The Golden Age of Hollywood in Books

Posted on 24 November 2020 by Jody

This year, I admit I have become a little obsessed with The Golden Age of Hollywood; in books that is!

This started when I was browsing the newsagency for some light reading, and I came across The Australian Women’s Weekly Special Editions, Icon magazine. Packed full of retro photos, interesting stories and nostalgia, these special edition magazines have become my go-to Sunday morning reading.

I have been filling the gaps between issues reading some biographies & books about the stars who have intrigued me the most, the majority of those being women who found Hollywood at the time anything but golden. While some of their stories proved to be tragic, that didn’t stop their strength and determination from shining through.

Below I have listed a few titles I have browsed over the course of 2020, in the hopes that you might find something interesting to read over the coming summer months.

Happy Reading!

Jody

Judy Garland a Biography by Anne Edwards

Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland by Gerald Clarke

Home: A Memoir of My Early Years by Julie Andrews

Home Work: A Memoir of My Hollywood Years by Julie Andrews

Hedy Lamarr’s Double Life by Laurie Wallmark

Elizabeth Taylor: the lady, the lover, the legend-1932-2011 by David Brett

Ava: A Life in Movies by Kendra Bean

Audrey Hepburn: a photographic journey of a beautiful star’s rise to silver-screen icon by Gabrielle Mander.

Katharine Hepburn: a remarkable woman by Anne Edwards

Hollywood love stories: true love stories from the golden days of the silver screen by Gill Paul

October Book Club Pick!

Posted on 6 October 2020 by Jody

Ok, I can’t believe it is time to pick the next Parra Reads online book club title. No sooner do we pick a title and start reading then it is time to start all over again.

September’s title ‘A Thousand Ships’ by Natalie Haynes ended up being a great read! Being a big fan of historical fiction and having not read any books on ancient Greek mythology ‘A Thousand Ships’ was an enjoyable read for me. I love reading historical fiction told from a female perspective. If you do too then this is a must read for you!

Our October pick is ‘Enid, the scandalous life of a glamorous Australian who dazzled the world’ by Robert Wainwright.

October’s pick happened to come into fruition because of my Mother-in-law. Each year as part of her birthday present I buy some lovely handmade fig jams, fresh tea and a book. The books are always about Australia whether it be fiction or non-fiction. When she was younger my Mother-in-law loved nothing better than hooking the caravan up and setting off on a trip around Australia, in fact given any opportunity now she is always off on the train somewhere for lovely day trips exploring new and old towns.

So searching through new release titles I came across ‘Enid’ by Robert Wainwright and thought it would be perfect pick for her birthday. Then after reading the blurb and a bit of the first chapter I thought it would be a good pick for Book Club and luckily enough our rbDigital Library had it available as both a multicap eAudiobook and eBook title, so we can all ‘read along together’

I hope you enjoy it as much as I already am!

Jody

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