For Christmas, I had opened Dermot O'Leary's book, which to be honest, I did point at in Tescos where my mum just smiled at me! But I've always been a fan of and admired Dermot and his great work. He is so generous, so laid back (in a good way!), he is a true gentleman and he has written a cracking read in 'The Soundtrack to My Life'.
I've recently (like, ten minutes ago when I'm writing this) finished the book and it was an utter joy to read. It was very conversational which I really really loved. I love a book that isn't just 'my mum gave birth to me, then I went to this school, blah, blah, blah'. There is none of that here with Dermot. It's real, it's honest and it's rather bloody good. There were two reasons why I wanted to read this book: 1) I'm a big fan of Dermot and as he is a private person (quite rightly so), I don't know a lot about him, so it would be good to understand a bit more about him and 2) I'm a big fan of TV and radio and with Dermot being such a great talent on both, I thought it would be packed full of stuff related to how TV/radio works and boy, is there a lot! So, as you can see, I'm a happy boy with this book.
The basis of this book is that instead of 'chapters' as such, a song (or a few) that has been impacted on his life and his passion for music screams right through. Every chapter and every song that is used, he just screams and screams his love for the chosen song/s and for music in general. Which cannot be surprising with him being on Radio 2 and on The X Factor, perhaps. But written in his conversational, sarcastic and witty style, he doesn't write in the typical celeb autobiography that is out there (and god, is there a lot!), he writes certain parts off his life and how music has had an influence in that said moment.
The book really gave me an insight of how TV and of how radio worked. Which is what I wanted in the book, so that made me (immensely) happy! I have had such a big passion in TV and I love getting to know the behind the scenes stuff. I really do. After I finish watching a TV show, I turn to Google and I search for a script for the show and I sit there for hours reading the script; I love it. I love watching behind the scenes videos too, I just love it. And this is what the book gives me (and other readers, of course). I have a much better understanding of radio which I've hoped to pursue in the future. When I was younger for example, I and my nephew (whom is a year younger than me) used his microphone and this app on our phones and we pretended that we had our own radio show. We loved it. Both of us. Even though nobody was listening (though, there was this one guy at the end of the street in a sulk who sat there for ages and only left when we finished the 'show', so I guess that is a good sign) but I loved it. I've got a better understanding of what happens with TV (although this book really enhanced it, so thanks Dermot!), but radio? Well, this book really opened my eyes and has only wanted me to pursue it even more. Which can only be seen as a good sign, right?
What I love about Dermot that illuminates in this book is that he is real. Real. He isn't pretending to be somebody he's not. He's the cheeky guy-next-door type of person. He's a great role model to me. He is. This may sound really cheesy but he is. He's a hard worker, he is a great inspiration to many and I just love his sarcastic wit.
The other thing that I love about this book is the cover. And I know people say: "Never judge a book by its cover!" (especially in English class) but what a gorgeous cover. It's so 'vintage' and 'retro' and I love the style. It's a cover that stands out; it grabs the attention of the person. Well, it did to me and it looks so good on my bookshelf right now. I can't stop smiling at it! It's a great cover, and it's a great book. And it's full of music and as Dermot quite clearly says: "you don't choose the soundtrack, it chooses you." And that is exactly right. This is a great book if you love music, you are a fan of Dermot or you just want to read a great book of a hard working man to where he has become today. Or all three if you like. It's a great book so I hope you love it as much as I did.
Thanks for reading!
That's all for now,
Corey.
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