Ronnie – DaneCobain.com

Title: Ronnie

Author: Ronnie O’Sullivan

Type: Non-Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 298

Rating: 7/10

Ronnie O’Sullivan – Ronnie

What we have here is the official autobiography of Ronnie O’Sullivan, and whilst I doubt that he actually wrote any of it, it is a fascinating insight into his early life. What it doesn’t really do, though, is to leave you feeling like you understand him. By the time that you get to the end of the book, you’ll still see O’Sullivan as the same old enigmatic snooker player.

The book is a little out of date by now, too – a year is a long time for Ronnie O’Sullivan, and he’s arguably one of the most notorious snooker players to have ever lived. His talent seems to go up and down like a yo-yo, as does his frenetic personal life.

But if you’re expecting some sort of expose then you’ll be mistaken, too – there’s not so much celebrity gossip in here, but the passages on young Ronnie’s childhood and his descent into the murky snooker clubs of Essex are definitely worth a read, if you’re a snooker fan.

Ronnie O’Sullivan

And that kind of brings me to the crux of this review – if you’re not a snooker fan then you’re probably not going to enjoy the read much. It’s the same with any celebrity autobiography – it’s only really worth reading if you’re a fan of the celebrity. But if you are a Ronnie fan, and if you like to read the occasional memoir, then you could do a lot worse than this.

Because when it comes to the text, it’s certainly professionally written, as well as well-edited – I didn’t spot a single mistake, and I keep a look out for them. Plus, the book includes some pictures – always a plus with an autobiography!

Ronnie O’Sullivan

Click here to buy Ronnie.

Gordon Ramsay – Humble Pie | Review

Title: Humble Pie

Author: Gordon Ramsay

Type: Non-Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 331

Rating: 7/10

Gordon Ramsay – Humble Pie

This is the second of two Ramsay autobiographies on the market, the other being Playing with Fire, and although it probably didn’t help that I read the two of them out of order, I do think that Playing with Fire was better. That said, they do cover different subject matter, except for in the last sixty or so pages of Humble Pie which would essentially act as an introduction to the second book, if you read them in order. It’s just kind of hard to read about something that he’s looking forward to at the time of writing, when you already know what happens.

Still, it’s a great read, and Ramsay is a more-than competent writer – it probably comes from writing the dozens of cookbooks that he has on the market. Here, we learn about his early life with his abusive father, as well as his later life with his wife and kids, his father-in-law Chris going in to business with him, and his heroin addict brother, who he has mixed feelings for.

If you’re a fan of Ramsay’s or if you love food then this is the book for you, although I’d recommend picking up both books at once and reading them back to back, if you’re that interested. The great thing about them is that they’re easy to get lost in, because there’s always something happening that you want to hear more about. This book in particular is also well-divided by subject matter, so you can skip in to sections like ‘Football‘, ‘The Great Walk-Out‘ and ‘Ronnie‘ to find out more about whatever interests you . I wouldn’t bother with that, though – read it from cover to cover and you’ll be satisfied.

Plus, it comes with a bunch of old photographs too, from the present-day family to a young Gordon and even his father dressed up in country and western gear.