Christmas Shopping Guide 2012: New Books
Here are 20 books, in no particular order, that have been released in the last few months. Have a browse to look for Christmas gift inspiration perhaps?
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Bleak Expectations - The Novel The sitcom Bleak Expectations is perhaps our favourite thing on Radio 4. It's brilliant. Now writer Mark Evans has made the first series into a novel - complete with lots of extra silly footnotes. Details Interview |
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Lee Mack: Mack The Life - The Autobiography Lee McKillop - better known as Lee Mack - is a very funny man. It turns out he's also funny in print, as this autobiography reveals. He tells the tale of how he went from growing up in his parents' pub to performing on the biggest stand-up stages and starring in the prime-time BBC sitcom Not Going Out. Details Review |
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Fresh Meat - The Essential Guide For The Future Unemployed What's the secret to JP's sexual prowess? How does Howard beat the buffet every time? What does Vod really think about drink, drugs and Salman Rushdie? And will Kingsley's diary spill his true feelings for Josie? This TV spin-off from the hit Channel 4 comedy drama Fresh Meat reveals all. Details |
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The Trials And Triumphs Of Les Dawson Les Dawson: a comedian who, more than any other, spoke for the phlegmatic, resigned, sarcastic, glorious British way of life. This book focuses on his story. Details |
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Charlie Brooker - I Can Make You Hate Would you like to eat whatever you want and still lose weight? Who wouldn't? Keep dreaming, imbecile. - That's the words of Charlie Brooker, perhaps the UK's favourite comic columnist. This is his latest collection of rants, raves and 'hastily spluttered articles'. Details |
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I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue - The Best of Forty Years I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue, now 40 years old, is the most listened-to comedy programme on British radio. It regularly attracts a large audience. This is a collection of some of the funny bits from the shows. Details |
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The Wit And Wisdom Of Only Fools And Horses The 'creme de la menthe' of the hilarious one-liners from John Sullivan's Only Fools And Horses have been brought together for the first time in this book. It's been compiled by Dan Sullivan, the son of the show's creator. Details |
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30 Years Of 'Allo 'Allo! This brand new book from prolific comedy reference-work author Richard Webber looks at the hit BBC sitcom 'Allo 'Allo!, including brand new interviews with cast and crew, and a special foreword from co-creator Jeremy Lloyd. Details Book Review |
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David Mitchell: Back Story David Mitchell, who you may know for his inappropriate anger on every TV panel show except Never Mind The Buzzcocks, has written his autobiography. It's funny and interesting at the same time. Details Review |
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David Walliams: Camp David - The Autobiography Little Britain star David Walliams has also written his autobiography this year. It's a frank and interesting insight into the early years of the comedy star. Details Review |
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Miranda Hart - Is It Just Me? A comic book written by sitcom star Miranda Hart. This one isn't an autobiograhy, it's more a collection of amusing thoughts and mini-essays. Worth a look though. Details Review |
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Still Standing: The Savage Years Paul O'Grady shot to fame via his brilliant comic creation, the blonde bombsite Lily Savage. This is the third part of his autobiography series - and this one covers pub brawls, drunken escapades and liaisons dangereuses. Details |
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The True History of the Blackadder This book is the very first in-depth examination of the creation of a British institution like no other - the Blackadder series of sitcoms. As our review explains, its an in-depth look at the top comedy. Details Review |
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Misfits Full-colour and brimming with never-seen-before photos and too-rude-for-TV cartoons and illustrations, this book to accompany the Channel 4 comedy drama Misfits will provide you with everything you ever wanted to know about the show but were too afraid you'd get headbutted to ask. You'll note the cover features some of the old characters. Details |
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The Inbetweeners Scriptbook The follow-up to The Inbetweeners Yearbook, with added, never-before-seen material from the show's writers. Fans of the smash hit sitcom about teenagers will enjoy this. Details |
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1,227 QI Facts To Blow Your Socks Off QI is the smartest comedy show on British television, so who else would you want to get your facts off? The title of this book does all the explaining. Details |
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Last Of The Summer Wine - From The Director's Chair Roy Clarke's Last Of The Summer Wine was the longest running TV comedy series in the world, largely due to the passion, dedication and creativity of its producer/director Alan J W Bell. Here the director tells all about the show and how it was created behind-the-scenes. Details Interview |
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Peter Serafinowicz - A Billion Jokes! Peter Serafinowicz presents a collection of gags. Jokes include: 'I like to put my Shredded Wheat through my own shredder, just to be on the safe side.' 'Dear Sir/Madam, Your transgender operation was a partial success.'. Details Review |
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Stephen K Amos - I Used to Say My Mother Was Shirley Bassey Growing up in a large Nigerian family in South London, Stephen K. Amos learnt early on to find the humour in every situation. This is his autobiography. Details |
See also: 50+ DVDs for Christmas 2012
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