Rock Stars Stole My Life by Mark Ellen review – misty-eyed, touchingly nerdy memoir

From the mud and thunder of early festivals to Live Aid and Rihanna, music journalist Mark Ellen was usually in the right place at the right timeMark Ellen surveys the happy youngsters comfortably cavorting at Glastonbury, marvelling at Primal Scream beneath a harvest moon. “You bastards,” moans the music journalist and editor, recalling his nascent festival experiences in the early 1970s, of trench foot, scurvy and Van der Graaf Generator. “You don’t know how lucky you are.”Still, there’s a misty-eyed reverence for the past in Ellen’s entertaining memoir of five decades surrounded by music – which is to be expected. This, after all, is the man who launched Mojo magazine after realising there was a potential readership who liked music that was “magical and built to last”. For Ellen, the magic began with the discovery of the Beatles and the Kinks, Small Faces and Chicken Shack. Like a character from Jonathan Coe’s novel The Rotters’ Club, his comfortable 60s and 70s adolescence discussing the meaning of prog is ditched for a squat in Battersea, where he begins to pen florid gig reviews for Record Mirror and NME.  Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2015-03-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mark Smith to join Bonnier Publishing

Mark Smith, the founder and former c.e.o. of Quercus, is to join Bonnier Publishing as c.e.o. of its fiction department. Smith left Quercus after the formerly independent publisher was bought by Hachette UK’s Hodder & Stoughton earlier this year. He will now become c.e.o. of Bonnier... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Books of the Year: Newspaper review round-up

Last year marked our first round up of the numerous “books of the year” features across the media. It saw a total of 660 books being touted by various critics, writers and celebrities. This year, our spreadsheet collating the reviews boasts 910 titles that have been recommended across several... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Panel Mania: It’s a Crab’s Life for Arthur De Pins

Imagine never being able to turn around but only being able to walk in a straight line your entire life. That’s the problem facing the square crabs in 'The March of the Crabs Vol. 1: The Crabby Condition' by Arthur De Pins. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dear Reader by Paul Fournel review – an elegy for the printed book

A charming French novel about an old-school publisher trying to get to grips with the digital ageAt more than one point in this novel I found myself asking: could this be any more French? Early on we meet a character described thus: “She used to be incredibly good-looking and now at... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Headline to publish fan edition of Turner's memoir

Headline is to publish a special fan edition of musician Frank Turner’s touring memoir The Road Beneath My Feet. The publisher has teamed up with PledgeMusic, a direct-to-fan music platform, to offer the £30 hardback. Fans are being asked to provide their own personal reminiscences of seeing... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Dylan Day' to be marked every year

Poet Dylan Thomas will be commemorated each year with a new "Dylan Day", to be celebrated on 14th May. The announcement comes at the end of the year-long Dylan Thomas 100 Festival, which has celebrated the centenary of the poet's birth. Dylan Day, beginning in 2015, will be funded for three... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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YouTube's Rewind Features Its Own Stars -- and That Devil Baby

YouTube has had a big year, even by its own standards.In 2014 the Google-owned streaming video service got a new boss, a new revenue stream and a new rival. It also rolled out a massive marketing campaign, the first of what are expected to be several ad-free subscription services and a new... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-12-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'The Crew': The Joystiq Review

In the course of the last console generation, Ubisoft has gone from "the French publisher behind the Tom Clancy games" to the world's leading creator of lucrative open-world sandbox franchises (by quantity, if not quality). This success hinges on a s... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2014-12-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Supreme court to rule whether ban on abuse memoir threatens free speech

Rights groups back challenge, claiming injunction on British performing artist’s book is serious risk to freedom of expressionA British performing artist who has been prevented from publishing his memoir as a result of legal action brought by his ex-wife is to ask the supreme court to overturn... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-12-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As New Bloomberg Business Site Approaches, Company Eyes Larger Audience

Bloomberg L.P. has spent the last year pouring money and resources into its media arm -- which still labors in the shadow of the terminal business that made Michael Bloomberg a billionaire -- to better attract audiences and advertisers. Now the most visible results of its work are about to... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-12-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'All the Light We Cannot See' becomes a star of the holiday season

'Light' was published in May but has stayed visible due to acclaim like a nomination for the National Book Awards. Now many independent bookstores say Anthony Doerr's novel is one of their top sellers. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-12-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Reviews of New and Forthcoming Religion and Spirituality Books, December 10, 2014

New titles include a look at how the experience of Holocaust survivors has influenced the faith of their descendants. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-12-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ad Review: Why Poo-Pourri's Stinky Santa Belongs on the Nice List

Everyone poops.It's not just the name of a children's book by Taro Gomi, it's a simple fact of life. But it's not something you'd pick up if you watched toilet-related advertising. Take toilet paper, for example. If you were an alien anthropologist who sat through three decades of toilet paper... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book Review: Eureka! Discovering Your Inner Scientist

If you are looking for an entertaining book that explores the nature of science, I recommend Chad Orzel's Eureka! Discovering Your Inner Scientist. The post Book Review: Eureka! Discovering Your Inner Scientist appeared first on WIRED. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2014-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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YouTube star takes online break as she admits novel was ‘not written alone’

Bear with me, video blogger Zoella asks fans, as she takes break from internet after admitting that runaway bestselling debut Girl Online was written jointlyYouTube star Zoe Sugg has announced that she is taking a break from the internet after admitting that she did not write her bestselling... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-12-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mark Zuckerberg defends free Facebook, fires back at Apple and Ello

When Tim Cook published an open letter in September to address iCloud privacy and security concerns, he said free online services treat you, the consumers, as product. Even newcomer Ello, which is dubbed the anti-Facebook, has a manifesto that ends w... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2014-12-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Polish event brings 'Harry Potter' castle Hogwarts to life

'Harry Potter' fans came together at a castle in Poland to act out the world of J.K. Rowling's books.  More events are planned for April. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-12-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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5 Tips for Writing a Memoir

Will Boast: "If fiction is the art of invention, memoir is the art of selection and arrangement." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Life begins at 85 for Thorsons

HarperCollins has revealed the look for the relaunch of its Thorsons mind, body and spirit list, 85 years after its creation. Thorsons will lead the relaunch with the reissue of eight classic titles in new livery (each priced at £12.99). The titles include iconic relationship book Men are From... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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