by yoursl | Aug 9, 2017 | Book Reviews |
I am reviewing books through the Blogging for Books program in an effort to support my community’s Little Free Library, thus the addition of book reviews outside of the usual sexual health topics to Your Sexy Librarian postings. After being reviewed, the book gets stamped “Always a Gift, Never for Sale” and placed into a Little Free Library for others to enjoy. My latest book selection is Leading Lady: Sherry Lansing and the Making of a Hollywood Groundbreaker by Stephen Galloway, which was released as a hardback on April 25. Galloway, who lives in Los Angeles, is the executive features editor for the Hollywood Reporter. I really wanted to jump into and explore Leading Lady, which focuses on the career of Sherry Lansing, the former CEO of Paramount who is now a philanthropist. I struggled to even read this book. I honestly did not care one iota for the career exploits and the first world struggles of a Hollywood executive. With that said, Galloway is a good writer. He took a difficult subject and distilled it into a great story supported by 352 separate references. The front cover is rather boring and lacks the pizzazz of Hollywood. I am not sure as a reader if this is intentional; I feel like the cover should be more engaging. The body font is easy to read. The back cover copy is comprised of accolades from President Jimmy Carter, Meryl Streep and Michael Douglas. The information about Galloway on the inside back cover is limited to two small sentences that reveal little about the author. At $27 for the hardcover edition, Leading Lady...
by yoursl | Aug 1, 2017 | Just For Fun, Uncategorized |
Fashion in the late 20th century was not a kind industry to the world at large. Consistently providing images of tall, super-skinny youth, the fashion industry does not typically showcase the differences of women’s bodies around the world in a positive and encouraging manner. Personally having grown up in the Vogue magazine shadows of lithe beauties such as German Claudia Schiffer, Canadian Linda Evangelista, Americans Claudia Mason and Michele Hicks, New Zealander Kylie Bax and Nederlander Esther de Jong, I was acutely aware I was as different from them as I was from the cheerleaders in my high school. Even blessed genetically with a high metabolism, a body proportionally balanced and the inability to sit still for more than 5 minutes, I did not resemble the images of the models in Vogue, a magazine I coveted in high school and college. The models all had gaps in their thighs, flat abdomens and long locks of hair. Breasts were either non-existence or perkily smallish. While I did not relate physically to the models in Vogue, I secretly loved looking at the clothing designs, the bright colors and bold patterns, the set locations in cities around the world and the confident attitude splashed throughout the photo spreads. The shoes alone were beautiful creations of cruelty requiring grace of movement and superb balance, which this born klutz simply does not possess despite years of gymnastic and tap dance lessons. At some point in college, I fell in love with my own body and embraced my curves, the lack of a gap between my muscular thighs and my perpetual pixie cut. As I became...
