The "League of Gentlemen"'s Book of Precious Things [Hardcover]

This book contains 239 pages of funny and sometimes spooky short stories, poems, pictures, song lyrics, parts from novels and dialogs from films, plays, TV or radio shows of all kind... everything that ever inspired Jeremy Dyson, Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith to get together and do a show as great and funny as "The League of Gentlemen". Every one of the guys has his own section, where he introduces the bits, telling a bit about what exactely was so inspiring about it and how it influenced him in his attitude and work.
I love this book for it is truly a treasure of funny bits and I'd recommend it to everyone, who likes a laugh and not only "LoG"-fans.

`The League of Gentlemen's Book of Precious Things' is an entertainingly eclectic anthology, which brings together the singularly individual choices of Messrs Dyson, Gatiss, Pemberton and Shearsmith (assembled under `Dyson's Choices', `Gatiss' Greatest', `Pemberton's Picks' & `Reece's Pieces') whilst being, at the same time, a communal compendium reflecting the unique collective sensibility of The League of Gentlemen and their extraordinary wide ranging influences and inspirations.

The collection is a fascinating one and the material is a mixture of the intelligent, the ribald, the theatrical, the bizarre, the dramatic, the accessible and the obscure. A love of language, the macabre, the gothic and a touch of the melancholic are unifying factors linking many of the choices. The range of sources show The League's respect for and love of writers who have forged their own vision & articulated a distinctive individuality.

The `precious things' found within the pages range from the Coen Brothers to Noel Coward by way of `Exorcist III' and 1970s BBC documentaries, from Robert Aickman to Victoria Wood, `Doctor Who' to Rumpelstiltskin, `Porridge' to `Dead Babies' and many things in between.

Surely the four Gents were somehow destined to collaborate , so attuned along the same creative wavelength as they seem to be - was it just fate that they all happened to watch a bonfire night screening of `Carry on Screaming' on BBC1 in 1976?

Although maybe not as an essential `must have' for fans as `A Local Book for Local People', `Scripts and That' or the brilliant books by Jeremy and Mark, `Book of Precious Things' is nevertheless a very interesting and worthwhile addition to The League's literary works.

It puts you onto their wavelength, placing their own leap of collective creativity into context. The wide variety of material & influences contained within the anthology helps you to understand their own originality and uniqueness.

It certainly inspired me to seek out several of the pieces featured within its pages - which is what any decent anthology should do.

In itself `The League of Gentlemen's Book of Precious Things' is an uniquely expansive and original literary/tv/comedy collection as you'd hope to find, as extraordinary as The League of Gentlemen themselves.

I enjoyed this book mainly because I already love classic Doctor Who, John Shuttleworth and Alan Bennett. But this book has introduced me to new authors who have inspired the kings of Vasey.

I do rather wonder if anyone outside fandom will be that interested though and, it must be said, the chosen passages are very short so as to leave the reader with "Chinese buffet" syndrome - small very different dishes but not a feeling of satisfaction. For example, you don't really get a full feeling of the majesty of "The Talons of Weng Chiang" in reading a couple of pages of the script.

A bit of an odd pick and mix but still a good read ....... but any chance of another movie or series Gentlemen?