I'm Your Huckleberry by Val Kilmer
Published by: Simon and Schuster
Publication Date: April 21st, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Legendary actor Val Kilmer shares the stories behind his most beloved roles, reminisces about his star-studded career and love life, and reveals the truth behind his recent health struggles in a remarkably candid autobiography.
Val Kilmer has played many iconic roles over his nearly four-decade film career. A table-dancing Cold War agent in Top Secret! A troublemaking science prodigy in Real Genius. A brash fighter pilot in Top Gun. A swashbuckling knight in Willow. A lovelorn bank robber in Heat. A charming master of disguise in The Saint. A wise-cracking detective in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Of course, Batman, Jim Morrison and the sharp-shooting Doc Holliday.
But who is the real Val Kilmer? With I’m Your Huckleberry - published ahead of next summer’s highly anticipated sequel Top Gun: Maverick, in which Kilmer returns to the big screen as Tom “Iceman” Kazansky - the enigmatic actor at last steps out of character and reveals his true self.
In this uniquely assembled memoir - featuring vivid prose, snippets of poetry and rarely-seen photos - Kilmer reflects on his acclaimed career, including becoming the youngest actor ever admitted to the Juilliard School’s famed drama department, determinedly campaigning to win the lead part in The Doors, and realizing a years-long dream of performing a one-man show as his hero Mark Twain. He shares candid stories of working with screen legends Marlon Brando, Tom Cruise, Robert Downey Jr. and Robert De Niro, and recounts high-profile romances with Cher, Cindy Crawford, Daryl Hannah, and former wife Joanne Whalley. He chronicles his spiritual journey and lifelong belief in Christian Science, and describes travels to far-flung locales such as a scarcely inhabited island in the Indian Ocean where he suffered from delirium and was cared for by the resident tribe. And he reveals details of his recent throat cancer diagnosis and recovery - about which he has disclosed little until now.
While containing plenty of tantalizing celebrity anecdotes, I’m Your Huckleberry - taken from the famous line Kilmer delivers as Holliday in Tombstone - is ultimately a singularly written and deeply moving reflection on mortality and the mysteries of life."
I will be his Huckleberry any day! And yes, I preordered my signed copy in January.
Pets and Their Famous Humans by Ana Gallo and Katherine Quinn
Published by: Prestel Junior
Publication Date: April 21st, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 48 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"In this charmingly illustrated collection of pet-related stories children will find out about some of history's most important scientists, artists, writers, and musicians and their beloved animals.
Did you know that Mozart's pet starling was the inspiration for his Piano Concerto No. 17? Or that writer Dorothy Parker loved animals so much she let a pair of alligators swim in her bathtub? These are just a couple of the stories in this delightful and surprising collection that profiles the strong bond between humans and their pets. Some of these stories are touching: Frida Kahlo memorialized her pet deer Granizo in her painting The Wounded Deer. Some are a little quirky: Albert Einstein, convinced that his parrot, Bibo, was sad, told bad jokes to cheer the bird up. Each of these wonderfully entertaining stories is made even more appealing by Katherine Quinn's captivating illustrations. Rich in detail and reminiscent of folk art, they capture the humor and poignancy of these fascinating pairings. Together these stories and illustrations will create lasting impressions that will help young readers identify historic figures and spark joy in friendships with the animals in their own lives."
Because sometimes there are celebrities, and sometimes there are real celebrities, AKA the pest of celebrities.
The Rise of David Bowie 1972-1973 by Mick Rock
Published by: Taschen
Publication Date: April 21st, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 300 Pages
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The official patter:
"A unique tribute from David Bowie's official photographer and creative partner, Mick Rock, compiled in 2015, with Bowie's blessing.
In 1972, David Bowie released his groundbreaking album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. With it landed Bowie's Stardust alter ego: a glitter-clad, mascara-eyed, sexually ambiguous persona who kicked down the boundaries between male and female, straight and gay, fact and fiction into one shifting and sparkling phenomenon of '70s self-expression. Together, Ziggy the album and Ziggy the stage spectacular propelled the softly spoken Londoner into one of the world's biggest stars.
A key passenger on this glam trip into the stratosphere was fellow Londoner and photographer Mick Rock. Rock bonded with Bowie artistically and personally, immersed himself in the singer's inner circle, and, between 1972 and 1973, worked as the singer's photographer and videographer.
This collection brings together spectacular stage shots, iconic photo shoots, as well as intimate backstage portraits. It celebrates Bowie's fearless experimentation and reinvention, while offering privileged access to the many facets of his personality and fame. Through the aloof and approachable, the playful and serious, the candid and the contrived, the result is a passionate tribute to a brilliant and inspirational artist whose creative vision will never be forgotten."
Mick Rock is the DEFINITIVE photographer of David Bowie. It's nice to see his books getting a more widespread release now.
The Art of Junji Ito by Junji Ito
Published by: VIZ Media LLC,
Publication Date: April 21st, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 150 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Enter the world of Junji Ito’s art - an abyss of horror and sublime beauty.
A first-ever collection of Junji Ito’s artworks, featuring over 130 images from his bestselling manga titles along with rare works. This sublime collection includes all of Ito’s unforgettable illustrations in both black-and-white and color, from Tomie’s dreadful beauty to the inhuman spirals of Uzumaki. Includes an interview focused on Ito’s art technique as well as commentary from the artist on each work."
While my opinions on Junji Ito's books are all over the place, you can't deny he is an amazing illustrator.
The Girl and the Stars by Mark Lawrence
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: April 21st, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"A stunning new epic fantasy series following a young outcast who must fight with everything she has to survive, set in the same world as Red Sister.
In the ice, east of the Black Rock, there is a hole into which broken children are thrown. Yaz’s people call it the Pit of the Missing and now it is drawing her in as she has always known it would.
To resist the cold, to endure the months of night when even the air itself begins to freeze, requires a special breed. Variation is dangerous, difference is fatal. And Yaz is not the same.
Yaz’s difference tears her from the only life she’s ever known, away from her family, from the boy she thought she would spend her days with, and has to carve out a new path for herself in a world whose existence she never suspected. A world full of difference and mystery and danger.
Yaz learns that Abeth is older and stranger than she had ever imagined. She learns that her weaknesses are another kind of strength and that the cruel arithmetic of survival that has always governed her people can be challenged."
Yes, I had to read this book because I love that the heroine is named Yaz.
You Let Me In by Camilla Bruce
Published by: Tor Books
Publication Date: April 21st, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"You Let Me In delivers a stunning tale from debut author Camilla Bruce, combining the sinister domestic atmosphere of Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects with the otherwordly thrills of Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane.
Cassandra Tipp is dead...or is she?
After all, the notorious recluse and eccentric bestselling novelist has always been prone to flights of fancy - everyone in town remembers the shocking events leading up to Cassie's infamous trial (she may have been acquitted, but the insanity defense only stretches so far).
Cassandra Tipp has left behind no body - just her massive fortune, and one final manuscript.
Then again, there are enough bodies in her past - her husband Tommy Tipp, whose mysterious disembowelment has never been solved, and a few years later, the shocking murder-suicide of her father and brother.
Cassandra Tipp will tell you a story - but it will come with a terrible price. What really happened, out there in the woods - and who has Cassie been protecting all along? Read on, if you dare..."
To up the game of an eccentric author embroiled in death with a supernatural edge is genius!
The Sisters of Summit Avenue by Lynn Cullen
Published by: Gallery Books
Publication Date: April 21st, 2020
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"From the bestselling author of Mrs. Poe and Twain’s End comes a “poignant, beautifully rendered story of two sisters who find the courage to reclaim their bond after years of misunderstandings and heartbreak” (Melanie Benjamin, New York Times bestselling author) during the Great Depression.
1934. Ruth has been single-handedly raising four young daughters and running her family’s Indiana farm for eight long years, ever since her husband, John, was infected by the infamous “sleeping sickness” devastating families across the country. If only she could trade places with her older sister, June: blonde and beautiful, married to a wealthy doctor, living in a mansion in St. Paul. And June has a coveted job, too, as one of “the Bettys,” the perky recipe developers who populate the famous Betty Crocker test kitchen. But these gilded trappings hide sorrows: she has borne no children. And the man she loves more than anything belongs to Ruth.
When the two sisters reluctantly reunite after a long estrangement, June’s bitterness about her sister’s betrayal sets into motion a confrontation that’s been years in the making. And their mother, Dorothy, who’s brought the two of them together, has her own dark secrets, which might blow up the fragile peace she hopes to restore between her daughters.
An emotional journey of redemption, inner strength, and the ties that bind families together, for better or worse, The Sisters of Summit Avenue is a moving and heartfelt tribute to mothers, daughters, and sisters everywhere."
Love this cover. Interesting that until this cover I would have totally never picked up this book. See, covers do sell a book, the contents make us stay though.
I fully admit that the one and only reason I watched this miniseries was to see a young Giles. I might have a thing for Anthony Stewart Head, especially as Watcher and librarian on Buffy the Vampire Slayer... Therefore, over the years, I've tried to make sure I watch everything he's currently in and in my spare time watch his back catalog. Back in that catalog was this wonderful adaptation of Love in a Cold Climate, where just two years after appearing on Lillie he's back on the small screen as Tony Kroesig, the very minimally fictionalized Bryan Guinness. He's just simply adorable with his blonde hair rescuing a rabbit for his future wife who will bolt on him. He's just so perfectly cast and that's what makes this adaptation stand out for me. The cast was so fully rounded and actually felt like a family. Well, when Judi Dench signs on, even in the eighties she had pull, and well, everyone else just fell into place, even her real life husband Michael Williams joined as Davey Warbeck! See, a family! And as Tony's wife Linda is the wonderful Lucy Gutteridge, whom I adore as the love interest opposite Val Kilmer in Top Secret! and in Till We Meet Again, the miniseries I always call "the one where Hugh Grant's a Nazis!" And in an entirely random roll we have Anthony Higgins, Rathe from Young Sherlock Holmes, playing an over-the-top chef who doesn't speak English! I could go on and on, but just take my word for it, perfect casting. Also, seeing as until now, all adaptations named Love in a Cold Climate are actually adaptations of two of Nancy Mitford's books, The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate, crammed under the more memorably named book, we have a lot of ground to cover in one series. Unlike the one at the turn of the century which was only two episodes jammed together as one movie stateside, here we have eight episodes to luxuriate in the story. To get all the details right. And why is that important now? Because we have another adaptation on the way! So it's time to bring out the books, sit down and watch these two adaptations, and then see if this new version with Lily James is up to snuff or if she should have stayed away, like with Rebecca.
The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells
