Ben: Do you ever worry you’ll die without having left a mark?Tom: What about when you won that 3 a.m. break-dancing battle with the overweight Australian girl?Ben: It’s not enough. I want to go down in history.Tom: You’re called Ben Dirs. You will.Finely-tuned triathlete Tom Fordyce and hopeless smoker Ben Dirs have made a living blogging for the BBC about the triumphs and tribulations of sport at its highest level – but t...

We all need something to believe in, whether it's God, money -- or naked table tennis. But has anyone actually cracked the secret of how to live a happy life?Meet acclaimed comic bloggers Tom Fordyce and Ben Dirs, two men in search of meaning in a meaningless world of work, Facebook and microwave meals for one. It's time to become 'karma chameleons' and try some very different ways of living. What follows is a weird and wonderful year sampling life as silent monks in the far north ...

The brilliantly funny and inimitable Alan Carr tells his life story in his own words, from growing up in a football-mad family in Northampton to his rise to become one of Britain’s best-loved comedians.‘Puberty had been unkind. Whereas it had come in the night and left the other boys with chiselled, stubbly chins and deep masculine voices, I’d been left with a huge pair of knockers and the voice of a pensioner.’ Alan CarrAlan Carr grew up in one of the most boring towns in ...

Jeremy Clarkson, shares his opinions on just about everything in For Crying Out Loud.The publication of The World According to Clarkson in 2004 launched a multi-million copy bestselling phenomenon. But to no avail.Jeremy's one man war on crimes against common sense has not yet been won. And out hero's still scratching his head at the madness of it all. But it's not all bad. He's learnt a little along the way, including:• Why binge ...

Vic Reeves' vivid, enchanting, and utterly hilarious childhood memoir is a comic masterpiece.Before there was Vic Reeves, there was a boy called James Moir who was much the same as any other lad.Obsessed with owning a pet crow, a master at writing his name and terrified of his father's immense moustache. Growing up in Yorkshire and then CountyDurham, the boy who would be Reeves somehow managed to escape the attentions of 'Randy Mandy' and get a crash course in pig castration, befor...

On February 22, 2011, journalist Jane Bowron had been living in her hometown of Christchurch, New Zealand, when the city was struck by a magnitude 6.3 earthquake, only five months after a 7.1 earthquake. While the first quake had caused damage but no fatalities, the second became the ultimate horror story: entire suburbs were decimated, houses collapsed, hillsides fell away, and people were killed or trapped in rubble and raging fires. As the historic city lay in ruins, Bowron managed to f...

William McInnes' bestselling memoir, A Man's Got To Have A Hobby, takes us back to the long summer holidays of the 1960s and 70s, and the last of the baby-boomer childhoods. William writes with humour and affection about his family, and especially his mum and dad, who talked to the TV set and enjoyed life in their house near the bay.William McInnes is a talented writer and a natural storyteller. A tail-end baby boomer, he recalls summer holidays that seeme...

What does a football hooligan firm do outside football? In the case of Mark Chester and the infamous Stoke City Naughty Forty, the answer was: live off their wits and burn the candle at both ends. Chester left Stoke in the mid-Eighties in search of something more than the buzz of terrace violence. He lived in North Africa with a pickpocket gang called The Hawks and dealt hash and coke in the Spanish coastal resorts, fighting off rival Moroccan dealers. After returning to London as a down-a...

'A simply astonishing achievement. The quality, depth, emotional power and terrifying honesty of Alan Davies's story-telling take the breath away' Stephen Fry'This hugely affecting book is brave, insightful and, at times, funny about things it is hard to be funny about' Jo BrandThe story of a life built on sand. In the rain.In this compelling memoir, comedian and actor Alan Davies recalls his boyhood with vivid insight and devastati...

Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of "Bumble", the legendary SkySports cricket commentator who's one ball short of an over and delivers madcap moments galore in this ebullient, endearing and hilarious book.David "Bumble" Lloyd is a legend in our living rooms, a genuine "good bloke" all cricket fans feel they know inside out because of his infectious, larger-than-life personality and that distinctive Lancashire burr.Bumble has become the one constant for passionate En...

On 4 August 2012 Jessica Ennis kicked off what some described as the greatest night in British sporting history. For her it was the end of a long, winding, and sometimes harrowing road. Nobody was under more pressure at the London Olympics than 'the face of the Games'. Yet Jessica delivered the heptathlon gold medal, and the huge outpouring of relief she showed afterwards hinted at the roller-coaster journey she had been on. Behind the smiles and politeness, Jessica has endured much. Bulli...

Comedian Jack Dee's hilarious account of how he became quite such a miserable git and a stand up comedian.'A brilliant book. So funny. It's my bible' Paul O'GradyIn this hilariously frank account of his life, Jack Dee finally reveals what turned a once optimistic young man into this grumpy middle-aged git. It's a journey that takes him from a first gig as a ventriloquist's dummy, to working in an artificial leg factory and...