Ready For Absolutely Nothing

2022 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR FROM THE TELEGRAPH (UK) AND THE SUNDAY TIMES (UK) 2022 BEST AUDIOBOOKS OF THE YEAR FROM THE TIMES (UK) This darkly funny, confessional memoir from the star of What Not to Wear tells all: from her posh upbringing and the dishy details of her career in fashion to her journey as a recovering alcoholic. The fact that Susannah Constantine made her name as a 'style guru' as part of “Trinny and Susannah” from What Not to Wear is the least interesting thing about her. Susannah grew up amongst the great and good of British aristocracy and (unwittingly) trained to be a society bride. Fittingly, Barbara Cartland was her touchstone for romance: she wanted to be the underdog heroine who ended up marrying a prince. Instead she dated Princess Margaret’s son for several years and traveled in royal circles, including on the island of Mustique, where Princess Margaret–and Hachette author Anne Glenconner–owned homes and had holidays. When that marriage proposal never showed up, she dated Imran Khan –then a gorgeous playboy/cricket player and now the Prime Minister of Pakistan, before meeting her husband. Hers is a tale full to the brim with extraordinary anecdotes. From lavatory dramas with Princess Margaret, to behind-the-scenes power struggles between Margaret Thatcher and the Queen at Balmoral and eye-opening sex-club etiquette with pop royalty–her social landscape has been nothing if not varied. Many of these stories are hilarious and snarky, some are painful, but all of them are honest, gossipy, and show that, in her words, she was “brought up to be ready for absolutely nothing.” In sharing a peek behind the curtain, Constantine does not hold back and many bold names appear in these pages from Elton John, Princess Diana, The Queen, Mick Jagger, Jerry Hall, Andy Warhol, and our own Anne Glenconner and her husband Colin Tenant. But appearances are deceptive and beneath the balls and glamour, life has had a darker side: her mother's bipolar disorder, her father's inability to cope and her own subsequent alcoholism. Somehow, she had to forge her own life, away from the expectations of others. Which she did and does. READY FOR ABSOLUTELY NOTHING is for fans of The Crown, royal followers, readers of LADY IN WAITING, What Not To Wear fans and anyone who likes a gossipy memoir with bold faced names and a drop dead sense of humor.

'A rollicking ride . . . What a life' SUNDAY TIMES Essential reading for anyone who secretly just wants the naughty bits . . . Susannah Constantine is famous as the noughties style guru on What Not To Wear, but this is the least interesting thing about her. Hers is a life filled to the brim with 70s glitz, 80s glamour and above all else an enlightening 50 years of f**k-ups, crisis and chaos. There's dating cricket royalty not to mention real life royalty, as well as lavatory dramas with Princess Margaret. Add in weekends at Balmoral witnessing Thatcher and the Queen battle for power, plus time for falling in love, Strictly dancing debuts and a spot of wild swimming. Juicy, hilarious, sometimes heart-breaking, and crammed with moments where life goes completely wrong, Ready for Absolutely Nothing is full of absolutely everything. 'Wonderfully written, very funny, but more than anything completely genuine' LADY ANNE GLENCONNER, author of Lady in Waiting 'A trooper with a filthy sense of humour' THE TIMES 'A treasure trove of untold stories . . . riveting' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING 'Sparkling' DAILY MAIL

The #1 Los Angeles Times bestseller from the host of NPR's Weekend Edition -- "absolutely spectacular-wise and intimate, often funny, always touching" (Scott Turow) -- now in paperback. In a beautifully written narrative that runs from childhood to adulthood through times of war and peace, Scott Simon movingly tracing his life as a fan -- of sports, theater, politics, and the people and things he holds dear. Sports Illustrated columnist Ron Fimrite says of Home and Away, "Rarely do you find in books of this genre a clearer look into mysteries and confusions of childhood . . . moving and often amusing portraits . . . insights into the complex and often corrupt world of Chicago politics, the city being this book's true protagonist. There are compelling scenes from Simon's years as a war correspondent, roving reporter, and political operative . . . There is also an emotional account of Michael Jordan's last championship season with the Bulls that is a book within a book . . . "The writing is uniformly superb. This is, in fact, a memoir of such breadth and reach it compares favorably with another book that is allegedly about the nature of sports allegiance, Frederick Exley's A Fan's Notes. And that, believe me, is saying something."

When Larry King announced he would step down from his nightly live broadcast after more than 40,000 interviews, it signalled the end of an era in television history. At the same time, drama surrounding Larry's personal life was playing out in the headlines. Truth Be Told is a revealing and irresistibly entertaining look back on Larry's remarkable run at CNN, an honest look at Larry's own life, and a behind-the-scenes bird's-eye view of some of the marvellous people Larry has met and talked to throughout his career. This difficult period caused Larry to realize how much the world around him had changed over the course of his 50-year career. Looking at today's cultural and political luminaries as examples, Larry reflects on these changes and has a lot to say about everything and everyone: from marriage, politics, sports, and entertainment to the justice system, broadcasting, and the American future. This is a candid and surprising look inside the monumental career of one of the most powerful and legendary talk-show hosts as he signs off from the nightly television program that has been close to all of our hearts.

A precise yet disorienting look at the exhilaration of music, the process of memory, and the moments when the world becomes new, by the acclaimed songwriter and author of The Book of Drugs "[Mike Doughty's writing is] astonishingly vital, energized, and natural. . . . acerbic and sometimes lacerating."--RICK MOODY, author of The Long Accomplishment and The Ice Storm In this highly original gathering of autobiographical stories, the musician and writer Mike Doughty, in his inimitable voice, sends dispatches from a touring musician's peripatetic life, vividly recalling moments when profound musical experiences made him see the world anew. I Die Each Time I Hear the Sound consists of sometimes-surreal tales, drawing from conflations of memory, especially formative moments in New York City in the 1990s. It looks at how the avid nostalgia of fans is both a boon and a burden for an artist working to stay vital, and what it is to age while touring, and prolifically releasing new music. He examines the struggle to keep relationships alive while living on the road, and the strangeness of the disconnect between performer and audience. A unique narrative, unstuck in time, and an unforgettable examination of what it is to be an artist in this cultural moment, I Die Each Time I Hear the Sound is funny, vulnerable, and unsparing.

The story of how Abdel Sellou (a charismatic ex-con) came to be the caretaker of Philippe Pozzo di Borgo (a paralyzed French aristocrat) inspired the award-winning French movie Les Intouchables (2012), which became an international phenomenon and broke records as one of the most successful French movies of all time. Now, The Upside, the American remake of Les Intouchables, starring Kevin Hart, Bryan Cranston, and Nicole Kidman will be released in both the US and the UK in January 2019. Abdel Sellou and Philippe Pozzo di Borgo were two people marginalized by society: Sellou a wisecracking, unemployed immigrant, just out on parole; Pozzo a man born to wealth and privilege, recently paralyzed from the neck down after a paragliding accident. How they came to help each other, and the unlikely friendship that became a lifeline for them both, is an uplifting story that's now been told and retold around the world.

"A refreshingly raw, contrasting perspective on the foolproof idea of motherhood." -- POPSUGAR "By turns painful and funny... A searingly candid memoir." -- Kirkus "Far from your cookie-cutter story of addiction . . . [I'm Just Happy to Be Here] describes Hanchett's journey to recovery and sobriety in imperfect and unconventional ways." -- Bustle In this unflinching and wickedly funny memoir, Janelle Hanchett tells the story of finding her way home. And then, actually staying there. Drawing us into the wild, heartbreaking mind of the addict, Hanchett carries us from motherhood at 21 with a man she'd known three months to cubicles and whiskey-laden domesticity, from judging meth addicts in rehab to therapists who "seem to pull diagnoses out of large, expensive hats." With warmth, wit, and searing B.S. detectors turned mostly toward herself, Hanchett invites us to laugh when we probably shouldn't and to rejoice at the unconventional redemption she finds in desperation and in a misfit mentor who forces her to see the truth of herself. A story of ego and forced humility, of fierce honesty and jagged love, of the kind of failure that forces us to re-create our lives, Hanchett writes with rare candor, scorching the "sanctity of motherhood," and leaving beauty in the ashes.

Susannah and Trinny's straight-talking fashion advice has made them Britain's best-known style duo. Now in their third BBC television series, they continue to make-over more unsuspecting style casualties. Offering advice on how to develop personal style, whilst making the most of your body shape, hiding your defects and flaunting those assets! Susannah and Trinny are not about fashion; they are about personal style - dressing for your body shape and personality - and this book shows you how.