BRITNEY Spears has said that the process of writing her memoir has been ‘healing and therapeutic’.
The pop icon took to Instagram on Monday and shared the information in a post which seems now-removed.
Read MoreHonestly, that Parker had the strength of will and positivity to write Hope is an incredible story of its own, and we’re sure readers will get so much from the book judging by Parker’s own undeniable spirit.
Read MoreIt’s been some time since I wrote anything here, and it’s been some time since Words & Matter was little more than a fledgling idea to write about books.
The Book of Human Emotions is a wonderful book
The truth is I haven’t been much actively into books in the last two years, although that is slowly reverting (I won’t claim any great victory or revelation yet, habits being stubborn little things to break!). Little and often may be the way, but reading and writing anything at all seems best.
There’s a sunglasses manufacturer called William Painter, and in a promo vid on YouTube, there’s a line in which William Painter himself (supposedly) says:
The only way to do a thing is to do it.
Whether he did or not is irrelevant, but because I pontificate and can fall foul of indecision, I’ve co-opted this into: ‘The best way to do a thing is to do it’. Because action and decisions not taken are worse than the occasional mistake or error. In any case, the best thing to do about not reading is reading; and for not writing…writing. And holy heck there’s tonnes to write about.
If the UK political scene doesn’t throw up some incredible readng and writing in the new decade - revelations or reflections - it would be somewhat shocking. Then there’s the climate, and I’m doing my own little bit of fictional writing inspired by the ecological trouble we seem to be getting ourselves into.
What else is there we can do? Those little changes, I’m doing those too.
But my mind is rusty to this habit still, and my thoughts a little muddled. Like puppies in a pen all bumbling soft and energetic, a mass of lovable fur….now I am writing my brain is firing off all sorts of beacons. I’ll leave this here without getting too long; except to say that I got a new book for Christrmas.
My brother bought me The Book of Human Emotions by Tiffany Watt Smith. It’s a lovely book, and shows how well he knows me. I love learning, growing deeper and broader, as a human. And I love - once upon a time, demonstrably - such delightful titles. It’s about time that habit returns.
Oh! One quick thing before I forget, if you’ve not heard about it, Strong Words magazine is excellent, the sort of book magazine I wish existed when I was a boy with a rather well-stocked local library. If you’ve not yet heard of it, do check it out.
No doubt I’ll mention that again.
Happy reading, and Happy New Year, Decade, Bizareness.
Writer, musician and performance artist Rhyannon Styles' memoir, The New Girl, will be arriving in July. That's according to publisher Headline, which says the titles' exploration of the author's journey transitioning from male to female will be "redemptive" "very personal" and will also "explode myths".
We're sure it'll be an incredibly powerful read, and one which readers of Styles' Elle column may particularly be looking out for. Tracing Styles' transition - beginning in 2012 - The New Girl will (we're told) promote understanding of the transgender experience, while highlighting the importance of self-truth. Styles' commissioning editor at Headline, Christina Demosthenous, says the publisher is proud to be working on the title, and rightly so. Demosthenous adds:
Rhyannon bravely – and with brutal honesty – invites us on her journey of transitioning from male to female. Emotional, powerful and utterly upfront, her story is also narrated with her trademark wit and wry sense of humour.
For her part, Styles says "The New Girl is a very modern part of trans life". Her hope is that the memoir will "allow people access to the transgender experience, providing understanding and insight, and lighting up the electrifying process of transformation." We're sure it will. And that come July of this year, The New Girl will present a personal and revealing view of Styles' story; one in which many readers will find value, insight and perhaps a deeper understanding of a subject otherwise left unexplored.
If you fancy an idea of the fitness knowledge Wicks backs his recipes with, then this casual holiday workout might give you an idea (we're trying to ignore the sun and the sand, and the greenery. Perfect for a relaxing read...).
Read MoreThe 10-part drama, currently attracting eye-watering viewing figures in the US, is heading to BBC programming schedules on Monday 15th February. As a result, February 18th and March the 3rd will see the respective releases of The People Versus OJ Simpson digital and print editions.
Read MoreWe can't immediately think of an engaging book featuring origami. But that could be set to change come April, when well-being publisher Yellow Kite releases Samuel Tsang's Mindful Origami.
Read MoreThis is why - and because it's Brian Blessed - we have to tell you about a competition celebrating the launch of Blessed's memoir, Absolute Pandemonium. Being run at www.absolutepandemonium.com, the competition offers the chance to win one of five sets of prizes. Each set of prizes will include:
Read MoreMany things indirectly inspire young minds, but the newly launched Letters to a Young Generation 2 takes a direct approach. Specifically in appealing to an audience of young, black, females to inspire and encourage them in life, leading and entrepreneurship.
Read MoreNot here we're afraid, we're not quite there yet. But Ms Wax will be at an event to talk about her new title A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled. She'll be in-house at Blackwell's Bookshop Oxford on Wednesday, 13th January, and the talk is completely free.
Read MoreLike everyone on the High Streets of Britain, bookshops have now set off the Christmas marketing klaxons. Here, then, are our appraisals of this years' Christmas posters with campaign notes.
Read MoreAs part of Diverse December, book lovers are tweeting recommendations of works by BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic) authors. Yesteray evening, reader Karen O tweeted a recommendation for Huma Qureshi's collection of short stories, In Spite of Oceans.
Read MoreIf there's a book industry debate going on about diversity, it's clear there's a healthy appetite for new views and broader horizons. Nothing could make that clearer than funding for editor Nikesh Shukla's The Good Immigrant anthology soaring from 31% to 63% (now 67%!) in just one hour!
Read MoreA stylish Roger Federer biography should beat the opening of Wimbledon next year. Federer, a clear tennis great (and marvellous bandanna wearer), missed out on a record eighth Wimbledon title yesterday. Still, his career is worth careful attention.
Read MoreConversations with McCartney, the title inspired by Paul Du Noyer's interviews with music legend Sir Paul McCartney, will be released in September, The Bookseller has reported. We mentioned yesterday that Johnny Marr's autobiography will be one for the music fans, and...well, this one most certainly doubles the wish-list!
Du Noyer, a respected music journalist, had the chance to interview Sir Paul in 1989 and met often in the years after - speaking on personal topics such as the former Beatle's relationship with Linda McCartney, and about tragically murdered band mate, John Lennon. It is, publisher Hodder and Stoughton suggests, an "intimate portrait"; and we expect that description will be nothing short of on point.
Conversations With McCartney is written "with the blessing" of the musician, and will undoubtedly convey thoughts and conversations providing a fascinating and honest insight into the man and the musician. It's fantastic such a book is being brought to the shelves, and Du Noyer himself is excited in sharing it:
Decades of access to Paul McCartney have been a privilege for me as a writer, and a personal thrill as a fan. I’ve now woven together our many interviews, many published for the first time, because - thanks to Paul's honesty, humour and unique perspective – I think they make for an affectionate and fully-rounded portrait of one of the great musicians of all time.
Frankly we can't wait.
Except we'll have to...until 24th September, when Conversations With McCartney is released in hardback and ebook forms.
Johnny Marr is fully focused on a high-quality autobiography. Not content to push a ghostwritten title with one eye keen on his musical output, The former The Smiths guitarist revealed to NME that he's looking to deliver a book well worthy of fans interest. Interest which (hopefully) can be met in 'autumn 2016', the period he and his publisher, Century, are working towards.
Marr wasn't drawn on details, but he has made a few interesting assertions. Talking of his full dedication to writing, Marr says, "I always knew it was going to be a matter of downing tools to get the book done."
That should mean no musical work in the interim as Marr concentrates on a style enabling him to "write the way I talk". On the content Marr is tight-lipped, but has revealed:
The important thing is that the people who like what I do still like me the same once they know everything. I take writing seriously, but I also want it to be entertaining, because I don’t want to be too self-important or pompous.
If that sounds general, Marr said the title "won't be straightforward". It sounds intriguing to say the least. One for music-lovers certainly, and perhaps one for those enjoying a candid and engaging book which is true to the traditions of fine autobiography.
One thing's for certain though. Marr has rejected out of hand a title featuring a pun on his name.
We really can't blame him. He says he's bored of such things, and it really wouldn't suit him in any case.
News that Jack Cooke's The Treeclimber's Guide to London has been snapped up by HarperNonFiction, can be met with delight and wide-eyes. Particularly by readers fond of closer interactions with nature than book-bound day-dreams provide. Tree-clambering is definitely both a primal and a terrifically exciting act (best done sensibly, of course!).
Cooke's title, to be released in Spring next year, has reportedly cost HarperNonFiction a five-figure sum. What the it receives for the outlay is a book Harper's publishing director Jack Fogg calls "one of a kind". The Bookseller reports that Harper nicked the book in a rather active five-publisher auction, so that bodes well. And Fogg particularly seems thrilled with Harper's catch:
Jack’s book is truly one of a kind. He writes beautifully on nature and its convergence with city life, and brings an elegant, lyrical and unassuming tone to his writing which fits perfectly with the subject.
What's the book actually about? It's Cooke's "charming account of the 80 or so trees" he has climbed in/around London in the period of a year. If that sounds somewhat left-field, it's clearly delivered in a style which makes publisher's knees go a-quiver - and it's sparking a little fire of joyful abandon within us.
Cooke's accounts will also be partnered by monochrome line drawings from his wife, Jennifer. Which, honestly, sounds the perfect accompaniment to her husband's words.
Of course we'll wait to see what the finished article does for the senses. But we're half-expecting our younger book-devouring selves to be quite satiated. As much as our youthful desire for acutely realised freedom and adventure.
Dr. Henry Marsh's Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery has won the 2015 PEN Ackerley prize. It's a bit of news well-received here at W&M HQ. We're big fans of the book and its frank, insightful and beautifully written stories are excellently told - especially by a man who's hands are better used to intricate surgeries, not stanzas.
Intricacy certainly isn't missing from Do No Harm, and the award is proof enough of that! Making the award announcement, judge chair Peter Parker noted:
Several widely praise and heavily garlanded autobiographies were published in 2014, but the PEN Ackerley judges felt that few of these delivered on their promise. Henry Marsh's Do No Harm was, outstandingly, one that did…beautifully written, recklessly honest and morally complex.
Marsh writes superbly about the intricacies of the human body, about the sometimes conflicting impulses of professional ambition and human need, and about the difficulty of talking honestly to patients and their families in times of medical crisis. These ‘Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery’ present a compelling argument about the moral dimension of surgical intervention and build to a touching and rueful self-portrait.
On receiving the award, Dr Marsh told it was "very pleasing indeed to get this particular prize". Congratulations Doctor, very well-deserved indeed!
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The Ackerley prize celebrates autobiography and memoir, and is named for JR Ackerley, the former literary editor of The Listener magazine. It is awarded by the (awesome) English PEN.
If you've not heard of Pewdiepie, then it's highly unlikely you'll have heard of Felix Kjellberg, the man behind the username. Still, Pewdiepie/Felix - the gamer with over 37 million YouTube followers (oof!) - is joining Zoe Sugg (Zoella), and Alfie Deyes (Pointlessblog) in the jump from YouTube to book release.
The Pewdiepie book, This Book Loves You, is to be published by Penguin and released 20th October.
A sort of anti self-help book delivered with the author's trademark humour, we're not sure it'll attract a whole host of new fans for the Swede. Still, if it carries the 'love' to more people then good stuff!
What sort of humour should you expect? Here's an extract from the book's description:
Pewdiepie was sent to planet Earth to dispense wisdom, teach us common sense and instruct us in the ancient art of Inspirology.
Pewdiepie just wants to make you happy.
Pewdiepie loves you even more than this book does - isn't that enough for you?
True to form, the announcement was confirmed by a rather left-field video on the Pewdiepie channel.
And...um, well it's a fair portrayal of Kjellberg's style to be fair.
A new book to be published by HarperCollins could hold the identity of the infamous Zodiac Killer within its pages. The Most Dangerous Animal of All, written byGary L. Stewart reveals the author's belief that the notorious Zodiac Killer was in fact his biological father. The book is released next week in the UK, but is already available in the US where it is - it's fair to say - grabbing quite a lot of attention.
The identity of the Zodiac killer, active in the 60s and 70s in California, has never been established. That is despite an extraordinary amount of time spent on the case and killers own letters to police and media alleging to contain clues as to his own identity.
Stewart though believes the killer was his father, and in an interview with People told that he thinks the killers victims resembled his mother, Judith Gilford, a 14 year old who Best ran away from home with in 1963. Best was later arrested and imprisoned for offences inclusing raping a minor.
Speaking about the book HarperCollins spokesperson, Laura Lees, has offered:
"Years of research led Gary to the conclusion, after he launched a search for his biological father shortly after his birth mother made contact with him. He also says he unearthed forensic evidence among the clues he found."
The author's evidence is included in the book, and the cover displays an image of Best some may feel compelled to compare to a police artist's sketch of the Zodiac killer.
Earl Van Best though, if he was the killer, died in 1984. And the San Francisco Police Department have refused to compare the author's DNA with that held on file.
Stewart says the evidence was "the last thing" he wanted to find when looking into his past, having been contacted by Gilford in 2002. But he does hope the book may "bring some closure to the families of my father's victims".
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