Nailing It: Tales from the Comedy Frontier, by Rich Hall (Quercus, 2022)

A collection of true stories, charting aspects of Rich Hall’s career in comedy. Chronological though episodic, this perhaps widely avoids a straight narrative recounting of early years, breakthrough, and success, preferring to focus on the good bits: the Australian funeral is an especial highlight. Fans will love it, and will want more. That’s probably the right way to approach this kind of thing. Recommended.

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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.

Cinema Speculation, by Quentin Tarantino (Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 2022)

A discussion of a dozen or so formative movies, mostly from the 1970s. A hugely entertaining blend of opinion, anecdote, and autobiography explaining how and why genre movies of the 70s (and cinemagoing) are fundamental to the director‘s approach to cinema. A little bit like the first half of Stephen King‘s On Writing: key context for a pop culture maven.

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My own books are here, if that’s your thing. Newest is noir thriller East of England.