Books & Poetry

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Comedy
The Mighty Book of Boosh
The Mighty Boosh
Julian, Noel and Dave (Bollo) Brown have created something quite special in this peculiar and magical lumber room of a book. Stories, comic strips and new insights into the Boosh world make this a must-have for any devotee.

Belching Out the Devil
Mark Thomas
Campaigning comedian Thomas last took aim and fired his literary bullets at the arms trade in the excellent ‘As Used on the Famous Nelson Mandela’. This time he’s got Coca-Cola firmly in his sights. Funny, frightening and a damn fine read. It’s the real thing.

The Pub Landlord’s Book of British Common Sense
Al Murray
An hysterical and comprehensive guide to life by one of our greatest thinkers and drinkers. Perfect companion for a post-Christmas dinner poo. Feature continues

Frank Skinner on the Road
Frank Skinner
One of the most frank (excuse the pun), funny and well-written books ever about being a comedian. Surprisingly brilliant.


Dance
The Best Dance Moves in the World... Ever!
Matt Pagett
Simon & Schuster, £9.99
Amusing step-by-step guide that’ll have you rocking the party in no time. Pagett illustrates five decades of dances, from the twist, the pony and the hustle to that iconic ‘Napoleon Dynamite’ routine.

Darcey Bussell: A Celebration
Clive Burton
Reynolds & Hearn, £12.99
A paperback release for the glossy tribute to Britain’s favourite ballerina. Lots of Hello! magazine-style shots as well as performance photos and background on her career and partners.

Strictly Come Dancing Annual 2009
Alison Maloney
BBC Books, £12.99
Sequins, spangles, tears and triumphs in a predictable TV tie-in that relives last year’s contest and goes in-depth on the current crop of celebs. One for the fans.

Film
Short Cuts: Contemporary British Cinema
James Leggott
Wallflower £12.99
An informative, discursive and wide-ranging survey of home-produced cinema of the Blair and Brown eras.

The Ingmar Bergman Archives
Editors: Duncan & Wanselius
Taschen £120
A hulking, highly covetable door-stopper covering the life and films of Ingmar Bergman, written with the maestro’s co-operation.

Time Out Film Guide
Editor: John Pym
Time Out Guides Ltd £19.99
What can we say? Do you want the most authoritative, comprehensive, well-written, up-to-date and ‘best’ guide to world cinema? Then trust Empire’s opinion and plump for our compendium.

Widescreen: Watching Real People Elsewhere
Mark Cousins
Wallflower £14.99
A round-up of the thought-provoking criticism of passionate and perceptive film writer and programmer Cousins.

British Animation: The Channel 4 Factor
Clare Kitson
Parliament Hill £17.99
A celebration of 30 landmark works of British animation commissioned or shown by C4.


Music
Eight Days a Week
Robert Whitaker and Marcus Hearn
Reynolds & Hearn £16.95
If you’re looking for a classy gift for the Beatlemaniac in your life, and missed the October 20 deadline for getting Ringo Starr to autograph some pants, this is the next best thing. A sumptuous portfolio of pics documenting the Fabses’ final tour, taken by the band’s beloved in-house snapper, Robert Whitaker. Eeh, don’t they look young? Historically accurate and suitably restrained captions are supplied by Marcus Hearn, noted author of ‘Attack of the Clones: The Illustrated Companion’. Eddy Lawrence

Bands on the Road: The Tour Sketchbook
Silke Leicher and Manuel Schreiner
Thames & Hudson £12.95
Armed with pencils, paint and (far too often for grown folk) crayons, various indie rockers provide us with a view of touring. In the process, they display: a) how creative they really are (Nicky Wire, Brendan Benson and Ricky Wilson’s efforts are all worthy of a smiley face); b) how charming they are (Johnny Marr and Jeffrey Lewis the notables); or c) how pedestrian their imagination is (too many drawings of streets). Kasabian’s crap, Biro-penned depiction of a man atop a bed that’s wrapped in cling film is worth special mention, if only because it prompts the question: why? Chris Parkin

Shindig! Annual: Number One
Jon ‘Jojo’ Mills
Volcano £11.99
Like a Tiger Beat annual for mid-ranking psych-pop nerds, the collected Shindig! features illuminating, or at least enthusiastic, features on bands like Grapefruit, The Action and We The People. Plus, of course, there are acres and acres of lush pictures of lank-haired men with beards and spray-on T-shirts for you to pin to the wall and coo over. Eddy Lawrence


Theatre
The Half
Simon Annand
Faber & Faber £30
Gorgeous coffee table-sized edition of Annand’s intimate snaps (including Michael Sheen and Cate Blanchett) of the great and good backstage.

The Smoking Diaries
Simon Gray
Granta £7.99
Wistful, funny and tenderly crafted: Gray’s diaries of his cancer-dictated journey towards his last cigarette are final memoirs without a shred of misery.

Theatre Writings
Kenneth Tynan
Nick Hern Books £9.99
Tynan’s reviews are among the finest prose ever written about the theatre
as well as a record of the times it helped to change.

A Strange Eventful History
Michael Holroyd
Chatto £25
Holroyd’s entertaining, illuminating biography examines the lives and talent of actors Henry Irving and Ellen Terry, and designer Edward Gordon Craig.

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