(with Julie Burchill and Cosmo Landesman) of The Modern Review--portrays himself as a man pulled to the New York media set by twin desires: to trade one-liners with modern day Dorothy Parkers and Robert Benchleys over very dry martinis, and to drink Cristal from a supermodel's cleavage in the back of a limo. In the event, neither is fulfilled and desire shows itself up to be the snake that eats its own tail--endless and ultimately encircling a big fat zero. How to Lose... is Young's own telling of his disastrous five-year career in New York journalism, initiated when he is offered a job at Vanity Fair, Conde Nast's flagship star-fest. Young may have been hired for his snappy prose, but his real genius turns out to be antagonising the rich and famous. He is the British bulldog in the Armani-clad china shop of the politically correct glossy posse. He hires a strip-o-gram on bring-your-daughter-to-work day, commits the cardinal sin of asking celebs about their religion and sexual orientation, gets blasted on coke while trying to do a photo shoot and spends less time pulling up his chair to the modern day equivalent of the Algonquin table than trying to blag his way past "clipboard Nazis" barring his way into showbiz parties. Oh, and he gets sued by Tina Brown and Harold Evans. This is the place, he soon discovers, where greatness is measured not in your prose stylings, but how far up the guest list you are for Vanity Fair's Oscar party. But two things raise this particular loser's story above the crowd. First is his spot-on outsider's inside observations on phenomena such as the rigidly Austen-ite New York dating scene. Second, he has the columnist's knack of connecting everyday experience to social politics in order to grind both personal and political axes. In the adoration of the celebrity aristocracy by the masses, he sees the realisation of de Toqueville's warning of "the tyranny of the majority" and witnesses, for those lower down the food chain, the corruption of the "be all that you can be" meritocracy America promises. If these are soft targets, then the hilariously toe-curling experiences that lead him to take aim are well worth the price of a cocktail. --Fiona Buckland
Advantages: Great for Thomas Fans Disadvantages: None
...Toby is a small book in the My Thomas Story Library. He is a Tram Engine. He is brown in colour.
The cover of the book has a picture of Toby and above this there is an orange banner with the title in blue lettering. The back cover of the book is also orange and has small pictures showing the other titles available in the collection.
THE STORY
The first page in the book has a short passage from the Fat Controller telling us that he is a Tram Engine, he loves people but when he arrived on the island everyone thought he was very old fashioned.
Toby has cow catchers and side plates and he has a coach called Henrietta, he loves people and is happy when he is able to help them and people also like to help him too. Toby and Henrietta worked on the little line near the holiday town, they always worked hard taking trucks from the farms...
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Advantages: fun, lighthearted, uplifting,funny,charming Disadvantages: a little cheesy and predictable
..., typical teenage son Dizzy and flighty, confident daughter.
It doesnt take long for the two to bump into each other and when they do Toby soon realises that he could be linked to Oliver.
Everyone else in the village is excited to have such famous neighbours, but Jessie is not so sure. She ends up being talked into decorating their house, and she and Toby realise they still feel for each other, but must control their desires as nothing good can come from it.
Another, subplot, follows Jessies best friend, lillie a mother, tied down by her unloving, cheating husband and worn out and bored of her marriage. She meets a young, single, caring vet named drew and a friendship forms, but could it be more than that and does she have the courage to follow her heart?
When I write a review about a romance novel, i get the urge to write like the blurb...
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Advantages: Humourous read Disadvantages: Its a fantasy
...Meet Toby Dexter. He is a quiet single man just turned thirty three. He lives in Bradford-on-Avon and works in a bookshop in Bath. He is not really satisfied with his life, just going on day by day. There is a young lady that he sees sometimes on the Train who has a perfect mouth. He would like to get to know her better but has not yet worked up the courage.
After a routine dull day, arriving at the train station, he is caught in a shower of rain. Whilst trying to get one of those folding umbrellas up, He sees the lady open a door in the station buildings that he could have sworn was not there a moment ago. She goes through this door and Toby follows.....
Nothing will ever be the same for him, as he has crossed into the World of Mysterie from the World of Veritie.She warns him that it's a dangerous thing to be a mortal in the magical...
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27.03.2008
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