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Celebrity Bios

August 11, 2022

I’m not super obsessed with famous people. However, I do enjoy reading their bios, should they be so inclined to share them with us. I’ll admit: I enjoy it when they tell scandalous stories from their pasts, but that’s not the only reason I like these. It’s just fun to learn more about people I respect and enjoy watching.

Lots of books have been written about this famous family, but it makes so much more sense to have one written by someone who’s also a member. Plus, I’ve been an Anderson Cooper fan since he was on Channel One when I was in middle school. This one absolutely kept me engaged, but I have to say that it was pretty narrow on which family members Cooper discussed. I’m glad it didn’t get too broad, and the stories Cooper picked to tell were captivating.

I first enjoyed Andrew McCarthy in Weekend at Bernie’s. I was a click young for full Brat Pack Mania. I have since gone back and watched most of those movies: Class, Pretty in Pink, etc. Weekend at Bernie’s is still my favorite. This was a good read, though. I love reading about people putting the work in. The best overnight successes always do – we just don’t see it. He also doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to his drinking. This was a quick read, but I liked that because I could immerse myself in the world of Andrew McCarthy.

I grew up in the age of the Fresh Prince. I remember arguing on the playground whether the lyric was “My life got flipped” vs. “My life got twisted.” (For the record: it is flipped and I was right, but I digress.) That was my first exposure to Will Smith. I didn’t realize until later that he was actually a rapper before he was Will in Bel-Air. Looking back now, it’s almost hard to realize that he was Will in Bel-Air now that he’s a super megastar. The nosy part of me wishes he would have gone into more details about his relationship with Jada, but I respect his right to privacy. I probably wouldn’t share a lot about my marriage either. Good read. Once I got into it, I didn’t want to put it down. *This was read and written prior to the incident at the Academy Awards. 

I’ve been a fan of Leslie Jordan for a while, probably from his Emmy Award-winning performance as Beverly Leslie on Will and Grace. He always pops up in the weirdest places – usually with the best roles. This book is a fun batch of stories from Leslie, from growing up in Chattanooga to singing hymns with Dolly Parton. It’s quick read, but I found it highly enjoyable. Also, Leslie plays a baker in Mayim Bialik’s new sitcom, Call Me Kat. If you haven’t watched, you should.

I usually enjoy reading salacious behind-the-scenes stories while fully admitting to myself that I would not be brave enough to share my own nitty gritty details. Katie Couric does not have that problem. In fact, much like broadcasting her colonoscopy to the world, I feel like maybe she overshared a bit here. That said, it is still an enjoyable read. I’d kind of lost track of Katie after she left the Today show. I don’t really watch much TV news, so I had no idea what all she’d been up to since leaving NBC. I didn’t even know she’d gotten remarried. Good read overall, if a little cringeworthy in spots. And now in my best Sacha Baron Cohen accent may I ask, “Will you be my Katie Couric?”*

Happy celebrity-ing…
:) Amanda

* See Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

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Amanda

Amanda is a classically-trained pianist who loves to read. Like any good librarian, she also has two cats named after Italian cities. Amanda spends her free time sitting in Nashville traffic, baking, and running the Interlibrary Loan office at the Nashville Public Library.