Biography Archives - The Gilmore Guide to Books

Capote’s Women by Laurence Leamer

Catherine — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 07:53:25 +0000

After all the agita of getting taxes filed on time, I needed a reward. Overindulging in champagne was my first choice, but not a healthy option so I turned to reading that gave me the same light, fizzy feeling and required no thought to enjoy. The book is Laurence Leamer’s Capote’s Women: A True Story […]

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Happy at Any Cost by Kirsten Grind

Catherine — Fri, 28 Apr 2023 07:09:46 +0000

As more entrepreneurs turn into billionaires and spend much of their fortunes on flying to space rather than on the problems of Earth, Tony Hsieh’s story is both inspiring and tragic. A man whose mission was to make people happy, but couldn’t find happiness for himself. I reviewed this biography last year, but it recently […]

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Champagne Supernovas

Catherine — Fri, 20 Jan 2023 08:11:32 +0000

It’s been a serious week so let’s wrap up with some scrumptious nonfiction. My love of fashion and pop culture is no secret and this books hits right at the juncture of the two. Champagne Supernovas is by Maureen Callahan and is about the lives of Alexander McQueen, Marc Jacobs, and Kate Moss—who although they were not […]

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Deliberate Cruelty

Catherine — Fri, 25 Nov 2022 08:26:25 +0000

I’ve always had a fascination with high society and the people who chronicle it. Fiction like The Swans of Fifth Avenue and memoirs like Dilettante are some of my favorite reading. In keeping with that theme, but straying from the ‘giving thanks’ aspect of the week, I’m back with a bit of wealthy people behaving badly […]

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Down and Out in Paradise

Catherine — Fri, 18 Nov 2022 08:59:55 +0000

When Anthony Bourdain died four years ago, most people were stunned. How could a man with so much to live for, a man adored by people around the globe, kill himself? He was a world traveler, sharing his love of food to show the commonalities rather than the differences between various cultures. In Down & […]

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House of Gucci

Catherine — Fri, 15 Apr 2022 04:11:57 +0000

I’ve been having great luck with nonfiction recently. Part of it is due to a slew of well-written books, but I also seem to be getting better at knowing what kind of non-fiction works best for me. While I might like to read meaty history about places and people I know nothing about, let’s be […]

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Happy at Any Cost

Catherine — Mon, 28 Mar 2022 04:22:38 +0000

While Zappos may be an easily recognizable name to anyone who shops online and loves shoes, Tony Hsieh is probably not. I knew of him because he was often profiled in business news for his unique take on the best way to run a successful company. Happiness. Zappos was consistently ranked in the top 10 […]

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The Art of Bob Mackie

Catherine — Fri, 19 Nov 2021 05:21:13 +0000

After a week of reviewing tense and scary novels I wanted to end with a book that was a sheer delight. As a child of the 70s I grew up with a now defunct form of television, the variety show. Two classics were The Carol Burnett Show and The Sonny and Cher Show. While their […]

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Bourdain: The Definitive Oral Biography

Catherine — Wed, 10 Nov 2021 05:36:24 +0000

Suicide is always shocking to those left behind, but when it’s someone famous, someone with what looks to be a “dream” life, it feels even more inexplicable. This was the case June 2018 when Anthony Bourdain killed himself. Bourdain was a chef turned television personality who created the iconic No Reservations and Parts Unknown series. […]

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The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson

Catherine — Wed, 11 Mar 2020 04:48:05 +0000

It’s May 1940, but Hitler is already on the move, invading and collecting countries like Monopoly properties. In Great Britain, Prime Minister Chamberlain has lost the confidence of his party and is going to be replaced. It is a momentous time in the world and in British history. Winston Churchill fulfills his lifelong dream of […]

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