Episode 1678 - Jamie Lee Curtis

This memoir is an exposé of Julia Phillips' life in Hollywood during the 1970s and 1980s. It covers her career as a producer of iconic films like 'The Sting,' 'Taxi Driver,' and 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind,' as well as her personal struggles with drug addiction and her tumultuous relationships within the industry. The book is known for its honest and often brutal portrayal of Hollywood's inner workings, including the sexism and power struggles she faced. Phillips also details her descent into addiction and her subsequent recovery, providing a raw and unflinching look at her life and the Hollywood environment of the time.

Published in 1998, 'Paradise' is Toni Morrison's longest novel and concludes a trilogy that includes 'Beloved' and 'Jazz'. The story is set in the all-black town of Ruby, Oklahoma, which was founded by nine African American clans in the 1940s. The novel explores the town's self-imposed isolation and its rigid hierarchies, as well as the tension between Ruby and the nearby Convent, a former mansion inhabited by a group of women with troubled pasts. The narrative is structured into nine sections, each named after a female character, and it delves into themes of community, violence, and the search for a utopian 'paradise'. The book also examines Christian theology, particularly through the contrasting visions of two reverends, and highlights the importance of love, self-determination, and freedom.