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5 minute book reviews and recommendations every Tuesday and Thursday. And a fortnightly biog of some of the great writers on Wednesday; The authors who passed into legend and some...
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5 minute book reviews and recommendations every Tuesday and Thursday. And a fortnightly biog of some of the great writers on Wednesday; The authors who passed into legend and some of their short stories to whet your appetite for literature,
Remember: There are small booksellters who will usually be able to fulfill your order cheaper and with more care than Amazon.
abebooks.co.uk is recommended.
show less
Remember: There are small booksellters who will usually be able to fulfill your order cheaper and with more care than Amazon.
abebooks.co.uk is recommended.
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Transcribed
31 OCT 2024 · 'A mix of urbane wit and surreal extrapolations - Douglas Adams meets Flann O'Brien' IndependentWho else but Steve Martin could combine irrefutable evidence that Mars is populated by kittens with a treatise on sledgehammers In this brilliantly witty collection of pieces Steve Martin takes a subversive glimpse at the world and a sideways swipe at the conventional. From memory tips for the over-fifties to his insightful exposition of 'Wittgenstein's Banana', never has 'pure drivel' been so entertaining.
Steve Martin's talent has always defied definition: a seasoned actor, a razor-sharp screenwriter, an acclaimed playwright, and, of course, the ingenious comedian who turned King Tut into a national craze. In this widely praised collection of humorous riffs, Martin shows he is a master of the written word.From a re-imagining of the Schroedinger's Cat conundrum to a wild meditation on who Lolita would be at age fifty to a skit entitled "I Love Loosely", in which Lucy and Ricky Ricardo play the parts of Hillary and President Clinton, this collection by comic genius Steve Martin--some pieces of which have appeared in The New Yorker--is both hilariously funny and intelligent in its skewering of the topic at hand.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pure-Drivel/dp/B00C6T0YT0/ref=sr_1_1?adgrpid=1177577851297141&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.SFipBr6ueWVB5UvbvzeuS1v4CPgt2Y9YdOge_v-S0lP495dqFpo2AFpbsMJEHCQn.1QhoNWweZ378jOyF3A2iNqvhXWHqcHQBAOH18V4gI_g&dib_tag=se&hvadid=73598818977017&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=132041&hvnetw=s&hvqmt=e&hvtargid=kwd-73598749486636%3Aloc-188&hydadcr=11011_2102806&keywords=pure+drivel+steve+martin&msclkid=1641f5677bbb14f9aa299278d0d32210&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1730128751&sr=8-1
- https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pure-Drivel-Steve-Martin/dp/0786864672/ref=sr_1_1?adgrpid=1177577851297141&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.SFipBr6ueWVB5UvbvzeuS1v4CPgt2Y9YdOge_v-S0lP495dqFpo2AFpbsMJEHCQn.1QhoNWweZ378jOyF3A2iNqvhXWHqcHQBAOH18V4gI_g&dib_tag=se&hvadid=73598818977017&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=132041&hvnetw=s&hvqmt=e&hvtargid=kwd-73598749486636%3Aloc-188&hydadcr=11011_2102806&keywords=pure+drivel+steve+martin&msclkid=1641f5677bbb14f9aa299278d0d32210&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1730128798&sr=8-1
- https://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=30958941544&searchurl=ds%3D20%26kn%3Dpure%2Bdrivel%2Bsteve%2Bmartin%26rollup%3Don%26sortby%3D17&cm_sp=snippet-_-srp0-_-title1
Transcribed
29 OCT 2024 · Broadmoor: My Journey into Hell documents the story of long-term prisoner Charlie Bronson and his five-year stay at Britain's most notorious mental hospital, Broadmoor. His journey has, until now, never been told. In the winter of 1979, aged just twenty-seven, the inmate who would come to be known as 'Charlie Bronson' was considered uncontrollable by the prison system. Certified insane, he was transferred from Parkhurst Prison to the most infamous high-security psychiatric hospital in England, Broadmoor Asylum for the Criminally Insane. There he embarked on a one-man campaign to retain his sanity, and to fight against the brutality of a largely hidden regime that relied on enforced drug control. This outstandingly honest account takes the reader back to those dark days. It is a journey filled with sadness, and yet it is one that includes much laughter and pathos, as well as detailing the camaraderie among fellow patients, who included Ronnie Kray and Frankie Fraser. How Charlie Bronson survived Broadmoor, what he endured and the things he witnessed are, for the very first time, documented in this sad, often chilling, sometimes funny and often moving account of one man's journey into madness and his methods for surviving the UK's most feared and notorious psychiatric hospital. Capturing Bronson's unique voice, it is a roller-coaster ride of madness, pain, laughter and tears. It is also a testament to one man's triumph over adversity.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Broadmoor-My-Journey-into-Hell/dp/178418117X
https://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=31685811450&searchurl=ds%3D20%26kn%3DBroadmoor%2B-%2BMy%2BJourney%2BInto%2BHel%26rollup%3Don%26sortby%3D17&cm_sp=snippet-_-srp0-_-title1
WARNING:The random page I read from contains a description of child murder, Please do not listen to this episode if easily upset/offended.
Transcribed
24 OCT 2024 · Ronnie Barker has long been known as one of Britain’s greatest comedy performers. But he was also responsible for writing much of the material he performed, often hiding the fact from the public by using a number of pen names. Showcasing the complete work of a true comic icon, All I Ever Wrote is a laugh-out-loud collection of sketches, monologues, songs, poems and scripts from every strand of Ronnie’s long and brilliant career.
With gems like ‘Fork Handle’s,’ Three Classes’ and ‘Pismonouncers Unanimous', Ronnie’s clever writing, double entendres and spoonerisms will bring a smile to your face, as you rediscover some of the twentieth century’s finest comedy moments.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/All-Ever-Wrote-Complete-Works/dp/0091951437
Transcribed
22 OCT 2024 · Victoria Wood's wit and humour endeared her to millions of TV viewers for over four decades. Writer, producer and actress of television shows such as As Seen on TV and Dinnerladies, Victoria was often voted the funniest woman in Britain.
Her rise to stardom, from her early years in Lancashire to the successes of the sell-out shows at the Royal Albert Hall, is sympathetically and honestly portrayed by Neil Brandwood. This meticulously researched and written biography provides an insightful account of the life and career of one of Britain's best-loved comediennes.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Victoria-Wood-Biography-Neil-Brandwood/dp/075351124X
Transcribed
17 OCT 2024 · Seconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor.
Together this dynamic pair begin a journey through space aided by quotes from The Hitchhiker's Guide ("A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have") and a galaxy-full of fellow travelers: Zaphod Beeblebrox--the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out-to-lunch president of the galaxy; Trillian, Zaphod's girlfriend (formally Tricia McMillan), whom Arthur tried to pick up at a cocktail party once upon a time zone; Marvin, a paranoid, brilliant, and chronically depressed robot; Veet Voojagig, a former graduate student who is obsessed with the disappearance of all the ballpoint pens he bought over the years.
Where are these pens? Why are we born? Why do we die? Why do we spend so much time between wearing digital watches? For all the answers stick your thumb to the stars. And don't forget to bring a towel!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Hitchhikers-Guide-Galaxy-Boxset/dp/1529044197/ref=sr_1_3?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ImwK49KzZoopF3I8mGm8kwvjOF8ssL6SUQmkAcHMjfT3LouZqGGoqttV7I_OO9VwjXN8OHtMTbfacSEkz1q_-Kqx-kT6_sE8b3qAaJVjo-Fm0yE_ie_vpaRd2up6vYhVxtz5uC6_lc3zFd6h7VSS9TOIjDgMeTsyvC1rNePCnSvKyuLpyi9TH-lpc_d9B8_O3QAKlFQ6g7BtzQ2iX8vdZIKhdFzyOWybRo9erAeY3uE.8cGtV3GQiOspts8eeWGQAQH_zs-5d6CcK5piJLXplQE&dib_tag=se&keywords=hitchhiker%27s+guide+to+the+galaxy&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1729188557&sr=8-3
Transcribed
15 OCT 2024 · Michael Young is a brilliant young history student whose life is changed when he meets Leo Zuckerman, an ageing physicist with a theory that can change worlds.
Together they realise that they have the power to alter history and eradicate a great evil. But tinkering with timelines is more dangerous than they can imagine and nothing - past, present or future - will ever be the same again.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Making-History-Stephen-Fry/dp/0099457067
Transcribed
10 OCT 2024 · 1930, New York. In the unbearable heat of summer, Irish immigrant Will Carthy works as a riveter on the tallest skyscraper in the world, spending his days above the clouds and his nights fighting loneliness. When his half-sister, Isobel, sails out to join him, Will hurries to meet her at Ellis Island, only to find that she seems to have vanished before passing through immigration control. And so begins Will's quest, scouring the teeming tenements for a red-haired girl who now haunts his dreams. Desperate for help, Will becomes involved with the charismatic but lethal union agitator, Foxy Nolan, and the Trichardts - a wealthy, socialite couple with a disturbing agenda of their own. Little by little, though, Will realises that something deeply sinister is at play in Isobel's disappearance and that the answer might rest in an altogether wider arena of social and political ambition...The Golden Door captures brilliantly the mood of Prohibition-era New York, when the glittering towers of modern Manhattan were rising from every street corner as the American Dream came crashing down.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Golden-Door-Kerry-Jamieson/dp/0750522801/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3C2VIZ3VAAXWN&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.FgSXTvtAP3Qhl4XTdWwFtiGyNIGDrQ_4zQBZ5KPlcjfGjHj071QN20LucGBJIEps.z3DdeUXgQQZTewFQfjuGlb1APTjoWLuLp6f0cEcCFC8&dib_tag=se&keywords=kerry+jamieson&qid=1727358220&sprefix=kerry+jamieson%2Caps%2C97&sr=8-1
Transcribed
8 OCT 2024 · The autobiography of Paul Britton, one of the foremost offender profilers in the world. What he searches for at the scene of a crime are not fingerprints, fibres or blood stains, he looks for the "mind trace" left behind by those responsible, the psychological characteristics that can help the police to identify and understand the nature of the perpetrator. Over the past dozen years, Britton has assisted the police in over 100 cases involving murder, rape, arson, extortion and kidnapping. Among them were the murder of Jamie Bulger on a lonely railway line in Liverpool, the abduction of baby Abbie Humphries, the brutal slaying of Rachel Nickell on Wimbledon Common and the notorious "House of Horror" in Gloucester. He has helped to solve some of Britain's most baffling cases, and has also advised the FBI and the Russian Ministry of the Interior.
https://www.amazon.com/Jigsaw-Man-Paul-Britton/dp/0552144932/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1KF85H3Y6ITNV&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.NFwgzIQmsISdrEYI6zqUxGsdXDScl49vpUHytUOKhZ8RNOwc4jgryphqv31MLYX6j5BsyQkzCCwe-xv9SGCr92aVNH_eHRwOfQ-GyKBhC2UNaqbDENc4kPkvkPwsgeivZxPO6opQjiy7YEDsufi_gQ4yqWWNR1w0OgjKg96VH-C9xTgazCgQzUnAIvdcXPvEIUZ6IGaTolcv9yrPX6fJuCtZIzUNNRGTciqTLTdm_NA.FRdP4Gq_9JGSkkvo5KDyW5KYdMLbhJ6yW_OG4PCVzKM&dib_tag=se&keywords=jigsaw+man&qid=1727359071&s=books&sprefix=jigsaw+man%2Cstripbooks%2C848&sr=1-2
Transcribed
3 OCT 2024 · He was a radical stand up who dared to question the values of small town America and the evils of American foreign policy. Ruthlessly honest, a voice of reason in what he saw as an insane world, Hicks refused to compromise in spite of the censorship he faced for most of his career. His entire act was once banned from The Late Show with David Letterman because he made fun of pro-lifers and the Pope.
In American Scream Cynthia True gets under the skin of Hicks, the heavy-drinking, chain-smoking, drug-taking philosopher who was also gentle and kind, a good friend and a comic genius who packed enough adventure into his three decades to last three lifetimes. Hicks died of pancreatic cancer in 1994 but his comedy is more relevant today than ever. This vivid, funny, insightful book shows why.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/American-Scream-Cynthia-true/dp/1447227069/ref=sr_1_1?crid=Q96J2EP8Z7WU&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Ao-ennJIvHpVycYk2oWD0wuwg0-J_HZRhczd_RTWG8gd4extOHLS23ZPzirgiWpWVsGzE5Fco_wyGOhPhNxllm3FYF9bIc4HC2tJzrjZh6Ro03T-Xho86vbzg9b2OXxWspuVsHC2fsXRBT2paHm4GPHYfb9hBGI6n8hwyyWE4Q_3j8oD_B-EPdHQ6klwqGv36oUL9FNv0g4qxHt3BHk75JAkHbNCIS6-MS_UQyL6nlw.8ql0KSOIOzYqLa3--qnil1KLZN5T48PmRA0l4xb8GT0&dib_tag=se&keywords=american+scream&qid=1727357076&sprefix=american+scream%2Caps%2C278&sr=8-1
https://youtu.be/EOfFRDryVQM?si=55ZRtIcnX4cTkCdw
Transcribed
1 OCT 2024 · Widely hailed as one of the finest humorist of the twentieth century, James Thurber looks back at his own life growing up in Columbus, Ohio, with the same humor and sharp wit that defined his famous sketches and writings. In My Life and Hard times, first published in 1933, he recounts the delightful chaos and frustrations of family, boyhood, youth, odd dogs, recalcitrant machinery, and the foibles of human nature.
https://www.amazon.com/Life-Hard-Times-Perennial-Classics/dp/0060933089
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5 minute book reviews and recommendations every Tuesday and Thursday. And a fortnightly biog of some of the great writers on Wednesday; The authors who passed into legend and some...
show more
5 minute book reviews and recommendations every Tuesday and Thursday. And a fortnightly biog of some of the great writers on Wednesday; The authors who passed into legend and some of their short stories to whet your appetite for literature,
Remember: There are small booksellters who will usually be able to fulfill your order cheaper and with more care than Amazon.
abebooks.co.uk is recommended.
show less
Remember: There are small booksellters who will usually be able to fulfill your order cheaper and with more care than Amazon.
abebooks.co.uk is recommended.
Information
| Author | Ed Parnell |
| Organization | Ed |
| Categories | Books , Society & Culture , Hobbies |
| Website | - |
| podcast@edparnell.co.uk |
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