June Audiobooks Month
In his new memoir, FOUR FEET TALL AND RISING, Luigi Francis "Shorty" Rossi, star of the popular Animal Planet show "Pit Boss", shares the story of his improbable path from the gangs of South Central Los Angeles to his successful career as a reality-television star and pit bull advocate. Here, he answers a series of questions about recording the audio version of his book.
RoseMarie Terenzio was born in the Bronx and served as personal assistant, publicist, and confidante to John F. Kennedy, Jr. Here, she talks about the complex process of getting to read FAIRY TALE INTERRUPTED, her memoir about serving as John F. Kennedy's personal assistant and confidante.
Ayad Akhtar earned a degree in Theater from Brown University and, after graduating, moved to Tuscany to work with world-renowned acting theorist and pioneer, Jerzy Grotowski (Towards a Poor Theater). He has been a New York City resident since the late nineties where he has taught acting on his own and alongside Andre Gregory (My Dinner With Andre, Vanya on 42nd St).
He is also the author of numerous screenplays. AMERICAN DERVISH, his first novel, was published in January 2012, and will be released in 22 languages worldwide.
Rachel Simon is the award-winning author of six books and a nationally-recognized public speaker on issues related to diversity and disability. Her titles include the bestsellers, THE STORY OF BEAUTIFUL GIRL and RIDING THE BUS WITH MY SISTER. Both books are frequent selections of book clubs and school reading programs around the country. Rachel's work has been adapted for theater, NPR, the Lifetime Channel, and Hallmark Hall of Fame. Rachel Simon lives in Wilmington, Delaware. Here, she talks about the eye-opening experience of recording RIDING THE BUS WITH MY SISTER.
A.J. Jacobs is the author of DROP DEAD HEALTHY: One Man's Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection, available now in paperback and audiobook format. He is also the author of the New York Times bestsellers THE KNOW-IT-ALL, THE YEAR OF LIVING BIBLICALLY, and THE GUINEA PIG DIARIES. He is the editor at large of Esquire magazine, a contributor to NPR, and has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Entertainment Weekly. Visit him at AJJacobs.com.
Meg Jay, PhD, is a clinical psychologist who specializes in adult development, and twentysomethings in particular. She is an assistant clinical professor at the University of Virginia, and maintains a private practice in Charlottesville, Virginia. Dr. Jay earned a doctorate in clinical psychology, and in gender studies, from the University of California, Berkeley. THE DEFINING DECADE is her first book.
Janis Ian is an American songwriter, singer, multi-instrumental musician, columnist, and science fiction fan-turned-author. She had a highly successful singing career in the 1960s and 1970s, and has continued recording into the 21st century. In 1975, Ian won a Grammy Award for her song, "At Seventeen". Here, she answers Bookreporter.com's questions about recording her memoir, SOCIETY'S CHILD.
David Maraniss, an associate editor at The Washington Post and fellow of the Society of American Historians,is the author of critically acclaimed bestselling bookson Bill Clinton, Vince Lombardi, Vietnam and the sixties,Roberto Clemente, and the 1960 Rome Olympics. He wonthe 1993 Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of Clinton, waspart of the Post team that won the 2007 Pulitzer for coverageof the Virginia Tech tragedy, and has been a Pulitzer finalistthree other times. He lives in Washington, D.C., and Madison, Wisconsin, with his wife, Linda.
Jim Bouton was a pitcher for the New York Yankees from 1962 to 1968. In 1969 he played for the Seattle Pilots. In 1970 his book BALL FOUR detailed the inside story of the sometimes unruly life of professional baseball players. The book caused a sensation, and Bouton was severely criticized by baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn. In 1978 Bouton made a brief comeback with the Atlanta Braves. He has written books and screenplays and appeared in movies and on television, and is credited with developing Big League Chew, bubble gum that resembles chewing tobacco. Here, he talks about bringing the book to life by reading it aloud.
Known for her sardonic wit and her hysterically skewed outlook on life, Jenny Lawson has made millions of people question their own sanity, as they found themselves admitting that they, too, often wondered why Jesus wasn’t classified as a zombie, or laughed to the point of bladder failure when she accidentally forgot that she mailed herself a cobra. Her blog (www.thebloggess.com) is award-winning, extremely popular, and she is considered to be one of the funniest women alive by at least three people.
