A Pocketful of Happiness by Richard E. Grant
With his charismatic charm, Richard E. Grant is currently navigating the realm of grief having lost his wife to cancer just over a year ago. We think he’s one of the best people to follow on Instagram where he is sharing his experience in a very open and honest way. This memoir, A Pocketful of Happiness is so-called as this was the advice his wife gave him before she died. ‘I know you’ll be sad but just try to find a pocketful of happiness in each day.’ Largely written in the last year of his wife’s life it’s full of gossipy anecdotes and a lot of love.
Managing Expectations by Minnie Driver
Minnie Driver is the sort of Hollywood person you could imagine actually being friends with – and after reading this memoir you’ll wish she really was. Funny, clever and frank, the series of essays covers her childhood in England to her life in Hollywood (complete with Weinstein recollections) to her love for surfing in Malibu. You can also hear her talking about the book at the Southbank’s London Festival of Literature on 27th October – tickets here.
Madly, Deeply: The Alan Rickman Diaries by Alan Rickman with a foreward by Emma Thompson
Alan Rickman’s diaries are full of sharp one-line reviews that make your eyes bulge. Written from 1993-2015 the 26 volumes have been edited down to nearly 500 pages – that include plenty of juicy details about the filming of Harry Potter and Love Actually.
Dickens and Prince by Nick Hornby
We’re most intrigued by this dinky book from Nick Hornby that brings together two unlikely comrades, Charles Dickens and Prince. Short and humorous, it’s a combined biography that darts between two geniuses working in very different eras. Published 27th October.
Everyone’s a Critic: How we can learn to be kind to ourselves by Julia Bueno
This isn’t really a ‘self-help’ book, though reading it is definitely helpful, especially for anyone who suffers from bouts of self-criticism. Instead of being preachy, the book looks closely at seven case studies – drawn from Bueno’s own practice as a psychotherapist – to show that whilst it can be easy to have empathy for others, it’s harder to cultivate some slack when it comes to ourselves. This book might gently guide the way.
Poetry Unbound by Pádraig Ó Tuama
We love the Poetry Unbound podcast that’s just 15 minutes long and offers a reading of a single poem on Monday’s and Friday’s. Hosted by Irish poet and theologian, Pádraig Ó Tuama, the poems are all from poets writing today and give a picture of the contemporary moment. This is the new anthology of the same name and includes 50 poems from Roger Robinson, Lemn Sissay, Margaret Atwood, Ada Limón and more.
Fans of Any Human Heart, rejoice for here is another sweeping novel that charts the entirety of one character’s life throughout the nineteenth century with all its troubles and triumphs along the way. This time our hero is Cashel Greville Ross; soldier, farmer, felon, writer, father and lover.
The Pursuit of Love reimagined by India Knight. Enough said. We can’t wait for this to be published on 20th October.
Liberation Day by George Saunders
We are huge George Saunders fans – having finally read Lincoln in the Bardo earlier this year, and having devoured A Swim in a Pond in the Rain – a book that ought to become a textbook for any would-be writers. In Liberation Day, Saunders returns to his roots as a short story writer. An expert in conjuring the absurd yet bitingly real, we are so excited to read this collection of dystopian miniatures that will doubtless provide a thought-provoking comment on our times.
What Just Happened? By Marina Hyde
Marina Hyde’s acerbic writing that’s both funny and scathing has made her one of the top journalist’s of our times. Drawn from her Guardian column, this book is a mind-boggling trip through the Cameron, May and Johnson eras.
Rare Birds, True Style by Violet Naylor-Leyland
A glimpse inside the homes of some of Britain’s top creatives from Nicky Haslam to Alice Temperley to Beata Heuman to Lulu Guinness. Spanning the generations it’s a picture of British eccentricity and style.
A Little Bird Loves
