Shiny New Books

What to Read Next and Why

  • About
  • Editorial & Review
  • Privacy
  • Fiction Review Index

Category: Entertainment, Media

December 3, 2020

It’s the End of the World by Adam Roberts

Reviewed by Annabel I learned a new word this year. ‘Eschatology’ is defined as ‘the part of theology concerned with death, judgement, and the…

October 20, 2020

The Oxford Book of Theatrical Anecdotes, edited by Gyles Brandreth

Reviewed by Harriet This, obviously, is a book for those who like a good theatrical anecdote. I certainly do, and have been privy to…

February 13, 2020

Veronica by Veronica Lake

Reviewed by Harriet I wonder how many people today have even heard of Veronica Lake. There was a time, though a relatively brief one,…

Home Work Julie Andrews
October 29, 2019

Home Work by Julie Andrews

with Emma Walton Hamilton Review by Annabel Julie Andrews’s first volume of memoir, Home, told us of her childhood, growing up during the war, and…

Kindness of Strangers
April 30, 2019

The Kindness of Strangers by Salka Viertel

Reviewed by Lizzy Siddal There are times when an autobiography by someone you’ve never heard of just slots into your current reading stream. Such…

Dramatic Exchanges by Daniel Rosenthal
January 17, 2019

Dramatic Exchanges, selected & edited by Daniel Rosenthal

Reviewed by Harriet When we think of London’s National Theatre, most of us will envisage the great concrete complex on the South Bank of…

‘Broadsword Calling Danny Boy’: On Where Eagles Dare by Geoff Dyer
November 13, 2018

‘Broadsword Calling Danny Boy’: On Where Eagles Dare by Geoff Dyer

Reviewed by Annabel Being a child of the ’60s and ’70s, I grew up with thrillers. We read loads of them: my father still…

October 18, 2018

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life: A Sortabiography by Eric Idle

Reviewed by Annabel Eric Idle is perhaps the most elusive of the Pythons. He’s the one who wrote on his own, the one whose…

Performing Hamlet Croall
October 11, 2018

Performing Hamlet by Jonathan Croall

Reviewed by Harriet Back in 2015 I wrote a review for Shiny of Jonathan Croall’s Performing King Lear, a wonderfully well-researched survey of performances…

September 13, 2018

Apprenticeship by Peter Gill

Reviewed by Harriet Born in Cardiff in 1939, Peter Gill is a distinguished theatre director and playwright. But he started his career as an…

David lynch room to dream
July 26, 2018

Room to Dream by Kristine McKenna and David Lynch

Reviewed by Harriet David Lynch’s films are certainly not for everybody. Almost all of them are strange, dark, and increasingly hard to pin down…

Unaccompanied minor
January 23, 2018

Unaccompanied Minor by Alexander Newley

Review by Annabel The children of celebrity couples inevitably have a hard time growing up, especially when their parents split. You need only think…

July 21, 2017

Excessively Diverted: Austen Books into Movies

By Diana Cheng To wrap up a week of Jane Austen celebration, here’s an annotated list of adaptations of her works on both the…

Tony Robinson no cunning plan
June 15, 2017

No Cunning Plan: My Story by Tony Robinson

Review by Laura Marriott Like many people I first came to know Tony Robinson through his role as Baldrick on Blackadder, before following him…

May 2, 2017

Hamlet: Globe to Globe by Dominic Dromgoole

Reviewed by Harriet Dominic Dromgoole was the Artistic Director of London’s Globe Theatre from 2005 to 2016. During this successful period he initiated many…

March 16, 2017

Hit Makers by Derek Thompson

Review by Annabel I came to read this book immediately after devouring UK journalist and presenter Tim Harford’s recent Messy: How to Be Creative…

October 27, 2016

Loose Canon: the extraordinary songs of Clive James and Pete Atkin by Ian Shircore

Review by Rob Spence It’s now over forty years since I discovered the songs of Pete Atkin and Clive James. In a wonderful series…

The-Age-of-Bowie-Paul-Morley
October 20, 2016

The Age of Bowie by Paul Morley

Reviewed by Annabel When the world woke up on January 10th to hear that David Bowie had died just two days after Blackstar was…

January 12, 2016

Performing King Lear by Jonathan Croall

Reviewed by Harriet The role of King Lear is seen today as the ultimate challenge for the classical actor, the one that provides the…

October 14, 2015

The 101 Greatest Plays from Antiquity to the Present, by Michael Billington

Reviewed by Harriet As the longest-serving British theatre critic, a biographer, and a teacher and lecturer at several world-class universities, Michael Billington has some…

Alfred Hitchcock Peter ackroyd
July 28, 2015

Alfred Hitchcock by Peter Ackroyd

Reviewed by Victoria Rear Window is my all-time favourite film and I must have watched it a dozen times or more. I never seem to…

April 17, 2015

Naked at the Albert Hall by Tracey Thorn

Reviewed by Annabel After the success of her memoir Bedsit Disco Queen (which I reviewed here) in which she told us how she joined…

April 16, 2015

Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War by Mark Harris

Reviewed by Victoria In this outstanding work of cinema history, Mark Harris follows the fortunes of five big name Hollywood directors who enlisted in…

April 16, 2015

Memoirs of a Professional Cad by George Sanders

Reviewed by Lyn Baines In an Afterword to this new edition of George Sanders’ memoir, his niece, Ulla Watson, describes him as the opposite…

April 15, 2015

Great Shakespearean Actors: Burbage to Branagh by Stanley Wells

Reviewed by Harriet Stanley Wells has been described as ‘our greatest authority on Shakespeare’s life and work’. He’s Honorary President of the Shakespeare Birthplace…

Posts navigation

1 2 Next

Categories

Subscribe to receive posts via email

Loading

Top Posts & Pages

  • The Ice by John Kåre Raake
  • Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
  • Banned Books Week - The Russians
  • Dearly by Margaret Atwood & other poetry highlights of 2020
  • The Overstory by Richard Powers
  • The Lion and the Unicorn by George Orwell
  • Writers & Lovers by Lily King
  • The Mystery of Henri Pick by David Foenkinos
  • A Long Way From Douala by Max Lobe
  • Thin Places by Kerri ní Dochartaigh

Our Affiliate LInk to Blackwell’s – When you click through and purchase, it earns us a small commission to help pay for this site’s upkeep. Thank you.

www.blackwells.co.uk
My Tweets

Recent Comments

  • kaggsysbookishramblings on Grayson’s Art Club: The Exhibition (Manchester Art Gallery, 2020)
  • Grayson’s Art Club: The Exhibition (Manchester Art Gallery, 2020) – Shiny New Books on Grayson Perry by Jacky Klein & Grayson Perry
  • Clare Pooley on Thin Places by Kerri ní Dochartaigh
  • ‘Peacocks aren’t exactly people’ [book review] – The Monthly Booking on Journey through a Tragicomic Century: The Absurd Life of Hasso Grabner by Francis Nenik
  • Classic Sci Fi over @shinynewbooks @BL_Publishing | Kaggsy's Bookish Ramblings on Moonrise & Lost Mars, ed. Mike Ashley

Recent Posts

  • The Ice by John Kåre Raake
  • Grayson’s Art Club: The Exhibition (Manchester Art Gallery, 2020)
  • Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead by Barbara Comyns
  • Thin Places by Kerri ní Dochartaigh
  • Chauvo-Feminism: On Sex, Power and #MeToo by Sam Mills
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

Shiny on Facebook

Shiny on Facebook

Blog Stats

  • 543,304 hits

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

© 2014-2021, Shiny New Books and its Contributors

Archives

  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • April 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • October 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • April 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • July 2014
  • April 2014
Copyright Shiny New Books. All rights reserved. | Theme by SuperbThemes