Give your eyes a break from binging Netflix (trust me, I get it), and dive into a new book instead. These books were included in the Barnes and Noble 500 under $5 list, on sale until May 4.
In the Company of Legends by Joan Kramer and David Heeley
Sale Price: $2.99
In The Company Of Legends is an insider’s view of Hollywood’s famous and powerful: behind-the-scenes stories of Katharine Hepburn, Johnny Carson, Frank Sinatra, Lew Wasserman, Richard Dreyfuss, Ronald Reagan, Nancy Reagan, Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Jane Fonda, Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, James Stewart, and Bette Davis, among others. Starting with their award-winning profiles of Fred Astaire in 1980, Joan Kramer and David Heeley produced film portraits of the lives and careers of many Hollywood legends, establishing a reputation for finding the un-findable, persuading the reluctant, and maintaining unique relationships long after the end credits rolled. Their stories of the productions and the personalities involved are often amusing, sometimes moving, always revealing, and most of all have never been told before. The book also features more than two dozen raw and never before seen photos!
As I Saw It by Marvin Scott
Sale Price: $2.99
In As I Saw It: A Reporter’s Intrepid Journey, veteren journalist Marvin Scott reflects on the stories that have stuck with him personally over the years, and the people who gave them life. Alongside marches with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and tense meetings with Yasser Arafat, Scott brings us Burt and Linda Pugach, the couple whose lifelong marriage was forged in deadly obsession; Abraham Zapruder, who shot history’s most infamous piece of film; Charlie Walsh, the everyman hero who gave the banks a run for their money; and Stephanie Collado, the eleven-year-old girl who needed a heart and touched his. From political scandals to hauntings at Amityville, local tragedies, triumphs and absurdities find their place alongside accounts of crime and redemption, war and celebrity on a national scale, all told with Scott’s signature passion and candor.
The Audacity of Goats by J.F. Riordan
Sale Price: $1.99
All is not well north of the tension line. A series of unsettling nighttime incidents have left the islanders alternating between nervousness and annoyance. Are these incidents simply an elaborate teenage prank, or is there a malevolent stranger lurking on the island?
Meanwhile, the out-of-state owners of a new goat farm seem to consider themselves the self-proclaimed leaders of the island, Pali the ferry captain is troubled by his own unique version of writer’s block, and Ben, the captain’s ten year-old son, appears to be hiding something. But it is only when the imperturbable Lars Olufsen announces his retirement from office, and Stella subsequently declares her intention to run, that the islanders realize that life as they know is about to change for the worse. Fiona must decide whether it is time to leave the island for good or to make another reckless gamble.
The Squad Room by Robert Nivakoff and John Cutter
Sale Price: $2.99
A serial killer is terrorizing New York City, targeting young, helpless women. Detective William “Bill” Morrison and his team are racing against time to identify and bring justice to the murderer. Meanwhile, the task force runs up against villains inside the system: a Chief and a Captain who got where they are by political maneuvering, rather than skill and merit.
Here, the men and women of the badge form tight bonds that can never be understood by outsiders. This is their story, born from the true life experience of two actual police chiefs. The Squad Room gives a genuine insider’s view of a detective squad room in the NYPD.
Ginger Snaps by Webb Hubbell
Sale Price: $1.99
Jack is back! Attorney Jack Patterson returns to Little Rock, Arkansas after an old acquaintance, Dr. Douglas Stewart, is arrested for marijuana cultivation, possession, and distribution. Jack is no expert on drug cases, but meets with Stewart to fulfill a promise to his late wife, Angie, who was close to Stewart. Expecting to wrap up his involvement in an hour and enjoy the rest of the weekend golfing, Jack hears from Stewart that his arrest isn’t about the marijuana. Teaming up with his bodyguard, Clovis, and defense attorney Micki Lawrence, Jack begins to investigate why this highly-respected scientist was growing marijuana. He learns that Stewart had alerted the government about the existence of his marijuana garden years ago. Why the arrest now? Why are the Feds claiming terrorist involvement? Stewart’s wife, Liz, claims it has to be about her ginger snaps which are laced with marijuana to help ease the pain of cancer patients. As Jack delves deeper into the case, he discovers that both Stewarts and the federal government are hiding secrets; secrets that connect to a past Jack and all involved would rather forget.
You Look Like That Girl by Lisa Jakub
Sale Price: $2.99
At the age of twenty-two, Lisa Jakub had what she was supposed to want: she was a working actor in Los Angeles. She had more than forty movies and TV shows to her name, she had been in blockbusters like Mrs. Doubtfire and Independence Day, she walked the red carpet and lived in the house she bought when she was fifteen.
Lisa had been working since the age of four, after a man approached her parents at a farmer’s market and asked her to audition for a commercial. That chance encounter dictated the next eighteen years of her unusual— and frequently awkward—life. She met Princess Diana… and almost fell on her while attempting to curtsy. She filmed in exciting locations… and her high school asked her not to come back. She went to fancy parties… and got kind of kidnapped that one time. Success was complicated.
Making movies, traveling the world, and meeting intriguing people was fun for a while, but Lisa eventually realized she was living a life based on momentum and definitions of success that were not her own. She battled severe anxiety and panic attacks while feeling like she was living someone else’s dream. Not wanting to become a child actor stereotype, Lisa retired from acting and left L.A. in search of a path that felt more authentic to her.
In this funny and insightful book, Lisa chronicles the adventures of growing up in the film industry and her difficult decision to leave behind the only life she had ever known, to examine her priorities, and write the script for her own life. She explores the universal question we all ask ourselves: what do I want to be when I grow up?