The Entertainment & Celebrities category has 1,571 audiobooks on Listento.it, with an average listener rating of 4.5★ across 47,373 ratings. The most-rated is Born a Crime.
Ayoade on Ayoade
Summary
In this book, Richard Ayoade - actor, writer, director, and amateur dentist - reflects on his cinematic legacy as only he can: in conversation with himself. Over 10 brilliantly insightful and often erotic interviews, Ayoade examines Ayoade fully and without mercy, leading a breathless investigation into this once-in-a-generation visionary. They have called their book Ayoade on Ayoade: A Cinematic Odyssey. Take the journey, and your life will never be the same again.
©2015 Chicken Leg Ltd (P)2020 Audible Ltd
Autobiography
Summary
"Practically every paragraph has a line or two that demands to be read aloud to the mirror, tattooed on foreheads, carved on tombstones."—Rolling Stone "Morrissey is a pop star of unusual writing talent." —The New York Times Autobiography covers Morrissey's life from his birth until the present day.
©2011 Whores in Retirement (P)2013 Penguin Audio
Superficial
Summary
The star-studded and sidesplitting follow up to The Andy Cohen Diaries. The megapopular host of Watch What Happens: Live and executive producer of the Real Housewives franchise is back, better than ever, and telling stories that will keep his publicist up at night. Since the publication of his last book, Andy has toured the country with his sidekick, Anderson Cooper; hit the radio waves with his own Sirius station, Radio Andy; appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher despite his mother's conviction he was not intellectually prepared; hosted NBC's primetime New Year's Eve special; guest edited Entertainment Weekly; starred in Bravo's Then & Now with Andy Cohen; offended celebrities with his ongoing case of foot-in-mouth disease; and welcomed home Teresa "Namaste" Giudice from a brief stint in jail. Hopping from the Hamptons to the Manhattan dating world, the dog park to the red carpet, Cardinals superfan and mama's boy Andy Cohen, with Wacha in tow, is the kind of star fans are dying to be friends with. This book gives them that chance. If The Andy Cohen Diaries was deemed "the literary equivalent of a Fresca and tequila" by Jimmy Fallon, Superficial is a double: dishier, juicier, and friskier. In this account of his escapades - personal, professional, and behind-the-scenes - Andy tells us not only what goes down but exactly what he thinks of it.
©2016 Andrew Cohen (P)2016 Macmillan Audio
Altamont
Summary
In this breathtaking cultural history filled with exclusive, never-before-revealed details, celebrated rock journalist Joel Selvin tells the definitive story of the Rolling Stones' infamous Altamont concert in San Francisco, the disastrous historic event that marked the end of the idealistic 1960s. In the annals of rock history, the Altamont Speedway Free Festival on December 6, 1969, has long been seen as the distorted twin of Woodstock - the day that shattered the '60s' promise of peace and love when a concertgoer was killed by a member of the Hells Angels, the notorious biker club acting as security. While most people know of the events from the film Gimme Shelter, the whole story has remained buried in varied accounts, rumor, and myth - until now. Altamont explores rock's darkest day, a fiasco that began well before the climactic death of Meredith Hunter and continued beyond that infamous December night. Joel Selvin probes every aspect of the show - from the Stones' hastily planned tour preceding the concert to the bad acid that swept through the audience to other deaths that also occurred that evening - to capture the full scope of the tragedy and its aftermath. He also provides an in-depth look at the Grateful Dead's role in the events leading to Altamont, examining the band's behind-the-scenes presence in both arranging the show and hiring the Hells Angels as security. The product of 20 years of exhaustive research and dozens of interviews with many key players, including medical staff, Hells Angels members, the stage crew, and the musicians who were there, Altamont is the ultimate account of the final event in rock's formative and most turbulent decade.
©2016 Joel Selvin (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers
A Long Time Ago, in a Cutting Room Far, Far Away
Summary
A Long Time Ago in a Cutting Room Far, Far Away is a behind-the-scenes look at some of the most influential films of the last 50 years by Paul Hirsch, a film editor who worked on more than 40 features. Starting with his work on Carrie, Hirsch gives insight into the production process, touching upon casting, directing, cutting, and scoring. It’s a riveting look at the decisions that went into creating memorable and iconic scenes and offers fascinating portraits of filmmakers, stars, and composers. Part film-school primer, part paean to legendary directors and professionals, the funny yet insightful writing will entertain and inform aficionados and casual moviegoers alike.
©2019 Paul Hirsch (P)2019 Blackstone Publishing
In Real Life
Summary
A confessional, uplifting memoir from the beloved YouTube personality. Joey Graceffa has captured the hearts of more than a million teens and young adults through his playful, sweet, and inspirational online presence. Yet Joey wasn't always comfortable in his skin, and this memoir features the YouTube darling at his most candid, taking us on his journey from pain to triumph. Joey opens up about his most intimate struggles with familial hardship, educational setbacks, bullying, and rejection, sharing his story in the hopes that his young listeners will remember that it's cool to be different, that growing up can really freaking suck, and that even if it sometimes feels like too much, things can and will get better. As Joey likes to say, "You're all beautiful for spacious skies, and don't let anyone ever tell you you're not!"
©2015 Joseph Graceffa (P)2015 Simon & Schuster
Amazing Fantastic Incredible
Summary
Stan Lee - comic book legend and cocreator of Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Avengers, the Incredible Hulk, and a legion of other Marvel superheroes - shares his iconic legacy and the story of how modern comics came to be. Stan Lee is a man who needs no introduction. The most legendary name in the history of comic books, he has been the leading creative force behind Marvel Comics and has brought to life - and into the mainstream - some of the world's best-known heroes and most infamous villains throughout his career. His stories - filled with superheroes struggling with personal hang-ups and bad guys who possess previously unseen psychological complexity - have added wit and subtlety to a field previously locked into flat portrayals of good versus evil. Lee put the human in superhuman and in doing so created a new mythology for the 20th century. Stan Lee tells the story of his life with the same inimitable wit, energy, and offbeat spirit that he brought to the world of comics. Moving from his impoverished childhood in Manhattan to his early days writing comics, through his military training films during World War II and the rise of the Marvel empire in the 1960s to the current resurgence in movies, Amazing Fantastic Incredible documents the life of a man and the legacy of an industry and career. Funny, moving, and incredibly honest, this beautiful memoir is a must-have for collectors and fans of comic books and graphic novels of every age.
©2015 Stan Lee (P)2015 Simon & Schuster
Your Second Act
Summary
An entertaining, inspirational audiobook about second acts in life and reinventing yourself from beloved television actress Patricia Heaton - Emmy Award-winning star of Everybody Loves Raymond, The Middle, and, most recently, Carol’s Second Act. Patricia Heaton is one of TV’s most recognizable and beloved moms. She’s won two Emmys for her starring role as Debra Barone on the long-running comedy Everybody Loves Raymond and followed that career-making role with another gem as Frances Heck on the popular sitcom The Middle. Now, she returns to television as the lead in the new series Carol’s Second Act, which follows divorced 50-year-old Carol Kenney (played by Heaton), who, after raising two children and retiring as a teacher, decides to finally pursue her dream of becoming a doctor. Patricia Heaton knows what it’s like to stage a second act and navigate pivotal transitions in life. Just like Carol, when Heaton’s children left the nest, she found herself in a new and unfamiliar stage of life, compelling her to evaluate which direction to take next. She discovered she had the time to pursue passions that were previously placed on hold, both personally and professionally. She made her move and took a step forward in her career and for the first time, Heaton is not only the star of her own show, but also the executive producer. She also now finds her greatest fulfillment in using her influence to support humanitarian efforts as a celebrity ambassador for World Vision, the world’s largest nongovernmental organization. She and her husband support their work in poverty relief around the globe, something that was planted in her heart long ago. Through her own experience, Heaton became curious about other people’s stories of second-act transitions and ways to offer support in the process. In her new audiobook, Your Second Act, she shares wisdom from her own personal journey as well as insight from stories of numerous people across the country. From work to health, to love and more, the results are heartwarming, inspiring, and surprisingly relatable! Filled with lighthearted anecdotes and pragmatic steps to help you discover your own path, Your Second Act shows us that midlife doesn’t have to be about crisis when you focus on the opportunity. After all, it’s never too late or too early to stage your second act!
©2020 Patricia Heaton (P)2020 Simon & Schuster Audio
The Foundling
Summary
The Foundling tells the incredible and inspiring true story of Paul Fronczak, a man who recently discovered via a DNA test that he was not who he thought he was - and set out to solve two 50-year-old mysteries at once. Along the way he upturned the genealogy industry, unearthed his family's deepest secrets, and broke open the second longest cold case in US history, all in a desperate bid to find out who he really is. In 1964 a woman pretending to be a nurse kidnapped an infant boy named Paul Fronczak from a Chicago hospital. Two years later police found a boy abandoned outside a variety store in New Jersey. The FBI tracked down Dora Fronczak, the kidnapped infant's mother, and she identified the abandoned boy as her son. The family spent the next 50 years believing they were whole again - but Paul was always unsure about his true identity. Then, four years ago - spurred on by the birth of his first child, Emma Faith - Paul took a DNA test. The test revealed definitively that he was not Paul Fronczak. From that moment on, Paul has been on a tireless mission to find the man whose life he's been living - and to discover who abandoned him and why. This is the story of Paul's heart-wrenching and tortuous journey to solve both mysteries and finally learn the truth about his identity. The Foundling is a touching and inspiring story about a child lost and faith found, about the permanence of families and the bloodlines that define you, and about the emotional toll of both losing your identity and rediscovering who you truly are.
©2017 Paul Joseph Fronczak and Alex Tresniowski (P)2017 Simon & Schuster, Inc.
This Isn't Happening
Summary
The making and meaning of Radiohead's groundbreaking, controversial, epoch-defining album, Kid A. In 1999, as the end of an old century loomed, five musicians entered a recording studio in Paris without a deadline. Their band was widely recognized as the best and most forward-thinking in rock, a rarefied status granting them the time, money, and space to make a masterpiece. But Radiohead didn't want to make another rock record. Instead, they set out to create the future. For more than a year, they battled writer's block, inter-band disagreements, and crippling self-doubt. In the end, however, they produced an album that was not only a complete departure from their prior guitar-based rock sound, it was the sound of a new era, and embodied widespread changes catalyzed by emerging technologies just beginning to take hold of the culture. What they created was Kid A. At the time, Radiohead's fourth album divided critics. Some called it an instant classic; others, including the U.K. music magazine Melody Maker, deemed it "Tubby, ostentatious, self-congratulatory...whiny old rubbish". But two decades later, Kid A sounds like nothing less than an overture for the chaos and confusion of the 21st century. Acclaimed rock critic Steven Hyden digs deep into the songs, history, legacy, and mystique of Kid A, outlining the album's pervasive influence and impact on culture, in time for its 20th anniversary. Deploying a mix of criticism, journalism, and personal memoir, Hyden skillfully revisits this enigmatic, alluring LP and investigates the many ways in which Kid A shaped and foreshadowed our world.
©2020 Steven Hyden (P)2020 Hachette Books
Four Seasons in Rome
Summary
Anthony Doerr has received many awards - from the New York Public Library, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the American Library Association. Then came the Rome Prize, one of the most prestigious awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and with it a stipend and a writing studio in Rome for a year. Doerr learned of the award the day he and his wife returned from the hospital with newborn twins. Exquisitely observed, Four Seasons in Rome describes Doerr's varied adventures in one of the most enchanting cities in the world. He reads Pliny, Dante, and Keats - the chroniclers of Rome who came before him - and visits the piazzas, temples, and ancient cisterns they describe. He attends the vigil of a dying Pope John Paul II and takes his twins to the Pantheon in December to wait for snow to fall through the oculus. He and his family are embraced by the butchers, grocers, and bakers of the neighborhood, whose clamor of stories and idiosyncratic child-rearing advice is as compelling as the city itself. This intimate and revelatory book is a celebration of Rome, a wondrous look at new parenthood, and a fascinating story of a writer's craft - the process by which he transforms what he sees and experiences into sentences.
©2007 Anthony Doerr. All rights reserved. (P)2015 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.
Lou Reed
Summary
The essential biography of one of music's most influential icons: Lou Reed As lead singer and songwriter for the Velvet Underground and a renowned solo artist, Lou Reed invented alternative rock. His music, at once a source of transcendent beauty and coruscating noise, violated all definitions of genre while speaking to millions of fans and inspiring generations of musicians. But while his iconic status may be fixed, the man himself was anything but. Lou Reed's life was a transformer's odyssey. Eternally restless and endlessly hungry for new experiences, Reed reinvented his persona, his sound, even his sexuality time and again. A man of contradictions and extremes, he was fiercely independent yet afraid of being alone, artistically fearless yet deeply paranoid, eager for commercial success yet disdainful of his own triumphs. Channeling his jagged energy and literary sensibility into classic songs - like "Walk on the Wild Side" and "Sweet Jane" - and radically experimental albums alike, Reed remained desperately true to his artistic vision, wherever it led him. Now, just a few years after Reed's death, Rolling Stone writer Anthony DeCurtis, who knew Reed and interviewed him extensively, tells the provocative story of his complex and chameleonic life. With unparalleled access to dozens of Reed's friends, family, and collaborators, DeCurtis tracks Reed's five-decade career through the accounts of those who knew him and through Reed's most revealing testimony: his music. We travel deep into his defiantly subterranean world, enter the studio as the Velvet Underground record their groundbreaking work, and revel in Reed's relationships with such legendary figures as Andy Warhol, David Bowie, and Laurie Anderson. Gritty, intimate, and unflinching, Lou Reed is an illuminating tribute to one of the most incendiary artists of our time. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
©2017 Anthony DeCurtis (P)2017 Hachette Audio
Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys.
Summary
Sunday Times Music Book of the Year Rough Trade Book of the Year Mojo Book of the Year In 1975, Viv Albertine was obsessed with music, but it never occurred to her she could be in a band, as she couldn't play an instrument, and she'd never seen a girl play electric guitar. A year later, she was the guitarist in the hugely influential all-girl band the Slits, who fearlessly took on the male-dominated music scene and became part of a movement that changed music. A raw, thrilling story of life on the frontiers and a candid account of Viv's life post-punk - taking in a career in film, the pain of IVF, illness and divorce and the triumph of making music again - Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys. is a remarkable memoir.
©2018 Viv Albertine (P)2018 Faber Audio
Who Is Alex Trebek?
Summary
After a contestant wrote "We love you, Alex!" as his Final Jeopardy! answer, fans around the world quickly chimed in to proclaim their own love and support for beloved Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek. In the wake of his devastating cancer diagnosis, the moment provided the perfect opportunity to reflect on what the show - and the man - meant to them. It was no surprise, since millions of devoted viewers have long considered Alex Trebek to be a part of their daily lives ever since he began hosting the show in 1984. Now, best-selling biographer Lisa Rogak gives listeners a look at Trebek's early life, his career, and his personal life throughout the years, drawing on many sources to tell his full story for the first time. There are many surprises, like the fact that Trebek was almost 50 when he discovered that he had a half brother, as well as the revelation that for a short time he actually dreamed of becoming a priest. The native Canadian also struggled with depression after the failure of his first marriage, and for years afterward he despaired of ever having a family of his own until he met the woman who would become his soul mate. Who Is Alex Trebek? is the first biography of the much-loved game show host and as such celebrates the man who has created a remarkable legacy that will live on in popular culture for generations to come. A Macmillan Audio production from Thomas Dunne Books
©2020 Lisa Rogak (P)2020 Macmillan Audio
The Jerusalem Syndrome
Summary
The Gospel according to Maron: a spiritual memoir of your average hyperintelligent, ultraneurotic, superhip Jewish standup comedian and seeker. The Jerusalem Syndrome is a genuine psychological phenomenon that often strikes visitors to the Holy Land - the delusion that they are suddenly direct vessels for the voice of God. Marc Maron seems to have a distinctly American version of the Jerusalem Syndrome, which has led him on a lifelong quest for religious significance and revelation in the most unlikely of places. Maron riffs on Beat phenomena with its sacred texts, established rituals, and prescribed pilgrimages. He spends some time exploring the dark side of things, as his obsessions with cocaine (known to Maron as “magic powder”), conspiracy theories, and famous self-destructive comedians convince him that the gates of hell open beneath Los Angeles. As his quest matures, he reveals the religious aspects of Corporate America, pontificating on the timeless beauty of the Coca-Cola logo and even taking a trip to the Philip Morris cigarette factory, where the workers puff their own products with a zealot-like fervor. The culmination of Maron’s Jerusalem Syndrome comes during his own tour of the Holy Land, where, with Sony camcorder glued to his eye socket, he comes face-to-face with his own ambiguous relationship to Judaism and reaches the brink of spiritual revelation - or is it nervous breakdown? Marc Maron has considerably adapted and expanded his praised one-man show to craft a genuine literary memoir. Whether he’s a genuine prophet or a neurotic mess, he’ll make you laugh as you question the meaning of life.
©2013 Marc Maron (P)2013 Random House Audio
A Work in Progress
Summary
From YouTube star vlogger Connor Franta comes an audiobook that grows out of his massive social media outreach - filled with annotated postcards, notes, texts, tweets, journal entries, emails, and letters that chart his coming of age. The front of the postcards feature his photos, both of himself and the things that inspire him, with the back answering questions from fans or relating anecdotes about the things that drive and influence him. Listened to from start to finish, the book tells a coherent narrative about Connor's coming of age and becoming an adult and the ups and downs that are a part of that. From bullying to dating to leaving home, this is an inspirational book for fans who are growing up and establishing their individuality. The various modes of communication in the book also reflect changes in Connor's own use of technology over the last several years. A cross between an essay collection and a coming-of-age memoir, told in brief, the book is divided into sections, each beginning with a short introduction about what's affected Connor growing up. For example, a section on family begins with a short piece on Connor's family and what he's learned from them, so that his fans can get a greater insight into his life and learn something from it.
©2015 Connor Franta (P)2015 Simon & Schuster
Nothing's Sacred
Summary
You've seen him on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart offering up his trademark angry observational humor on everything from politics to pop culture. You've seen his energetic stand-up performances on HBO, Comedy Central, and in venues across the globe. Now Lewis Black's volcanic eruptions can be found in Nothing's Sacred, a collection of rants against stupidity and authority, which oftentimes go hand in hand. With subversive wit and intellectual honesty, Lewis examines the events of his life that shaped his anti-authoritarian point of view and developed his comedic perspective. Growing up in 1950s suburbia when father knew best and there was a sitcom to prove it, he began to regard authority with a jaundiced eye at an early age. And as that sentiment grew stronger with each passing year, so did his ability to hone in on the absurd. True to form, he puts common sense above ideology and distills hilarious, biting commentary on all things politically and culturally relevant.
©2005 Lewis Black (P)2005 Simon & Schuster Inc. AUDIOWORKS is an imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster, Inc.
As You Do
Summary
The wry, honest and often hilarious chronicles of a very brave and clever TV presenter, Arctic Explorer and general drawer of the Short Straw. Moving quickly on from the devastating crash that nearly killed him he ranges widely over his life and times: a visit to Glastonbury with James May reminds of him of his early years of playing in a band and how and why he never quite made it as a rock star; the stunts and other perils that come his way like the TopGear North Pole race (why is it Richard who is out in the howling elements in a dog sled whilst the others are in the heated cab of an all-terrain vehicle?), Africa where he falls in love with and repatriates a stray car, and the US (once to be chased by Rednecks in middle America, the other in pursuit of his mad hero Evel Knievel); his passion for cars, what he owns and why and although he loves his wife why it is a toss-up whether he says hello to the wife or the cars first. Balancing home and family with a crazy, peripatetic working life (or not, sometimes), the hamster is well and truly back on the wheel.
©2008 Richard Hammond (P)2008 Orion Publishing Group Ltd
Walking with Ghosts
Summary
When award-winning actor, producer, and international icon Gabriel Byrne was a young boy, his grandmother brought him to the cinema for the first time. There, Byrne fell in love with the transporting power of the big screen. Growing up in 1950s and 60s Dublin within a family of eight, Byrne's formative childhood years were both carefree and challenging, spent between home, the church, school, and the streets of his ever-changing city where he observed that some of the greatest actors and entertainers could be found in the lives of those around him. In captivating, funny, and sensual prose that brings to life the myriad voices of his youth, Byrne recounts his first formative 12 years - morning routines with his father, a barrel-maker at the Guinness factory; his debut role in a nativity play; his relationship with his dynamic mother; and his years at a seminary where he studied to be a priest. Interspersed throughout this engrossing childhood story we see Byrne's ascent to global stardom, from his days acting in amateur drama groups in London, to his first big role opposite Richard Burton, his arrival at the Cannes stage for his breakout hit movie, The Usual Suspects, to the HBO show In Treatment for which he won a Golden Globe. Combining the cinematic power of Fellini's Amarcord with the poignance of John McGahern's writing, Walking with Ghosts is both a moving exploration of the pathos in what it means to be famous and a singular account of Irish boyhood.
©2021 Gabriel Byrne (P)2021 Recorded Books
Nobody Does It Better
Summary
The ultimate oral history of the only gentleman secret agent with a license to kill...and thrill...telling the incredible, uncensored true stories of the James Bond franchise and spy mania. For over five decades, the cinematic adventures of James Bond have thrilled moviegoers. Now, best-selling authors Mark A. Altman and Edward Gross take you behind-the-scenes of the most famous and beloved movie franchise of all time filled with reflections from over 150 cast, crew, critics, and filmmakers who reflect on the impact of this legendary movie franchise as well as share their thoughts about their favorite (and least) favorite 007 adventures and spy mania which gripped fans the world over in the wake of the success of the James Bond films. From Russia - with love, course - to Vegas, from below the bright blue waters of the Bahamas in search of a missing nuclear weapon to the top of the Golden Gate Bridge, from below the seas in Stromberg’s new Noah's Ark of Atlantis into orbit with Hugo Drax, Nobody Does It Better: The Complete Uncensored, Unauthorized Oral History of James Bond tells the amazing, true story of the birth of James Bond through the latest remarkable James Bond adventures as well as the spy mania classics that enthralled the world. It’s Bond and beyond from the critically acclaimed authors of the best-selling The Fifty-Year Mission and So Say We All. A Macmillan Audio production from Forge Books
©2020 Edward Gross, Mark A. Altman (P)2020 Macmillan Audio