My impression of Sir Laurence Olivier is a sort of vague one of him playing Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights, or declaiming Shakespeare effortlessly. Either that or I associate him with Vivien Leigh, to whom he was married for several years. Beyond that, I have a vague notion of theatrical greatness and, of course, legendary...
Sell, by Hazel Phillips (Penguin, RRP $45): Advertising plays a big role in our memories of growing up and this book looks at how New Zealand’s advertising industry has grown up with us. Subtitled “tall tales from the legends of New Zealand advertising”, this is a look back at the history of advertising in...
On Song: Stories Behind New Zealand’s Pop Classics, by Simon Sweetman (Penguin, RRP $65): Every song has a story to tell and New Zealand’s pop classics are full of great stories. Freelance music writer and Stuff blogger Simon Sweetman had the job of picking out 30 of the best Kiwi pop songs to feature...
I’m Your Man: The Life of Leonard Cohen By Sylvie Simmons (Johnathan Cape, RRP $38): Leonard Cohen is many things to many people: a poet, a prophet, singer, songwriter, author, peacemaker and all-round good bloke. Cohen has been touring the world pretty much non-stop for the past couple of years and I have to...
This is a Call: the life and times of Dave Grohl, by Paul Brannigan (HarperCollins, RRP $40): Back in 1990, when Dave Grohl joined a little-known band as the new drummer, few people would have expected the band was about to explode into the global phenomenon that was Nirvana. Grohl is a bloke who...
No Regrets: A Rock ‘n’ Roll Memoir, by Ace Frehley, with Joe Layden and John Ostrosky (Simon & Schuster, RRP $40): You probably know the name better than you know the face. In fact, it’s safe to say that at the height of his career Ace Frehley could have walked down the street without...
Seriously . . . I’m Kidding, by Ellen Degeneres (HarperCollins, RRP $40): I missed all the Ellen excitement when she first hit our screens back in the 1990s, because I worked nights and didn’t really watch a lot of television back then. Fast forward a decade or two and I’m now working days and...
Nerd Do Well, by Simon Pegg (Century, RRP $39.99): Quirky British comedian Simon Pegg has tried his hand at writing and the result is an autobiography that feels like the perfect mix of professional overview and personal emotion. Pegg is one of those actors who seems to have the knack of being effortlessly funny....
What Was I Thinking: A Memoir, by Paul Henry (Random House, RRP $40): There’s no denying personality Paul Henry has a knack for grabbing headlines and stirring controversy, but he also has a knack for being interesting. And funny – let’s not forget funny. Oh yes, I know it is not considered politically correct...
Mune: An Autobiography, by Ian Mune (Craig Potton Publishing, RRP $49.99): Ian Mune is something of the elder statesman of acting here in New Zealand, with a pedigree that covers film, television and theatre. In this autobiography, the actor, writer and director tells the story of his career, which is also pretty much the...
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