Mailbox Monday -- September 5th

The reason why I love Mondays -- Mailbox Monday hosted this month by Amused by Books. Below are the books I received this week:

1) Upper Cut by Carrie White. Publisher's Summary. I was living a hairdresser's dream. I was making my mark in this all-male field. My appointment book was filled with more and more celebrities. And I was becoming competition for my heroes . . .

Behind the scenes of every Hollywood photo shoot, TV appearance, and party in the '60s, '70s, and '80s, there was Carrie White. As the "First Lady of Hairdressing," Carrie collaborated with Richard Avedon on shoots for Vogue, partied with Jim Morrison, styled Sharon Tate's hair before her wedding to Roman Polanski, and got high with Jimi Hendrix. She has counted Jennifer Jones, Betsy Bloomingdale, Elizabeth Taylor, Goldie Hawn, and Camille Cosby among her favorite clients.

But behind the glamorous facade, Carrie's world was in perpetual disarray and always had been. After her father abandoned the family when she was still a child, she was sexually abused by her domineering stepfather, and her alcoholic mother was unstable and unreliable. Carrie was sipping cocktails before her tenth birthday, and had had five children and three husbands before her twenty-eighth. She fueled the frenetic pace of her professional life with a steady diet of champagne and vodka, diet pills, cocaine, and heroin, until she eventually lost her home, her car, her career—and nearly her children. But she battled her way back, getting sober, rebuilding her relationships and her reputation as a hairdresser, and today, the name Carrie White is once again on the door of one of Beverly Hills's most respected salons. An unflinching portrayal of addiction and recovery, Upper Cut proves that even in Hollywood, sometimes you have to fight for a happy ending.

Thanks to Atria Books!

2) Pure Gold by Holli Pfau. Publisher's Summary. A two-hundred-word creative writing assignment describing her dogs, and her participation in the Parade of Rescue Dogs at the Golden Retriever National Specialty show in Snohomish, Washington, prompted Holli to start writing PURE GOLD: ADVENTURES WITH SIX RESCUED GOLDEN RETRIEVERS (October 1, 2011, Glad Dog Press).

It’s taken four years to complete, but the journey has been more than worth its weight in gold. Pure Gold moves from rollicking adventure to bedside vigils in hospitals, from confident, assured partnerships to disastrous outings in the show ring. Whenever she experienced writer’s block, Holli envisioned homeless, abandoned or sick goldens and was always inspired to push on, to help make their lives better. Her engaging story will provide reading pleasure for millions of dog lovers.

Thanks to the Publisher!

3) The Book of Life by Stuart Nadler. Publisher's Summary. Forced together on a trip from Manhattan to Rhode Island, a father and son attempt to renew their bond over lobster, cigarettes, and a buried secret. A pure-hearted artist finds his devotion cruelly tested, while his true love tries to repent for the biggest mistake of her life. Unwittingly thrust into an open marriage, a man struggles to reconnect with his newly devout son. And in the book's daring first story, an arrogant businessman begins a forbidden affair during the High Holidays. Written in clear, crystalline prose, The Book of Life comprises seven stunning tales about faith, family, grief, love, temptation, and redemption that signal the arrival of a bold and exciting new writer. ... more

Thanks to Hachette Book Group!

4) Shut Up & Dance by Jamie Rose.
Thanks to Penguin USA!