Aisleyne: Surviving Guns, Gangs and Glamour Book

If you were reading the autobiography of a Big Brother contestant, you'd probably expect their time in the house to make up a lot, if not most of the story. Not so for Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace: her actual time in the house is dealt with in about six pages of this book's 340-odd total. The reason for this is because Big Brother is just a tiny part of her story; a catalyst through which she became famous but far from the most eventful part of her life.

The book covers a lot of grim subjects, but there's a lightness of touch to the telling of it that keeps it well out of the "misery memoir" stable; Aisleyne frequently speaks to us from the present while describing the past, pointing out what she learned from the experience or how she might approach something differently now. A huge part of the reason this book works so well is that it doesn't dwell on the sad parts or campaign for your sympathy. It's simply that Aisleyne has a story worth telling and isn't about to scrimp on the details.

It's well worth reading, especially if you're a fan of BB's self-described "ghetto princess" (incidentally, the book reveals what inspired her to call herself that), but even if you're just more generally interested in human nature, I'd recommend it as being worthy of your time.