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Popular Culture January 2018 |
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The Rub of Time : Bellow, Nabokov, Hitchens, Travolta, Trump: Essays and Reportage, 1986-2017
by Martin Amis
For more than thirty years, Martin Amis has turned his keen intellect and unrivaled prose loose on an astonishing range of topics--politics, sports, celebrity, America, and, of course, literature. Now, at last, these incomparable essays have been gathered together. Here is Amis at the 2011 GOP Iowa Caucus, where, squeezed between "windbreakers and woolly hats," he pores over The Ron Paul Family Cookbook and laments the absence of "our Banquo," Herman Cain. He writes about finally confronting the effects of aging on his athletic prowess. He revisits, time and time again, the worlds of Bellow and Nabokov, his "twin peaks," masters who have obsessed and inspired him. Brilliant, incisive, and savagely funny, The Rub of Time is a vital addition to any Amis fan's bookshelf, and the perfect primer for readers discovering his fierce and tremendous talents for the first time.
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Revenge of the Nerd : Or… the Singular Adventures of the Man Who Would Be Booger
by Curtis Armstrong
Risky Business. Revenge of the Nerds. Better Off Dead. Moonlighting. Supernatural. American Dad. New Girl. What do all of these movies and television shows have in common? Curtis Armstrong. A legendary comedic second banana to a litany of major stars, Curtis is forever cemented in the public imagination as Booger from Revenge of the Nerds. A classically trained actor, Curtis began his incredible 40-year career on stage but progressed rapidly to film and television. He was typecast early and it proved to be the best thing that could have happened. But there’s more to Curtis’ story than that. Born and bred a nerd, he spent his early years between Detroit, a city so nerdy that the word was coined there in 1951, and, improbably, Geneva, Switzerland. His adolescence and early adulthood was spent primarily between the covers of a book and indulging his nerdy obsessions. It was only when he found his true calling, as an actor and unintentional nerd icon, that he found true happiness.In Hollywood, as in life, that counts as winning the game.
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I Will Never Change My Name : An Immigrant's American Dream from Ukraine to the USA to Dancing With the Stars
by Valentin Chmerkovskiy
Valentin Chmerkovskiy, the world championship-winning and beloved Dancing with the Stars ballroom dancer invites fans into his life, sharing the experiences that have shaped him. Val has captivated viewers of Dancing with the Stars since his first performance in 2011. The beloved dance champion and choreographer assesses his life and career so far—where he’s come from and where he hopes to go. Val looks back at his childhood in Odessa, Ukraine, and his Jewish family’s immigration to the United States—including what it was like to grow up as a stranger desperate to fit into a different culture, how he worked to become a premiere dancer, and, of course, the collaborations and competitions with his brother and fellow DWTS sensation, Maksim "Maks" Chmerkovskiy. Though he admits he sometimes still feels like an outsider, Val expresses his enduring gratitude for everything that America represents and pays homage to his adopted nation and the opportunities it has afforded him and his family.
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| Gold Dust Woman: A Biography of Stevie Nicks by Stephen DavisWhat's inside: This unauthorized biography pulls from interviews with singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks as well as her friends, family, and others in the music industry. Ordered chronologically, it traces Nicks' upbringing, her path to Fleetwood Mac, and her creation of a solo career.
Try this next: the oral history Fleetwood Mac on Fleetwood Mac.
Reviewers say: "All you ever wanted to know about Fleetwood Mac's mesmerizing frontwoman" (People Magazine). |
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| Hank and Jim: The Fifty-Year Friendship of Henry Fonda and James Stewart by Scott EymanWhat it is: A sweeping, entertaining dual biography that explores the steady, close friendship between actors Henry Fonda and Jimmy Stewart, which lasted close to 50 years despite their considerable differences.
Further reading: For another long-time Hollywood friendship, try Daniel De Vise's Andy and Don (about Andy Griffith and Don Knotts). For more on Henry Fonda, go with Devin McKinney's The Man Who Saw a Ghost; for Jimmy Stewart, try Marc Eliot's eponymous biography. |
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The Naughty Nineties : The Triumph of the American Libido - Library Edition
by David Friend
The Naughty Nineties: The Triumph of the American Libido examines the scandal-strafed decade when our public and private lives began to blur due to the rise of the web, reality television, and the wholesale tabloidization of pop culture. In this comprehensive and often hilarious time capsule, David Friend combines detailed reporting with first-person accounts from many of the decade's singular personalities, from Anita Hill to Monica Lewinsky, Lorena Bobbitt to Heidi Fleiss, Alan Cumming to Joan Rivers, Jesse Jackson to key members of the Clinton, Dole, and Bush teams. The Naughty Nineties also uncovers unsung sexual pioneers, from the enterprising sisters who dreamed up the Brazilian bikini wax to the scientists who, quite by accident, discovered Viagra.
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| The Mother of Black Hollywood: A Memoir by Jenifer LewisWhat it is: an uplifting account of actress Jenifer Lewis' childhood, career trajectory, love affairs, and struggles with mental illness.
About the author: Currently appearing in the television show Black-ish, Lewis is known for portraying mothers (hence the title), and writes with both humor and honesty.
For fans of: Lewis herself, of course -- but also anyone who appreciates candid, frank stories of women who have overcome obstacles on their way to success. |
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You Don't Own Me : How Mattel V. Mga Entertainment Revealed Barbie's Dark Side
by Orly Lobel
The battle between Mattel, the makers of the iconic Barbie doll, and MGA, the company that created the Bratz dolls, was not just a war over best-selling toys, but a war over who owns ideas.
When Carter Bryant began designing what would become the billion-dollar line of Bratz dolls, he was taking time off from his job at Mattel, where he designed outfits for Barbie. Later, back at Mattel, he sold his concept for Bratz to rival company MGA. Law professor Orly Lobel reveals the colorful story behind the ensuing decade-long court battle.This entertaining and provocative work pits audacious MGA against behemoth Mattel, shows how an idea turns into a product, and explores the two different versions of womanhood, represented by traditional all-American Barbie and her defiant, anti-establishment rival—the only doll to come close to outselling her. In an era when workers may be asked to sign contracts granting their employers the rights to and income resulting from their ideas—whether conceived during work hours or on their own time—Lobel’s deeply researched story is a riveting and thought-provoking contribution to the contentious debate over creativity and intellectual property.
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Miss D and Me : Life With the Invincible Bette Davis
by Kathryn Sermak
Miss D and Me is a story of two powerful women, one at the end of her life and the other at the beginning. As Bette Davis aged she was looking for an assistant, but she found something more than that in Kathryn: a loyal and loving buddy, a co-conspirator in her jokes and schemes, and a competent assistant whom she trained never to miss a detail. But Miss D had strict rules for Kathryn about everything from how to eat a salad to how to wear her hair...even the spelling of Kathryn's name was changed (adding the "y") per Miss D's request. Throughout their time together, the two grew incredibly close, and Kathryn had a front-row seat to the larger-than-life Davis's career renaissance in her later years, as well as to the humiliating public betrayal that nearly killed Miss D. The frame of this story is a four-day road trip Kathryn and Davis took from Biarritz to Paris, during which they disentangled their ferocious dependency.
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