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23 September 2020

Classic Hollywood reading guide---15 books that will make you love old timey Hollywood

 One of my favorite subjects to read about is old Hollywood.  I am talking anytime from the start of the talkies to maybe the mid to late '40s.  Hollywood could be vile and deceitful and the studios would cover all of that up in an effort to appear it's stars were perfect, just like a movie plot!  To me, the stars are classic, poised, graceful, but also conniving, and backstabbing (there lies the thrilling element for me).  I will pick up any book, fiction or nonfiction, about classic Hollywood, and below are some of my favorites, and I admit I had so much trouble trying to limit it to this number.


1.  This is more of an author and not a singular book, his name is Martin Turnbull and he seems to only write classic Hollywood and that is fine with me because he does it so well.  He has a series of books called The Garden of Allah that are must-reads if you like this genre. There are nine of them and I will list them for you, but only show you the cover of one, the first one, The Garden on Sunset.  Between these covers, we meet three young folks each trying to make it big in this new world called "Hollywood."  They are each traveling on their own career path, but those paths cross and they form friendships that will take us through the entire journey of nine books.   This series has been optioned for movie/tv rights, we will see what happens there, I personally think a series would be fabulous.  



Book 2--The Trouble with Scarlett
Book 3- Citizen Hollywood
Book 4- Searchlight and Shadows
Book 5-Reds in the Beds
Book 6-Twisted Boulevard
Book 7- Tinseltown Confidential
Book 8- City of Myths
Book 9-Closing Credits


2. All the Stars in the Heavens by Adriana Trigiani  

Oh, this one is fascinating!  Remember when you heard that Clark Gable and Loretta Young had a romance and that love produced a child?  This one features that event as the subplot.  You see the romance, the pregnancy, and the aftermath where she adopts the child and never tells Clark about her.  The main plot of the book features Loretta's personal assistant, Alda, and her romance with another on set member too.  I liked these two plots because they paralleled the stars' affair and the supporting player's romance.  



3. Tinseltown: Murder, Morphine, and Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood by William J Mann.

This book is a nonfiction, jaw-dropping plot (, almost unbelievable unsolved murder in early Hollywood.  William Desmond Taylor is murdered and everyone seems to be a suspect.  I have my theory of who did it, and I would be excited to see what you think too.  


4.  The Purple Diaries...there are two of these you need to try.  The Purple Diaries: Mary Astor and the Most Sensational Hollywood Scandal of the 1930s by Joseph Egan and Mary Astor's Purple Diary by Edward Sorel.  I am not going to spoil this for you, but be prepared to be SHOCKED!!!  When I first read this I mainly knew Mary from the movie Meet Meet in St. Louis so I was in no way prepared for the real-life Mary.  





5.  West of Sunset by Stewart O'Nan

This book is all about the last few years of the Great F Scott Fitzgerald's short life.  I think you might enjoy this even if you don't care for Scott because he is entertaining. 




6. Fireball-Carole Lombard and the Mystery of Flight 3 by Robert Matzen

This is a wonderful read.  Carole was at the height of her game, she had a wonderful, very attractive, famous husband (The King, Clark Gable) and she was selling war bonds because America had just entered WWII.  She made a decision to fly back home to Pa (her name for Gable) instead of taking a train because she missed him so.  We all know she died in a fiery plane crash, this book gives you the account before the crash, the possible cause, and poor Clark in his grief.  


7. Heart of the Lion by Martin Turnbull

I have to come back to Martin because I love this book.  Irving Thalburg was the Golden Boy of MGM.  You may not have heard of him, but if you are a classic film fan, he brought you a lot of movies and stars you know and love.  He was married to one of the biggest stars on the screen (and my favorite actress), Norma Shearer, but he had lots of health issues.  This book is one of the only ones I have seen on Thalburg's life, a man whose career is very much worth remembering.   


8. The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict

Are you holding your phone right now?  If you are you need to say a "thank you" to the woman featured in this book.  Heddy Lamarr was a brilliant film actress, but she also had a brilliant mind.  She experienced a horrible marriage, having been married to a member of the Nazi party.  She was close to being "exterminated" but escapes.  Then she becomes a household name as one of the most beautiful people on the silver screen.  What's her connection to your phone?  She also was an inventor who helped create that wireless technology that we all so adore.  


9.  Stars on Sunset Blvd by Susan Meissner

For the Gone with the Wind fan, as this one takes place on the GWTW set.  Susan is a brilliant writer who doesn't disappoint. Audrey and Violet are the stars of the show, even though they aren't the stars of the film.  


10.  Marlene by CW Gortner

CW has a few wonderful books, but this one is probably my favorite of his. Maybe it is the subject, he paints Marlene in a light I never knew shone on her.  I thought it was just a spotlight, but she has some interesting backstories too.  


11. Goddess-The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe by Anthony Summers

One of the first Hollywood books I ever read (the first is coming up).  This one is written like a giant investigative report.  It tries to determine whether Marilyn died by suicide or murder and if she was murdered, who did it?  There are photos features, some with FBI censoring, and some autopsy photos (not for the faint at heart).  I have read this so many times just trying to determine how she died myself.  


12.  Mommie Dearest by Christina Crawford

Every Hollywood list needs to feature this one even if you think it is more of a fiction read than nonfiction (I go back and forth).  This has more details than the film as it features all the children Joan adopted and all the backstories.  #nowirehangers


13.  Million Dollar Mermaid by Esther Williams

You will read this one and know all about the MGM Studio school of making you into a star.  Esther may have had talent before she joined MGM, but they finessed it and turned her into a bonafide movie star with star billing.  The only thing bigger than Esther's star was the pools MGM built for her, and only her!  Esther will leave nothing to your imagination, and I do mean nothing.  If you are curious about the star treatment school, or her lovers then you will love this book.




14. Hollywood Babylon by Kenneth Angers

The first Hollywood book I ever owned or read, and it is a no holds barred book.  The photographs can get quite graphic so no squeamish should pick up this one.  This book is written in pretty much straight tabloid type of text, but it will give you some of the backstories, from here you can go research the stars you are interested in and learn the real truth.  




15. The Forgotten Flapper by Laini Giles

I found this one solely by accident, and I was thrilled to have discovered it.  This author writes books based on forgotten movie stars and they are all wonderful.  I had to choose the first one as my favorite because I have always been interested in Olive Thomas (even have a cat named for her). Olive was a beautiful silent film star who was married to Mary Pickford's brother, Jack.  They had a wild relationship and even wilder times.  Olive would die very early in her life, a shocking death that plays out near the end of this book in vivid detail of what the last bit of her earthly time might have looked like.


  

15.  The MGM Story: History of Fifty Roaring Years by John Douglas Eames 

A must for any MGM fan, this book leaves nothing out.  It is a perfect book for a classic film fan.  I bought mine years ago and used it for more of a checklist when I desired to see all the MGM classic films.  While this one is more of a research book it will entertain you because you get the movie title and a fabulous description.






Review: Lana's War

Lana's War Lana's War by Anita Abriel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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21 September 2020

Review: The Barbizon: The Hotel That Set Women Free

The Barbizon: The Hotel That Set Women Free The Barbizon: The Hotel That Set Women Free by Paulina Bren
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Barbizon was a very interesting nonfiction read. It is a history of The Barbizon Hotel for women with a sprinkling of the history of Mademoiselle magazine too as a lot of the story intertwines with the magazine's history. The book takes us on a journey from the building of the hotel and its origins. Did you know it was built to fill a hole in the housing market, as there was not anything for single girls in the 1920's? A lot of famous women would reside within the hotel's walls, Margaret Brown (yes, the Titanic Molly), Grace Kelly, Liza Minnelli, Sylvia Plath, and many more. I found that most of the book discussed the girls that were in the guest editor program of Mademoiselle magazine. I had no idea that was a thing as a guest editor program in those days.

I received a copy of The Barbizon in exchange for my honest opinion.

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10 September 2020

Review: Open Book

Open Book Open Book by Jessica Simpson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I like we a celebrity is gut-wrenching honest in their book. I love when they don't portray themselves as this "perfect being and everyone around them causes the issues in their life". If you are looking for that type of book, move on to another celeb memoir and not this one but this one can get ugly honest, and raw. Kudos to you Jessica for striving to be a role model for girls to be comfortable in their own skin and confident in their faith.

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07 September 2020

Fall Reading Guide

 For the first time, I am going to give you my fall book list, why?  Because the world is so full of Covid-19 and we need an escape from reality.  


I am going to choose books that have been released in 2020....only one of these on my list have I read, so maybe we can read all of these books together.  



1. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

   Twins live in a small town but are unhappy and run away from home.  Years later one of them returns with her daughter.  A daughter who doesn't look like the other townspeople (they are all lighter skin color and she is dark).  The other sister is living as a white woman and her husband doesn't know anything about her past.  In the future, the twins' grown-up daughters find each other and reveal some truths, but keep some buried deeply.



2. The Sun Down Motel by Simone St James

This one has been on my TBR for some time and I am just about to put it in the finished stack.  It is about an aunt that mysteriously disappeared and the cover is exceptional.  


3. Blood by Joe Jonas


This one is written by a Jonas and is all about the Jonas brothers and I have been on the waiting list since January.


4. A Furious Sky by Eric Jay Dolin

This one seems to be all about hurricanes of the past so it is non-fiction. I am hoping it is very entertaining and horrifying.  



5. The Queen of Tuesday (a Lucille Ball story) by Darian Strauss

In my book this was a must when it said "A Lucille Ball story) and the cover is outstanding as well.  




6. The Paris Secret by Natasha Lester



I read all Natasha's books so I often don't read what the next one is about so I am surprised, but it is usually about Paris and always fantastic!


7. The Virginia Dynasty by Lynne Cheney

Lynne is a great nonfiction writer, I have no doubt this one will be detailed and all about our Virginian Presidents.



8. Kind of a Big Deal by Shannon Hale 



A YA book that I MUST read because of the title because I sometimes introduce myself as a "big deal or dill".  


9. No Time for the Future by Michael J Fox.

I am very much looking forward to getting my hands on this one.  All the books he has written have been uplifting, honest, and inspiring.




10. Memorial Drive: A Daughter's Memoir

This book sounds like it would be a fiction read, but it is not in any way fiction.  This really happened to Natasha and her mother.  Her mother was murdered by Natasha's stepfather and from the snippets I have seen, it seems like Natasha may have been nearby, if not there.  



29 August 2020

The Read with Michelle September book pick is here!!!

 Hello fellow readers!

2020 may be the weirdest year on record, but it has also flown by...Happy September!!!  To me, September is all about fall. I have put up the summer decor and brought out all the fall goodness... yellow and orange leaves, purple flowers, acorns and of course pumpkin everything.  I thought about picking a fall type book, but I found nothing that I thought was exciting so I went back to the stack of new releases that I had.  One cover stood out, then I read the story and I was like oh THIS is THE book!  


The September book pick is The Lions of 5th Avenue by Fiona Davis.  




Fiona has been one of my go-to authors for a while because every book she writes is set in the most interesting places in NYC.  Here is a list of her books because you really need to read them all:

                                 

The Dollhouse-about girls who want to be models and secretaries and live in the Barbizon Hotel. 

The Address (my personal fave)-is all about the Dakota Hotel from the time it was built to the first occupants.  This one shocked me at the end.

The Masterpiece-this journey starts by a girl tripping over a suitcase in Grand Central Station and takes you to an art school that made its home in GCS.

The Chelsea Girls-Hazel and Maxine live in The Chelsea Hotel and have dreams of making it big on Broadway meanwhile Joseph McCarthy is out looking for communists.  

Fast forward to Fiona's new release and you will see a beautiful setting of the New York Public Library and if that is not enough, she gives us an apartment over the library (folks really did live there once upon a time), a book theft, death and family estrangement.  This one has it all!!!! 



Review: The Lions of Fifth Avenue

The Lions of Fifth Avenue The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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21 August 2020

Review: The Paris Model: A Novel

The Paris Model: A Novel The Paris Model: A Novel by Alexandra Joel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I would like to give this a 3.5. I enjoyed the storyline, but it kind of read like a Danielle Steele (those kinds of fans will love this!) so I didn't enjoy everything. I thought the story was very original, an Australian girl marries the boy she dated before WWII, but life is not always the same after the war, so she changes her ambitions in life. I won't spoil the how, but you can tell by the title that she ends up in Paris working as a model. Her adventures modeling very much follow that Danielle Steele vibe featuring intrigue, and identity crisis, and a man. The book is laced with interactions of famous people like Picasso and Jackie Kennedy and I very much enjoyed these conversations.

All in all, this was a quick read and a nice way to escape to Paris for a couple of hours.


I received a free book in exchange of my honest review.

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15 August 2020

Review: The Woman Before Wallis: A Novel of Windsors, Vanderbilts, and Royal Scandal

The Woman Before Wallis: A Novel of Windsors, Vanderbilts, and Royal Scandal The Woman Before Wallis: A Novel of Windsors, Vanderbilts, and Royal Scandal by Bryn Turnbull
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Review: Your Second Act: Inspiring Stories of Reinvention

Your Second Act: Inspiring Stories of Reinvention Your Second Act: Inspiring Stories of Reinvention by Patricia Heaton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am a big fan of Patricia and I have never once seen Everybody loves Raymond. I love the Frankie Heck Patricia :) Well that is why I read this book.

This book is all about how to live that second part of your life, not necessarily a mid-life crisis, but a re-invention. The stories within this cover are uplifting, inspiring, and inspirational.

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Review: The Vanishing Half

The Vanishing Half The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Review: I Was Told It Would Get Easier

I Was Told It Would Get Easier I Was Told It Would Get Easier by Abbi Waxman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



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12 August 2020

Patti Callahan's new book cover reveal

Here it is! I am so excited to share the cover for Surviving Savannah by New York Times bestselling author Patti Callahan, on sale March 9, 2021. It’s inspired by the true and forgotten story of the sinking of the “Titanic of the South” #survivingsavannah #patticallahan Pre-order it here: https://bit.ly/3i9VQ4Y Visit Patti online: https://www.patticallahanhenry.com/surviving-savannah 





About the book

 

New York Times bestselling author Patti Callahan delivers a breathtaking novel based on true events.
It was called "The Titanic of the South”—the luxury steamship that sank in 1838 with Savannah's elite on board. Through time, their fates were forgotten—until the wreck was found.

Now their story is finally being told. 

When Savannah history professor Everly Winthrop is asked to guest-curate a new museum collection focusing on artifacts recovered from the steamship Pulaski, she's shocked. The ship sank after a boiler explosion in 1838, and the wreckage was just discovered, 180 years later. Everly can't resist the opportunity to try to solve some of the mysteries and myths surrounding the devastating night of its sinking.

Everly's research leads her to the astounding history of a family of eleven who boarded the Pulaski together, and the extraordinary stories of two women from this family: a known survivor, Augusta Longstreet, and her niece, Lilly Forsyth, who, along with her child, was never found. The women were part of Savannah society, but when the ship exploded, each was faced with difficult and heartbreaking decisions. This is a moving and powerful exploration of what women will do to endure in the face of tragedy, the role fate plays, and the myriad ways we survive the surviving.

Perfect for fans of Before We Were Yours, Sold on a Monday, and Orphan Train, Callahan’s highly anticipated novel tells the story of a little known chapter of history that has long deserved a spotlight. This transformative tale told from alternating past and present perspectives will sweep readers away and move them to their core.

 

Q&A with Patti Callahan

 

What inspired you to write Surviving Savannah? 

 

Originally I was inspired by the Pulaski tales of survival, how the city of Savannah was part of this story, and how the Lowcountry was affected by this tragedy. I was also inspired and curious about the transformation of each passenger and the ways that each survivor not only lived through the explosion, but also how they chose to live their lives after the sinking.

How, I wondered, do some come to live better lives and others turn toward bitterness and cruelty? Who do we become after such great loss?

AND then!, everything shifted because after a hundred and eighty years, along came a shipwreck hunting crew who found the remains of the Pulaski a hundred feet beneath the waves, thirty miles off the coast of Wilmington, North Carolina. While the team went deep to bring up the artifacts and treasure of this beautiful ship, I dug deep to bring up the stories.  

My exhilarating hunt for the forgotten story began.

 

What kind of research was required to write the novel? Did anything surprise you?

 

The research was as fascinating as it was extensive – from the archives at the Georgia Historical Center in Savannah and the Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum to books, newspaper archives, personal accounts and letters, I read everything that I could get my hands on. I devoured books on steamships and Savannah in the 1800’s. I read about the rich history of the colonization of Savannah with General Oglethorpe. I walked the streets of Savannah and visited museums and artifact collections. I interviewed shipwreck experts and became enchanted with the world of wreck salvaging and treasure hunting.

During this journey, I was surprised over and over, but one surprise that opens the novel is the true narrative about a fifteen-year-old passenger named Charles who survived the sinking to become a slave trader with a horrific reputation. As he grew into a man, he earned the nickname “the Red Devil”. How had this young boy survived to become so cruel? I wanted to know. 

Finally, after years of research, I put together a complete story of that calamitous night, and one family in particular.

 

Your story follows three women – Lily and Augusta on the ship in 1838, and Everly in the present day. Which of the three women did you relate to the most and why?

 

While I was writing each section I always felt the most connected to the woman I was writing about at the moment. I don’t think I felt more for one woman than another but of course our modern-day character, Everly felt more relatable only because I know today’s Savannah and I know today’s southern norms and ideas. The historical narratives were almost two hundred years old, and yet I still felt as close to Lilly and Augusta because of their plight and their desires and their inner lives feel familiar. As far as women have come in their roles in society, there is still the struggle for independence and agency. There remains the need to burst through familial and collective norms to build a life of one’s own. 

All three women had their own tragedies, hardships, and losses to navigate. All three needed to discover how they would make meaning and purpose out of their situation. All three found out what they were truly made of and if they wanted to merely survive or if they wanted to thrive and build new lives.

 

Advance Digital Copy Giveaways

 


 

You can win a copy here!!!


Your followers may enter to win an advance digital copy using this sweepstakes link: https://sweeps.penguinrandomhouse.com/enter/surviving-savannah-cover-reveal-sweeps

 

You can enter for a chance to win an advanced digital review copy of the book here: https://sweeps.penguinrandomhouse.com/enter/surviving-savannah-cover-reveal-sweeps



(NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. US Residents, 18+. Ends August 17, 2020. See official rules at the official website.)

 

Additional Links

 

Add SURVIVING SAVANNAH to your shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54306882-surviving-savannah

 

Visit Patti online: https://www.patticallahanhenry.com/surviving-savannah

 

02 August 2020

Getting things done-cooking

I have a recipe rotation that I use for the family.  Cooking is hard.  Not because I don't like it, nope I don't mind it at all, and I don't mind trying new recipes.  What is hard is my family is very picky.  Neither of my boys eats vegetables at all.  Neither one of them likes anything cooked in a slow cooker.   Our son won't even eat mashed potatoes and forget anything that has touched gravy.  Our daughter (who doesn't live at home anymore) didn't eat meat and the boys love meat.  So it makes things hard.  What I look for is a recipe that I can substitute onions for onion powder and remove all the veggies.  Yes, it is horrible.  What I am going to do below is tell you some of the things my picky eaters will eat.  I have posted some of the recipes on previous blog posts, so I will link to them.  There are so good things here, they would be better if you added broccoli :), or carrots.  Use your imagination and create something new from these, or just try them for a simple dinner night.

First I will give you recipes that I have already posted (this is not all of the recipes I have posted, but they are the family's favorites.  Go to my home page and click on "recipes" on the right and you will see all that I have posted, the Doritos casserole is outstanding!!!

Chicken and dumplins-by far the easiest dumplings you will ever make.  There is not even any mixing here, just dumping.  Super easy and my husband loves it.  

Homemade Ranch dressing-so much better for you than the chemical powdered junk and cheaper than Hidden Valley.  Personally, I think it is spectacular!!!

Poppyseed Chicken-I love this one.  I love to make 2 of them and in mine, I put in broccoli...yummy!!! super fantastic


Peanut Butter Pie- this may not be the main dish, but my family loves it so much.  This used to be a recipe that Cracker Barrel used to make the most delectable pie (in the days when I worked for them).  Try this one for a surprise for your family, I think they will give you big smiles.

Now for some new recipes for you.

Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients:


Butter (softened)

10 to 12 slices of bread (take off crust)

1 to 1 and 1/2 pounds of sausage

1 and 1/2 to 2 cups mild shredded cheddar cheese

12 to 14 eggs

Milk to make eggs like scrambled eggs (about 1/2 a cup)

Salt and pepper


Brown sausage in crumbled pieces. 

Butter both sides of the bread and cover the bottom of the baking dish with the bread. 

Sprinkle sausage over the top of the bread. 

Sprinkle the cheese on top of the sausage. 

Mix eggs and milk just like you would mix to make scrambled eggs, add salt and pepper to taste and pour the mixture over the top of the sausage and cheese. 

If possible, let it sit in the refrigerator overnight. 

Bake at 350 degrees until eggs are down (slightly brown) about 30 to 45 minutes. 



King Hawaii Roll Sandwiches











01 August 2020

Getting things done-cleaning

My motto has always been "get your work done and then you can play", but the COVID19 whatever it has done to life has made me a little stray from that mantra.  I used to get up early and have a couple loads of laundry done, dishes washed, and maybe a bed made before 7am. Oh but that world has changed. Monday I start working at the office for the first time since March 19, so I have to do better.  I have not strayed from my laundry schedule so I am doing well there, but I am going to have to get a cleaning schedule going again.  I am going to go back to my old schedule and see if it works in this new house.  You see, we lived in this house for only 2 weeks before the "lockdown" started so I never got to implement that schedule at the new place.  Our new place is double the size of the old place so I expect some modifications will have to be made.  Here is what I am going to start with, do you have any tips to share? 



 

Review: The Wildest Sun