The original version of this newsletter was sent out on Tuesday, November 18.
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Hello, fellow bookworms! I hope everyone has been staying safe and dry and spending some of these rainy days curled up with a book.
To kick things off this week, on December 3, UCSB Arts & Lectures hosts American Book Award–winning author and poet Ocean Vuong at Campbell Hall! He’ll be discussing his 2025 novel, The Emperor of Gladness, which draws on his own experiences as a young Vietnamese-American immigrant. I haven’t read any of Vuong’s novels, but I was amazed the first time I read his poetry; it’s deeply evocative and full of vivid imagery. This event is sure to be a fascinating look into his writing process.
This week, I’m bringing you three memoirs by women in show business that take the reader for a ride through the high highs and the low lows of living in the spotlight.
Love, Lucy by Lucille Ball
At its peak, there was nothing quite like I Love Lucy anywhere else in entertainment. With its multiple-camera format, live studio audience, and portrayal of an interracial marriage, the show set new standards and blazed a path for the television industry to follow. Lucille Ball simultaneously charmed audiences with her humor and talent and made significant decisions behind the scenes, and alongside her husband, Desi Arnaz, she co-owned the production company that made the show. Ball not only made a splash for herself; her show revolutionized television. This is her story in her own words, honest and heartwarming.
Whenever I think of Lucille Ball, the famous “chocolate conveyor belt” scene from I Love Lucy immediately comes to mind. It’s such a great example of what drew audiences to Ball: her everywoman charm, hilarious facial expressions, impeccable timing, and knack for physical comedy. However, as spontaneous and zany as she seemed on-screen, Ball had a real love for her craft that drove her to work hard and soak up as much knowledge as she could. From her childhood in Lake Chautauqua, New York, to her first awkward acting gigs, her passionate and sometimes turbulent relationship with Arnaz, and the astronomical success of I Love Lucy, Ball tells it all with a down-to-earth spirit and, of course, a sense of humor.
I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
Jennette McCurdy (iCarly, Sam & Cat) was thrust into show business at a very young age. A tumultuous home life left her desperate for a distraction and escape, and a need to please her overbearing stage mother would lead her to the acting career and fame her mother wanted for her … even if Jennette wasn’t sure she wanted it for herself. The life of a children’s TV star can be extremely unforgiving, and Jennette details the pressure to be a role model and to stifle her growth for the sake of her image. Her story is both heartbreaking and exhilarating as she describes the highs of fame and success alongside the pressure to succeed and please her mother, her struggles with eating disorders and alcoholism, and enduring emotional and sexual abuse from her mother.
Even though I was the right age at the time, I somehow never got into Nickelodeon shows, so I wasn’t reading McCurdy’s book from the perspective of a former fan. However, you definitely don’t need to have seen her acting work to be drawn into her story and sympathize with her struggles.
Her story is utterly heartbreaking, and yet the fact that she has done the work to come to terms with her reality and heal from it enough to write the book is a triumph. I hope she is doing well on her healing journey, but I also hope we haven’t heard the last from her; the world needs more of her unflinching honesty and willingness to speak about the truth behind children coming of age under the unforgiving spotlight of Hollywood.
The Woman in Me by Britney Spears
The world watched her blossom into a superstar at the age of 18, endure a very public mental health crisis and custody battle, and become the subject of a decade-long support movement to get the conservatorship held by her father removed. Countless millennials, myself included, know her songs by heart; the world watched in horror as she shaved her head and assaulted paparazzi; and hashtag #FreeBritney was plastered all over the internet, but no one knows the whole story but Britney herself. And finally the world can hear it.
I’ve seen this book described as a “tell-all,” but that seems overly simplistic. Rather, this is the work of a woman who, despite her fame and success, has been disregarded, ridiculed, and mistreated, and now has finally gained the opportunity to speak freely. The simple, conversational writing style has a heartbreakingly honest quality, particularly as Britney describes her childhood and the environment she grew up in. Not to mention the very public fallout of her relationship with Justin Timberlake and her custody battle, and the dehumanizing control of her conservatorship. Despite Britney’s hardships, as she conveys her love for performing and songwriting, the soaring heights of her success, and the peace and love she found in motherhood, it’s heartwarming to get a true glimpse at this woman who captivated the world.
—Tessa, allbooked@independent.com
FROM OUR PAGES
We’ve had some great author visits and interviews recently, so don’t miss out. Here is some of our book-related coverage from the last two weeks! Read all this and more at Independent.com.
“Peace, Love & Haight” by Cheryl Crabtree
“Queer Traffic: Sex, Panic, Free Trade” by Debra Herrick
“New Book by UCSB Professor Reframes Aging as Evolutionary Success” by Sonia Fernandez
“Embracing Her Inner Werewolf” by Leslie Dinaberg“Mothers, Teachers, Readers, Entrepreneurs” by Meaghan Clark Tiernan
“A Little Dog on a Big Mission to Help Kids Cope with Stress” by Meaghan Clark Tiernan
UPCOMING BOOK EVENTS
Below, you will find a few bookish events coming up in Santa Barbara. If you are hosting a bookish event in Santa Barbara, be sure to submit the event to our online events calendar.
Storytime at Solvang Library
Wednesday, November 19, 10:30 a.m. | Solvang Library
UCSB A&L Presents Colim Tóibín with Pico Iyer
Wednesday, November 19, 7:30 p.m. | Campbell Hall, UCSB
Chaucer’s Book Fair for El Camino Elementary
Thursday, November 20, 5 p.m. | Chaucer’s Books
Godmothers Gather: Rhonda Byrne
Thursday, November 20, 6 p.m. | Godmothers
Trail Talks: The Los Padres from Above, an Aerial Perspective with Bill Dewey
Thursday, November 20, 6:30 p.m. | S.B. Central Library
Online Seminar Series Shakespeare in Britain and Greece: Comic, Tragic
Saturday, November 22, noon | Online
Solvang Library Magpie Book Club
Saturday, November 22, 3:30 p.m. | Solvang Library
English Conversation Group
Tuesday, November 25, 1 p.m. | S.B. Central Library
Montecito Book Club
Tuesday, November 25, 2 p.m. | Montecito Library
Mystery Book Club: Nightshade by Michael Connelly
Tuesday, November 25, 5:30 p.m. | Goleta Community Center
Godmothers Gather: Elena Brower
Saturday, November 29, 6 p.m. | Godmothers
Chaucer’s Book Talk and Signing: Claudia Lebenthal, Shaun Thomson, Chris Carter: Surfer Stories
Sunday, November 30, 4 p.m. | Chaucer’s Books
Godmothers Gather: Paula Saunders & Stewart Shining
Monday, December 1, 6 p.m. | Godmothers
S.B. SPOTLIGHT
We at the Independent get many books sent to us by area authors, sometimes too many! It’s practically impossible for us to read and review them all, but just because we are busy bees does not mean that they aren’t worth the attention. In an attempt to not completely drop the ball, we have compiled a list of books here that are either written by a Santa Barbara author, feature someone in our community, or have another tie to Santa Barbara. I urge you to look through this list. Perhaps you will find your new favorite read!
The following are the most recent titles that have been sent to us.
Little Ruby’s Big Dream by Karen Lee Stevens
If you are a local author and would like us to feature your book in this section, please email allbooked@independent.com with the subject line “S.B. Spotlight.”
Book Reviews Courtesy of CALIFORNIA REVIEW OF BOOKS*
Thanks to the generous contributions of David Starkey, Brian Tanguay and their team of reviewers at California Review of Books, we are able to provide a steady stream of book reviews via our content partnership. Recent reviews at Independent.com include:
A Wooded Shore by Thomas McGuane; review by David Starkey
*At the present time, all of the Independent’s book reviews are provided in collaboration with California Review of Books (calirb.com).
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