Granta 152 (Granta: The Magazine of New Writing)


Sigrid Rausing - 2020
    

Screen Burn


Charlie Brooker - 2004
    Sit back and roar as Brooker rips mercilessly into Simon Cowell, Big Brother, Trinny and Susannah, Casualty, Davina McCall, Michael Parkinson...and almost everything else on television. This book will make practically anyone laugh out loud.

The Lean Machines: Eat Well, Move Better and Feel Awesome


John Chapman - 2016
    Champions of balance, moderation and individuality, their advice is sensible, accessible, and not at all intimidating - eat well, move better and feel awesome! "Our aim is to help as many people as possible get healthy and understand that getting in great shape doesn't have to be hard or depressing." Here, they share their secrets in their first book; a fun, fully illustrated guide for becoming the best version of yourself. Featuring easy nutritious recipes, as well as simple workouts, toning tips and mindfulness techniques, the boys prove that having a healthy lifestyle is achievable and fun. #leanmachines

Stanley Kubrick's a Clockwork Orange


Stuart Y. McDougal - 1999
    The volume also includes two contemporary and conflicting reviews by Roger Hughes and Pauline Kael, a detailed glossary of nadsat and reproductions of stills from the film.

Fierce: A Memoir


Barbara Robinette Moss - 2004
     Barbara Robinette Moss grew up in the red clay hills of Alabama, the fourth of eight children, in a childhood defined by close sibling alliances, staggering poverty, and uncommon abuse at the hands of her wild-eyed, charismatic, alcoholic father. In Fierce, Moss looks at what happens when a child of such a family grows up. At once poetic and plainspoken, Moss, a "powerful writer" (Chicago Tribune), paints a vivid, moving portrait of her persistent quest to reinvent her life and rebel against the rural indigence, addiction, and broken dreams she inherited from her parents. With warmth, insight, and candor, Moss tells the poignant story of finally leaving everything she knew in Alabama to fulfill her ambition to become an artist. It is an odyssey filled with gritty improvisation (bringing her son, Jason, to her night job to sleep on the floor), bittersweet pragmatism (filling her purse on a dinner date with shrimp, rolls, and even a doily, to bring home to a waiting eight-year-old), and staunch conviction and pride (chasing a mail carrier down the street to defend her use of food stamps). As with many other children of alcoholics, the legacy of her father's alcoholism catches up with Moss, and an abusive relationship -- an inheritance and addiction of its own sort -- threatens to destroy all that she has accomplished. But as Moss learns to cope with her anger and pain, parenthood helps her discover true strength. Ultimately, Fierce is a warm, honest, and triumphant story, from a writer celebrated for her Southern lyricism, about a woman determined to make it on her own -- to shrug off the handicaps of her childhood and raise her son responsibly and well.

Doctor Who: Time Trips


Cecelia Ahern - 2014
    Kennedy and more. Taking you from ancient Alexandria to nameless planets in the far future, these tales are at turns funny, frightening, moving and thought-provoking - short stories that are bigger on the inside. Time Trips includes: The Anti-Hero (featuring the Second Doctor) by Stella Duffy Salt of the Earth (featuring the Third Doctor) by Trudi Canavan The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Time Traveller (featuring the Third Doctor) by Joanne Harris The Death Pit (featuring the Fourth Doctor) by A.L. Kennedy A Handful of Stardust (featuring the Sixth Doctor) by Jake Arnott The Bog Warrior (featuring the Tenth Doctor) by Cecelia Ahern Keeping Up with the Joneses (featuring the Tenth Doctor) by Nick Harkaway Into the Nowhere (featuring the Eleventh Doctor) by Jenny T. Colgan.

Reading the Vampire Slayer: The Complete, Unofficial Guide to 'Buffy' and 'Angel'


Roz Kaveney - 2001
    This second edition is hugely revised and expanded to cover the sixth and seventh seasons of Buffy and the third and fourth seasons of Angel. It contains chapters on the relationship between Buffy and the lovelorn vampire Spike and on the thematic structure of Angel, as well as interviews on the writing of Buffy with scriptwriters Jane Espenson and Steven DeKnight. Individual chapters have been updated and the useful episode guide is expanded to cover all seven seasons of Buffy and the four seasons of Angel, as is Roz Kaveney's general introduction to the scenes and structures of each season.

The Inbetweeners: The Rudge Park Comprehensive Yearbook


Damon Beesley - 2011
    Completely original material by the show's writers references events in the show as well as giving character backstory and brand new stories about Will, Simon, Jay, and Neil. Readers should expect lots of rude words, lots of photos, and lots of pissing themselves laughing.

Behind the Sofa: Celebrity Memories of Doctor Who


Steve Berry - 2012
    Steve Berry decided to undertake this project in memory of his mother Janet, who suffered from Alzheimer's in her final years and passed away in 2009. The book has taken more than four years to put together and its publication has been "crowd-funded" by the pre-orders of an enthusiastic Whovian community. 100% of the book royalties, proceeds and net profit will be donated to Alzheimer's Research UK. Contributors include comedians Al Murray, Stephen Merchant, and Bill Oddie; actors Lynda Bellingham, Nicholas Parsons, and Rhys Thomas; writers Neil Gaiman, Jenny Colgan, Jonathan Ross and Charlie Brooker and politicians Louise Mensch and Tom Harris. In addition, there is input from a number of the writers, actors and production staff who were involved in creating Doctor Who stories new and old. "I always had a sneaking suspicion that everyone in the world loves Doctor Who. Now I have proof! If I could get all the famous names who contributed to this book into one room, it would be the maddest Doctor Who party ever. Until then, their favourite memories of the programme are preserved for all to see. Plus, everyone who buys a copy will be helping to give hope to the 820,000 people in the UK living with dementia today," says author Steve Berry. The book has been beautifully illustrated by popular Doctor Who Magazine artist Ben Morris and is a must-have for Whovians worldwide.

Last of the Summer Wine: The Inside Story of the World's Longest-Running Comedy Series


Andrew Vine - 2010
    It premiered 37 years ago, in 1973, and, after 31 series it finally came to an end last year – even though all its original protagonists – Compo, Foggy, even Nora Batty – are now dead. Remarkably, for a series of such longevity and international appeal, it is all about elderly people, has little action or plot, and is set and filmed in and around the small Yorkshire town of Holmfirth. Now, Andrew Vine, the deputy editor of Yorkshire’s daily newspaper, has written the definitive history of this television phenomenon. It covers the show’s inauspicious beginnings, with low ratings, its endless reinvention as participants like Bill Owen, Michael Bates, Brian Wilde and Kathy Staff retired or died, the appearance of a string of guest stars from John Cleese and Norman Wisdom to Thora Hird and Russ Abbott (both of whom soon found themselves fixtures in the cast), and the ingenious plot contrivances as the protagonists became too old and frail to attempt any of the slapstick stunts with runaway prams – indeed any outdoor action. Holmfirth is now a year-round tourist attraction, and endless repeats and new DVD box sets will ensure a readership for this book for years to come.

Sleeping Solo: One Woman's Journey Into Life After Marriage


Audrey Faye - 2014
    It left little bits of brain and heart matter all over the walls, and the certain, irrevocable knowledge that my life had just radically changed shape forever. I’d been unceremoniously dumped out onto the road of a new journey. I expected it to be dusty and hard and short on food and water, a gut-wrenching endurance test that would take a long time to wind its way to ease and peace and a modicum of happiness. That’s not what happened at all. There have been hard days and dusty ones, and I do my best, in this missive from the road, to speak the truth of those moments. But the words clamoring at my door weren’t the dusty ones - they were the ones full of surprised pride in the journey that has actually happened instead. The ones full of abundance and purpose and happiness and the wild, bubbling need to dance. Yeah. Not what I expected from my post-marriage apocalypse either. Welcome to Sleeping Solo, my anthem song from the road. It's 17,000 words, or about 60 pages, and every one of them comes straight from my heart.

Zombie Simpsons: How the Best Show Ever Became the Broadcasting Undead


Charlie Sweatpants - 2012
    It has been translated into every major language on Earth and dozens of minor ones; it has spawned entire genres of animation, and had more books written about it than all but a handful of American Presidents. Even its minor characters have become iconic, and the titular family is recognizable in almost every corner of the planet. It is a definitive and truly global cultural phenomenon, perhaps the biggest of the television age. As of this writing, if you flip on FOX at 8pm on Sundays, you will see a program that bills itself as "The Simpsons". It is not "The Simpsons". That show, the landmark piece of American culture that debuted on 17 December 1989, went off the air more than a decade ago. The replacement is a hopelessly mediocre imitation that bears only a superficial resemblance to the original. It is the unwanted sequel, the stale spinoff, the creative dry hole that is kept pumping in the endless search for more money. It is Zombie Simpsons.

Doctor Who: Forever Fallen


Joshua Wanisko - 2016
    This special release is a Seventh Doctor and Ace story, and is offered as a free download via the Paul Spragg Short Trips Memorial Opportunity in 2016.Until now, an offered chance from the Doctor has never stopped the villain's schemes.Until now, the android armies, the powerful space stations, the mind-control rays, have gone unchecked to disastrous effect.Until now......But then what happens?Producer Ian AtkinsScript Editor Ian AtkinsExecutive Producers Jason Haigh-Ellery and Nicholas BriggsWritten By: Joshua WaniskoDirected By: Neil GardnerCastNicholas Briggs (Narrator)

Why Buffy Matters: The Art of Buffy the Vampire Slayer


Rhonda V. Wilcox - 2005
    Wilcox argues that Buffy is enduring as art by exploring its excellence in both long-term story arc construction and in producing individual episodes that are powerful on their own. She examines the larger patterns that extend through all seven seasons: the hero myth, imagery of light, naming symbolism, Buffy's relationship with Spike, sex, and redemption. Wilcox also focuses on acclaimed and noteworthy episodes, including the musical "Once More, with Feeling," the largely silent and wordless "Hush," and the dream episode "Restless." She examines Buffy's literary narrative, symbolism, visual imagery, and sound. Combining great intelligence and wit, written for fans, this is the worthy companion to the show that has claimed and kept the minds and hearts of watchers worldwide.

The Modern Lovers' The Modern Lovers


Sean L. Maloney - 2017
    One of punk rock's foundational documents, the archetype for indie obsession and all but disowned by its author, The Modern Lovers was an album doomed by its own coolness from day one. Powered by the two-chord wonder “Roadrunner” and its proclamation that “I'm in love with rock 'n' roll,”The Modern Lovers is the essential document of American alienation, an escape route from the cultural wasteland of postwar suburbia. The Modern Lovers is the bridge connecting the Velvet Underground and the Sex Pistols; they were peers of the New York Dolls and friends with Gram Parsons and they would splinter into Talking Heads, The Cars, and The Real Kids.But The Modern Lovers was never meant to be an album. A collection of demos, recorded in fits and starts as Jonathan Richman and his band negotiate modernity and the music industry. It is a collection of songs about a city and a society in flux, grappling with ancient corruptions and bright-eyed idealism. Richman observes a city all but abandoned by adults, ravaged by white flight and urban renewal, veering towards anarchy as old world social moors collide with new attitudes. It is a city stands in stark contrast to the the ranchstyle bedroom community where he was raised. All of these conflicts are churned through Richman's intellectual acuity and emotional unrest to create one of the 20th century's most enduring documents of post-adolescent malaise.