Books From The World Of Entertainment

When you need a gift for a relative or friend, you can't go wrong with a good read.  I am especially partial to biographies.  To tell you the truth, I will read just about anybody's biography.  Anybody's and everybody's.  Here I will limit my bio picks to the world of show business and popular culture (listed in no particular order):

1. Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson – Written with Steve Jobs' full cooperation, chronicling his life and the invention of the personal computer, tablets and iphones.

2. Stories I Only Tell My Friends: An Autobiography by Rob Lowe – The pretty boy actor [just stating the obvious!] tells a good story and writes with intelligence and perspective.

3. My Lucky Life In and Out Of Show Business: A Memoir by Dick Van Dyke

4. Bruce by Peter Ames Carlin – The Boss sat down and helped tell this one.

5. Queen Unseen: My Life with the Greatest Rock Band of the 20th Century by Peter Hince

6. Life by Keith Richards – This bad boy shouldn't be alive, much less have the wits to write with keen intelligence about the Rolling Stones and much more.

7. Mick Jagger by Philip Norman – You can't have one without the other. ♬♪♪♫

8. This Time Together: Laughter And Reflection by Carol Burnett - disclaimer: I have loved CB since I was a young child, the person and the entertainmener. Kiss, kiss, Carol Burnett!

9. If I Live To Be 100: Lessons From The Centenarians by Neenah Ellis 

10. Will In The World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare by Stephen Greenblatt

11. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life Of Alfred Hitchcock by Donald Spoto – If you have a big budget, pair the bio with Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection – a set of 15 of his classic films.

12. Full Service: My Adventures in Hollywood and the Secret Sex Lives of the Stars by Scotty Bowers and Lionel Friedberg – Scotty Bowers fraternized with old Hollywood and kept confidences of the famous  for 60 + years.  Then he got old and decided to make buckets of retirement money by publishing his scandalous stories.  Juicy – NYT review here.

13. Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible: The Fascinating History of Everything In Your Closet by Tim Gunn – A bio of garments.  Because. This is THE SAVVY SHOPPER, right?

14. After Camelot: A Personal History of the Kennedy Family – 1968 to the Present (2012) by J. Randy Taraborrelli – Mr. Taraborrelli does his research.  While not shying away from unflattering details, he's a fair and balanced biographer. – A Kennedy actually went into show business becoming an actor, namely Christopher Lawford, son of Peter Lawford.

15. Dream More: Celebrate The Dreamer In You by Dolly Parton – Dolly writes with humor and wit.  Multi-talented and hugely successful, she is living the American dream.  Dolly is smart as a whip and has great enthusiasm for life.

Getting someone a good book may spark an interest in reading.  Almost everyone loves entertainment and popular culture.  We don't need to do crossword puzzles, or solve Rubik's cubes every minute of every day.  Sometimes you ... or someone on your holiday list ... just needs to unwind with a compelling book that gives you a glimpse into a world you want to know more about.  If you have a biography to recommend, please add it under comments.

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Step Into The World of Ideas

Keith Richards, the pulse and menacing edge of the Rolling Stones

Is this a face only a mother could love?

Have you ever noticed how everything in life is paid for with time, money, or consequences? And for any of us, there's only a limited amount of time and money. In the pictures above, Keith Richards was once a young man, and now he's an old one. Time sure flies, and it doesn't take long to live a life. Keith just might outlive us all.

Now just for a moment, let's accept an old premise: "The best things in life are free." Can you think of one? Reading, watching movies and listening to music are free if you visit your local library, or swap with friends. And even when you don't borrow, compared to other hobbies and pleasures, they cost less, yet pay a rich return. The human spirit is free. Thinking is free. Exchanging ideas is free ... and enjoyable. So for the rest of the summer, why not spend some of your leisure time reading a good book, a handful of magazines, or and interesting blog? Listen to good music too. Have fun soaking up ideas ... and just thinking. It's priceless.

Here are a few quotes to get you started.  Pick a favorite:

1} Man's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains to its original dimensions.  Oliver Wendell Holmes

2} You only go around once, but if you work it out right, once is enough.  Unknown

3} If you marry for money, you will earn it every day of your life.  Old saying

4} If there is a nuclear war, only two things will survive - Keith Richards and bugs.  Bill Hicks, comedian

5} He drew a circle that shut me out -- heretic, rebel, a thing to flout, but love and I had the wit to win: we drew a circle that took him in!  Edwin Markham

6} He got what he wanted, but lost what he had. Little Richard discussing Elvis' fame.

7} Don't let what you cannot do, interfere with what you can.  John Wooden

8} As long as he walks the earth alive, man makes mistakes as long as he strives.  Johann von Goethe

9} How do you measure success?

To laugh often and much;

To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;

To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;

To appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a redeemed social condition, or a job well done;

To know even one other life has breathed because you lived -- this is to have succeeded.  Ralph Waldon Emmerson

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You Can't Always Get What You Want

Keith Richards & Mick Jagger, The Rolling Stones

Don't get me wrong, I like nice things, but am not an overly materialistic person -- and I don't like to accumulate clutter which is what would happen if I bought everything that popped into my head. At the same time, when I need something I don't hesitate to get it.

When buying a product gives me pause, it's usually because I'm tempted by a good price or feature ... but I don't necessarily need that item. I either already have something comparable, an older version, or I probably wouldn't use it very often -- but having it " just in case" is appealing.

Every winter I wear a pair of black UGG suede boots which my feet adore! They are incredibly comfortable, toasty warm and ultra stylish when paired with jeans or dresses. And boy, do they hold up. Even after five seasons, they still look terrific. But they DON'T look brand new. So when I passed a shoe store that offered my UGGs for $50 off, temptation reared its ugly head. I nearly bought them on the spot. In the end, I decided, "no," because, 1) I'm not ready to throw out the old pair, 2) I have plenty of boots, and 3) I don't need another pair (not really). It took discipline, but ultimately I saved $110 by passing on the sale.

Now I'm going through the same temptation over buying a new printer. I have a compact Hewlett Packard deskjet that sits neatly in the corner of my room. It prints beautifully, but that's all it does. Lately, I wonder if I should get an all-in-one printer. If I needed to fax, copy, scan and crank out photos frequently my decision would be an easy "yes," and I'd replace my old inkjet in a heartbeat. But the fact is, I mainly need to print. On rare occasions when I need to copy, I have a drugstore across the street that charges five cents a page. Another drugstore on the opposite corner develops photos. And, my low tech printer shows no signs of wearing out. So the dilemma is, do I get what I want "just in case?" Or save $150 plus by keeping what -- so far -- fits my needs? What kind of a buyer are you? Do you over buy? Or under buy?