behind the scenes – Page 2 – Cannonball Read 17

Not too many “secrets” but enjoyable nonetheless.

The Secret Life of the American Musical by Jack Viertel

August 26, 2019 by cosbrarian Leave a Comment

#CBR11Bingo – I love this! Recently I’ve been enjoying a podcast dedicated to musical theatre and reliving my theatre kid days. So this audiobook seemed a good fit for my “I Love This!” category, as I do indeed love Broadway musicals. Jack Viertel has been involved in over 50 Broadway productions in various capacities, but mostly as a dramaturg and consultant on the writing end. He teaches a course at NYU about the construction of the American musical, and that is what this book is […]

…You’re There For Me Too

I'll Be There for You: The One About Friends by Kelsey Miller

April 16, 2019 by Niki Leave a Comment

I remember the first time I watched Friends. I was about 13 years old, and staying over night at my grandparents’ house, and I was bored. This is the set of grandparents who had not one toy in their house, and when my sister and I would go over to visit, we were allowed to play with the one pair of binoculars and a cabinet full of Tupperware. It was breathtakingly dull. I don’t know why I was allowed to watch TV unsupervised, but Friends […]

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the bookshelf…

Jaws: Memories from Martha's Vineyard by Matt Taylor

January 5, 2019 by TheShitWizard Leave a Comment

As a lifelong Jaws fan, I’ve already read pretty extensively about the making of the film, as well as devouring any number of DVD extras and specials that I’ve ever come across. As such, it’s sometimes hard to come across new information, so I was immensely pleased to find this wrapped up for me underneath the Christmas tree. Jaws: Memories from Martha’s Vineyard is just that – a look at the production of Jaws through the eyes of the islanders of Martha’s Vineyard, whether they […]

TNG through J.J. Abrams, an oral history.

September 29, 2018 by narfna 4 Comments

This was a hefty brick of a book. It follows the creation of Star Trek: The Next Generation through the 2016 release of Star Trek: Beyond, but because there was so much more Star Trek content created in the second twenty-five years of the franchise, this sucker clocks in at a whopping 843 pages. I read the first volume in a day and a half. This one took me six. Of course, this was also partially because this book not only had more content, but […]

A fascinating oral history of Star Trek, the first 25 years.

August 2, 2018 by narfna Leave a Comment

This is a long book: 500 plus pages of behind the scenes drama gleaned from new and historical interviews from the cast, crew, and creative minds behind the making of Star Trek for the first twenty-five years of its history. It didn’t really read like that long of a book, though. I’ve always loved behind the scenes stories, and oral histories are a particularly good format for that. So much room for conflicting opinions. Lots of insight and drama. Lots of gross stories about Gene […]

The Hamiltome.

August 23, 2016 by narfna Leave a Comment

This is an excellent book that all fans of Hamilton should read. Reading it gave me a fuller experience of the musical, it was fun to see behind the scenes stories, and Lin’s notes were always interesting. I cried while reading it (the same part I cry at while listening), and spent about a week listening to nothing but the soundtrack on a loop. So why no five stars? Like Aaron Burr, I want more. I’m never going to see the musical in person, or […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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