What are you currently reading?

[Contessa Donatella]

RQOTD: In her new book Anne Heche tells that on the 1st day of shooting with Harrison Ford on the beach , he told her to only look at his left eye. She said she had to look at his whole face. He said okay. ACTION! He had one hand in front of his right eye. Brilliant! She learned. CALL ME ANNE

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[DramatistDreamer]

I just finished Burn It Down: Power, Complicity and A Call For Change In Hollywood. It was proved to be prescient concerning recent events.

There was also food for thought in that the author contends that while studios tend to rationalize keeping problematic people (studio executives, producers, directors, showrunners, etc) by saying that they have the skills and expertise to keep these shows running in an efficient manner while keeping costs down, there are equally talented, non-problematic people who have the exact same sets of skills and expertise, with equal ability to keep shows running efficiently and lower costs.
This made me think about the scandal at Days Of Our Lives and the rationale that has surely been given for holding on to Alarr, likely the same rationalizations for keeping many problematic producers, executives, etc., on daytime soaps over decades. This makes me wonder had these studios made different decisions with producers, directors, even some showrunners, might they have saved more money and made even better shows for a longer period of time, buying more time for many of these beloved shows? It’s an interesting hypothesis,which the author seems to believe and I also believe.

[DramatistDreamer]

After listening to the memoirs of Kerry Washington and Jada Pinkett Smith via audiobooks and a sprawling historical novel, I am once again listening to another audiobook memoir, this time from John Stamos. My ears really pricked up when he began to talk about the segregation in soaps of Black actors and meaningful storylines that he described as a kind of “Jim Crow segregation”. He talked about the one fully developed storyline for Black characters that occurred on the show during his time their and how rare it was. 

[Contessa Donatella]

I'm reading 3 books which is something I like to do. 

First, Susan Lucci's memoir All Of Me, about 60% done. Most of it I have found quite compelling. But some passages I don't care about & find them boring. I love this book for the quotes on Brian Frons. Famously she said he is a mixture of arrogance & stupidity. 

Next is Leslie Brody's biography Sometimes You Have to Lie: The Life & Times of Louise Fitzhugh. Fitzhugh was from Memphis, a lesbian who moved to NYC. She wrote the Harriet the Spy books. And she was a contemporary of Constance Ford. I'm at about 20%.Very interesting if you like biographies, which I do. 

Last but certainly not least is Tom Lisanti's new book about Ryan's Hope. Only about 6%, just getting going. 

The last book I finished is Call Me Anne by Anne Heche. Good book, most is about her life & her shows but every chapter has something life enhancing, practical advice.

[Ponds]

I'm reading Cassidy Hutchinson's book right now.  She really describes the personalities of the inner circle of the White House so well.  I'm enjoying the read and recommend it.

[applcin]

I just finished reading this. Basically, each chapter is about a particular dog that became part of her life or her kids' lives early on. She's straighforward and talks about her life but mostly as it relates to the dogs. It's like each chapter is its own short story so there's a lot of time-jumping back and forth. It's not focused on VRC or PandP; it's about those particular family dogs, their personalities, the lives and adventures with them. As a fan of the show, it was an interesting read, although I was a little disappointed that there were no pictures of the dogs (actually, no pictures at all), except a few on the covers.

 

Edited December 7, 2023 by applcin

[DramatistDreamer]

Currently reading The Sullivanians: Sex, Psychotherapy and the Wild Ride of an American Commune by Alexander Stille and it is quite the odyssey. A commune (aka cult) on the upper west side of Manhattan that began in the late 1950s, right up until the very early 1990s. You really have to read about it in detail to believe it.

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Edited January 21 by DramatistDreamer

[I Am A Swede]

I've just started "My name is Barbra". I'm on chapter seven, and she's just about to start recording her first album, and "Funny Girl" is waiting around the corner. So far it's been a great read.