The Digested Read

The Digested Read

Author: John Crace

Publisher: RDR Books

Published: 2005-12

Total Pages: 296

ISBN-13: 9781571431592

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Literary ombudsman John Crace never met an important book he didn't like to deconstruct. From Salman Rushdie to John Grisham, Crace retells the big books in just 500 bitingly satirical words, pointing his pen at the clunky plots, stylistic tics and pretensions of Big Ideas, as he turns publishers' golden dream books into dross.


Brideshead Abbreviated

Brideshead Abbreviated

Author: John Crace

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2010-10-14

Total Pages: 372

ISBN-13: 1409061744

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John Crace's 'Digested Read' column in the Guardian has rightly acquired a cult following. Each week fans avidly devour his latest razor-sharp literary assassination, while authors turn tremblingly to the appropriate page of the review section, fearful that it may be their turn to be mercilessly sent up. Now he turns his critical eye on the classics of the last century, offering bite-sized pastiches of everything from Mrs Dalloway to Trainspotting via Lolita and The Great Gatsby. Those who have never quite got around to reading A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man will be delighted to find its essence distilled into a handful of paragraphs. Those who have never really enjoyed Lord of the Flies will be pleased to find it hilariously parodied in an easily swallowable 982 words. And those who find all such works a little highbrow will be relieved to discover, between the covers of this book, John Crace's take on the likes of Ian Fleming, P. G. Wodehouse and the Highway Code. Witty and sharp, this is essential reading both for those who genuinely love literature and for those who merely want to appear ridiculously well read.


Outside In

Outside In

Author: Peter Hain

Publisher: Biteback Publishing

Published: 2012-01-23

Total Pages: 412

ISBN-13: 1849542988

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Peter Hain has always spoken his mind. So he does in this book. Here he tells his story as an outsider turned insider: anti-apartheid militant to Cabinet minister, serving twelve years in Labour's government between May 1997 and May 2010. Growing up as the son of courageous anti-apartheid South Africans, Peter Hain was first in the public eye aged fifteen, reading at the funeral of an anti-apartheid friend hanged in Pretoria. Living in exile in Britain during his late teens, he led campaigns to disrupt whites-only South African sports tours. His political notoriety resulted in two extraordinary Old Bailey trials and a letter bomb. Hain recalls his role in negotiating the historic 2007 settlement in Northern Ireland, being Britain's first-ever African born Africa Minister, and acting as a passionate advocate and deliverer of devolved government to Wales. Featuring Iraq, Mugabe, Europe, Gibraltar, blood diamonds, work alongside MI5 and MI6, and the delivery of justice for workers robbed of their pensions and compensation for sick miners, Hain's autobiography gives a fascinating insight into life near the top of the Blair and Brown governments.


The Purple Revolution

The Purple Revolution

Author: Nigel Farage

Publisher: Biteback Publishing

Published: 2015-03-17

Total Pages: 186

ISBN-13: 184954896X

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How did Farage persuade Reckless and Carswell to ditch the Conservatives? Would UKIP ever do a deal with another party? How have three near-death experiences shaped Farage's politics? How does Nigel feel about controversial kippers and their high-profile gaffes? Twenty-one years after its formation as a single-policy protest party, and on the eve of what promises to be one of the closest, most exciting general elections in recent memory, the truly remarkable rise of UKIP and its charismatic leader, Nigel Farage, have caused nothing less than a tectonic shift in British politics. And the aftershocks are being felt far beyond the corridors of power in Whitehall... This book, written by the man who orchestrated that extraordinary rise, is not an autobiography, but rather the untold story of the journey UKIP has travelled under Farage's leadership, from the icy fringes of British politics all the way to Westminster, where it is poised to claim the popular vote. In it, he reveals for the first time exactly how, over the last few years, Farage and his supporters have ushered in a very English revolution: secretly courting MPs right under the nose of the political establishment, in the tearooms and wine bars of the House of Lords. With characteristic wit and candour, Farage takes us beyond the caricature of the beerdrinking, chain-smoking adventurer in Jermyn Street double-cuffs as he describes the values that underpin his own journey: from successful City trader to (very) outspoken critic of the European Union and champion of Britain's right to govern itself.


May I Have Your Attention Please?

May I Have Your Attention Please?

Author: James Corden

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2011-09-29

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 144647433X

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So... the story of my life. I've often thought about this moment, about what it would be like to write my memoirs. I always thought it would make me feel important. It doesn't. If anything it makes me feel a little strange. The truth is, I should never have been this famous guy. I wasn't the cool, clever, good-looking boy at school. But I always dreamt of it, hoped for it, longed for it: throughout school when I was disruptive, in my teens when I tried to form my own boy band and through hundreds of auditions for parts which were met with constant rejection. Until finally I co-wrote Gavin and Stacey. And my whole life changed. This is that story. The story of how I found myself here, talking to you.


Digest

Digest

Author: Gregory Pardlo

Publisher: Four Way Books

Published: 2016-04-01

Total Pages: 86

ISBN-13: 1935536818

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From Epicurus to Sam Cooke, the Daily News to Roots, Digest draws from the present and the past to form an intellectual, American identity. In poems that forge their own styles and strategies, we experience dialogues between the written word and other art forms. Within this dialogue we hear Ben Jonson, we meet police K-9s, and we find children negotiating a sense of the world through a father's eyes and through their own.


Bridget Jones's Baby

Bridget Jones's Baby

Author: Helen Fielding

Publisher: Vintage

Published: 2016-10-11

Total Pages: 173

ISBN-13: 1524732508

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Bridget Jones, beloved Singleton and global phenomenon, is back with a bump in Bridget Jones's Baby: The Diaries. 8:45 P.M. Realize there have been so many times in my life when have fantasized about going to a scan with Mark or Daniel: just not both at the same time. Before motherhood, before marriage, Bridget with biological clock ticking very, very loudly, finds herself unexpectedly pregnant at the eleventh hour: a joyful pregnancy which is dominated, however, by a crucial but terribly awkward question – who is the father? Mark Darcy: honourable, decent, notable human rights lawyer? Or Daniel Cleaver: charming, witty, notable fuckwit? 9:45 PM It’s like they’re two halves of the perfect man, who’ll spend the rest of their lives each wanting to outdo the other one. And now it’s all enacting itself in my stomach. In this gloriously funny, touching story of baby-deadline panic, maternal bliss, and social, professional, technological, culinary and childbirth chaos, Bridget Jones – global phenomenon and the world’s favorite Singleton – is back with a bump.


But Seriously

But Seriously

Author: John McEnroe

Publisher: Little, Brown

Published: 2017-06-27

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 0316324876

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A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER John McEnroe's long-awaited follow-up to his #1 bestseller He is one of the most controversial and beloved athletes in history, a tennis legend and a volcanic, mesmerizing presence. But after reaching the top of his game - what came next? Fifteen years after his international number-one bestseller You Cannot Be Serious, John McEnroe is back and ready to talk. Now the undisputed elder statesman of tennis, McEnroe has won over his critics as a brilliant commentator at the US Open, Wimbledon, and other Grand Slam tournaments - with outspoken views on the modern game, its top players, and the world of 21st century sport and celebrity. Who are the game's winners and losers? What's it like playing guitar onstage with the Rolling Stones, hitting balls with today's greats, confronting his former on-court nemeses, getting scammed by an international art dealer, and raising a big family while balancing McEnroe-sized expectations? In But Seriously, John McEnroe confronts his demons and reveals his struggle to reinvent himself from champion and tennis legend to father, broadcaster, and author. The result is a richly personal account, blending anecdote and reflection with razor sharp and brutally honest opinions, all in McEnroe's signature style. This is the sports book of the year: wildly entertaining, very funny, surprisingly touching, and 100% McEnroe.


It

It

Author: Alexa Chung

Publisher: Penguin UK

Published: 2014-08-07

Total Pages: 192

ISBN-13: 0141980206

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Alexa Chung's IT: the Top Ten Bestseller from the international fashion muse and Vogue contributing editor Now a Penguin paperback, this one-off collection of Alexa Chung's writing, doodles and photographs combines stories of early style inspirations such as her grandpa and the Spice Girls with discussion of figures of obsession like Jane Birkin and Annie Hall, reflecting on heartbreak, how to get dressed in the morning, the challenges of taking a good selfie, and more. Interspersed with pages from Alexa's notebooks and many a photo of a good night out, It is now perfectly sized for any bag - handbag or otherwise. Witty, charming and with a refreshingly down-to-earth attitude, It is a must-have for anyone who loves fashion, worries about growing up, or loves just about everything Alexa Chung. 'If you love Alexa Chung, buy it. If you are interested in fashion and style, buy it. If you're after a book full of pretty pictures and inspo, buy it' - Cosmopolitan Alexa Chung is a model and contributing editor to British Vogue. The recipient of numerous style awards, Alexa has won the prestigious British Style Award (voted for by the public) three years in a row. She currently lives in New York City.


Revolution

Revolution

Author: Russell Brand

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Published: 2014-10-14

Total Pages: 324

ISBN-13: 1101882913

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NATIONAL BESTSELLER We all know the system isn’t working. Our governments are corrupt and the opposing parties pointlessly similar. Our culture is filled with vacuity and pap, and we are told there’s nothing we can do: “It’s just the way things are.” In this book, Russell Brand hilariously lacerates the straw men and paper tigers of our conformist times and presents, with the help of experts as diverse as Thomas Piketty and George Orwell, a vision for a fairer, sexier society that’s fun and inclusive. You have been lied to, told there’s no alternative, no choice, and that you don’t deserve any better. Brand destroys this illusory facade as amusingly and deftly as he annihilates Morning Joe anchors, Fox News fascists, and BBC stalwarts. This book makes revolution not only possible but inevitable and fun.