Biography & Autobiography : Entertainment & Performing Arts

Full of insight and wit, Candy Girl is the seductive memoir of a young woman who dared to bare it all as a stripper. Diablo Cody was twenty-four years old when she decided there had to be more to life than typing copy at an ad agency. On a whim, she signed up for amateur night at Minneapolis’s seedy Skyway Lounge. She didn’t win a prize that night, but she discovered that stripping delivered a rush she had never experienced before, and too many experiences to not write about it. While she didn’t fit the ordinary profile of a stripper—she had a supportive boyfriend, was equal parts brainpower and beauty, was from a good family, and was out to do a little soul searching—she soon immersed herself in this enticing life full-time. In Candy Girl, Diablo tells the captivating fish-out-of-water story of her yearlong walk on the wild side. In witty prose she gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at this industry through a writer’s keen eye, from quiet gentlemen’s clubs to multi-level sex palaces, with all of her wry observations along the way. Some of her discoveries? Blondes make more money; it takes a pro to master The Pole; and while the girls wield much sway over the customers, in reality the power is totally out of their hands. Eventually, the lucrative skin trade began to drain Diablo emotionally, but her foray into this world had a profound and, surprisingly, positive effect. Funny and fascinating, Candy Girl is a seductive treat. ''Diablo Cody is to stripping what Chuck Klosterman is to pop culture and Sarah Vowell is to American History--an off-kilter visionary cynical enough to trust and talented enough to blister all that her mighty pen touches. Candy Girl is fiendishly funny, muscle car fast, and frighteningly--and I do mean frighteningly--accurate. Lock up your daughters and get your lighters in the air, for Candy Girl proves Ms. Diablo to be a writer of rock star calibre.''. --Lily Burana, author, ''STRIP CITY: A Stripper's Farewell Journey Across America''. more...

Price: $15.00

No one dominated a stage the way Chris Farley did. For him, comedy was not a routine; it was a way of life. He could not enter a room unnoticed or let a conversation go without making someone laugh. Fans knew Chris as Saturday Night Live’s sweaty, swaggering, motivational speaker; as the irresistible Chippendales stripper; and as Tommy Callahan, the underdog hero of Tommy Boy. His family knew him as sensitive and passionate, deeply religious, and devoted to bringing laughter into others’ lives. But Chris did not know moderation, either in his boundless generosity toward friends or in the reckless abandon of his drug and alcohol abuse. For ten years, Chris cycled in and out of rehabilitation centers, constantly fighting his insecurities and his fears. Despite three hard-fought years of sobriety, addiction would ultimately take his life and the tragically young age of thirty-three. Fame on SNL and three straight number-one box office hits gave way to a string of embarrassing public appearances, followed by a fatal overdose in December 1997. Here is Chris Farley as remembered by his family, friends, and colleagues—the true story of a man who lived to make us laugh and died as a result. The Chris Farley Show is an evocative and harrowing portrait of a family trapped by addiction, a father forced to bury a son, and a gifted and kindhearted man ultimately torn apart by the demons inside him. more...

Price: $16.00

A vibrant, sympathetic portrait of the once and future king of rock ?n? roll by the award-winning author of Shiloh and In Country. To this clear-eyed portrait of the first rock ?n? roll superstar, Bobbie Ann Mason brings a novelist?s insight and the empathy of a fellow Southerner who, from the first time she heard his voice on the family radio, knew that Elvis was ?one of us.? Elvis Presley deftly braids the mythic and human aspects of his story, capturing both the charismatic, boundary-breaking singer who reveled in his celebrity and the soft-spoken, working-class Southern boy who was fatally unprepared for his success. The result is a riveting, tragic book that goes to the heart of the American dream. Introduction. ON AUGUST 16, 1977, when I learned that the King-Elvis Presley-was dead, I was vacationing in Nova Scotia. In the lounge at the inn where I was staying, the news came on TV. Stunned, I could only mumble some clichés. The bartender recalled the death of the actor Audie Murphy, a war hero of his generation. I felt far from home. Although I hadn't thought much about Elvis lately, I now sensed there was a great hole in the American cultural landscape. Elvis had always been there, hovering in the national psyche, his life punctuating our times-his appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, his first movie, the death of his mother, the Army, his marriage, the 1968 ''Comeback Special.'' It seemed inconceivable that Elvis-just forty-two years old-was gone. For me, Elvis is personal-as a Southerner and something of a neighbor. I heard Elvis from the very beginning on the Memphis radio stations. Many parents found Elvis's music dangerously evocative, his movements lewd and suggestive-but when my family saw Elvis on The Ed Sullivan Show, singing ''Ready Teddy,'' my father cried, ''Boy, he's good!'' We had been listening to rhythm-and-blues late at night on the radio for years, and we immediately recognized what Elvis was about. We had heard Arthur ''Big Boy'' Crudup and more...

Price: $14.00

A charming guide to finding elegance in every aspect of life, featuring rarely seen photographs and revelations about the actress who perfected gracious living. Propelled by popular titles such as Swell: A Girl’s Guide to the Good Life and Three Black Skirts: All You Need to Survive , the decorum category touts plenty of trendy advice. But no one has demonstrated the power of poise as memorably as Audrey Hepburn, whose enchanting essence on and off the screen has easily withstood the test of time. Inspired by a beloved icon who balanced sensibility and sex appeal, celebrity and humanitarian efforts with evident ease, How to Be Lovely examines the art of being a woman. More philosophy than biography, Hepburn fans will uncover the deeply thinking, deeply feeling woman who found success on the silver screen, in her own home and in the world at large. Through Hepburn’s own words from interviews, what her friends said and behind-the-scenes stories, readers will develop a new outlook on their own careers, love lives, families, wardrobes, finances, health concerns, friendships, and the world at large. Published to coincide with Audrey Hepburn’s would be 75th birthday, How to Be Lovely features an elegant design worthy of the book’s namesake. For the millions who continue to delight in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Roman Holiday , and the woman behind them all, this is the guide to living genuinely with glamour and grace. more...

Price: $17.95

Ciccone's extraordinary memoir is based on his life and forty-seven years of growing up with and working with his sister - the most famous woman in the world. more...

Price: $15.00