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Customer Reviews (3)

Courtesy of Teens Read Too
In this poignant novel about our favorite diva -- now in control -- there is lots of humor and romance.

Her mother is marrying a guy that Vivien would like if it wasn't for his daughters, who are awful to say the least. They are backstabbing, conniving little brats!

Jake (Vivien's mother's fiancé) got her a job on a new show that the critics said needed a female character. That would have been all right if Chaz, the director of Diamond Heights (the show she got fired from for being a diva) wasn't the director! He is, of course, rude to Vivien the whole time, and she knows that he only keeps her there because Jake owns the company producing the show. Being an actress doesn't sound so glamorous anymore, does it?

Not only is the director a jerk but the other male actors treat her horribly because she has never done stunts before. (The show is about people who were transformed into animals and they are trying to take down the mad scientist who made them this way. Totally an action show!)

I really liked this book because it is funny and lighthearted but also has a great plot. I think almost anyone could read this book and get something out of it!

Reviewed by:Taylor Rector

Laugh out loud funny
Vivien, once again seems to be getting herself tangled up in some of the most bizarre situations.She is back on TV, now wearing a costume, but she is eager to prove that she can avoid the diva syndrome this time.In an attempt to reform her reputation, she is thrown into a challenging role that was not quite what she expected.In her new role she is required to perform her own stunts in costume which is complicated to say the least.To further add to her problems are her complicated relationships; her male co-stars don't want to work with her, her future step sisters are determined to make her miserable, and on top of all of this her mother is in the midst of planning her wedding.Now she is falling for one of her co-stars, will her life ever not be so complicated?

Yvonne Collins and Sandy Rideout havea strong imaginative plot from start to finish, and have developed memorable characters.This story is laugh out loud funny, down right hilarious, and is very entertaining.I highly recommend this one without any hesitation!

While reading the story my daughter wanted to know what I was reading and I began telling her about it and since she has taken the book home and has informed me she wants all of the deuts books to read.I am so thankful she has a new found love of reading.Thank you, maybe she will spend more time reading than watching TV.I must also admit that I quite enjoyed the book and will buy the prior books and read before passing along to my daughter.

Another winner
I am such a huge fan of this series.I could not wait to get the latest installment and it did not disappoint.Once again our Vivien seems to get herself tangled up in the weirdest situations - she is back on TV - wearing a beast costume no less.The description of Vivien trying to a)believe that she has to be on national tv in a animal costume and b) Vivien's attempts at "being one" with the costume (tail and all) is hilarious.Vivien also may be finding love in this one or is she?

While I really enjoyed the book, I missed the one on one moments that Vivien shared with her mother in the first book.It seems that most of the interaction between the two also included alot of other people (most of them highly irritating).For me, what works best in this series is the connection (sometimes tedious) between mother and daugher.With the twists in this book - Vivien and her mother seem to be heading towards less one on one and more family (by marriage) oriented themes - which I am not sure will work as well.

However, the book is hilarious, our Vivien is her true self and this is a great purchase.

Buy it. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (4)

And actress mother and Hollywood put pressure on daughter Vivien
Vivien no sooner arrives in L.A. when she questions her decision to spend yet another summer with her actress mother. Her decision to take classes at acting school results in a role on a TV show, but Leigh finds her new summer home challenging not because of her mother, but because of Hollywood's pressures. Here's a novel billed as a teen novel but which should reach into adult circles with its swift action, mature themes, and zany atmosphere.

You can't put it down
After visiting, Annika Anderson, on the set of her movie Danny Boy, Leigh doesn't think she'll ever be like her overdramatic diva mother. As she enters Hollywood for the first time, she doesn't know what to expect. Her first acting class turns out to be a disaster and she makes friends with Karis, the strange girl in the class. But Leigh wants more than that, and soon she's offered a role on a popular soap, Diamond Heights. Acing isn't as easy as it looks, and as Leigh gets into the rythm of things on set, she also begins to develop diva like tendencies. Her behavior tends to be the downfall of her relationship with her boyfriend, her friendship with Karis, and her newfound acting career. And Leigh has to do something to fix everything before leaving Hollywood.

This book was a great continuation to Introducing Vivien Leigh Reid. It's not often that a sequel is as good or even better than the original. Vivien again offered enough laughs and adventures throughout the book. I love the way the story is written and it's really fun to read. It goes by so fast, and once you start it, you can't put it down. I know that I'm looking forward to reading the third book about Leigh when it comes out.

Reviewed by a student for Flamingnet Book Reviews
www.flamingnet.com
Preteen, teen, and young adult book reviews and recommendations.

Wonderfully funny
I had been looking forward to the second book in this series and it has lived up to my expectations.

While this is a "teen" book, I am an adult and find this book to be well written from both the perspective of the daugther and the mother.

I admit that the Annicka character could be a little better fleshed out.We only ever see her through the eyes of her daughter, but you can still get a good feel for the relationship between the two.

Of course, Leigh is still completely self-absorbed and sure that the whole world revolves around her (to be a teenager again!).

The basic storyline remains the same wherein Leigh is trying to figure out if acting is what she really wants to do - as her mother tries to incorporate herself into her daughter's life - while still maintaining that she is too "young" to have a daughter.

While I have mentioned in my review of the first book that really, this story is sad (mother and child trying to figure where they fit into each other's life), the authors manage to write it with a funny slant and although you "get" the point, it does not have to be slammed into you.

I really enjoy this series. One note, I HATE trying to read the cell phone messages that Leigh keeps sending her friends.Please stop abbreviating every word - Iknow its probably very "cell phone" acceptable etiquette, but it is impossible to decipher the texts.

BUY THIS SERIES....

Now Starring Vivien Leigh Reid Book Review
Authors Yvonne Collins and Sandy Rideout have followed up their teen novel Introducing Vivien Leigh Reid: Daughter of the Diva with Now Starring Vivien Leigh Reid Diva in Training. In this sequel, Vivian is now living in Los Angeles with her C list actress mother Annika. It seems that her small role in the film Danny Boy has sparked the acting bug in our young heroine as she has enrolled in a Los Angeles based acting class, thus the reason she is now living with her mother. Vivien isn't too much feeling the acting class at first. The exercises seem inane to her and she feels like she learned much more during her time in Ireland than in the class. Vivien makes a few new friends and she still pines for her boyfriend Rory.

You can't tell Annika that she isn't A list because she truly believes that she is. Her diva like behavior is a bit over the top at times. Vivien Leigh Reid expresses a form of cynicism far beyond her sixteen years when it comes to her day to day relationship with her mother. It's really not cute at times. Their relationship seems storybook forced and lacks an authentic tone. It just doesn't seem real, for instance in one chapter after griping about her mother's habits Vivien says to her mother, "Did you change your lipstick? Your teeth look yellow." It's clear that Annika is trying to be a better mother after years of absence. What isn't quite so clear is if Vivien is still mad at her mother for being gone from her life for so long, or is this just the way she relates to her mother. Things become especially interesting when Vivien lands a sweet acting job while her mother is still looking for the perfect work opportunity.

Overall, Now Starring Vivien Leigh Reid Diva In Training is a really hip books that teens interested in the entertainment world may enjoy. It paints a vivid picture of the L.A. scene and the writing is so on point when it comes to the acting world that you will feel like you are in new actor boot camp when reading the book. The book ends on such an amazing high you almost smell another sequel. Teens who are into magazines like Teen People and tabloids will probably especially dig this book.

Teen Editor Bellaonline ... Read more

Product Description
In 1956, Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire,youngest of the six Mitford sisters,invited the writer and war hero Patrick Leigh Fermor to visit Lismore Castle, in Ireland. This halcyon stay sparked off a deep friendship and a lifelong exchange of highly entertaining letters. There can rarely have been such contrasting styles: Debo, unashamed philistine and self-professed illiterate, darts from subject to subject, dashing off letters but hitting the nail on the head again and again without even looking, while Paddy, polyglot, widely-read prose virtuoso, replies in his characteristic fluent, polished manner. Prose notwithstanding, they have much in common: enjoyment of life, youthful high spirits, generosity and lack of malice. There are glimpses of President Kennedy's inauguration, weekends at Sandringham, filming with Erroll Flynn and, above all, of life at Chatsworth, which Debo spent much of her life restoring, and of Kardamyli, the home that Paddy built in his beloved Greece. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A lively tribute to two fascinating characters
This is the kind of book that, in a few decades, will be almost impossible to compile. Let's face it, e-mail just doesn't lend itself to the kind of intimacy or stream of consciousness -- much less the elegance and wit -- of the kind found in this anthology of half-a-century's worth of letters that flowed back and forth between Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire and Patrick Leigh Fermor.

Leigh Fermor, known as 'Paddy', remains one of my favorite writers, thanks to works like A Time of Gifts: On Foot to Constantinople: From the Hook of Holland to the Middle Danube (New York Review Books Classics), A Time to Keep Silence (New York Review Books Classics), and Mani: Travels in the Southern Peloponnese (New York Review Books Classics). 'Debo' Devonshire, on the surface, is Leigh Fermor's polar opposite; she claims never to pick up books and read them, almost boasting of this; she makes a small melodrama of agreeing to read one of Paddy's forthcoming books. Nonetheless, Leigh Fermor obviously enjoys her wit and slapdash style, as well as the chit chat and observations about friends they have in common, acquaintances, and the great and the good (including Prince Charles and JFK). "You do write good letters, you know, you really do, in that whiz-bang planchette style, hitting the nail on the head again and again without even trying."

Anyone familiar with Leigh Fermor's writings will find much here to relish, such as his description of watching olive oil being made: "a terrific grinding and clatter, then out streams -- first trickling, then a gush -- the jade green oil, which we dip bread in and munch in ecstasy." The book contains long and eloquent letters describing his various travels and adventures, as well as his writing life. These alone proved worth the price of this book to me.

Deborah Devonshire has made her name in England through a series of books about the renovation of Chatsworth and some collections of writings about her life (ranging from the London debutante season of 1938 to the hazards of clothes shopping with fading eyesight -- see Counting My Chickens: And Other Home Thoughts. Her own writing style is far less elegant and far more the product of a bygone era; things are "jolly" or "rum", a person worth knowing is "a good egg". But looking past the style (which although it sounds affected to readers, is natural to the author), I ended up focusing instead on the humor, heart and resilience of Debo's letters to Paddy. "Americans aren't suited to tragedy," she writes, astutely, after attending JFK's funeral. An emotional gravitas becomes more pronounced as she marks one loss after another. "It has all been so supremely FOUL for poor Nancy," she writes of the terminal illness of one of her five sisters, author Nancy Mitford. (See The Pursuit of Love & Love in a Cold Climate: Two Novels, her famous novels, or the biography of Louis XIV The Sun King.) (The other Mitford sisters, daughters of Lord Redesdale, included Unity (devoted to Hitler), Jessica (leftist author of The American Way of Death, Diana (wife to onetime British fascist leader Oswald Mosley and later a book reviewer and cultural critic), and Pamela, who was the object of the affections of British poet John Betjeman.)

The letters include a lot of chit-chat about their circle of common friends include such fascinating characters as Ian Fleming (author of the James Bond novels), politicians, film stars, royalty, etc. This palled on me after a while, but there is still enough that I found fascinating, particularly the way such a deep bond formed between two such disparate characters. Collectively, the letters paint a picture of a world that is nearly vanished, and that had much that we wouldn't value today. But these letters reminded me of what we would do well to remember; the value of good manners, of wit and style and conversation (not just Paris Hilton-style flamboyance) as well as the lingering importance of values, both personal and literary. Above all, it reminds us in the fast-moving era in which we live, in which texting, tweeting, social networking and e-mail are the primary modes of communication, that conversation and correspondence can enrich one's life and foster real and enduring friendships.

Ultimately, I found this anthology to be a deeply moving chronicle of a friendship that lasts to this day, with both writers now in their 90s and helping each other cope with the vicissitudes of old age, from infirmity to the loss of those they love most. There's a lot of lively writing here to savor, and, for those willing to think about the essence what is being said over the course of the correspondence and not be distracted by the flippant style likely to be unfamiliar to American readers, there's a lot of food for thought.

Very highly recommended to readers of books by either of the two correspondents; anyone interested in the evolution of modern British society will find the offhand references to social and cultural changes fascinating. While I loved this book, including the fact that it darts back and forth between the trivialities of both correspondents' lives and longer, more thoughtful writing, that probably won't appeal to some readers. Rated 4.5 stars; rounded down only because some of the letters seem to have been included for sheer gossip value.

Note: the correspondence was edited by Deborah Devonshire's niece, and includes comments by each correspondent on the other in the preface.
Irrelevant note: I'm praying almost nightly that Leigh Fermor manages to complete the long awaited third volume of his 1930s travels on foot to Constantinople.........

Not hasty enough for me
I'm a fan of the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire: she's amusing and witty. However, this book bored me. The only part I liked was when she wrote (October 1962): "I've been to dinner at the White House twice.
Jackie Kennedy was there. She is a queer fish. Her face is one of the oddest I've ever saw. It is put together in a very wild way. "
... Read more

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In his last years, America's leading playwright,Tennessee Williams, often threatened to publish a 'black book' describing the darker side of show business as he experienced it. Knowing he would not have time to complete it in his lifetime, he asked author Bruce Smith to write his personal memoirs of his years as Mr. Williams media and personal manager. That book is COSTLY PERFORMANCES/ Tennessee Williams: The Last Stage. It is now scheduled as a major motion picture release in 2005, starring Derek Jacobi as Tennessee Williams and Kevin Anderson as the author. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The Kindness of a Stranger...Who Became a Friend
What is most striking about this book is its lack of sentimentality and incisive, sharp language.There has, indeed, been much written about Tennessee Williams, perhaps too much; the endless nonsense of his being a self-hating homosexual, the lurid tales of his promiscuity, the alleged Oedipal complexes, the temper tantrums and paranoia, and other such twaddle have all obfuscated many essential things about the genius who was Tennessee Williams.This excellent book stands out because it reminds us of Mr. Williams' power -as a person and a playwright- and at the same time it is not sycophantic nor is it cleverly bitchy.Smith, the author, meets Williams rather by accident and the unlikely friendship blossoms.I found the writing to be rather enthralling, evocative, and extremely well-crafted, which allows it to stand apart from many of the other (lesser) books on Williams.It is a memoir and does not purport to be anything but that, which allows the reader a keen insight into the life and work and humanity of the great Tennessee Williams.Because it is told from Smith's eyes the recounting of these stories is deeply personal and often effervescent with images and ideas; a far cry from the mawkish, self-consumed memoirs that pass as literature these days.I also liked the fact that Smith names some names and makes clear the case that the critics, PR people, and the various 'powers that be' in the theater and film worlds (i.e. agents, lawyers, producers) all played their part in Williams' miserable and protracted demise as much as the alcohol and pills did.And while Smith does not exculpate Williams from his vices he carefully explains why, he in fact, had them, and elucidates the nefarious forces constantly in conflict with the artist and his creative process.

Make no mistake this is Mr. Smith's story of his friendship with Tennessee, and thank goodness for its uniqueness, honesty, and edge.I think to truly appreciate this book one has to be familiar with serious writing (Eliot, Shaw) and not the Pop pap that sadly passes for publishable literature today.COSTLY PERFORMANCES and its author are both class acts and any writer or artist or person with a soul or fan of Tennessee Williams will love this book.


PS
The comment about grammatical errors is totally wrong and unfounded.And the Braun woman; who is she?"The author needed distance"?If she works in a library, how does she not know what a memoir is, and what the first person POV narrative offers the reader?These types of hit jobs are precisely the type of aforementioned `nefarious forces' to which I referred.

This is a valuable theatrical memoir
I am a young actor living in London where the plays of Tennesssee Williams are experiencing a great deal of interest within the entire theatre community: schools and universities;theatre companies; theatre media. All fans of his work are turning to background material on Williams and one of the most discussed -- and admired -- is Costly Performances/Tennessee Williams: The Last Stage by Bruce Smith.Mr Smith has, since writing this memoir, become actively involved in London's theatre world, saying he learned "at the master's hand" many enduring and valuable lessons re dramaturgy, play production and, more importantly, playwriting. His play 'Papal Gore' is scheduled for a West End staging. As well, his book about Mr. Williams is now being made into a major motion picture here in England. Real theatre people understand the sensitivity Mr. Smith brought to his portrayal of Mr Williams in his last, very difficult years and value it as a real contribution to 20th Century theatre history. It is highly literate but -- above all -- a very good read. This book, with Lyle Leverich's
The Unknown Tennessee Williams and the gossipy The Kindness of Strangers by Donald Spoto provide an indepth look at the author's life and times. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

It's about time!
Finally!A book about how they really loved each other.Probably the best on/off screen couple to ever exist.This book was written so beautifully that it actually made you feel what Vivien or Larry were feeling.It puts their life together and apart in a whole new light.Iwill read this one again and again.THANK YOU! ... Read more

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1977 - 1st Edition - Simon & Schuster - Hardcover - Vivien Leigh: A Biography - By Anne Edwards - With Original Dust Jacket - Inside is clean, bright & white - 32 Pages of photos - VG Condition - Collectible ... Read more

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Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Vivien Leigh, Louis Banks, Mary Boyce, Prashant Tamang, Mahima Chaudhry, Neale Cooper, Erick Avari, Amber Gurung, Parijat, Jerry Cornes, Lawrence Picachy, Tashi Tenzing, Raj Singh Chaudhary, William Frank Thompson, Lain Singh Bangdel, Barbara Cozens, Niruta Singh, Reba Som, Sylvia Coleridge, Jamling Tenzing Norgay, Harold Day, Patrick Leeson. Excerpt:Amber Gurung (Born Feb. 26, 1938 in Darjeeling , West Bengal , India) is a Nepali composer /singer /lyricist . Early life Gurung was born in Darjeeling, where his father, Ujir Singh Gurung, a Nepali former soldier in the Indian Army of the British Raj, was serving as a policeman. His mother encouraged him to sing and compose as a child, and he taught himself to play both Indian and Western instruments. In the 1950s, one of his important associations was with the Nepali poet Agam Singh Giri. He became headmaster of the Banu Bhakta School founded by Giri, and instituted a music school, the Art Academy of Music, in the school's premises. . He moved to Kathmandu in 1969. Lifetime achievements Composed Nepal s new national anthem , Sayaun Thunga Phool Ka (2007) Invited by Nepal s King Mahendra to return to Nepal to establish and chair the music department of the newly founded Nepal Academy of Arts (1968.) Served as Music Director for nearly 30 years. Renowned as the father of modern Nepali music , having introduced and integrated Western musical methodology and styles into the Nepali music scene Author and recording artist of more than 1000 songs (1961-2006) Composed/conducted the first Nepali chorales (1988, 1997) Composed/conducted the first Nepali operas, Malati Mangale ("Malati and Mangale," 1986), Muna Madan , ("Muna and Madan," 1979), Kunjini (1963) Composed/conducted the first Nepali cantatas, Smriti ("Reminiscence," 1964), Brav... ... Read more

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Les achats comprennent une adhésion à l'essai gratuite au club de livres de l'éditeur, dans lequel vous pouvez choisir parmi plus d'un million d'ouvrages, sans frais. Le livre consiste d'articles Wikipedia sur : Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Kalpana Chawla, Leander Paes, Dalip Singh Rana, Amartya Sen, Rani Mukherjee, Vivien Leigh, Irfan Khan, Idries Shah, Pratibha Patil, Chandrashekhara Venkata Râman, Ranbir Kapoor, Joanna Lumley, Lawrence Durrell, Patrick Barr, Ram Gopal Varma, Shikha Uberoi, Ronald Ross, Somdev Devvarman, Lakshmi Mittal, Abraham Sofaer, Julie Christie, Aparna Sen, Ram Narayan, Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Franco Properzi-Curti, Bharatan, John Shepherd-Barron, Spike Milligan, Alfred Lauck Parson, Mallika Sherawat, Jaidip Mukerjea, Parimarjan Negi, Kalsang Dolma, Yeduguri Sandinti Rajasekhara Reddy, Ashok Vijh, Victor Liotard, Eden Phillpotts, James Mcconnell, Asad Ali Khan, Rishi Kapoor, Acharya Vyakul, Sarah-Jane, Gul Mohammed, Paban Das Baul, Chatur Lal, Bridget Neval, Chidananda Das Gupta, Shahid Javed Burki, Ratna Ghosh, Jyoti Amge. Non illustré. Mises à jour gratuites en ligne. Extrait : Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (en gujarâtî : ; romanisé : , API : ), né à Porbandar, Goujarat le 2 octobre 1869, mort à Delhi le 30 janvier 1948, est un dirigeant politique, important guide spirituel de l'Inde et du mouvement pour l'indépendance de ce pays. Il est communément connu et appelé en Inde et dans le monde comme Mahatma Gandhi (du sanskrit, Mahatma : grande âme) - « Mahâtma » étant un titre qu'il refusa toute sa vie d'associer à sa personne -, voire simplement Gandhi, Gandhiji, ou Bapu (Père dans plusieurs des langues de l'Inde). Il a été un pionnier et un théoricien du satyagraha, de la résistance à l'oppression à l'aide de la désobéissance civile de masse, le tout fondé sur l'ahimsa (totale non-violence), qui a contribué à conduire l'Inde à l'indépendance. Gandhi a inspiré de nombreux mouvements de libérations et de dr...http://booksllc.net/?l=fr ... Read more