|summary=Adroit marketing? Well, yes. ''An Education'' has been published, of course, to coincide with the film's general release in the UK. Hardly surprising since our national appetite for nosiness seems insatiable and cosy background details prop up every telly series and film these days. As well as the screenplay, Nick Hornby has provided an introduction and diary of the film's successful premiere at the Sundance Festival in Utah. Beyond trivia, I think this fascinating little book presents an excellent 'how to' guide for wannabes from one of Britain's most respected screen and novel writers.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0141044748</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Louis Barfe
|title=Turned Out Nice Again: The Story of British Light Entertainment
|rating=4
|genre=Entertainment
|summary=Light entertainment is often looked down upon, as if it's a bit naff, tepid and ignorable. What's often forgotten is that it's hugely popular, enjoyable and much of it is of the highest quality. Louis Barfe's Turned Out Nice Again tells the complete story of British light entertainment.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1843543818</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Graham McCann
|title=Bounder!: The Biography of Terry-Thomas
|rating=4.5
|genre=Biography
|summary=When I was in my early teens, it sometimes seemed as if Terry-Thomas was one of the stars of almost every other five-star British comedy film around. He was certainly one of the most recognizable characters of all with his gap-toothed grin, cigarette holder and inimitable 'Hel-lo!', 'Hard cheese!', and best of all, the angry, 'You're an absolute shower!'
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1845134419</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=John Peel and Sheila Ravenscroft
|title=Margrave of the Marshes
|rating=4.5
|genre=Entertainment
|summary=John Peel was without doubt one of the most important disc jockeys of all time. Born in Merseyside in 1939, he began his career in mid-60s America before returning home to join Radio London and then become one of the original Radio 1 team, where he stayed until his death 37 years later. I admired the man for his passion for playing the music nobody else would give the time of day (even if I didn't always enjoy it myself) and his readiness to say exactly what he thought, even if it was not what his employers at the BBC wanted to hear, and I always enjoyed reading his columns in the music weeklies and later Radio Times. Nevertheless I found much of his show unlistenable towards the end, recall some of his rather curmudgeonly remarks on air (guest slots on Radio 1's Round Table review programme come to mind), and thought his build-'em-up, knock-'em-down stance rather irritating after a while. So I approached this book with an open mind as a fan, but not an uncritical one.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0552551198</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Jo Brand
|title=Look Back in Hunger
|rating=3.5
|genre=Entertainment
|summary=Born in Hastings in May 1957, after leaving Brunel University with a degree in social sciences, Jo Brand unsuccessfully applied for a research job with Channel 4 on a series about racism, then worked for a time as a psychiatric nurse at the South London Bethlem and Maudsley Hospital. But the lure of showbiz proved too strong, and stardom in stand-up comedy soon beckoned.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0755355237</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Jeremy Clarkson
|title=Driven to Distraction
|rating=4.5
|genre=Entertainment
|summary=Jeremy Clarkson's middle name ought to be ''Marmite''. You really do either love him or hate him. I am in the first camp. I think he is brilliantly funny. He is. He makes me laugh. Out loud. And like many women who watch Top Gear, (well, those that don't watch it because they are strangely – ''bizarrely'' - attracted to James May – I am '''not''' - or because they want to mother The Hamster – I do '''not''') I find Jeremy Clarkson hilarious. And I don't think you have to like cars to see the appeal either! I mean, the columns within ''Driven To Distraction'' occasionally start ''off'' talking about cars, but not always and they quickly move on to the things that get his dander up before tailing neatly back to the cars again. Or not. And what is in between is pure gold dust.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0718155548</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Keith Floyd
|title=Stirred But Not Shaken: The Autobiography
|rating=4
|genre=Autobiography
|summary=I grew up with television cookery programmes and still have some recipes in my childish handwriting, which begin ''4oz SR fl 2oz marg 2oz C sug…'' as I battled to copy what was on the screen before we retuned to the presenter. Programmes stagnated as the cook spoke to camera and lectured the viewer on how to make sponge cake or a fish dish. Then we were shocked awake. There was a man, quite good-looking in a raffish, slightly dangerous sort of way, who cooked on the deck of a trawler or wherever the whim took him, always glass in hand and who was quite capable of berating the cameraman about how he was doing his job. Like him, or hate him – you could not help but know that he was Keith Floyd, or Floydy to millions.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0283071052</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Peter Hook
|title=The Hacienda: How Not To Run A Club
|rating=4
|genre=Entertainment
|summary=In the beginning there was Tony Wilson, a Granada TV presenter who came to prominence as compere of the music show ''So It Goes''. Then there was Factory Records, the Manchester-based alternative record label he helped to found, and their main act, the post-punk band Joy Division. After their vocalist Ian Curtis killed himself in 1980 the band recruited another member and continued as New Order. Between them and their manager Rob Gretton, they decided to found and run their own club, the Hacienda. Peter Hook was not only New Order's bassist but also seems to have had the highest profile in hands-on management of the establishment, and despite a generous intake of various substances is well placed to chronicle the sometimes comic, sometimes sad story.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847371353</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Rick Wakeman
|title=Grumpy Old Rock Star
|rating=4.5
|genre=Autobiography
|summary=Rick Wakeman wrote and published a more conventional autobiography, ''Say Yes!'' in 1985, and it has so far never been updated. This, written with the aid of ghost-writer Martin Roach, takes a totally different approach, being a selection of episodes from his sixty years in more or less random order. In theory it might seem rather disjointed, but in practice it works brilliantly.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848090056</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Karl Pilkington
|title=Karlology
|rating=4
|genre=Humour
|summary=The Radio Five film critic Mark Kermode has a rule when reviewing comedies. If he laughs more than five times then the film deserves its billing as a comedy. If that rule was applied to Karl Pilkington's new book Karlology then it would easily fit into the category for there are laugh aplenty in this strange, amusing and charming little book.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>140533746X</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Linda M James
|title=How to Write Great Screenplays: And Get Them into Production
|rating=5
|genre=Entertainment
|summary=Over my time at university I've sat on a few scriptwriting modules. I'm currently working on a couple of projects with my scriptwriting partner, with whom I've already completed a pilot TV show. So it was nice to be asked to review this book and get some more insight into this field of writing.
I've probably read most every book on Creative Writing that you've ever heard of and a lot that you're probably not aware of. When it comes to scriptwriting, there really is only one book that's worth comparing anything else in the field with: Robert McKee's ''Story''. It's so heavily touted that I've seen it recommended by experts in novel writing – a quite different craft.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1845283074</amazonuk>
}}
