Read, Read and Read

So it’s summer time and for those who rather stay in air-conditioned homes, here are some reading suggestions. They are not new so chances are you might have already read them, that’s why I’m listing out books that are good for re-reading. If you haven’t read them, you should. If you have, you would most likely agree on the fact that they are those who worth the time to be re-read.

Poppy Shakespeare by Clare Allan: You are probably wondering; “Wait, isn’t that a movie shown on Channel 4 starring Anna Maxwell Martin (Doctor Who, Becoming Jane) and Naomie Harris (28 Days Later, Pirates of the Caribbean, Miami Vice) from the producers of The Last King of Scotland ? Yes, and if you liked this laid-back fun TV movie directed by Benjamin Ross, chances are you are going to like the original more-in-depth novel. As the Guardian put it; “Catch-22 meets One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest…an electrifying debut…surreal, raucous, infuriating and very funny.”

Author preferred text version of American Gods by Neil Gaiman: I don’t think I need to say much about this one. It’s good, it’s grand and you’ve probably read it. Winner of the HUGO, NEBULA, BRAM STOKER, SFX and LOCUS awards, has written this novel of large themes with rich imagination. If you fell in loved with the novel, you might want to try the author’s preferred text. This version of American Gods is about twelve thousand words longer than the on that won all the awards, and it’s the version of which Gaiman is the most proud. Indulge yourself with this untrimmed version of American Gods this summer with a glass of long island iced tea!

Christopher Ciccone’s tell-all “Life with My Sister Madonna”

Life with my sister madonna

The memoir based on Ciccone’s life and 47 years of growing up with and working with his sister — Madonna— the most famous woman in the world, now has a cover.

The Sun reports the book will include Madonna’s past lesbian flings (hint: Gwyneth, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera mentioned), her rocky marriage to Hollywood actor Sean Penn and her rows with film director husband Ritchie.

The book will be available on July 15th

Metamorphoses of an American

Grant Theft Auto star and fashion designer/photographer Karl Lagerfeld is launching his new book Metamorphoses of an American at a New York gallery opening tonight. It features five years worth of photos of model. Lagerfeld’s attachment to Brad Kroenig is apparently as strong as his attachment to Diet Coke— he’s always on hand.

Maureen Orth yesterday posted a piece on the Lagerfeld/Kroenig relationship for Vanity Fair:

“‘Have you met Brad?’ Lagerfeld asked. Brad Kroenig, a top male mode who, at 6 foot 1, looks vaguely like Matthew McConaughey, was sparkling in the same silver sequined jacket he’d worn to the Met Costume gala the night before. He and Lagerfeld attended New York’s ‘party of the year’ together, and they had just arrived in Paris the afternoon I saw them, none the worse for wear. Kroenig, an easy-going 29-year-old with the uncanny ability to transform himself to look like everyone from James Dean to Errol Flynn, is the American whose ‘metamorphoses’ Lagerfeld has been documenting for the past five years. ‘I thought it would be interesting to follow the physical evolution of someone,’ the designer told me in his rapid-fire German accent. ‘Without him knowing it, he has an unbelievable range. It’s a kind of gift. He knows nothing about these things. It’s fun for somebody to skate on these images and interpretations without being an actor—the characters, the situations, the attitudes, while at the same time to stay a completely modern all-American.'”

A Children’s Book About Mommy’s Plastic Surgery

A new picture book about plastic surgery aims to explain why mom is getting a flatter tummy and a ‘prettier’ nose.”My Beautiful Mommy” (Big Tent Books) is available this Mother’s Day. It features a perky mother explaining to her child why she’s having cosmetic surgery (a nose job and tummy tuck). Naturally, it has a happy ending: mommy winds up “even more” beautiful than before, and her daughter is thrilled.

Some, upon reading the manuscript with their son, find it useful. Newsweek reports “Since February, when she had the surgery, she and [her son] have read the book a half dozen times, and she says it helped him feel excited rather than scared. “I didn’t want him to think [the surgery] was because I was hurting. It was to make me feel good,” she says.”

“That message seems to have gotten through. Instead of being uncomfortable about the surgery, Acosta says her son actually spoke up about it at a big party. “Did you see her new belly button? It’s so pretty!” he said of his mom. “I think he was proud,” she says.”