The combative broadcaster’s memoir mixes engaging snapshots of his early career with some score-settling and a robust defence of his interviewing styleJohn Humphrys is the first to admit he doesn’t deal well with authority. He inherited it from his father, who refused to use the service entrance at the grand houses where he worked as a French polisher and, as a child, once watched his aunt get a humiliating dressing-down from the vicar for missing church. Humphrys had his own brush with condescending authority figures when he was in hospital with a cyst on his spine at 13, and an “arrogant posh bastard consultant” told his retinue of trainees it was because he didn’t wash regularly. “I don’t like being defined or told what to do, whoever is in charge,” he notes, a stance that has proved useful for grilling politicians (he has interviewed eight prime ministers), though it has also landed him in hot water.His memoir mixes engaging snapshots of his early career and analysis of the evolution of broadcasting with diatribes and petty score-settling. The early chapters tell of his passage from teen lackey on the Penarth Times in Wales, where his main task was standing outside the local church taking the names of those attending weddings and funerals, to being the first journalist on the scene at the Aberfan disaster, near Merthyr Tydfil, in which 116 children and 28 adults died after a colliery tip collapsed. Later he became a BBC foreign correspondent, reporting on the 1971 war... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2019-10-10 06:30:10 UTC ]
Caroline Carlson recommends new children’s books by Matt Hunt, Julie Flett, Vera Brosgol, and more. | Lit Hub Reading Lists “True intimacy means striving for complete knowing.” Khadijah Queen on intimacy, self-care, and the asexual spectrum. | Lit Hub Memoir Are you the literary asshole if you... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-05-02 10:30:33 UTC ]
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The selection of Moore's memoir as Book of the Year was one of a dozen award winners at the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association's 50th anniversary celebration, which took place in Chicago this week. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-05-01 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Former PM’s first-week sales compare with 21,000 for David Cameron’s memoir and 92,000 for Tony Blair bookLiz Truss’s book about her 49-day stint as prime minister sold 2,228 copies in the UK during its first week on sale, after a wall-to-wall promotional media blitz.Ten Years to Save the West:... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-04-26 15:49:38 UTC ]
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“I yearned for a bigger life and was sure it would come for me.” Aaron Hicklin on how the novels of Lynne Reid Banks helped him see himself. | Lit Hub Memoir “The more pertinent question than what we can write is what we who are Black authors can write about that a publisher will […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-04-26 10:30:59 UTC ]
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Putnam lands Jill Santopolo’s long anticipated sequel to The Light We Lost, Gallery signs a memoir by late fashion designer Kate Spade’s best friend, and more Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-04-26 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Chloe Walsh’s ‘Taming 7,’ a new entry in her BookTok-popular Boys of Tommen YA series, debuts at #3 on our children’s fiction list. Plus novelists Salman Rushdie and Caleb Carr publish memoirs, and a memoir in Spanish by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is a stateside hit. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-04-26 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The former N.F.L. player has been living with A.L.S. for more than a decade. Sharing “the most lacerating and vulnerable times” in “A Life Impossible” was worth the physical and emotional toll, he says. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2024-04-25 09:00:47 UTC ]
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Australian actor’s book Rebel Rising will have allegations of incident on set of Grimsby that left her ‘feeling bullied, humiliated, and compromised’ struck outThe UK edition of Australian actor Rebel Wilson’s memoir will be published with redacted passages relating to her experience on set with... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-04-24 12:50:23 UTC ]
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A mix of history, memoir and biography, this book reflects on how time, perspective and stories left unwritten can shape our view of the past. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-04-24 10:00:41 UTC ]
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The editor and essayist Joseph Epstein looks back on his life and career in two new books. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2024-04-22 09:03:39 UTC ]
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When is enough enough? Ryan Chapman on wants, needs, money, and time. | Lit Hub Memoir “Resets are necessary throughout a writing life.” Julia Alvarez on falling in love with writing again. | Lit Hub Craft What does Lord Byron have in common with Che Guevara? “A revolutionary who loves poetry... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-04-19 10:30:28 UTC ]
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The 10 best books of April offer adventurous readers everything from a futuristic novel to Doris Kearns Goodwin’s history-laced memoir about the 1960s. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2024-04-18 11:34:55 UTC ]
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“It always says the same thing: the vast majority of writers don’t earn enough from writing to make a decent living.” David Hill reflects on writing as labor. | Lit Hub Memoir Ethel Rohan on writing about grief: “For most of my life, I’ve suffered in shame and silence while the men who hurt me […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-04-18 10:30:29 UTC ]
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A memoir of survival by Salman Rushdie, a Japanese thriller/mystery, a tale of four sisters in Ireland, and more round out today's list of new releases. Which ones are you adding to your list? Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-04-16 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Clair Wills’s memoir is a timely warning that sexual morality can be enforced only with violence. Continue reading at The Atlantic
[ The Atlantic | 2024-04-12 14:46:00 UTC ]
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The Russian opposition politician, who died in prison in February, completed an autobiography which will come out later this yearA memoir by the late Russian politician Alexei Navalny is due to be published this autumn, publisher Penguin Random House (PRH) has announced.The Russian opposition... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-04-11 16:01:56 UTC ]
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'You'll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again' ranks No. 31 on our list of the best Hollywood books of all time because it's the ultimate Icarus story, unflinchingly detailing its author's descent. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-04-08 10:00:36 UTC ]
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Anna Shechtman’s The Riddles of the Sphinx is, so I am told, a memoir of recovery from anorexia and a group biography of the women who developed crossword puzzles. But this is a book that transcends its essential categories: it’s not just a memoir because it allows the reader to move between the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-04-04 08:54:41 UTC ]
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New novels from Emily Henry, Jo Piazza and Rachel Khong; a history of five ballerinas at the Dance Theater of Harlem; Salman Rushdie’s memoir and more. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2024-03-28 20:59:48 UTC ]
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It turns out that sitting down to write and stepping up to the starting block aren’t so different. Jade Song on what swimming has taught her about craft. | Lit Hub Memoir The Great Bambino wasn’t the only slugger with an unforgettable nickname. Kevin Baker introduces us to Boom-Boom,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-03-28 10:30:28 UTC ]
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