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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McLean, Va. – USA TODAY celebrates the 20th anniversary of the USA TODAY Best-Selling Books list, crowning not one, but three No.1 books for three different eras that reflect the changes in publishing over the past two decades. Given ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-10-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This month's recipients of starred reviews from BlueInk include a novel about a schizophrenic New Yorker who believes he is Beethoven and a timely look at profiteering in American medicine. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-10-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This month's “starred” reviews of self-published books include a collection of spiritualist lectures, an examination of the Andean Q’ero faith and a pair of compelling novels. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-09-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Among this month's starred reviews: a novel in which the discovery of a sexy 19th-century manuscript leads to erotic adventures, and a comprehensive guide for psychotherapists. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-08-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This month's starred reviews from BlueInk Review of self-published books includes several "stay-up-all-night-until-your-eyes-bleed" thrillers, as well as a memoir from the ringmaster of The Big Apple Circus. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Self-published books receiving starred reviews from BlueInk this month include a novel about a wisecracking cat that investigates the death of its owner and a memoir of escaping Romania under Soviet rule. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-06-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This month's starred self-published titles include a novel about lesbian nuns in pre-WWII Germany and a memoir from the daughter of 1960s cult leaders, among others. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-05-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon.co.uk will begin its Boxing Day sales on Christmas Day this year, responding to the fact... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-12-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Stone Publication Date: Wed, 31/08/2011 - 15:20 David Nicholls' One Day (Hodder) has broken the record for the biggest ever weekly sale from an adult-readership novel in the month of August. Across all print editions, One Day sold 92,336 copies at UK booksellers in the seven... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Queering an Austen classic, a little monster-slaying habit, a twisty sapphic horror-romance, and more of today's best YA book deals. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-11-19 13:45:00 UTC ]
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The Language of Survival and Resistance: A Review of Shereen Malherbe’s Yassini Girls, by Zeynep Alp Book Reviews [email protected] Mon, 11/18/2024 - 15:22 Yassini Girls (Beacon Books, 2024), the new novel by Shereen Malherbe, invites readers into... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2024-11-18 21:22:51 UTC ]
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Somewhere along the way Pearson lost her sense of humour and now finds herself at the centre of a stormWe need to talk about Allison.Thirty years ago Allison Pearson was an award-winning TV critic for the Independent. Funny and sharp. About as close to a bleeding heart north London liberal as... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-11-18 19:10:42 UTC ]
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The latest Amazon Fire HD 8, updated last month and starting at $100, is a modest refresh, offering more RAM, a nominally upgraded camera and some new AI features. The general sales pitch, however, remains the same: You get a just-competent tablet for the essentials at a dirt-cheap (and... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2024-11-15 14:19:25 UTC ]
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Yang Shuang-zi’s “Taiwan Travelogue,” a National Book Award finalist, is a nesting-doll narrative about colonial power in its many forms. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2024-11-15 13:18:52 UTC ]
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The Shanghai Children's Book Fair expects 45,000 visitors and opens its professional programming organized in cooperation with the Bologna Book Fair. The post Opening Day Programs at Shanghai’s Children’s Book Fair appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2024-11-14 22:18:38 UTC ]
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Death on a doomed ship, historical fiction from the Hundred Years' War, our relationship with the natural world, and more of today's best book deals Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-11-14 16:56:44 UTC ]
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Black queer girl superpowers, a classic middle grade mystery, a magical library, and more of today's best children's book deals. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-11-13 15:45:00 UTC ]
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Cursed boys, illegal love potions, a teenage Ida B. Wells, and more of today's best YA book deals. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-11-12 16:12:00 UTC ]
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2024 has been a rough year for Sonos. The company’s would-be triumphant entry into the crowded headphones market was overshadowed by a disastrous app redesign. In the fallout of the botched software update, the company decided to delay products that were ready to be shipped to give itself more... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2024-11-11 13:00:11 UTC ]
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Techtober rolled straight into November this year. The first week of the month was a busy one at Engadget HQ as we published a number of high-profile reviews over the last few days. There's the MacBook Pro and Mac mini from Apple alongside the beastly (and expensive) PS5 Pro. Plus, we've got yet... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2024-11-09 15:00:04 UTC ]
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