In My TBR Stack:

One Pound, Twelve Ounces: A Preemie Mother's Story of Loss, Hope, and Triumph
by Melissa Harris
She Writes Press
Trade Paperback


From the publisher's website:

Melissa Harris’s dream of being a mother again shatters when a fertility doctor tells her she may never have another child due to a physical anomaly in her uterus. Determined to persevere, she undergoes nine surgeries and a year of fertility treatments until she finally gets a positive pregnancy test—only to miscarry both twins within the first fifteen weeks.

When what she’s decided will be her last attempt results in her finally becoming pregnant, she’s told that this baby, Sam, is also at risk. While lying in a hospital bed for six days, trying to get to the golden standard twenty-four-week gestation mark, Melissa makes a decision—she will give this baby every chance to live, no matter what it takes.

One Pound, Twelve Ounces is the journey of one mother’s determination to give her micro-preemie a fighting chance, and the story of that baby’s remarkable battle to survive.

On My Radar:

Camgirl: A Memoir
by Isa Mazzei
Rare Bird Books
Trade Paperback


From the publisher's website:

At twenty-three, Isa Mazzei was just like any other college graduate: broke, lacking purpose, and searching for an identity. She was also a compulsive seductress with a reputation as a slut and heartbreaker. One day, while working a low-paying retail job, she had a revelation: why not embrace her salacious image and make some money off of it?

She began stripping, dancing, masturbating, playing games, making art––and broadcasting it all online for money as a camgirl. In her first month, she racked up hundreds of nightly viewers, and within a year she ranked in the top fifty girls on a site featuring tens of thousands of performers. Over the course of her career, Isa built her own business, explored BDSM, attended a porn convention, slept with a fan, and pushed herself further than she thought possible. And yet, despite her success, she struggled to fit into the community she so desperately wanted to belong to.

Camgirl is a relatable look at confronting our past traumas and accepting ourselves for who we are. It masterfully explores the complexities of digital life, sexuality and the tensions between our private and public selves. Mazzei’s biting humor and raw vulnerability ensure you’ll never think about sex work―or sex―the same way again.

On My Radar:

Lived Through That: 90s Musicians Today
by Mike Hipple
Girl Friday Books
Hardcover


From the publisher's website:

The music of the 1990s shaped more than one generation. It was the music Generation X came of age listening to and the songs millennials cut their teeth on. In Lived Through That, professional photographer and music enthusiast Mike Hipple shares intimate and unique photographic portraits of dozens of the greatest artists from the '90s. Accompanied by in-depth interviews throughout, this behind-the-scenes image-driven collection reveals details of each musician’s time in the limelight as well as where life has taken them. Their words and images are open, honest, inspiring, and personal, offering profound and humorous memories and gems of wisdom that will resonate with fans and music lovers alike.

From Nirvana’s Krist Novoselic to indie icon Tanya Donelly to Arrested Development’s Speech, the portraits and stories featured in Lived Through That cover a wide range of rock, rap, and alternative stars. Whether they were chart-toppers or underground sensations, the artists in Hipple’s epic collection tell the story and reawaken the songs of a pivotal era.

Coming Soon:

The Moth and the Mountain: A True Story of Love, War, and Everest

Available in paperback November 2, 2021
by Ed Caesar
Avid Reader Press
Trade Paperback


From the publisher's website:

In the 1930s, as official government expeditions set their sights on conquering Mount Everest, a little-known World War I veteran named Maurice Wilson conceives his own crazy, beautiful plan: he will fly a plane from England to Everest, crash-land on its lower slopes, then become the first person to reach its summit—all utterly alone. Wilson doesn’t know how to climb. He barely knows how to fly. But he has the right plane, the right equipment, and a deep yearning to achieve his goal. In 1933, he takes off from London in a Gipsy Moth biplane with his course set for the highest mountain on earth. Wilson’s eleven-month journey to Everest is wild: full of twists, turns, and daring. Eventually, in disguise, he sneaks into Tibet. His icy ordeal is just beginning.

Wilson is one of the Great War’s heroes, but also one of its victims. His hometown of Bradford in northern England is ripped apart by the fighting. So is his family. He barely survives the war himself. Wilson returns from the conflict unable to cope with the sadness that engulfs him. He begins a years-long trek around the world, burning through marriages and relationships, leaving damaged lives in his wake. When he finally returns to England, nearly a decade after he first left, he finds himself falling in love once more—this time with his best friend’s wife—before depression overcomes him again. He emerges from his funk with a crystalline ambition. He wants to be the first man to stand on top of the world. Wilson believes that Everest can redeem him.

This is the tale of an adventurer unlike any you have ever encountered: complex, driven, wry, haunted, and fully alive. He is a man written out of the history books—dismissed as an eccentric, and gossiped about because of rumors of his transvestism. The Moth and the Mountain restores Maurice Wilson to his rightful place in the annals of Everest and tells an unforgettable story about the power of the human spirit in the face of adversity.

Coming Soon:

The Least of Us: True Tales of America and Hope in the Time of Fentanyl and Meth

Available November 2, 2021
by Sam Quinones
Bloomsbury Publishing
Hardcover


From the publisher's website:

Sam Quinones traveled from Mexico to main streets across the U.S. to create Dreamland, a groundbreaking portrait of the opioid epidemic that awakened the nation. As the nation struggled to put back the pieces, Quinones was among the first to see the dangers that lay ahead: synthetic drugs and a new generation of kingpins whose product could be made in Magic Bullet blenders. In fentanyl, traffickers landed a painkiller a hundred times more powerful than morphine. They laced it into cocaine, meth, and counterfeit pills to cause tens of thousands of deaths-at the same time as Mexican traffickers made methamphetamine cheaper and more potent than ever, creating, Sam argues, swaths of mental illness and a surge in homelessness across the United States.

Quinones hit the road to investigate these new threats, discovering how addiction is exacerbated by consumer-product corporations. “In a time when drug traffickers act like corporations and corporations like traffickers,” he writes, “our best defense, perhaps our only defense, lies in bolstering community.” Amid a landscape of despair, Quinones found hope in those embracing the forgotten and ignored, illuminating the striking truth that we are only as strong as our most vulnerable.

Weaving analysis of the drug trade into stories of humble communities, The Least of Us delivers an unexpected and awe-inspiring response to the call that shocked the nation in Sam Quinones's award-winning Dreamland.

Coming Soon:

Ride the Devil's Herd: Wyatt Earp's Epic Battle Against the West's Biggest Outlaw Gang
by John Boessenecker
Hanover Square Press
Trade Paperback


From the publisher's website:

Wyatt Earp is regarded as the most famous lawman of the Old West, best known for his role in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona. But the story of his two-year war with a band of outlaws known as the Cowboys has never been told in full.

Drawing on groundbreaking research into territorial and federal government records, John Boessenecker’s Ride the Devil''s Herd reveals this long-forgotten chapter of Wild West history.

Coming Soon:

Wembley or Bust: Jeff Lynne's ELO

Available November 2, 2021
by Jeff Lynne
Genesis Publications
Hardcover


From the book publicity:

‘It means so much to me to release this book during the 50th anniversary of ELO, and four years on from our Wembley Or Bust concert. It was an unforgettable night and I’m excited to relive it with all of you again inside these pages.’ – Jeff Lynne

In his first official book, Jeff Lynne reveals the meticulous planning leading up to the epic Wembley or Bust concert, and shares the stories behind a career-spanning catalogue of songs. In an exclusive new text, Lynne reflects on his formative years growing up and his eventual success with ELO hits such as ‘Mr. Blue Sky’, ‘Evil Woman’ and ‘Livin’ Thing’. From his memories of producing The Beatles’ last single, ‘Free as a Bird’, to his anecdotes from inside one of the greatest supergroups, the Traveling Wilburys, Lynne also discusses his fascinating career outside of ELO. His narration guides the reader through hundreds of exclusive photographs taken specially for the making of this book. From backstage to front of house, Wembley or Bust is Jeff Lynne’s account of a once-in-a-lifetime concert, and its significance within the greater story of his career as one of the most popular recording artists, songwriters and producers of all-time.

‘When I wrote and recorded these songs originally, I never would have expected the fantastic audience response all these years later; it’s amazing.’ – Jeff Lynne

The music of Jeff Lynne is beloved by fans all over the world and has been for three generations. Now, after a hiatus of nearly thirty years, the multi-award-winning songwriter, producer and founder of ELO has made a triumphant return to touring. Since 2014, he has played across Europe and North America, the high point for Lynne being his dramatic homecoming for a crowd of 60,000 fans at Wembley. On 24th June 2017, London’s historic stadium was transformed into one of the greatest rock’n’roll spectacles of all time, as Lynne performed his group’s most extensive set list to date against a dazzling backdrop of pyrotechnics, lasers and a giant ELO spaceship.

Coming Soon:

Both / And: A Life in Many Worlds

Available November 2, 2021
by Huma Abedin
Scribner Books
Hardcover


From the publisher's website:

The daughter of Indian and Pakistani intellectuals and advocates, Abedin grew up in the United States and Saudi Arabia and traveled widely. Both/And grapples with family, legacy, identity, faith, marriage, motherhood—and work—with wisdom, sophistication, and clarity.

Abedin launched full steam into a college internship in the office of the First Lady in 1996, never imagining that her work at the White House would blossom into a career in public service, nor that her career would become an all-consuming way of life. She thrived in rooms with diplomats and sovereigns, entrepreneurs and artists, philanthropists and activists, and witnessed many crucial moments in 21st-century American history—Camp David for urgent efforts at Middle East peace in the waning months of the Clinton administration, Ground Zero in the days after the 9/11 attacks, the inauguration of the first African American president of the United States, the convention floor when America nominated its first female presidential candidate.

Abedin’s relationship with Hillary Clinton has seen both women through extraordinary personal and professional highs, as well as unimaginable lows. Here, for the first time, is a deeply personal account of Clinton as mentor, confidante, and role model. Abedin cuts through caricature, rumor, and misinformation to reveal a crystal clear portrait of Clinton as a brilliant and caring leader, a steadfast friend, generous, funny, hardworking, and dedicated.

Both/And is a candid and heartbreaking chronicle of Abedin’s marriage to Anthony Weiner, what drew her to him, how much she wanted to believe in him, the devastation wrought by his betrayals—and their shared love for their son. It is also a timeless story of a young woman with aspirations and ideals coming into her own in high-pressure jobs and a testament to the potential for women in leadership to blaze a path forward while supporting those who follow in their footsteps.

Abedin’s journey through the opportunities and obstacles, the trials and triumphs, of a full and complex life is a testament to her profound belief that in an increasingly either/or world, she can be both/and. Abedin’s compassion and courage, her resilience and grace, her work ethic and mission are an inspiration to people of all ages.

Coming Soon:

Bad Motherfucker: The Life and Movies of Samuel L. Jackson, the Coolest Man in Hollywood

Available October 26th, 2021
by Gavin Edwards
Hachette Books
Hardcover


From the publisher's website:

Samuel L. Jackson’s embodiment of cool isn’t just inspirational—it’s important. Bad Motherfucker lays out how his attitude intersects with his identity as a Black man, why being cool matters in the modern world, and how Jackson can guide us through the current cultural moment in which everyone is losing their cool. Edwards details Jackson’s fascinating personal history, from stuttering bookworm to gunrunning revolutionary to freebasing addict to A-list movie star.

Drawing on original reporting and interviews, the book explores not only the major events of Jackson’s life but also his obsessions: golf, kung fu movies, profanity. Bad Motherfucker
features a delectable filmography of Jackson’s movies—140 and counting!—and also includes new movie posters for many of Jackson’s greatest roles, reimagined by dozens of gifted artists and designers. The book provides a must-read road map through the vast territory of his on-screen career and more: a vivid portrait of Samuel L. Jackson’s essential self, as well as practical instructions, by example, for how to live and work and be.

In My TBR Stack:

I'm Supposed to Make a Difference: A Memoir About Overcoming Trauma and Abuse
by Kevin Vought
Trade Paperback


From the book publicity:

This is what happens when true crime hits close to home.

Kevin’s mother was emotionally abusive and resented him, though she did her best to protect him and his brother from their father —a man who could be quite violent who may have inherited his own father’s evil, sadistic, pedophilic traits.

In the summer of 1980 Kevin found himself in the “care” of his paternal grandfather, on the same day the man abducted an 11-year-old girl with the sole intention of raping her.

Kevin tried to stop him, and nearly died for getting in the way. 

And she wasn’t the only little girl.

I’m Supposed to Make a Difference describes how Kevin fought a grueling, decades-long battle against long-buried memories to overcome suicidal feelings, depression, and self-loathing to develop five principles for moving forward and normalizing trauma: be steadfast; be goal-oriented; find good people; accept help; and focus your anger.

Today, Kevin’s largely conquered his demons—and shares the strategies he used to heal and transform.

I’m Supposed to Make a Difference is a riveting, emotional read for fans of true crime docuseries and those who appreciate the transformative power of the human experience.

In My TBR Stack:

Involuntary Exit: A Woman's Guide to Thriving After Being Fired
by Robin Merle
She Writes Press
Trade Paperback


From the publisher's website:

It can take less than a minute to get fired. Less than a minute to hear the words that change your life as you’ve known it. You’re stunned, shocked, humiliated—because your career has defined your life and you’ve been blindsided. You’re a company Loyalist with a capital L, and you’ve been sucker-punched professionally. How do you even talk about this?

Countless books focus on leadership and resilience, but none of them take you through what actually happens to women leaders who are suddenly let go, or who endure untenable circumstances and ultimately fire themselves. None of them take you, step by step, through the emotional process of acceptance and beginning again. And that’s where Involuntary Exit comes in.

With advice for every unexpected twist, turn, and emotional trigger, this book is based on author Robin Merle’s experience at the top of billion-dollar organizations, as well as her interviews with accomplished women who were suddenly severed from their organizations and navigated their way back to success. The real-life examples she offers in these pages prove that you’re not alone—and that you, too, will get through this. Whether you’ve been fired or need to move on, Involuntary Exit will help you rediscover your value and emerge as a stronger leader on your own terms.

Coming Soon:

Renegades: Born in the USA

Available October 26th, 2021
by Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen
Crown Publishing
Hardcover


From the book website:



RENEGADES: BORN IN THE USA is a candid, revealing, and entertaining dialogue between President Barack Obama and legendary musician Bruce Springsteen that explores everything from their origin stories and career-defining moments to our country’s polarized politics and the growing distance between the American Dream and the American reality. Filled with full-color photographs and rare archival material, it is a compelling and beautifully illustrated portrait of two outsiders— one Black and one white—looking for a way to connect their unconventional searches for meaning, identity, and community with the American story itself. It includes:

• Original introductions by President Obama and Bruce Springsteen
• Exclusive new material from the Renegades podcast recording sessions
• Obama’s never-before-seen annotated speeches, including his “Remarks at the 50th Anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery Marches”
• Springsteen’s handwritten lyrics for songs spanning his 50-year-long career
• Rare and exclusive photographs from the authors’ personal archives
• Historical photographs and documents that provide rich visual context for their conversation

In a recording studio stocked with dozens of guitars, and on at least one Corvette ride, Obama and Springsteen discuss marriage and fatherhood, race and masculinity, the lure of the open road and the call back to home. They also compare notes on their favorite protest songs, the most inspiring American heroes of all time, and more. Along the way, they reveal their passion for—and the occasional toll of—telling a bigger, truer story about America throughout their careers, and explore how our fractured country might begin to find its way back toward unity and global leadership.

Coming Soon:

Sorry Not Sorry
by Alyssa Milano
Dutton Books
Hardcover


From the publisher's website:

Alyssa Milano, actress and activist, delivers here a collection of powerful personal essays that get to the heart of her life, career, and all-out humanitarianism. These essays are unvarnished and elegant, funny and heartbreaking, and utterly real. A timely book that shows in almost real time the importance of taking care of others, it also gives a gut-punch-level wake-up call in an era where the noise is a distraction from what really needs to happen, if we want to live in a better world.

These are stories of growing up in celebrity, of family and of friends, of connections and breaking apart. They have teeth on the page and come from the heart. And they are stories that offer a direct line into the thoughts and life of one of the most visible, hard-working humanitarians we have. A bestselling children’s book author, Alyssa’s finally giving her fans worldwide what they really want to hear directly from her about: the life she has lived, the things she’s seen and experienced, and the way she lives in and with the world.

Coming Soon:

The Book of Mac: Remembering Mac Miller

Available October 26, 2021
by Donna-Claire Chesman
Permuted Press
Hardcover


From the publisher's website:

“One of my most vivid memories of him is the way he would look at you while he was playing you a song. He tried to look you right in the eyes to see how you were feeling about it.” —Will Kalson, friend and first manager

Following Mac Miller’s tragic passing in 2018, Donna-Claire Chesman dedicated a year to chronicling his work through the unique lens of her relationship to the music and Mac’s singular relationship to his fans. Like many who’d been following him since he’d started releasing mixtapes at eighteen years old, she felt as if she’d come of age alongside the rapidly evolving artist, with his music being crucial to her personal development.

“I want people to remember his humanity as they’re listening to the music, to realize how much bravery and courage it takes to be that honest, be that self-aware, and be that real about things going on internally. He let us witness that entire journey. He never hid that.” —Kehlani, friend and musician.

The project evolved to include intimate interviews with many of Mac’s closest friends and collaborators, from his Most Dope Family in Pittsburgh to the producers and musicians who assisted him in making his everlasting music, including Big Jerm, Rex Arrow, Wiz Khalifa, Benjy Grinberg, Just Blaze, Josh Berg, Syd, Thundercat, and more. These voices, along with the author’s commentary, provide a vivid and poignant portrait of this astonishing artist—one who had just released a series of increasingly complex albums, demonstrating what a musical force he was and how heartbreaking it was to lose him.

“As I’m reading the lyrics, it’s crazy. It’s him telling us that he hopes we can always respect him. I feel like this is a message from him, spiritually. A lot of the time, his music was like little letters and messages to his friends, family, and people he loved, to remind them of who he really was.” —Quentin Cuff, best friend and tour manager.

In My TBR Stack:

The Pros and Cons of Online Learning in Higher Education
by Dr. John G. Turner
Trade Paperback


From the book publicity:

The book walks readers through the benefits of online education while comparing it to the in-class experience. The book talks about the impacts of online learning on students before and after the covid-19 pandemic. It enlightens readers about the effects of online education in securing jobs for fresh talents. The book weighs the pros and cons of online education. It educates students to make a wise and better decision for their future.

In My TBR Stack:

Funny Face: A Memoir
by Peggi Davis
Archway Publishing
Trade Paperback


From the publisher's website:

The bright lights of Manhattan, burning crosses in Mississippi, and former flames from Texas sparked a series of stories and essays featured here in Funny Face. With wit and wisdom, author Peggi Davis’ musings recount the hilarious and harrowing events that occurred as she gingerly grew up, and her fractured family moved from town to town.

Half hippie, half haute couture, she entered the wacky world of retail advertising at the young age of nineteen. There, her outrageous experiences and escapades with a collection of colorful, creative colleagues provide a humorous personal narrative. And her ability to rise above the secrets hidden from her as a child offers insight into the sadder parts of her life.

Now in her seventies, Davis’ insight on aging and other timely topics gives voice to a generation raised on marvelous music, incredible imagination, and the power of love.

In My TBR Stack:

I Am Not Who You Think I Am
by Eric Rickstad
Black Stone Publishing
Hardcover


From the publisher's website:

Wayland Maynard is just eight years old when he sees his father kill himself, finds a note that reads I am not who you think I am, and is left reeling with grief and shock. Who was his father if not the loving man Wayland knew? Terrified, Wayland keeps the note a secret, but his reasons for being afraid are just beginning.

Eight years later, Wayland makes a shocking discovery and becomes certain the note is the key to unlocking a past his mother and others in his town want to keep buried.

With the help of two friends, Wayland searches for the truth. Together they uncover strange messages scribbled in his father’s old books, a sinister history behind the town’s most powerful family, and a bizarre tragedy possibly linked to Wayland’s birth. Each revelation raises more questions and deepens Wayland’s suspicions of everyone around him. Soon, he’ll regret he ever found the note, trusted his friends, or believed in such a thing as the truth.

I Am Not Who You Think I Am is an ingenious, addictive, and shattering tale of grief, obsession, and fate as eight words lead to lifetimes of ruin.

Coming Soon:

Nina Simone's Gum
by Warren Ellis
Faber & Faber
Hardcover


From the publisher's website:

I hadn’t opened the towel that contained her gum since 2013. The last person to touch it was Nina Simone, her saliva and fingerprints unsullied. The idea that it was still in her towel was something I had drawn strength from. I thought each time I opened it some of Nina Simone’s spirit would vanish. In many ways that thought was more important than the gum itself.

On Thursday 1 July, 1999, Dr Nina Simone gave a rare performance as part of Nick Cave’s Meltdown Festival. After the show, in a state of awe, Warren Ellis crept onto the stage, took Dr Simone’s piece of chewed gum from the piano, wrapped it in her stage towel and put it in a Tower Records bag. The gum remained with him for twenty years; a sacred totem, his creative muse, a conduit that would eventually take Ellis back to his childhood and his relationship with found objects, growing in significance with every passing year.

Nina Simone’s Gum is about how something so small can form beautiful connections between people. It is a story about the meaning we place on things, on experiences, and how they become imbued with spirituality. It is a celebration of artistic process, friendship, understanding and love.

Coming Soon:

Act Like You Got Some Sense: And Other Things My Daughters Taught Me

Available Otober 19th, 2021
by Jamie Foxx
Grand Central Publishing
Hardcover


From the publisher's website:

Jamie Foxx has won an Academy Award and a Grammy Award, laughed with sitting presidents, and partied with the biggest names in hip-hop. But he is most proud of his role as father to two very independent young women, Corinne and Anelise. Jamie might not always know what he’s doing when it comes to raising girls—especially when they talk to him about TikTok (PlikPlok?) and don’t share his enthusiasm for flashy Rolls Royces—but he does his best to show up for them every single day.

Luckily, he has a strong example to follow: his beloved late grandmother, Estelle Marie Talley. Jamie learned everything he knows about parenting from the fierce woman who raised him: As he puts it, she’s “Madea before Tyler Perry put on the pumps and the gray wig.”

In Act Like You Got Some Sense—a title inspired by Estelle—Jamie shares up close and personal stories about the tough love and old-school values he learned growing up in the small town of Terrell, Texas; his early days trying to make it in Hollywood; the joys and challenges of achieving stardom; and how each phase of his life shaped his parenting journey. Hilarious, poignant, and always brutally honest, this is Jamie Foxx like we’ve never seen him before.

Coming Soon:

The First 21: How I Became Nikki Sixx

Available October 19th, 2021
by Nikki Sixx
Hachette Books
Hardcover


From the publisher's website:

Nikki Sixx is one of the most respected, recognizable, and entrepreneurial icons in the music industry. As the founder of Mötley Crüe, who is now in his twenty-first year of sobriety, Sixx is incredibly passionate about his craft and wonderfully open about his life in rock and roll, and as a person of the world. Born Franklin Carlton Feranna on December 11, 1958, young Frankie was abandoned by his father and partly raised by his mother, a woman who was ahead of her time but deeply troubled. Frankie ended up living with his grandparents, bouncing from farm to farm and state to state. He was an all-American kid—hunting, fishing, chasing girls, and playing football—but underneath it all, there was a burning desire for more, and that more was music. He eventually took a Greyhound bound for Hollywood.

In Los Angeles, Frank lived with his aunt and his uncle—the president of Capitol Records—for a short time. But there was no easy path to the top. He was soon on his own. There were dead-end jobs: dipping circuit boards, clerking at liquor and record stores, selling used light bulbs, and hustling to survive. But at night, Frank honed his craft, joining Sister, a band formed by fellow hard-rock veteran Blackie Lawless, and formed a group of his own: London, the precursor of Mötley Crüe. Turning down an offer to join Randy Rhoads’s band, Frank changed his name to Nikki London, Nikki Nine, and, finally, Nikki Sixx. Like Huck Finn with a stolen guitar, he had a vision: a group that combined punk, glam, and hard rock into the biggest, most theatrical and irresistible package the world had ever seen. With hard work, passion, and some luck, the vision manifested in reality—and this is a profound true story finding identity, of how Frank Feranna became Nikki Sixx. It's also a road map to the ways you can overcome anything, and achieve all of your goals, if only you put your mind to it.

On My Radar:

The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family

Available October 12th, 2021
by Ron Howard & Clint Howard
William Morrow
Hardcover


From the publisher's website:

“What was it like to grow up on TV?” Ron Howard has been asked this question throughout his adult life. in The Boys, he and his younger brother, Clint, examine their childhoods in detail for the first time. For Ron, playing Opie on The Andy Griffith Show and Richie Cunningham on Happy Days offered fame, joy, and opportunity—but also invited stress and bullying. For Clint, a fast start on such programs as Gentle Ben and Star Trek petered out in adolescence, with some tough consequences and lessons.

With the perspective of time and success—Ron as a filmmaker, producer, and Hollywood A-lister, Clint as a busy character actor—the Howard brothers delve deep into an upbringing that seemed normal to them yet was anything but. Their Midwestern parents, Rance and Jean, moved to California to pursue their own showbiz dreams. But it was their young sons who found steady employment as actors. Rance put aside his ego and ambition to become Ron and Clint’s teacher, sage, and moral compass. Jean became their loving protector—sometimes over-protector—from the snares and traps of Hollywood.

By turns confessional, nostalgic, heartwarming, and harrowing, THE BOYS is a dual narrative that lifts the lid on the Howard brothers’ closely held lives. It’s the journey of a tight four-person family unit that held fast in an unforgiving business and of two brothers who survived “child-actor syndrome” to become fulfilled adults.

Coming Soon:

Fan Fiction: A Mem-Noir, Inspired by True Events

Available October 12th, 2021
by Brent Spiner
St. Martin's Press
Hardcover


From the publisher's website:

Set in 1991, just as Star Trek: The Next Generation has rocketed the cast to global fame, the young and impressionable actor Brent Spiner receives a mysterious package and a series of disturbing letters, that take him on a terrifying and bizarre journey that enlists Paramount Security, the LAPD, and even the FBI in putting a stop to the danger that has his life and career hanging in the balance.

Featuring a cast of characters from Patrick Stewart to Levar Burton to Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, to some completely imagined, this is the fictional autobiography that takes readers into the life of Brent Spiner, and tells an amazing tale about the trappings of celebrity and the fear he has carried with him his entire life.

Fan Fiction is a zany love letter to a world in which we all participate, the phenomenon of “Fandom.”

In My TBR Stack:

Be Your Own Medical Intuitive: Healing Your Body and Soul
by Tina M. Zion
Writelife Publishing
Trade Paperback


From the publisher's website:

This book is your companion to first exponentially increase your intuition to the highest level. Then it guides you through exact healing methods that have improved people’s lives for decades.

Medical intuition is not a gift that only a few people in the world have. You are already wired to be intuitive and so is everyone else. It is a learned skill and this book brings that skill into your life to learn, heal, and master your life in profound new levels.

If you are wondering if this book will change your life. . . Yes! You will understand yourself and everyone around you in new ways. You will be different. You will be more powerfully aware, and this will become your new normal.

In My TBR Stack:

Radical Product Thinking: The New Mindset for Innovating Smarter
by R. Dutt
Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Trade Paperback


From the publisher's website:

In the last decade, we've learned to harness the power of iteration to innovate faster-we've invested in a fast car, but our ability to set a clear destination and navigate to it hasn't kept up.

When we iterate without a clear vision or strategy, our products become bloated, fragmented, and driven by irrelevant metrics. They catch “product diseases” that often kill innovation.

Radical Product Thinking (RPT) gives organizations a repeatable model for building world-changing products. The key? Being vision-driven instead of iteration-led. R. Dutt guides readers through the five elements of the methodology (vision, strategy, prioritization, execution and measurement, and culture) to develop a clear process for translating vision into reality, and turning RPT skills into muscle memory.

This book offers refreshing solutions to the shortcomings of our current model for product development; be prepared to toss out everything you know about a good vision and learn how to measure progress to create revolutionary products. The best part? You don't have to be a natural-born visionary to produce extraordinary results.

Coming Soon:

All of the Marvels: A Journey to the Ends of the Biggest Story Ever Told

Available October 12th, 2021
by Douglas Wolk
Penguin Press
Hardcover


From the publisher's website:

The superhero comic books that Marvel Comics has published since 1961 are, as Douglas Wolk notes, the longest continuous, self-contained work of fiction ever created: over half a million pages to date, and still growing. The Marvel story is a gigantic mountain smack in the middle of contemporary culture. Thousands of writers and artists have contributed to it. Everyone recognizes its protagonists: Spider-Man, the Avengers, the X-Men. Eighteen of the hundred highest-grossing movies of all time are based on parts of it. Yet not even the people telling the story have read the whole thing—nobody’s supposed to. So, of course, that’s what Wolk did: he read all 27,000+ comics that make up the Marvel Universe thus far, from Alpha Flight to Omega the Unknown.

And then he made sense of it—seeing into the ever-expanding story, in its parts and as a whole, and seeing through it, as a prism through which to view the landscape of American culture. In Wolk’s hands, the mammoth Marvel narrative becomes a fun-house-mirror history of the past sixty years, from the atomic night terrors of the Cold War to the technocracy and political division of the present day—a boisterous, tragicomic, magnificently filigreed epic about power and ethics, set in a world transformed by wonders.

As a work of cultural exegesis, this is sneakily significant, even a landmark; it’s also ludicrously fun. Wolk sees fascinating patterns—the rise and fall of particular cultural aspirations, and of the storytelling modes that conveyed them. He observes the Marvel story’s progressive visions and its painful stereotypes, its patches of woeful hackwork and stretches of luminous creativity, and the way it all feeds into a potent cosmology that echoes our deepest hopes and fears. This is a huge treat for Marvel fans, but it’s also a revelation for readers who don’t know Doctor Strange from Doctor Doom. Here, truly, are all of the marvels.

Coming Soon:

I Dream He Talks to Me: A Memoir of Learning How to Listen

Available October 12th, 2021
by Allison Moorer
Hachette Books
Hardcover


From the publisher's website:



When Allison’s son, John Henry, stopped using his growing vocabulary just before his second birthday, she knew in her bones that something was shifting. In the years since his autism diagnosis, Allison and John Henry have embarked on an intense journey filled with the adventure, joy, heartbreak, confusion, and powerful love lessons that are the hallmarks of a quest for understanding.

In I Dream He Talks to Me, Allison details the meltdowns and the moments of grace, and how the mundane expectations of a parent turn into extraordinary achievements. The saying goes, “If you know one person with autism, you know one person with autism”; no two stories are alike, and yet there are universal truths that apply to all parent-child relationships. With gorgeous prose, Allison shares her and John Henry’s experience while also creating a riveting narrative that will speak to anyone who parents—and who has questioned their own ability to do so. An exploration of resilience and compassion—both for ourselves and for others—I Dream He Talks to Me is also a moving meditation on our place in the world and how we get there; what words mean, what they don’t; and, ultimately, how we truly express ourselves and truly know those whom we love.

Coming Soon:

Set the Night on Fire: Living, Dying, and Playing Guitar With the Doors

On Sale October 12th, 2021

by Robby Krieger with Jeff Alulis
Little, Brown and Company
Hardcover


From the publisher's website:



Few bands are as shrouded in the murky haze of rock mythology as The Doors, and parsing fact from fiction has been a virtually impossible task. But now, after fifty years, The Doors’ notoriously quiet guitarist is finally breaking his silence to set the record straight.

Through a series of vignettes, Robby Krieger takes readers back to where it all happened: the pawn shop where he bought his first guitar; the jail cell he was tossed into after a teenage drug bust; his parents’ living room where his first songwriting sessions with Jim Morrison took place; the empty bars and backyard parties where The Doors played their first awkward gigs; the studios where their iconic songs were recorded; and the many concert venues that erupted into historic riots. SET THE NIGHT ON FIRE is packed with never-before-told stories from The Doors’ most vital years, and offers a fresh perspective on the most infamous moments of the band’s career.

Krieger also goes into heartbreaking detail about his life’s most difficult struggles, ranging from drug addiction to cancer, but he balances out the sorrow with humorous anecdotes about run-ins with unstable fans, famous musicians, and one really angry monk. SET THE NIGHT ON FIRE is at once an insightful time capsule of the ‘60s counterculture, a moving reflection on what it means to find oneself as a musician, and a touching tale of a life lived non-traditionally. It’s not only a must-read for Doors fans, but an essential volume of American pop culture history.

Available Tomorrow:

Taste: My Life Through Food
by Stanley Tucci
Gallery Books
Hardcover


From the publisher's website:

Stanley Tucci grew up in an Italian American family that spent every night around the kitchen table. He shared the magic of those meals with us in The Tucci Cookbook and The Tucci Table, and now he takes us beyond the savory recipes and into the compelling stories behind them.​

Taste is a reflection on the intersection of food and life, filled with anecdotes about his growing up in Westchester, New York; preparing for and shooting the foodie films Big Night and Julie & Julia; falling in love over dinner; and teaming up with his wife to create meals for a multitude of children. Each morsel of this gastronomic journey through good times and bad, five-star meals and burned dishes, is as heartfelt and delicious as the last.

Written with Stanley’s signature wry humor, Taste is for fans of Bill Buford, Gabrielle Hamilton, and Ruth Reichl—and anyone who knows the power of a home-cooked meal.

In My TBR Stack:

Lineage: Life and Love and Six Generations in California Wine
by Steven Kent Mirassou
Val de Grace Books
Hardcover


From the book publicity:

With his decades of winemaking expertise, and with his extraordinary gift for evocative writing, Steven takes us straight into the heart of his calling: how it looks and feels to be in a vineyard heavy with grapes, awaiting the dawn and the throbbing pulse of a harvest about to begin. It’s a magical moment, and it’s the beginning of a journey deep into the art, the craft, the passion, and the 8,000 years of history that lie inside the finest of wines.

This is not glossy PR copy. This is raw truth, dirty jeans, arms deep in crushed grapes, heart pounding, dust in your nose, spirit in your mouth writing, flowing from a winemaker who sees crafting beautiful wines and combining them with healthy food as a way to serve others, to bring people together in joy and common cause, a noble calling that Steven Mirassou aptly terms “the true north” of our civilization.

And every step of the way, Steven helps us feel his connection to the six generations that the Mirassou family has been growing grapes and crafting wines in California, the last thirty years in the Livermore Valley. It’s a region that struggles, image-wise, in the shadow of the Napa Valley but holds fast to its belief in the virtues of its hills and valleys and fertile soils, and to its unshakable faith that crafting beautiful wines and sharing them with others is, at its core, good for the heart and pure tonic for the soul.

There is high drama too. Like all family-owned wineries, Steven’s faces a mountain of challenges: rough growing seasons, business mistakes, the loss of cherished vineyards and more. And Steven loses something larger too: his beloved wife, from a terrible illness. But as Steven shows us, with the proper attitude every loss can be a new beginning, an opportunity to live more deeply, and, with luck, to improve the character of the wines you craft and the enduring wisdom you can pass along to the next generation.

In the literature of American wine, there is nothing quite like what Steven Kent Mirassou has brought us. Come feel the spirit, come share the wine.

In My TBR Stack:

Threads of Yoga: Themes, Reflections, and Meditations to Weave Into Your Practice
by Pamela Seelig
Shambhala Publications, Inc.
Trade Paperback


From the publisher's website:

Yoga draws many practitioners because of its physical benefits, but it is often the experience of peace that people return for. Threads of Yogasupports those seeking to learn more about yoga’s deeper spiritual teachings. Each short chapter introduces a foundational yogic theme, such as letting go, the breath, the yamas and the niyamas, and the chakra system. Each theme is accompanied by practices, including meditation, complementary poses, breath work, or quotes to contemplate. It is an ideal guide for both practitioners and teachers who want to connect with the spiritual wisdom of yoga, deepen their personal practice, or develop and support a theme for yoga class.