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 may be a biography best suited for Hollywood fans or those who have followed Lansing’s long career as opposed to a general audience.
Disclaimer: I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.
XOXO,
