May I Have Your Attention Please?

By: James Corden

Narrated by: James Corden

Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

As far back as he can remember James Corden has only ever wanted to be in one place: in front of you, doing something to make you laugh, cry, shout, or giggle uncontrollably. At the age of 4, he grandstanded throughout his baby sister’s christening, standing on a chair in front of the whole congregation, pulling faces and cracking everyone up. Despite himself, the vicar was impressed. And from then on he couldn’t get enough of the spotlight, even when it always seemed to avoid him. Throughout his teens, he and his Dad trudged up and down towards London, getting closer and closer to landing a gig, only to be told ‘No’ at the last stage. But he never gave up and soon found his whole life turned upside down and inside out by his experience as one Alan Bennett’s History Boys. From that moment forth, he’s never looked back.

May I Have Your Attention Please? is the warm, cheeky, surprisingly honest and hilarious story of one of our most popular comedy talents. From his antics as one of the founding players of his high-school’s first ever rugby team to gaining recognition in the West End, to nationwide fame as the loveably loud Smithy in the award-winning Gavin and Stacey, this is a tenderly told story of what it’s like to try, try and try again and - happily - get there in the end.

©2011 James Corden (P)2011 Random House Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"A funny, interesting & genuine account’ 5 stars." (Daily Express)

Charming, honest, and insightful

What other book might you compare May I Have Your Attention Please? to and why?

I know what books I would not compare it to. I was expecting a book in the vein of the humorous memoirs/autobiographies of Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Mindy Kaling, etc. However, this book was much more serious, thoughtful, and autobiographical, which was refreshing. James Corden provides a complete narrative of this point in his life, messes and all. I only hope that he adds a few chapters or writes another book in light of his increasing fame.

Solid Autobiography

I love Gavin and Stacey and his late night show, so I was excited to listen to James Corden’s autobiography. I found the stories from growing up and his other works interesting, but loved hearing the process for Gavin and Stacey. I was surprised to hear that he had quite a few moments in his life where he wasn’t proud of his behavior. I also didn’t realize that the book was written so long ago and would love to hear him talking about some of the things he’s done in the past few years. I had to get used to the cadence in his reading voice, but enjoyed it after a while. All in all, I enjoyed it and am happy to hear that he sounds like a more grounded and humble person now.

One of the best audio books ever

James Corden is a amazing actor, I've been trying to find an actor that I like that is close to my age and I finally found him ( I'm 35, 3 yrs younger )
I enjoyed hearing this book, we have many things in common. James is now one of my favorite actors of all time. I rated this audiobook 5 stars because it is one of my favorites. I would recommend it to anyone that is a fan of James Corden. Hope to hear more from him in the future 😍 Keep up the the great work James!!

Absolutely adorable

You will not regret listening to this book however you may regret the amount of money you're going to spend when you hear about all of the amazing productions he was a part of and decide to go buy versions of all of them

Lush loved every single moment, what will I listen to now! Thank you James x

I loved it

I laughed, I choked up (I mostly listened at work so let's be real, I couldn't fully cry), I loved it. Knowing where James is and what he is doing now made me enjoy these stories even more. As an American, some references had me calling on Google, but overall I thought it was very honest, thoughtful, and relatable. I would love another now that there has obviously been some new adventures for Corden. I would love to hear more about his wife and kid(s?). Job very well done.

James Corden is too pure for this world...

The reason why I say this is because of how incredibly open and honest and amazing this book is. I wanted to sit for a minute before writing this because I was left speechless when finishing “May I Have Your Attention Please”.

Within the first 15 minutes of this book, I was in tears. James’ words were really striking a chord with the misunderstood child I was. I believed one day I was going to be something great, I wanted to be a star so badly. It was all I talked about. But unfortunately for me, I didn’t have amazing parents like Mr. Corden does. The way he speaks about his parents in this book...no...the way he speaks about every important person in his life...that’s what life is all about. I believe the millennials call it “goals”. Granted, I’m only 33 so I’m technically a millennial but that is beside the point.

After just 15 minutes of listening to this book, I knew that I wanted to someday shake James’s hand. And the next few days after tweeting about it, I am even more so convinced of that.

But even more importantly, I truly hope he does another book. I just know his insight into his career, his dreams, and his beautiful family would be a true delight for all of his fans.

What a book!

James,
I had no idea what all you went through. Thank you for shaking it all, the good and the bad.
I love watching you on the Late, Late Show! Keep making me laugh 😉

Absolutely brilliant

I really only knew James Corden from presenting the Late Late Show, I knew he was funny and thought this book might be interesting... I was wrong it was fantastic!
Not only does James have an incredible reading voice (I believe he could read the telephone directory and make it interesting... If we had them anymore).
He is honest throughout the book and you truly feel as though you have gone on this incredible journey with him.
I'm now watching everything he has ever done and falling more in love with him with each passing moment.
I recommend this book to James's fans... You will adore this...And to people like myself who have only just discovered him... You will become an instant fan!
I didn't want the book to end, thank you James.

More or less?

I thought he would go into The Late Late Show & how that perspired but I guess this book was made prior to that. I should have paid attention. It was okay. Some chapters heavily detailed about how he got or didn't get certain auditions. It was to show nothing came easy but some chapters could have been shortened. Also, he uses a lot of British lingo and nothing was explained (cities, towns, names of objects or whatnot). I thought that wasn't fair to American crowd who would be reading it. There were 2 Laugh Out Loud parts. The rest was entertaining.