A Bloody Good Read

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A Bloody Good Read

Posted: 10/22/08 at 11:25am

Michael Parkinson
'PARKY My Autobiography'

In the early hours of this morning I finished reading this brilliant book that contains some of the most hilarious, moving and down to earth memories of this great man, one this country's truly great journalists. I will say one thing tho, it's a slow starter as he goes on and on and on about his beloved cricket but once we learn of his first few jobs at Granada, LWT and eventually the BBC all the stories we want the dirt on come tumbling along.
You can never hear the stories of Rod Hull and Emu, Muhammad Ali, sharing a cigarette with Bette Davis etc etc too many times!
£13

Updated On: 11/12/08 at 11:25 AM

re: A Bloody Good Read

Posted: 10/22/08 at 12:38pm

Can we use this thread to post all post all the books that we think are good reads? Might be fun :) hehe!

THEATRE 2016: Grey Gardens; SwkPlayhouse, Cats; London Palladium, Into the Woods; Royal Exchange, Show Boat; Sheffield Crucible, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Prsicilla Queen of the Desert; UK Tour, Narrative; RWCMD, Mojo; RWCMD, The Barber of Seville; WNO, Rabbit Hole; Hampstead, The Marriage of Figaro; WNO, Figaro Gets a Divorce; WNO, Tom: The Musical; UK Tour Upcoming: Anything Can Happen; RWCMD, Cysgy'n Brys'ur, Long Day's Journey Into Night; Bristol Old Vic, Only the Brave, The Caretaker; The Old Vic, People Places and Things, Blue/Orange; Young Vic, Bernadette Peters, Carole King, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts I & II

re: A Bloody Good Read

Posted: 10/22/08 at 12:42pm

I thought of doing that a few weeks back when I posted on the Charles Strouse thread about how fascinating his book was!

Updated On: 11/12/08 at 12:42 PM

re: A Bloody Good Read

Posted: 10/22/08 at 12:50pm

'Everything was possible' about the creation of the original Broadway production of 'Follies' is a must read and I've also just bought 'Sondheim on music' which I'm really looking forward to.

Unless we're not limiting this theatre books, in which case I have a list as long as my arm...

re: A Bloody Good Read

Posted: 10/22/08 at 12:51pm

No, let's not limit to theatre books.

re: A Bloody Good Read

Posted: 10/22/08 at 1:12pm

'Kaitlyn' by Kevin Lewis ****
About a girl called Kaitlyn who's baby brother is heavily abused by her father, and taken away by social services, whilst the father is impirsoned for it. Kaitlyn and her mother move to a rougher side of London due to lack of funding etc. and settle in with the wrong crowd, Kaitlyn is forced to help deal drugs at 14 and her mother is eventually killed by a dealer. Kaitlyn makes it her mission to find her brother and tell him everything thats happened. Very good read, although at times it seems as if it tries too hard to be dramatic. Has good twists throughout, and had me crying twice lol definately reccomend it.

re: A Bloody Good Read

Posted: 10/22/08 at 1:20pm

'Frankie' by Kevin Lewis *****
A girl named Frankie who left home at 14 is on the run for killing a bad character (pimp, druggie and all that jazz) and eventually ends up in Bath and starts a new life as a florist's assistant, meets a guy raises a family. Meanwhile the mother back in Surrey(?) has spotted Frankie on the cover of a paper and tries to track her down via police. Frankies husband and boss are kileld and baby is kidnapped as some bad guys discover she has some information they need when she stole a locket years ago, not realising it had the info in it, and the bad guys who need the info are fighting against the policeman who's trying to track Frankie down to get the info. Very VERY and a HUGE improvement on Kaitlyn. So mcuh more twists and has so much more heart, really gets you feeling for Frankie, but for some reason I didn't cry in this...too delved i expect! lol!

re: A Bloody Good Read

Posted: 10/23/08 at 9:03am

Right, I got this book for Christmas three years ago because I'm a huge Rollers fan, but I can recommend to to anyone. Virtually all my family have read it and so have a few of my friends. I've read it front to back five times, but still pick it up at a random chapter when the feeling takes me.

Bye Bye Baby: My Tragic Love Affair with the Bay City Rollers by Caroline Sullivan.

She's a music critic for the Guardian and you can tell... it's very well written, descriptive and evocative. She writes from her diary so there's a lot of detail too, and it's the story of her and her friends in the 70's and early 80's being slightly older fans of the Rollers, and being able to drive, they stalk them around America and she sleeps with one of them. It's a brilliant read, a real true life coming of age tale and bloody funny as well.

Updated On: 10/23/08 at 09:03 AM

re: A Bloody Good Read

Posted: 11/5/08 at 3:33pm

Absolutely hysterical!
The Queen, while walking her beloved Corgis, one day stumbles upon the Westminister traveling library van and from then on her reading habits change dramatically
......the rest is pure Bennett!

Updated On: 11/5/08 at 03:33 PM

#10

re: A Bloody Good Read

Posted: 11/5/08 at 5:32pm

Also an amazing film starring Elijah Wood. Laughter, buckets of tears and a dollop of uplift. Would make a beautiful musical.

#11

re: A Bloody Good Read

Posted: 11/5/08 at 5:34pm

Meant for kids but just a brilliant read. Everyone ought to read it. I cried like a girl.

#12

re: A Bloody Good Read

Posted: 11/12/08 at 8:13am

Over the weekend I bought 3 new books.
Firstly,Alan Carr's, 'Look Who It Is!' was simply hilarious. I knew nothing about him except catching just a few minutes of his 'Ding Dong Show' or what ever its called and friends going crazy over him.
This book is the campest, funniest, gayest book I have read in years.
I saw it in the shop, picked it up, read the back cover and bought it just because of what it said there-
'Puberty had been very unkind. Whereas it had come in the night and left other boys with well chiselled, stubbly chins and deep masculine voices, I'd been left with a huge pair of knockers and the voice of a pensioner!'.
£13

Updated On: 11/12/08 at 08:13 AM

#13

re: A Bloody Good Read

Posted: 11/12/08 at 8:17am

What a woman!
I've long been an admirer of this British institution who has done no end of brilliant work in the last 30 years on TV, in the theatre and in endless charity work.
I'm just over half way thru this and she has had me in tears of sadness, tears of laughter and tears of joy in equal measures- a treasure to behold.
£13

Updated On: 11/12/08 at 08:17 AM

#14

re: A Bloody Good Read

Posted: 11/12/08 at 8:31am

Book three is a coffee table book (don't know where I'm gonna put it as I don't have a coffee table? -maybe it will be a breakfast bar book!).
With the great title of
'The Half' -Photographs Of Actors Preparing For The Stage'
Its a stunning collection of vintage pictures of some of the world s greatest performers in the process of applying the Leichner and explaining some of their little traditions they have before a performance! Some of the photographs are simply awesome.
£30.

Updated On: 11/12/08 at 08:31 AM

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