A Day Like Today by John Humphrys review – 'I like arguing'

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 ]

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Penguin Michael Joseph scoops Tremelling's fighter pilot memoir

An “exhilarating and insightful” memoir of life as a fighter pilot from Commander Paul Tremelling has been signed by Penguin Michael Joseph. Continue reading at The Bookseller

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Lit Hub Daily: January 13, 2022

“‘High-Risk.’ Was I that? What did those words even mean?” Edgar Gomez on sex, desire, and going on PrEP. | Lit Hub Memoir David Hollander considers how fiction can save us from despair. | Lit Hub “The true story of the diary’s composition reveals how much thought and effort Anne put into... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

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New Best Sellers Run the Gamut From Escapist to Galvanizing

Nita Prose’s novel whisks you to a luxury hotel, while Jamie Raskin’s memoir is a reminder of what really matters: home, family and democracy. Continue reading at The New York Times

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Hodder Studio signs Kennedy's memoir on relationship with mother

Hodder Studio has landed Letters from Brenda by Emma Kennedy, a memoir that explores the author's relationship with her mum, inspired by the discovery of 75 lost letters. Continue reading at The Bookseller

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At Least Don’t Look Up…Tries?

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A Memoir of a Young Girl’s Survival Amid Mounting Horrors

In “Mala’s Cat,” Mala Kacenberg describes her time hiding out in the forest during World War II after losing her family. Continue reading at The New York Times

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Parenting while Black was hard enough for Taylor Harris. Then something went wrong

Taylor Harris discusses 'This Boy We Made,' her memoir on seeking answers about her son, the anxieties of Black parenting and her evolving faith Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

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Is There a Silver Lining to Loss? This Memoir Shows Its Shimmer.

In “Lost & Found,” Kathryn Schulz explores the confluence of death, love and hope. Continue reading at The New York Times

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Jami Attenberg’s Memoir Is a Portrait of the Artist as a Born Writer

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Jami Attenberg on Building a Writing Life

At the Guardian, Jami Attenberg, author of the recent memoir I Came All This Way to Meet You, reflects on how a key moment of rejection allowed her to carve out her own path as a writer. “I’m old enough to realise that there is one more important part to carving out your creative life: … The... Continue reading at The Millions

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How love, death and ampersands changed Kathryn Schulz's life

The Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and author of the memoir "Lost and Found" unpacks the meaning and importance of joy and grief — and conjuctions. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

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The Messay: An Introduction

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Canbury Press lands first memoir by Uyghur survivor of China’s 're-education' camps

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Carl Bernstein’s Eulogy for the Newspaper Business

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What Is Autobiography? A Conversation with Debut Memoirist Victoria Chang, by Amy Wright

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‘Lost & Found’ Ponders Profound Grief Alongside Newfound Love

Kathryn Schulz’s memoir places the totalizing experience of loss on a continuum with the summons of romantic and even religious love. Continue reading at The New York Times

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Our Favorite Essays about Unconventional Writing Teachers

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‘We would discuss how dislikable I was’ – what’s it like to see your life story on TV?

Telling your story in a book is hard enough. But what if it ends up on screen? Adam Kay, writer of This Is Going to Hurt, and Dolly Alderton, who penned Everything I Know About Love, relive the shocksMore cultural highlights of 2022Most people find seeing themselves on screen distinctly... Continue reading at The Guardian

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Joan Didion, American journalist and author, dies at age 87

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For Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, memoir as resistance

Ai Weiwei’s memoir “1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows” pushes back against the Chinese government’s efforts to silence him and his poet father. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

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