L“ W": ‘- “TTT "rig"? ‘ .5 5 .5. I" . § 5 i. I, : his“? a was? s’:;» . ,2 .1-btné‘fiblm; .' . ~‘. us 'x’ .-
The
Big!"
Brian Donaldson ponders the literary heavy weights, paper-thin celebutantes and those who have actually done something all releasing books this year
lmrn [in .lulilur or Build/u: 1).:
EMILY
Anne l)onoyan
o. surely this year will
mark a hig new beginning
when proper literature. you know. actual noy‘els. replaces the ridiculously sell-serving and endless charade that is the celebrity autobiography"? Nah. not really. 2008 will witness little in the way of a slowing down in the l‘eeding frenzy of memoirs. hiogs and general hlahhering about modern ‘icons' that goes on and on with little sign ol‘ ahating.
Which is not to say that there won‘t he some worthwhile people- puhlications coming out over the next 13 months. For ey'ery inllated glamourpuss (Abi Titmuss with her Secret Diaries in June). there‘ll be a political heay'yweight disclosing as much as their confidentiality agreements/migging consciences will allow ahout their
titne in Mike lJohn Prescott w ill lead the way with Pietra in May l.
.-\nd l‘or each all too early espose or
a young ones He lBeth Ditto with ('riri/ lino Diamonds in ()ctohei' and Andy Murray w ho will he llilline Bin/t in June! there'll he some old ll‘oopel's dissecting the \ery real woes experienced in their long show hi/ liy'es (such as Tony Curtis w ith slinerii‘un Prince in .lune and Les Dennis w ho pertinently asks .lliisi the Show" (in ()n." in .-\prill
Add to that the puhlished liyes ol~ Dawn French. David Soul. Dennis Hopper and others w hose l’orenames don‘t hegin with ‘D' (such as Jamie Oliver. Kathleen Turner. Craig Charles. William Shatner and Julie Andrewst and the year won‘t he short ol‘ Sunday supplement memoir estracts. How met two music hiogs are intriguing tis greatly. Mark E Smith giy'es lls ly’i'llt'g'm/t‘.‘ 'Iilt' (iris/relstrewn/lire to Mark I'.‘ SHIN/I (Apr) while the l‘ormer .\lr Merton. Peter Hook. analyses a British institution in The llueieni/u l.lun l.
Still. tltankl‘ully the noyel has not quite heen declared unlit l‘or purpose just yet and some ol‘ Scotland‘s top authors are hack in the saddle this year. The eyer— influential James Kelman hrings Us ly'iemn Smith. Boy l.-\prl while two of the .-\lhion Roy ers (‘hildren return: Irvine Welsh indulges us with some ('riine l.lu|l while James Meek will aim to enhance his reputation l'urther with He .-lre Now Beginning ()ur Descent l7 l‘ehl.
The O’Neil High Nova Scotla
Surfing Open The premiere of the ms: ._:
It's the Hawaii of the toorth instalment of f?‘27tif"- : . north with a maximum John Byrne's S/ab a't. tor: : " ° six star rating for Boys. er. trilogy . . . "mass: .1,- - ' surfing. This is for Traverse. Edinburgh, :i‘ r : ' . serious boarders only 25 April-24 May. :* I. "u; ~ '
and promises to be a fantastic spectacle. Thurso. 24 Apr—7 May.
14 THE LIST 4—7 "‘ Ja" 2035
y _ OSCAR PREDICTIONS
Paul Dale gazes into his crystal ball and picks out those most likely to grab a gong this awards season
WE ARE NOW
James McAvoy '
BEGINNINC
hour: DESCENT;
The young pretenders to lhal lot's thrones lot" this year include Ewan Morrison swinging along w ith His/tint e l.llllll while literary critne lord Allan Guthrie deliyers a Sindee .\i'\’/Il l .\larl. 'I‘he ey er popular Anne Donovan is Heine lznii/\ l.\lay l while .-\rhroath poly math Doug Johnstone lrees tip 'l'ln' ()ssiiins l.\lari.
Best hook ol the year \\ lll pt‘ohahly he Horn )i'sli'n/io l," l'ehi in which Gordon Burn w eay es a licliottalised ttat'l‘aliy e around the hig stories ol last summer l Blair going and Brown coming. the .\lc( anus and the lilootls l.
Best title ol the year must go to Ben Lewis hit his look at last Iiuropean humour. [Iii/)I/Ht’l' t/Hl/ 'Iir‘k/e l.\iil_\ l while shocker ol 3"“ may well he .li‘e )iiii Hie/r lot/Ari.‘ ll's .lle. ('lie/seii 1 May l hour ['8 actress and comic ('helsea Handler. You can almost taste the hile rising. can't you'.’