Tickling The English
A look at the English from the perspective of the famous Irish comedian as he tours the country.
A decent book, with more to it than you’d expect.
Autobiography, B+, Books, Comedy, Non-Fiction, Rated, Travel, iPad
Autobiography, B+, Books, Comedy, Non-Fiction, Rated, Travel, iPad
13:21, July 12th 2010
Chuck Klosterman IV
A loose collection of artist profiles, opinion columns and random other bits of writing. Klosterman is a very readable writer but can take some very annoying positions on popular culture.
He’s got a whole more broadminded than thou thing going on, combined with a popular is good except when I don’t like it stance. Like I say, annoying.
Autobiography, B-, Books, Films, Humour, Music, Music Criticism, Non-Fiction, Rated, Short Stories, TV, TV Criticism
Autobiography, B-, Books, Films, Humour, Music, Music Criticism, Non-Fiction, Rated, Short Stories, TV, TV Criticism
17:59, April 23rd 2010
Kiss Me Like A Stranger
Second autobiography this year. Like Alda’s it’s tremendously revealing about some things and goes into far too little detail about some of the most interesting things in his life.
Witty and very readable, it’s a fun read.
A-, Autobiography, Books, Films, Non-Fiction, Rated
A-, Autobiography, Books, Films, Non-Fiction, Rated
13:15, April 16th 2010
Jelleyman’s Thrown A Wobbly
Lightweight memoir mainly focusing on stories from the Soccer Saturday studio.
So insubstantial as to not be worth full price.
Nevertheless it’s still pretty entertaining.
Autobiography, B, Books, Non-Fiction, Rated, TV
Autobiography, B, Books, Non-Fiction, Rated, TV
16:46, April 3rd 2010
My Boring-Ass Life
Simultaneously mundane and explicit, this book is for the most part quite entertaining.
Smith seems an affable enough bloke, who is quite aware of just how much of a role luck plays in his career.
The fact remains that the two (seemingly) most interesting stories are tantalizingly referred to and are not discussed any further.
I’d recommend it if you like Smith, his movies, or can find a copy as cheap as mine was!
Autobiography, B, Essays, Films, Humour, Non-Fiction, Rated
Autobiography, B, Essays, Films, Humour, Non-Fiction, Rated
12:51, March 16th 2010
Never Have Your Dog Stuffed
Short, enjoyable but incomplete feeling autobiography from the well loved star of the MASH tv series
Autobiography, B+, Books, Non-Fiction, Rated
Autobiography, B+, Books, Non-Fiction, Rated
09:06, February 5th 2010
White Bicycles
A memoir of Boyd’s involvement with music roughly covering the period from the late 50s to early 70s.
A-, Autobiography, Music, Non-Fiction, Rated
A-, Autobiography, Music, Non-Fiction, Rated
09:22, June 18th 2008
Kitchen Confidential
Anthony Bourdain, thanks in large part to this book, now spends a lot of his time travelling the world making TV shows about cookery. Back when he wrote this he was the executive chef at a successful brasserie in Manhattan specializing in ‘peasant-style’ French cooking.
What he does in this book is tell his life story in terms of how he fell in love with food, how he ended up becoming a cook, how he nearly threw it all away before getting his life in order. He also throws in a few interesting truths about how the catering industry works and what it takes to run a successful kitchen in terms of equipment and attitude.
Sadly this book really doesn’t stand up to a second reading, much of his attitude coming off as false, more of a schtick than his real personality. After all, he comes from a comfortable background, had every educational opportunity and any hardship he went through was largely down to his own sense of entitlement.
If you’ve never read it before, borrow yourself a copy and enjoy it for what it is.
Autobiography, B-, Books, Cooking, Food, Non-Fiction, Rated
Autobiography, B-, Books, Cooking, Food, Non-Fiction, Rated
10:26, August 31st 2007