer a biographer's viewpoint rather than the individual's own, but I have enjoyed Strange Places, Questionable People by John Simpson, and the recently published A View From the Foothills, Chris Mullins's diaries whilst a government minister, which is unusual for me as I'm not normally into political memoirs. Overall, I'm much keener on biography, particularly historical, as all too many modern biogs are either of complete nonentities, or are written far too early in the subject's life. There's not been much mention of historical biographies on this thread since Fiona's post back in 2007, so hopefully this list of some of my favourites will help redress the balance a bit. Pretty much anything by Jenny Uglow and Claire Tomalin (they're both brilliant!). The Last Englishman by Byron Rogers (JL Carr) Aristocrats by Stella Tilyard (The Lennox Sisters) Mary Queen of Scots by Antonia Fraser Wellington, Years of the Sword by Elizabeth Longford Shackleton by Roland Huntford In Search of Robert Millar by Richard Moore (perhaps the best sports biog I've read) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirinrob Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 i've just acquired Primo Levi's autobiography 'The Drownded and the Saved'. I have started reading this and it is very poignant. Once I've finished it ill post a review as I feel its important do so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ned Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 No doubt we will be 'treated' to the life stories of a bunch of celebs soon, it is getting close to Christmas and they will want them in the shops to give people plently of time to add them to their letters to Santa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 No doubt we will be 'treated' to the life stories of a bunch of celebs soon, it is getting close to Christmas and they will want them in the shops to give people plently of time to add them to their letters to Santa. They're probably in the bookshops as we speak: From The Guardian newspaper: Celebrity memoirs, thrillers and children's fiction bid for top spot as 800 books come out on one day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ned Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 800 in one day! Anyone want to help me rob a bank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 No doubt we will be 'treated' to the life stories of a bunch of celebs soon, it is getting close to Christmas and they will want them in the shops to give people plently of time to add them to their letters to Santa. They're probably in the bookshops as we speak: They are .. I've seen Justin Lee Collins, Frankie Boyle, Ant & Dec, Fernando Torres, Chris Evans .. a new one by Richard Hammond another tome of wisdom from Katie Price (of course) and probably something from Peter Andre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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