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Popular Culture January 2021
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| I Want to Be Where the Normal People Are by Rachel BloomWhat it is: a chatty and self-deprecating essay collection from Emmy Award-winning Crazy Ex-Girlfriend co-creator and star Rachel Bloom.
What's inside: intimate musings on Bloom's mental health battles; insights on navigating male-dominated spaces in the entertainment industry; dish on attending award shows; childhood diary entries.
Don't miss: "Inside Jokes Can Leave Many Outside," the earnest newspaper editorial Bloom wrote as a teen. |
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| This Is Not My Memoir by André Gregory and Todd LondonWhat it is: a heady and illuminating trip through groundbreaking avant-garde theater director and My Dinner with André actor André Gregory's life and career.
For fans of: unconventional memoirs that reflect on the creative process, like Alexander Chee's How to Write an Autobiographical Novel.
Want a taste? "In relationships as in art, it is not talent that matters much. It is tenacity. An artist cannot survive or grow without tenacity." |
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| Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics by Dolly Parton with Robert K. OermannFeaturing: annotated lyrics to 175 of country legend Dolly Parton's songs, grouped by subject matter or theme; memorabilia and never-before-seen photographs from Parton's archives.
Read it for: Parton's candid assessment of her artistic output, peppered with her trademark sense of humor: "I've killed a lot of puppies and kids and ladies in my songs." |
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| One Life by Megan Rapinoe with Emma BrockesWhat it's about: Olympic gold medalist and two-time Women’s World Cup champion Megan Rapinoe's soccer career and dedication to social justice activism.
Why you might like it: Rapinoe's frank and inspiring memoir offers a hopeful outlook on addressing inequality both on and off the field.
Topics include: Rapinoe playing on a boy's soccer team at age six, where she outshone her peers; coming out in 2012; equal pay advocacy; solidarity with Colin Kaepernick during national anthem protests. |
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| Singular Sensation: The Triumph of Broadway by Michael RiedelWhat it is: a richly detailed history of Broadway in the 1990s, which saw the arrival -- and massive success -- of productions including Rent, The Lion King, and Angels in America.
Book buzz: Theater critic Michael Riedel's fast-paced follow-up to Razzle Dazzle, his dishy history of Broadway in the 1970s and '80s, offers a nostalgic peek behind the curtain.
Featuring: interviews with more than 100 theater luminaries involved in the hits (or flops) of the era. |
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Spotlight on: Grammy Award Winners |
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| Queen Bey: A Celebration of the Power and Creativity of Beyoncé Knowles-Carter by Veronica Chambers (editor)What it is: a balanced collection of 19 essays that thoughtfully celebrates and critiques Beyoncé's cultural impact.
Contributors include: Luvvie Ajayi, Brittney Cooper, Michael Eric Dyson, Kid Fury, Lena Waithe, and more.
Don't miss: Melissa Harris-Perry and Mankaprr Conteh debate the merits of "Beyoncé feminism" in "Grown Women: A Conversation About Coming of Age with an Icon." |
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Music by Max Steiner : the epic life of Hollywood's most influential composer
by Steven C. Smith
What it is: "The creator of ""The Sound of a City"" traces the seven-decade career of the three-time Academy Award-winning composer."
Reviewers say: "Smith's life of Max Steiner moves like an express train, every page crammed with interest and scrupulous research, both historical and musical. "-Nicholas Meyer, Author and Filmmaker
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Gold Dust Woman: A Biography of Stevie Nicks
by Stephen Davis
What'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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Just getting started
by Tony Bennett
What it is: A tribute to the people, places and things that have inspired the nonagenarian music artist's career reflects on the family members and fellow artists who have shaped his prodigious achievements, sharing valuable life lessons and personal reflections on the creative process, humanity and other subjects.
Reviewers say: "“Fans of heralded crooner Bennett will revel in this inviting charming book...In these beguiling portraits, Bennett warmly remembers of the deep influences on his life.” (Publishers Weekly)
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David Bowie : a life
by Dylan Jones
What's inside: Traces the life of the late music superstar through almost 200 interviews with his producers, bandmates, managers and lovers from his English childhood to key points throughout his career, including early 1970s New York and the hedonism of late 1970s Los Angeles.
Reviewers say: “Revelatory and surprising — perfect for the Ziggy completist." (New York Magazine)
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Rochester Hills Public Library 500 Olde Towne Rd Rochester, Michigan 48307 (248) 656-2900 rhpl.org |
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