Guest Review: Psycho: The Autobiography By Stuart Pearce

In an era of superstar prima donnas, Stuart Pearce's total commitment on the pitch earned him the affection of football fans everywhere, who nicknamed him Psycho. He will forever be remembered for two penalties - one missed and scored - for England, but there is so much more to him than that. This book reveals the fascinating story of one of football's greatest personalities. PSYCHO is as honest and straightforward as the man himself.

Review: Stuart Pearce is a professional football player and manager. During his playing days, he earned a reputation as a tough, uncompromising defender. He made over 500 league appearances and was capped 78 times for England. Due to his playing style, he was nicknamed “Psycho” by the fans. However, his disciplinary record was reasonably good and he received very few red cards, certainly fewer than such an epithet would suggest. He states in the book that if he was shown a yellow card during a match, he would tone down his subsequent play to avoid a second yellow.

Born in west London, he did not follow a conventional route into professional football but, instead, played for non-league side Wealdstone for five seasons whilst training and working as an electrician. He was signed by Coventry City, with whom he spent two seasons, before signing for Nottingham Forest where he spent twelve seasons, comprising the bulk of his playing career. This was followed by short spells with Newcastle United, West Ham United and Manchester City.

The book describes his childhood and his introduction to the game, along with many of the colourful characters with whom he has played and under whose management he has served. It also includes his international career playing for England. His time with the national team coincided with two semi-final appearances, one in the World Cup in 1990 and one in the European Championship in 1996. Both of these games were decided by penalty shootouts, and there is a whole chapter in the book devoted to penalties.

Published in 2000, the book describes the author’s playing career up to his first season at West Ham United. During his time at Nottingham Forest, he took over as player/manager for a short period from December 1996 until May 1997. The last chapter in the book describes his thoughts on going into management when his playing career is finished. Since the publication of the book, this is what he has done, filling a number of coaching and managerial roles at both club and international level.

I found the book to be a fascinating account of someone who did not take a conventional route into professional football, although I found the timeline jumped around on occasions. It will interest all football fans, giving an insight into someone who was a formidable opponent on the field, but who comes across as a grounded, family man off it.

To order your copy now, just click the link: UK or US

Review: Seriously...I'm Kidding by Ellen Degeneres

"Sometimes the greatest things are the most embarrassing." Ellen Degeneres' winning, upbeat candor has made her show one of the most popular, resilient and honored daytime shows on the air. (To date, it has won no fewer than 31 Emmys.) Seriously... I'm Kidding, Degeneres' first book in eight years, brings us up to date about the life of a kindhearted woman who bowed out of American Idol because she didn't want to be mean. Lively; hilarious; often sweetly poignant.

Review: This one has been on my wishlist for quite some time. Sometimes when you wait and wait and wait for something, when it finally comes, it can be a little disappointing. Unfortunately that was the case with this read. I chose to listen to this one in audiobook. I was hoping for something insightful, something I hadn't heard before but this was broken down into short chapters, some of them just as short as a single joke and the others merely an extension of the monologue that she does at the start of each show. 

There were moments in the book when I laughed out loud, there is no question that this is a very funny woman and I do find her stories entertaining. So if you are looking for some entertainment during a holiday or a long car journey then this is definitely going to be the book for you. Because this was an audiobook and is read by the author, Ellen does sometimes address the audience. I liked this style and found it particularly spooky when she was picturing us reading  or listening to the book and 'maybe you're looking at a view of the mountains in Colorado' I was driving along a particularly picturesque road in Denver, looking at the snow on the mountains!

I did enjoy the way the book was structured and I did find it entertaining. I would definitely recommend listening to this on audiobook because it is read by Ellen and so you will have the jokes told with her timing and hear the way she talks about the language that she uses. I was hoping for a little more with this read though and I really hope that Ellen will bring out an updated version or another version of her memoirs for me to really get my teeth into!

To order your copy and see for yourself, click here!

Review: Girl Walks into a Bar by Rachel Dratch

Anyone who saw an episode of Saturday Night Live between 1999 and 2006 knows Rachel Dratch. She was hilarious! So what happened to her? After a misbegotten part as Jenna on the pilot of 30 Rock, Dratch was only getting offered roles as "Lesbians. Secretaries. Sometimes secretaries who are lesbians."

Her career at a low point, Dratch suddenly had time for yoga, dog- sitting, learning Spanish-and dating. After all, what did a forty- something single woman living in New York have to lose? Resigned to childlessness but still hoping for romance, Dratch was out for drinks with a friend when she met John.

Handsome and funny, after only six months of dating long-distance, he became the inadvertent father of her wholly unplanned, undreamed-of child, and moved to New York to be a dad. With riotous humor, Dratch recounts breaking the news to her bewildered parents, the awe of her single friends, and the awkwardness of a baby-care class where the instructor kept tossing out the f-word.

Review: Ok so I am an SNL fan, but being in the UK when Rachel Dratch was on the show, I didn't really get to see her in her heyday. This, I think, was actually pretty useful going into this book because this book, she says so herself, is about what happened after SNL. I really enjoyed reading about a comedian I had heard some things about but not a great deal and her journey to stardom and then what happened when that stardom kind of ended. 

If you are a Rachel Dratch fan already then there is definitely something for you in this book. She tells of her beginnings in comedy and her background and does go into some of the SNL stuff. If you are a fan of the show, you will recognise her journey as being similar to so many other SNL stars. I really enjoyed hearing about how she got started but also how she struggled after the show ended. I particularly enjoyed hearing about the struggles that she had because of her gender or because of her look.

Rachel Dratch is an extremely funny writer and I listened to this one on audiobook so I got to hear her stories in her own words, told in her own way and that was definitely a bonus. I really enjoyed hearing her dating anecdotes and could definitely relate to some of the stories she had to tell. I would definitely recommend getting the audiobook on this one, whether you are a Rachel Dratch/SNL fan or not, it will be a funny, quick and entertaining read!

To get your copy now, just click here!

Review: I Know What I'm Doing and Other Lies I Tell Myself by Jen Kirkman

New York Times bestselling author and stand-up comedian Jen Kirkman delivers a hilarious, candid memoir about marriage, divorce, sex, turning forty, and still not quite having life figured out. 

Jen Kirkman wants to be the voice in your head that says, Hey, you're okay. Even if you sometimes think you aren't! And especially if other people try to tell you you're not. 

In I Know What I'm Doing--and Other Lies I Tell Myself, Jen offers up all the gory details of a life permanently in progress. She reassures you that it's okay to not have life completely figured out, even when you reach middle age (and find your first gray pubic hair!). She talks about making unusual or unpopular life decisions (such as cultivating a "friend with benefits" or not going home for the holidays) because you don't necessarily want for yourself what everyone else seems to think you should. It's about renting when everyone says you should own, dating around when everyone thinks you should settle down, and traveling alone when everyone pities you for going to Paris without a man. 

From marriage to divorce and sex to mental health, I Know What I'm Doing--and Other Lies I Tell Myself is about embracing the fact that life is a bit of a sh*t show and it's definitely more than okay to stay true to yourself.

Review: I was generously sent this book for review by the publisher and I am so glad that I was because this was a thoroughly enjoyable read! I have to admit that I hadn't really heard of Jen Kirkman's stand up until I heard about this book and then I took to Netflix and watched what she did. I am pretty glad that I watched her stand up before reading this book because I think that it set the tone for what the book was going to like. There was limited crossover so there will definitely be new material in here for die-hard Jen Kirkman fans. 

This book is structured like a series of anecdotes about life and love and what is really great about it is that you wouldn't have to read this one chronologically because it isn't written that way. Jan offers witty takes on aspects of life that wouldn't normally have any humour in them, such as divorce and break ups, and adds her own dry sense of humour to them. This book is definitely not for the faint hearted because Jen really doesn't hold back when she offers her opinion on something and that's another thing that I really loved about this read. 

I think that this book would be great for anyone who hasn't seen Jen's stand up but I think it is a really good companion for her shows that are currently on Netflix, or is you have been to see her live. I wouldn't necessarily say that this book is for younger readers, just because the life experiences that are mentioned wouldn't necessarily seem relevant, and its helps if you have been through some of the things she has been through as it will make it easier for the reader to relate. I don't like putting ages on books, but I would say that mid twenties would be a good starting point with this one!

I actually downloaded the audio book version of this one because I cannot begin to tell you how much I love hearing authors reading their own memoirs and this definitely fell into that category. It was great hearing Jen tell stories in her own words and her own voice and she puts on an accent to imitate her mother, who has a strong Boston accent and i think that really adds something to the book. I am glad I have a physical copy too though, because this is definitely one of those books that I will go back and dip into again. I haven't read Jen's first book but I will definitely be adding it to my TBR and you should definitely do the same with I Know What I am Doing!

To get your copy now, click here!

Review: Talking as Fast as I can by Lauren Graham

In her first work of nonfiction, the beloved star of Gilmore Girls and Parenthood recounts her experiences on Gilmore Girls - the first and second times - and shares stories about life, love, and working in Hollywood. This collection of essays is written in the intimate, hilarious, and down-to-earth voice that made her novel, Someday, Someday, Maybe, a New York Times best seller.
"This book contains some stories from my life: the awkward growing up years, the confusing dating years, the fulfilling working years, and what it was like to be asked to play one of my favorite characters again. You probably think I'm talking about my incredible achievement as Dolly in Hello, Dolly! as a Langley High School junior, a performance my dad called 'you're so much taller than the other kids.' But no! I'm talking about Lorelai Gilmore, who, back in 2008, I wasn't sure I'd ever see again. Also included: tales of living on a houseboat, meeting guys at awards shows, and that time I was asked to be a butt model. A hint: all three made me seasick." (Lauren Graham)

Review: I am currently working my way through all of Gilmore Girls and so as soon s I heard of this books release, I knew I had to read it. This book told me so much more about this actress that I only know as one character. It has given me interesting insights into life as a tall actress and life when a long running show ends and therefore you are out of a job for the first time in many many years. 

As with all celebrity memoirs, I appreciated the honesty of this book. I liked the fact that Lauren is obviously a little bit kooky and therefore goes off on a tangent and so it felt like listening to a book by Jenny Lawson, or having a really good chat with a friend. Yes, I listened to this book on audio download. Now, normally I feel like this is the best way to read a memoir of an autobiography, but I'm not sure it was the case with this on. Lauren would often say 'see picture 8' or 'see what I mean' referring to a picture on the pages she was reading. I have listened to a few audiobooks before that make mention of the pictures that I, as a listener, as missing out on and I would prefer there to be some sort of acknowledgement that I can't see the picture than just be left looking like a bit of a fool because I can't see what the reader is talking about. Therefore I would say that this is one of those books where you would be better of with the physical book, rather than the audio version. 

That being said, I really loved the fact that this book is read by Lauren herself and so you really do feel like she is imparting facts about her life to you, as she would do to a close friend. You feel like she is sharing secrets. I think it is interesting that she doesn't usually watch her own performances, but that she has had to for the resurrection of Gilmore Girls and therefore is able to give a break down of the best parts of each season. For any Gilmore Girls fan, this was hugely exiting because she talks about the outfits she had to wear and the actors reactions to the new story lines and developments in the series. 

Of course this book is not just about Gilmore Girls. As I have already mentioned, Lauren is completely honest about her life and so we get to hear about the various different jobs she had whilst trying to make it in the acting world. The pressures of having a relationship with a co-star and even the pressures of writing a book. This book peaked my interest and I want to find out more about this actress, her work and her writing and that is the way I like to be left having to finish a book. I am sure that, like me, this book will leave you wanting more because it is such a compelling read!

To get your copy, click here!

Review: Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick

A collection of humorous autobiographical essays by the Academy Award-nominated actress and star of Up in the Air andPitch Perfect.

Even before she made a name for herself on the silver screen starring in films like Pitch Perfect, Up in the Air, Twilight, and Into the Woods, Anna Kendrick was unusually small, weird, and “10 percent defiant.”

At the ripe age of thirteen, she had already resolved to “keep the crazy inside my head where it belonged. Forever. But here’s the thing about crazy: It. Wants. Out.” In Scrappy Little Nobody, she invites readers inside her brain, sharing extraordinary and charmingly ordinary stories with candor and winningly wry observations.

With her razor-sharp wit, Anna recounts the absurdities she’s experienced on her way to and from the heart of pop culture as only she can—from her unusual path to the performing arts (Vanilla Ice and baggy neon pants may have played a role) to her double life as a middle-school student who also starred on Broadway to her initial “dating experiments” (including only liking boys who didn’t like her back) to reviewing a binder full of butt doubles to her struggle to live like an adult woman instead of a perpetual “man-child.”

Enter Anna’s world and follow her rise from “scrappy little nobody” to somebody who dazzles on the stage, the screen, and now the page—with an electric, singular voice, at once familiar and surprising, sharp and sweet, funny and serious (well, not that serious). 

Review: I absolutely loved this memoir. I listened to it on audibook but made sure that I had the beautiful hardback on hand to be able to see any pictures that might be talked about. I really enjoyed the audiobook experience because hearing Anna talk about her own experiences in her own way really made the book come alive.

This book is written in chronological order on the most part and so you really get to build up a picture of this actress from her roots in ameteur theatre, to commercials, to broadway and eventually the star of films we know today. She isn't shy to give her take on things, her opinions on the showbiz world and I think it was her honesty that I liked most about this book.

I think that even if you haven't seen many of her film, or seen her on stage, then this book will be an interesting read. We, as readers, are given as insight into award shows, just how awkward it is for even famous teenagers growing up and just how exciting the pull of the stage is. I think this is a valuable memoir and I do hope that she produces another one as her career continue to progress. I would highly recommend listening to this one but also getting a copy of the hardback to keep and treasure because it really is a beautiful book!

Review: Where Am I Now? by Mara Wilson

A former child actor best known for her starring roles in Matilda and Mrs. Doubtfire, Mara Wilson has always felt a little young and out of place: as the only kid on a film set full of adults, the first daughter in a house full of boys, a Valley girl in New York and a neurotic in California, and a grown-up the world still remembers as a little girl. Tackling everything from what she learned about sex on the set of Melrose Place, to discovering in adolescence that she was no longer “cute” enough for Hollywood, these essays chart her journey from accidental fame to relative (but happy) obscurity. They also illuminate universal struggles, like navigating love and loss, and figuring out who you are and where you belong. Candid, insightful, moving, and hilarious, Where Am I Now? introduces Mara Wilson as a brilliant new chronicler of the experience that is growing up female.

Review: This was a really interesting read. As soon as I saw this book in the bookshops, I knew I had to read it. As I do with most autobiographies/memoirs, I listened to this on audiobook which I downloaded from the library. This was a very interesting read because I've always been a little bit fascinated by Mara Wilson. When you grow up watching somebody in films, really good films that you love and then they just disappear, you really do want to know, where are they now and this book allowed me to answer that questions, along with a few others I had about this actress!

One of the other interesting aspects about this book is that it deals with the subjects of death and anxiety, two very serious subjects, but two which were dealt with honestly and sensitively in this book. Mara talks about the death of her mother, as well as the death of her friend Robin Williams. It is really interesting to hear her talk about these deaths that happened at very different times in her life, and also to hear how differently they affected her. It was also great to hear how honestly she talks about her anxiety, right down to describing her trips to the doctors and how she spoke to her family about it. 

I was also interested to hear how acting at such a young age affected her, how she dealt with school and how she chose which parts to take and which to turn down. All of the different essays in this book contain honesty but also a lot of humour. I really enjoyed listening to Mara tell these stories in her own words, and laughed along with her as she laughed and felt for her when things weren't going so swimmingly. I think that if you enjoy memoirs and autobiographies in general, even if you've not seen many of Wilson's films, you'll enjoy this one because of the structure, the content and the writing. 

To get your copy now click here!

Review: Spectacles by Sue Perkins

Spectacles is the hilarious, creative and incredibly moving memoir from much loved comedian, writer and presenter Sue Perkins.

When I began writing this book, I went home to see if my mum had kept some of my stuff. What I found was that she hadn't kept some of it. She had kept all of it - every bus ticket, postcard, school report - from the moment I was born to the moment I finally had the confidence to turn round and say 'Why is our house full of this shit?'

Sadly, a recycling 'incident' destroyed the bulk of this archive. This has meant two things: firstly, Dear Reader, you will never get to see countless drawings of wizards, read a poem about corn on the cob, or marvel at the kilos of brown flowers I so lovingly pressed as a child. Secondly, it's left me with no choice but to actually write this thing myself.

This, my first ever book, will answer questions such as 'Is Mary Berry real?', 'Is it true you wear a surgical truss?' and 'Is a non-spherically symmetric gravitational pull from outside the observable universe responsible for some of the observed motion of large objects such as galactic clusters in the universe?'

Most of this book is true. I have, of course, amplified my more positive characteristics in an effort to make you like me.

Thank you for reading.

Review: my Christmas present to myself! I so enjoyed this book, I listened to hours of it whilst just at home, normally my audiobooks are reserved for the car journeys but this one was absolutely gobbled up! I really like the fact that generally when you read an audiobook version of an autobiography it is read by the author and this fact really brought the book to life for me! 

There's nothing I can really add to this review that will be of any great revelation. I loved this book. Sue Perkins I brutally honest about her life and fills the book with witty anecdotes as well as sharing some really poignant and painful moments with us. I really like the fact that she isn't afraid to make a fool of herself and so she tells us about the moments that went wrong, even if we saw the polished finished product, she lays it all out bare, showing us that is wasn't always like that! 

I really enjoyed hearing the story of how she came out to her family. I love the fact that she had built it up to be something completely different from what it was in her head and the fact that she had a completely different experience of things when she had to tell her grandmother! I really like the fact that she is completely open about it about her relationships. I would love to hear more from Sue Perkins whether it is fiction or non-fiction, I will definitely be reading it and you should definitely follow suit! 

Review: Wildflower by Drew Barrymore

Wildflower is a portrait of Drew's life in stories as she looks back on the adventures, challenges, and incredible experiences of her earlier years. It includes tales of living on her own at 14 (and how laundry may have saved her life), getting stuck in a gas station overhang on a cross country road trip, saying goodbye to her father in a way only he could have understood, and many more adventures and lessons that have led her to the successful, happy, and healthy place she is today. It is the first book Drew has written about her life since the age of 14.

Review: I have discovered that my favourite way to read memoirs or autobiographies is to listen to the author reading them themselves on audiobook. I knew the moment I saw this book on the shelves in the states I had to have it so I saw that it was released on audiobook 2 days later in the UK and pre-ordered it immediately. This was another book that I flew through. I found myself trying to listen at all points of the day, not just during my commute to and from school. 

I really like the fact that this book has come out just meow, Drew Barrymore has been fairly quiet of late whilst she has concentrated on her family, I really respect this but it was great to hear something from her that was a little bit different. This book is a mixture of stories, letters, anecdotes, funny things, poems, sad things but full of openness and honesty! 

Obviously Drew has been in the film industry for many, many years and so must have a wealth of stories to shares but I think some of my favourite stories had nothing to do with the film industry but involved road trips and relationships and every day activities and though processes that we all have. Something which really came out of the book for me was the fact that he built herself up from literally nothing. She moved out of home very very young, had a rather public fall from grace and yet has her own film company, a reputation most actors would kill for and still managed to have a healthy marriage and healthy children! Needless to say I am envious of her. 

I don't think you necessarily have to be a Drew Barrymore fan to be able to enjoy this book, or even be particularly interested in her films. Of course I felt like watching some of her films as I was reading this, and I did, but in think it was just really interesting to hear about how she motivates herself, how she celebrates the joy and how she copes with the difficulties that life throws at us all. This was a really compelling read and something I am and have been recommending to everyone!

To order your copy now, click here!

Review: Bossypants by Tina Fey

Before Liz Lemon, before "Weekend Update," before "Sarah Palin," Tina Fey was just a young girl with a dream: a recurring stress dream that she was being chased through a local airport by her middle-school gym teacher. She also had a dream that one day she would be a comedian on TV.

She has seen both these dreams come true.

At last, Tina Fey's story can be told. From her youthful days as a vicious nerd to her tour of duty on Saturday Night Live; from her passionately halfhearted pursuit of physical beauty to her life as a mother eating things off the floor; from her one-sided college romance to her nearly fatal honeymoon -- from the beginning of this paragraph to this final sentence.

Review: this was such a funny read. I have started to read all my autobigraphies via audiobook now because I really like having the book narrated by the person that wrote it, although I miss out on the picture, unless I also own the hardback which in many cases I do, I really like the connection that you get from listening to someone that tells their own story. I also like the change from fiction to non-fiction every once in a while and right now I like my non-fiction to come in the form of these autobiographies.

I really enjoyed listening to this book. Tina Fey has a sharp and to the point way of writing and it means that you barely feel like you're reading, the book is over before you realise but in a good way. This book is filled with her opinions as well as facts and figures about her personal and professional life and so it gives you that little bit more than just a facts and figures kind of book. The opinions can sometimes be a little controversial and I loved the fact that she wasn't afraid to put any of those things out there. This being Tina Fey, there was a definite feminist undertone to some of the chapters which, again, I am all for and made me love this book even more.

There were some really interesting things to be learnt from this book and even if you have never watched £0 Rock or SNL then you will still find something to tempt you with this particular book and everything is explained as if you don't know anything about these things rather than assuming you are a fan and that is why you bought the book! Of course there are some really funny moments throughout the text, proper laugh out loud times as well as sniggering to yourself whist listening in the car times. There isn't anything shocking or dramatic, that's not how she's sold so many copies of the book-its definitely a positive, fell-good experience.

I will definitely be pushing this book onto other people and recommending it to anyone who loves a good laugh. It gallops on at a tremendous pace, it is light-hearted and witty. Although it does use the c word and the f word on several occasions, something which i found to be tremendously refreshing, there is nothing that is there for pure shock value, only to entertain your readers. I would definitely recommend this book in audiobook form although I'm sure reading the paperback or hardback will be just as much fun.

Review: Yes Please! by Amy Poehler

In a perfect world . . .

We'd get to hang out with Amy Poehler, watching movies, listening to music, and swapping tales about our difficult childhoods. Because in a perfect world, we'd all be friends with Amy - someone who seems so much fun, is full of interesting stories, tells great jokes, and offers plenty of advice and wisdom (the useful kind, not the annoying kind you didn't ask for). Unfortunately, between her Golden Globe-winning role on Parks and Recreation, work as a producer and director, place as one of the most beloved Saturday Night Live alumni, involvement with the website Smart Girls at the Party, frequent turns as an acting double for Meryl Streep, and her other gig as the mom of two young sons, she's not available for movie night.

Luckily, we have the next best thing: Yes Please, Amy's hilarious and candid book. A collection of anecdotes, essays, ideas, lists, and haikus from the mind of one of America's most beloved entertainers, Yes Please offers Amy's thoughts on everything from her 'too safe' childhood outside of Boston to her early days in New York City, her ideas about Hollywood and showbusiness, the demon that looks back at all of us in the mirror, and her joy at being told she has 'a face for wigs'. A delight on every page, Yes Please is chock-full of words, and wisdom, to live by.

Review: I was so looking forward to reading this book and let me tell you, it did not let me down. I have found that I enjoy reading autobiographies in audiobooks form and so I downloaded this one using one of my audible credits and settled back for an entertaining listen on my commute. Gosh this book was such fun. I highly reccomend listening to this one on audiobook because you feel partly like you're just having a good old chat with this fabulous lady, and party like you are being entertained at some wonderful stand up comedy event. 

The book isn't linear in structure, it jumps around from time to time covering various aspects of Amy Poehler's personal life and her career. I sometimes prefer this form of writing to a chronological report of someones life, i found the anecdotal style very easy to listen to and I would imagine that it would make a good read as well. The stories that she told were interesting and you could tell that she was just sharing them with her readers, not putting them out there just for sympathy or just for laughs, it was really as if she were just telling you stuff about her life whilst you were both on a long bus journey or something-i really liked this!

The really fab thing about this audiobook was that there was definitely extra content for those of use who had elected to buy the audiobook. Obviously when you buy an audio version of an autobiography, you miss out on the pictorial content that you would get in the hardback edition, but because of this, Amy has added some guest readers and a whole section which she did ,Ive to an audience so you get just as much of a 3d experience as if you had picked up the hardback. 

I know this will be a big xmas gift this year and it came out just in time for all the seasonal gifting but i really recommend you not only buy this book as a gift but also read it yourself because  there is something in this book to entertain anyone and everyone. You will laugh, you will be made to think and you will definitely storm through this book just as quickly as I did. This was a fabulously entertaining read but now you'll have to excuse me whilst I find more funny clips of SNL on YouTube!

Review: Not That Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham

n Not That Kind of Girl, Dunham illuminates the experiences that are part of making one’s way in the world: falling in love, feeling alone, being ten pounds overweight despite eating only health food, having to prove yourself in a room full of men twice your age, finding true love, and most of all, having the guts to believe that your story is one that deserves to be told.

“Take My Virginity (No Really, Take It)” is the account of Dunham’s first time, and how her expectations of sex didn’t quite live up to the actual event (“No floodgate had been opened, no vault of true womanhood unlocked”); “Girls & Jerks” explores her former attraction to less-than-nice guys—guys who had perfected the “dynamic of disrespect” she found so intriguing; “Is This Even Real?” is a meditation on her lifelong obsession with death and dying—what she calls her “genetically predestined morbidity.” And in “I Didn’t F*** Them, but They Yelled at Me,” she imagines the tell-all she will write when she is eighty and past caring, able to reflect honestly on the sexism and condescension she has encountered in Hollywood, where women are “treated like the paper thingies that protect glasses in hotel bathrooms—necessary but infinitely disposable.”

Exuberant, moving, and keenly observed, Not That Kind of Girl is a series of dispatches from the frontlines of the struggle that is growing up. “I’m already predicting my future shame at thinking I had anything to offer you,” Dunham writes. “But if I can take what I’ve learned and make one menial job easier for you, or prevent you from having the kind of sex where you feel you must keep your sneakers on in case you want to run away during the act, then every misstep of mine will have been worthwhile.”

Review: I listened to this bo on audiobook and it was read by the author. I always enjoy when books are read by their author because I think it makes them really come to life, being read exactly as they're meant to be read/heard. I did really enjoy this book, it was a nice quick read and the structure made it very easy to listen to. The book itself is made up up mainly anecdotes toed together with major life events and so that made it easier to listen to as well. 

I'm not a massive fan or this writer/actress especially but I knew I wanted to read this book because it contains real feminist thinking and total take control of your life honesty. This writer doesn't have it all, she's never had it all and so I really respect what she has to say. There are some absolutely hilarious moments in the book alongside some emotional moments. There was a low point in the book where basically  Lena Dunham is just reading out her food diary, the items and the calories they contain and I found this part a bit boring, I think I would definitely have skipped over this if I were reading it in paper form. 

I think this book isn't just for women, however. I think guys would enjoy the humour in this book and perhaps learn something about women and relationships as well! The book is frank and honest so if you are easily offended then you might not enjoy some of the full-on detail and crude language but I find that kind of honesty refreshing and I loved the no holds barred attitude. This isn't really a full-on autobiography, neither is it a novel, it's a collection of anecdotes thrown together with some life lessons and some very thought provoking points of view. If you like the sound of that then you will really enjoy this book but if you are looking for something that fits fully into a box then this might not be for you. In my opinion though, a great Christmas present and a great read! 

Review: More Fool Me by Stephen Fry

Stephen Fry invites readers to take a glimpse at his life story in the unputdownable More Fool Me.

'Oh dear I am an arse. I expect there'll be what I believe is called an "intervention" soon. I keep picturing it. All my friends bearing down on me and me denying everything until my pockets are emptied. Oh the shame'

In his early thirties, Stephen Fry - writer, comedian, star of stage and screen - had, as they say, 'made it'. Much loved in A Bit of Fry and Laurie, Blackadder and Jeeves and Wooster, author of a critically acclaimed and bestselling first novel, The Liar, with a glamorous and glittering cast of friends, he had more work than was perhaps good for him.

What could possibly go wrong?

Then, as the 80s drew to a close, he discovered a most enjoyable way to burn the candle at both ends, and took to excess like a duck to breadcrumbs. Writing and recording by day, and haunting a never ending series of celebrity parties, drinking dens, and poker games by night, in a ludicrous and impressive act of bravado, he fooled all those except the very closest to him, some of whom were most enjoyably engaged in the same dance.

He was - to all intents and purposes - a high functioning addict. Blazing brightly and partying wildly as the 80s turned to the 90s, AIDS became an epidemic and politics turned really nasty, he was so busy, so distracted by the high life, that he could hardly see the inevitable, headlong tumble that must surely follow . . .

Containing raw, electric extracts from his diaries of the time, More Fool Me is a brilliant, eloquent account by a man driven to create and to entertain - revealing a side to him he has long kept hidden.

Review: Having enjoyed previous autobiographical titles by Stephen Fry I was keen to give this new one a go. I enjoyed listening to Fry's last books as an audiobook and so i read this one as an audiobook too. I really enjoy listening to people telling me about their lives in their own words. Thi9s books doesn't necessarily pick up where the last left off but starts somewhere in the 90s and tends to flash backs and forth a little bit. Now whilst this might sound confusing, the structure of it really works, we don't have to be chronological all of the time, and it becomes more a series of anecdotes rather than the, then next year this happened, format-much more fun!

I do sometimes find myself losing track of who's who when it comes to Stephen Fry'[s books, but i just go along with it and eventually i realise who it is that's being talked about. This is possibly because he has a tendency to name drop ad lib, but i was in no confusing during the chapter where he talked about Prince Charles and Diana coming round on New Year's day! There were some moments where people made me laugh and because i knew so many of the people he was talking about I could picture so many of them doing the things he was describing. In a sense, a lot of this book isn't actually about him but stories in which he is involved in some way!

This book has had a lot of hype because of Fry's stories of taking cocaine and the trouble, or lack of trouble that that got him in,. This book is by no means completely about drug fuelled binges, neither does it condone drugs. I actually learnt stuff about cocaine that I didn't know and he talks a little about the dealers and the vicious circle that one gets into when one has a dealer and so on. I actually found this aspect really interesting and yet, still have no desire to have anything whatsoever to do with Cocaine.

I think my favourite part of the book was the chapter about the Groucho Club. It is mentioned on numerous other occasions but there is a whole chapter explaining how he became a member and what soprdid things happened to him there (I could totally picture him not knowing who Blur were in the bar!) The final section of the book is comprised of diary entries from him. I wasn't so keen on this structure because i felt it dragged a little. There were short diary entries that I didn't think necessarily needed to be there and so i felt like i was wasting my time somewhat after the gallant pace that had been upheld for the previous portions of the book. Overall I really enjoyed this read though and the anecdotes, I'm sure, will keep me amused again and again!

The book was also enhanced for me by going to the cinema to see the More Fool Me live from the Royal Festival Hall. There were parts where Fry simply read from the book but others where you got bonus material and little extra anecdotes and his bit about Australian accents was just fabulous. I like when I can have a little bit extra to a book, such an an author signing or an event with them and this, for me, was a really lovely extra and well-worth the trip to the cinema!

Review: Bonkers by Jennifer Saunders

Jennifer Saunders' brilliant comic creations have brought joy to millions for three decades. From Comic Strip to Comic Relief, from Bolly-swilling Edina in Absolutely Fabulous to Meryl Streep in Mamma Mia, her characters are household names.

But it's Jennifer herself who has a place in all our hearts. This is her funny, touching and disarmingly honest memoir, filled with stories of friends, laughter and occasional heartache - but never misery.

From her childhood on RAF bases, where her father was a pilot, to her life-changing encounter with a young Dawn French, on to success and family, the book charts her extraordinary story, including the slip ups and battles along the way.

Review: aww what a lovely, touching autobiography! I was hooked into this book straight away and found it compulsive reading right from the first page, literally such a quick read because you feel like Jennifer saundersnis speaking to you and only you and you want to finish this wonderful conversation that you're having with this fabulous comedienne before going away and doing anything else. I actually got this on audiobook and as it is read by the author, this feeling of being in conversation with her intensified even more. 

I love the structure of this book because, like any goo autobiography which is designed to keep you entertained, it doesn't simply go over event chronologically, there are massive tangents to go off and on and she merely highlights events that were key for her, not making a massive event over the more trivial points, or the points which will make a better sale of the book. She knows her audience and knows the kind of anecdotes that they will want to hear about her relationship with her comedy partners, her husband and her battle with breast cancer. 

I have to admit that whilst I was a big fan of Jennifer Saunders before, I am an even bigger fan now! She just makes herself so endearing to hear readers and you don't even realise the amount of things she's been involved in and this book lays them all our for you, showing how much of a struggle it was for her in what was predominantly, a mans world, to make it big. She loves her friends a family and you can tell she enjoyed telling some of the tales that she told in this book, even if It was a massive effort to sit down and write it! I would recommend this book to anyone, it would make a fantastic present for someone who doesn't normally read because it is just such an easy book to get into and makes you want to get to the end before even moving again. 

Sorry this has been such a short review but it was just a lovely autobiography!