What is your best and worst autobiography you have read , and would you recomend it to people?

has anyone read peter kays autobigraphy? I have just read it and i am dissapointed about it. its very boring

I think it's brill!

Richard Branson's was good but went on a bit.

worst was jordans second,i got half way through before i gave up. wouldnt have been so bad if it hadnt all have been in ok magazine each week!

best so far is probably martine mccutcheons, although i really want rupert everetts for xmas!!! should have lots of funny stories in it!

:)

geri halliwell,absolute rubbish
jordans 1st was quite a good read.

not seen anything i fancy reading about for a while

I read alot but I have never had any intrest in reading anyones autobigraphy, something I never fancied.:thumbsup:

Jimmy Whites was brilliantant,as was Freddie Stars and Ian Bothams
Kenny Dalglishs is as boring as he is
Best one read recently is A Million Little Pieces about a drug and alchohol addict in America,really deep and doesnt hold nothing back and very very upsetting and disturbing

iv read quite a few i like real life briggy bet that was good that million pieces can u buy it n where from. iv just read sharon osbournes it was good ;)

a child called it. was wrote by a guy called david peltzer who was physically abused by his mother. this has got to be the best yet worst book i have ever read.and ive read plenty. truley great read.

Saddam Hussein's 'My Life, My strife' was pretty poor....

Not an autobiography, but a biography non the less is the brilliant Killing Pablo (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Killing-Pablo-Powerful-Criminal-History/dp/1903809487) by Mark Bowden (author of Black Hawk Down).

The story charts the rise and fall of the richest, most dangerous drug baron in history.

A fantastic, and in some parts quite shocking, true story!

:o

Good = Sharon Osbourne, Ricky Tomlinson, Princess Diana

Bad = Martini Kemp, Lulu

a child called it. was wrote by a guy called david peltzer who was physically abused by his mother. this has got to be the best yet worst book i have ever read.and ive read plenty. truley great read.
yes i really enjoyed this book:thumbsup:

Frank Skinner's autobiography is a good read....very funny as you would imagine.

not read but i am trying...........very very slowly to write one actually
about my life in the sheffield punk, club, hippy scenes of the mid 80s - early 90s

it does feature the requisite violence, drink, drugs, death, gigs, pubs, clubs and sex :P
as well of lots and lots of music

Red Rum's was great i just wonder where they got a horse sized typewiter :hihi:

I would imagine reading a autobiography is like watching the soaps, peering into someone else's life.:confused:

Keith Richards (Rollin Stone) and Anthony Keidis (Chilli Pepper) were both a top read...

havent read a bad one

I enjoyed reading Richard Bransons autobiography, and I want to read Duncan from Dragons Den's one soon :)

Marc Almonds is a fantastic read.

Ive read so many, I cant remember them all.Im not surprised that Peter Kayes is boring.He was flogging it on a t.v.show a while back, and it didnt seem too good.

aint exactly peering into someones life biker,how can u call it peering when they put it in print and ask u to buy it,is that peering or reading something they want you to read???

a child called it. was wrote by a guy called david peltzer who was physically abused by his mother. this has got to be the best yet worst book i have ever read.and ive read plenty. truley great read.


i agree, have you read the other 2? very moving

i do prefer real life stories like that, which arent just stories to make money

sabine dardenne (sp) is a good story, a belgian girl who was kidnapped for years

on a diff tone, ewan mcgregor and charley boormans motorcycle diaries is brilliant!!! very interesting!

First one i ever read was Jordan's 1st book and i enjoy reading that one, her 2nd one was not so good. Friend of mine said Peter book is like her's in a way but i not read that one yet.

Also good was Jades book she did go deep into her past, but i could not get into Sharon Osbournes book as all i only read 2 chapters (anyone wants it they can), I also read Peter Kays book it was funny in parts, but it just felt like we knew allready what was in the book as he said things befor in live shows he has done and also in dvd's.

Lance Armstrongs book, "It's not about the bike" is without doubt a fantastic book. I'm currently reading "An unquiet mind" by Kay Redfield Jamison.

im afraid all the auto biographys ive read are the tabloid faves and i have to say most of them have been a big let down...
jordan,
sharon osbourne,
jodie marsh,

ive just bought george best as im sure he had a fair few stories to tell.

i may read kerrys and jades just because they claim to have come from a bit of a rough childhood, but because of the let downs of prevoius as such im not sure wether these would be a let down too.

I'm halfway through Peter Kay's. Its not bad, but not as good as I expected. I'm gutted because the day after I bought it (from WHSmith) - they had an offer on for top hard-back books 1/2 price!

I too have read "a boy called it!" and its brilliant.

My favourite all time book was "Flowers in the Attic" - can't remember the author (got a memory like a sieve) = read it in about 2 days and couldn't put it down...............................Oh, I think it was Virginia Andrews, that rings a bell:loopy: :loopy:

Howards Marks - Mr Nice - excellent read
Inside Intel - about the rise of the Intel corp and its founders
Alan Sugars book, cant remember name but a good book
A couple of good ones about Branson, Virgin King and Losing my virginity
and of course anything about Keith Moon

My favourite all time book was "Flowers in the Attic" - can't remember the author (got a memory like a sieve) = read it in about 2 days and couldn't put it down...............................Oh, I think it was Virginia Andrews, that rings a bell:loopy: :loopy:

It is Virginia Andrews, i used to like her books. Did you know there were sequels to 'flowers in the attic'?

Norman Wisdom - "Don't Laugh At Me." is very good - how did he survive
those early years, and still stay cheerful?

The worst - I didn't even finish it - was Alec Guiness.

Disappointing - Paul Eddington.

It is Virginia Andrews, i used to like her books. Did you know there were sequels to 'flowers in the attic'?

Yes I did, thank you. I read them all, but didn't like them as much as the first one. I had the video too, bought from a charity shop, and it was absolute rubbish - all the story was different, even the ending.

Got to admit I'm not really into autobiographies so I've not read many. The best one I've read is definitely "Have a Nice Day" by Mick Foley. Yes, he is a wrestler, but the book is tremendous. He wrote it all himself and you get a real feel for what he is about, how funny he is, and how much pain he's put himself through. Highly recommended, you don’t need to be a wrestling fan to enjoy it, you just need a sense of humour.

Good - Ricky Tomlinson

Bad - Tony Hadley

:)

Good - Ricky Tomlinson

Bad - Tony Hadley

:)
What is the title of Ricky Tomlinsons book, Shiesh ? Id like to get it.

Micheal Owen - Boring...

Frank Skinner - Funny and entertaining.

Mick Quinn - Had me in stitches!

I d also recommend Stan Collymores, Gazza and Robbie Fowlers books :thumbsup:

Bob Dylan - what a boring boring book.

Lenny McClean - The Guvnor
Top Stuff
:thumbsup:

Ive read kerry katonas autobiography and it is a brilliant read , couldnt put it down.

Good - Jimmy White. How he grew up around snooker halls and skimmed fruit machines to get stake money for snooker games is brilliant. How he survived going out with Alex Higgins is anyones guess.

Howard Marks - Mr Nice Is a must read book. A guy that became so big in smuggling that he was bringing in dope "by the tonne" I loved the fact that some of the bogus businesses he set up to launder money ended up being so profitable he couldn't use them for drug money. It shows that had he wanted to go straight he could still have been a rich man. GET THIS BOOK


Bad - Hallie Berries was so bad my girlfriend couldn't finish it. Bill Clintons i'm struggling with. Its interesting but Soooooooo long.

Bob Geldof & Billy Connolly both bril!

I love Whoopi Goldberg's Book.

I've read the Richard Branson book as well. It is really good. I remember not putting it down cos it was so gripping. I think I read it non-stop til I finished. I think this has to be the best one so far.

Wild Swan was pretty good as well. It's a lot of information to digest. I think I find it hard going at times trying to remember who was who.

Monica Seles was okay. Readable. Not so much variety when thinking about it.

Trying to try Katie Adie's "The kindness of strangers". Picked this up at a train station, and only managed to read the first few chapters. Will try and finish this off. It looks promising though.

Jackie Chan's "My life in action". This is sooo hard going. I can't get into grip with his style of writing. It doesn't feel like his book at all, maybe cos I always associate his style in chinese. It feels a tad padded and fake, but his life story should be quite amazing. Can't get past the first few chapters and left it since.

Other biographies, like Diana, and Elizabeth Taylor, I've yet to finish as well. A little bit too long-winded.

not read but i am trying...........very very slowly to write one actually
about my life in the sheffield punk, club, hippy scenes of the mid 80s - early 90s

it does feature the requisite violence, drink, drugs, death, gigs, pubs, clubs and sex :P
as well of lots and lots of music

I'm very much looking forward to reading it, Mel :thumbsup:

Hurry up and write it! :)

StarSparkle

Good: John Peel's 'Margrave of the Marshes' (although he died part way through writing it, the remainder of the book was completed by his wife).

Also, not quite autobiography - but the collected letters of Hunter S Thompson are worth checking out.

And: Chronicles vol 1 by Bob Dylan - cracking good book.

What is the title of Ricky Tomlinsons book, Shiesh ? Id like to get it.


It's just simply called 'Ricky' by Ricky Tomlinson

Quite a read - you will certainly be moved by his modesty and his guts for what is right and what is wrong!!

:thumbsup:

Classic interview with the supposedly 'intelligent' Chris Eubank:-

Interviewer: Chris, now you've retired, would you consider writing an autobiography?

Eubank: On what?

The worst? Zsa Zsa Gabor. I knew it was 90% fabrication, but couldn't help myself, I had to finish it. Elizabeth Taylor's was also bad.

Best: The Lives of John Lennon, Michael J Fox, Doris Roberts, Shelley Winters.

:) Sierra

Bob Dylan - what a boring boring book.
Its unconventional, but i wouldn't call it boring.

I'm halfway through Peter Kay's. Its not bad, but not as good as I expected. I'm gutted because the day after I bought it (from WHSmith) - they had an offer on for top hard-back books 1/2 price!

I too have read "a boy called it!" its brilliant.

My favourite all time book was "Flowers in the Attic" - can't remember the author (got a memory like a sieve) = read it in about 2 days and couldn't put it down...............................Oh, I think it was Virginia Andrews, that rings a bell:loopy: :loopy:

I read all three of the three books in Pelzer's autobiograpies, and yes, I found them very moving, too.

The Virginia Andrews "book(s)" I read, ooh, twenty-some years ago:- I recently revisited one of them to confirm if they were as dreadful as I remembered. :gag: ......they were. her "books" (And the "books" produced by the Ghostwriting team, in recent years, since her death) are all as dire as each other. They are too formulaic, like "Writing-by-numbers" and too "samey" :-

1) "people" the plot with badly-treated/ poverty-stricken children,

2) orphan them within the first two chapters

3) add a setting in "deep-south of the US"

4) sprinkle a little incest in for the salacious reader...

5) end the "story" with what the reader thinks will be a happy ending, but then twist it, and turn it on its head, into a tragedy.

Bringing myself back on track, seeing as we were actually discussing "Autobiographies"

I reallly enjoy reading autobiog's:

One of the latest I have read was Alan Bennetts "Untold Stories". a very weighty tome, but except for the diary bit, part-way through the book, which didn't impress me, (I think, mainly cos it wasn't written in a very "Benett-y" style) was moved to tears, and to laughter. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

I have read both parts of Billy Connolly's biography, "Billy" and "Bravemouth" which, technically speaking aren't AUTO biog's, as his wife , Pamela Stevenson wrote most of them, with contributions from billy. they were an excellent read.

I loved "The Two Of Us", by Sheila Hancock, which was a joint-autobiog'/ biog', relating the lives of both herself and her husband, the magnificent actor, the late John Thaw.

Martin Kemp's book, I didn't think a deal to... I loved Georgie best, and enjoyed reading his biog', and David Essex's book "this charmed life" (I think) was interesting.

on my bedside table, currently, are:- a biog' of the Sitwell family (from Renishaw) which features Dame Edith, Sir Reresby, and Sacheverell Sitwell, which I have been dipping in and out of, (like the Alan Bennet book, it's a bit meaty...

and Richard E Grant's Autobiog', "Withnails". Again, I have only read a couple of chapters, so far.

Rot Shaw's was good as was Geoff Thompson's.
Worst was Rusty Lee's called 'everyone loves a patty'

Not really read any, i wanted Michael Shanks, Paul Gross and Callum Keith Rennie to bring one out but i dont think they have. Wouldnt mind reading Ewan Magregors.

I've read Dave Pelzers books and one called the Little Prisoner both are really really good.

From Fallen

I enjoyed:- Ray Davies (title=X-Ray), Bill Wyman, Peter O' Toole, June Whitfield, Noddy Holder, Martin Kemp, Billie Whitelaw, Leslie Crowther, Felicity Kendal, Joe Cocker (Biography by J.P. Bean), John Thaw (The Two of Us by Shiela Hancock), Fred Trueman's memoirs - As It Was, John Snow, Ian Carmichael, Eric Sykes, Jimmy Greaves, Richard Burton (Bio by Penny Juror).

Not so good:- Jack Warner, Colin Cowdrey, Johny Briggs, Jim Davidson

I've never tried an autobiography of a 20 something as compared with the likes of Whitfield, Sykes and Trueman, they haven't lived.

on a diff tone, ewan mcgregor and charley boormans motorcycle diaries is brilliant!!! very interesting!

Long Way Round I think it is called and it is one of the best books I've ever read!

Ian Botham autobiog is a good read, but just finished reading Pele's and its pretty boring really.

Jim:thumbsup:

Anthony Kiedis's book is a good read, bit dark in some places but really good all the same!!

Truly, completely awful is Steve Redgrave's. I'd expected a lot from a man who has achieved such a lot and with medical problems too, and thought it would be inspiring. It wasn't. It was the most tedious, boring accounts of every race he has ever had, stroke by stroke, yawn by yawn. Mentioning lots if un-famous people and going in to faaar too much detail, he even managed to make the nail-biting Olympic final seem like an antidote to insomnia.

Avoid at all costs! Unless o course you actually are an insomniac, in which case, go for it!:gag:

Probably only for those who remember David Niven and his films are his two autobiographies - 'The Moon's A Balloon' and 'Bring On The Empty Horses'. Very funny reads and a great insight into the film industry of the time.

Probably only for those who remember David Niven and his films are his two autobiographies - 'The Moon's A Balloon' and 'Bring On The Empty Horses'. Very funny reads and a great insight into the film industry of the time.
Yes ,now they were good autobiographies . :thumbsup: The worst one : Eamonn Holmes, sooooooooo boring.Never finished it.