“All-Mountain Skier: The Way to Expert Skiing” is a highly recommended book for anyone preparing for a ski holiday. It has earned rave reviews from a list of winter sports publications and has been described by Ski Magazine as being more informative than a “week’s worth of private lessons.” The book is filled with advice on how to tackle the deadliest of black runs and extreme skiing slopes.

The author, R. Mark Elling, is a seasoned professional skier and has developed some truly innovative skiing techniques throughout his career. It is never easy to follow instructions in a sports manual, as many people find it so hard to bring the advice laid out on the page into their technique. However, by using easy-to-follow content and clear illustrations, Elling has made his instruction as simple as possible for the reader to understand.

However, it would be fair to say that this manual is not for the beginner skier, but is more focused towards the intermediate that is looking to move on to an advanced level. When you take the cost of this book against the cost of private lessons into consideration, you can see how much money it could save you. Granted, one-to-one tuition may be needed at certain stages of your development, but this book will be your best teacher and will be an invaluable asset every step of the way.

The “All-Mountain Skier: The Way to Expert Skiing” is published by McGraw-Hill Contemporary and is available in paperback. It is easily a must-have for your ski holidays.

“It’s Not What You Think” is an autobiography by television host and Radio 1 DJ Chris Evans. His life story is certainly one that makes the perfect plot for a great read: Growing up in a council estate in Warrington, at age 13 he was forced to go to work after the tragic death of his father. He then had a total of 20 different jobs before leaving school and embarking on his presenting career.

Many will know of Evans’ meteoric rise through the 90’s – from his humble beginnings on Manchester Piccadilly Radio to being the host of the immensely popular TV shows “The Big Breakfast”, “Don’t Forget Your Toothbrush” and “TFI Friday”. He then went on to be the biggest radio personality at the BBC, with a staggering average of seven million listeners tuning in for each broadcast.

But a good autobiography will always need a point of tension and this comes at the point when his career becomes affected by the hedonistic lifestyle that he was indulging in, as well as his string of ill-fated relationships. Evans soon found himself out of a job and out of favour with the British public.

Considering his reputation as a loudmouth figure, Chris Evans has used this book to show his real and more down-to-earth side. Every episode of his life so far is described in a frank and honest fashion that indicates little of the showman side to his personality. As much as this book is one for his fans, it can still be enjoyed by others.