Uncle of the Year

December 1, 2022

In Why Fathers Cry at Night, Newbery Medalist and New York Times best-selling author Alexander (Swing) blends memoir and love poems, recalling his parent and his first years of marriage and fatherhood as he ponders learning to love (50,000-copy first printing). After abandoning her marriage as the wrong path, Biggs looked at women from Mary Wollstonecraft to Zora Neale Hurston to Elena Ferrante as she considered how to find A Life of One's Own. A celebrated New York-based carpenter (e.g., his iconic Sky House was named best apartment of the decade by Interior Design), self-described serial dropout Ellison recounts how he found his path to Building. Shot five times at age 19 by a Pittsburgh police officer (a case of mistaken identity that amounted to racial profiling), Ford awoke paralyzed from the waist down and learned he was a new father; a decade later, he recounts his path to social activism and An Unspeakable Hope for himself and his son. From the first Black American female designer to win a CFDA Award, Wildflower takes James from high school dropout to designer of a sustainable fashion line showcasing traditional African design to founder of the booming social justice nonprofit Fifteen Percent Pledge (businesses pledge to dedicate 15 percent of their shelf space to Black-owned brands). Minka's fans will proclaim Tell Me Everything when they pick up her hand-to-mouth-to Hollywood memoir (30,000-copy first printing). In Whistles from the Graveyard, which aims to capture the experience of confused young millennials in the U.S. Marines, Lagoze recalls serving as a combat cameraman in the Afghan War and witnessing both bonding with locals against the Taliban and brutality toward innocent people by young men too practiced in violence. To cement ties with his eldest son, star of Netflix's hit Dead to Me, veteran actor and New York Times best-selling author McCarthy found himself Walking with Sam along Spain's 500-mile Camino de Santiago. A first-generation Chinese American with a seafaring father and a seamstress mother, Pen/Faulkner Award finalist Ng (Bone) recounts being raised in San Francisco's Chinatown by the community's Orphan Bachelors, older men without wives or children owing to the infamous Exclusion Act. Thought-provoking novelist Pittard (Reunion) turns to nonfiction with We Are Too Many, an expansion of her attention-getting Sewanee Review essay about her husband's affair with her best friend (80,000-copy first printing). Delighted by all the queer stories she encountered when she moved to Brooklyn, book publicist Possanza uses Lesbian Love Story to recover the personal histories of lesbians in the 20th century and muse about replacing contemporary misogynistic society with something markedly lesbian. In Uncle of the Year, Tony, Drama Desk, and Critics Choice Award nominee Rannells wonders at age 40 what success means and whether he wants a husband and family; 19 original essays and one published in the New York Times. Describing himself as Uneducated (he was tossed out of high school and never went to college), Zara ended up as senior editor at Fast Company, among other leading journalist stints; here's how he did it (30,000 copy first printing.)

Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2023
A second book on showbiz life from the popular actor. Anyone familiar with Rannells through his numerous stage and TV performances and his first book, Too Much Is Not Enough, will know what to expect from his latest collection of short essays. In this charming follow-up, he searches for his "true markers of adulthood" by returning "to moments and stories from my life that mark examples of progress." Rannells writes in a conversational style throughout, as when he notes, "I will confide in you--and please try to hold your judgment until the end--the story of when I was a guest on The Ricki Lake Show." In that piece, he chronicles a "debacle" from before he was famous when a female friend convinced him to fill in for her boyfriend, who refused to show up for their joint appearance on the show, and to allow her to pretend she had a secret crush on him. Other pieces describe the "married and very Christian" man, a fellow actor in a show they performed in, who came on to Rannells in a public bathroom ("He was like an octopus; his hands were suddenly everywhere") and initiated an affair; and the acting jobs he got, didn't get, or was fired from. In the title essay, the author admits he isn't good with kids, a fact that became more bothersome when he began a relationship with fellow actor Tuc Watkins, who has two children. A couple of pieces are silly rather than charming, but most are endearing. Rannells has a gift for writing genuinely funny prose, and he has a way with self-deprecation. Chronicling his trip to an East Village club that dangerous, heavily tattooed gay men attend, he failed to blend in: "I still looked like a Precious Moments confirmation cake topper." Winningly snarky, well-written essays on life, love, and celebrity.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

March 6, 2023
Tony-nominated actor Rannells (Too Much Is Not Enough), who appeared in HBO’s Girls and Broadway’s The Book of Mormon, recalls his upbringing, career breakthroughs, aging woes, and more in this pithy essay collection. Rannells delivers 20 vignettes that skew wild and gossipy: in “Things You Learn at an Underwear Party,” he describes losing his wallet during a night out in the East Village, while in “Always Sit Next to Mark Ruffalo,” he gives a star-studded account of his trip to the 2015 Golden Globes as Lena Dunham’s date. He also dives into his often “fraught” and “painful” dating life, but scattered among the laughs and winces are moments of real heart, as when he tenderly recounts, in the title essay, caring for his nieces and nephews. In conversational prose, Rannells successfully welcomes readers into his world with humor, grace, and wisdom. Theatergoers and comedy fans alike will find much to love. Agent: Bill Clegg, Clegg Agency.

April 1, 2023
Rannells, best known for his work on Broadway, follows up 2019's Too Much Is Not Enough with this collection of essays that focuses on the highs and lows of being a working actor of both stage and screen. If his first book was about becoming an adult, this one is firmly about becoming middle aged and looking back on how he got there. Whether he's sharing devastating memories of unfortunate hookups with cast mates, sharing what it's like to have Paul Rudd flirt with your mom, or explaining the anxiety of losing your wallet at an underwear party, Rannells is frank and funny, drops the right amount of names, and displays enough self-reflection to reckon with his own worst tendencies. He intersperses his tales of auditions, summer stock, and of course The Book of Mormon with candid discussions of therapy and mental health as well as his feelings on not having kids. His openness feels like connecting with a good friend to talk about old times. Give this to the reader who is anxiously awaiting this year's Tony nominations or to fans of celebrity memoirs in general.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from April 1, 2023

Following his 2019 memoir Too Much Is Not Enough, Broadway, film, and TV actor Rannells returns with a collection of witty and relatable essays about his life. With a deft touch at describing tricky or stressful situations, Rannells's essays hit all the right notes of humor, self-deprecation, and quiet insight. Many stories are based around his career, including the humbling process of auditioning, less-than-ideal productions in regional theater, his time in Hairspray and Jersey Boys, and originating the role of Elder Price in The Book of Mormon. Several essays focus on his dating experiences and being a gay man in New York City, but the core of these stories is a universal sense of hopeful uncertainty that nearly everyone faces in their 30s and 40s. While being familiar with Rannells's career might help readers fully appreciate some of his anecdotes, tales about the joys and troubles of relationships, and a wonderfully believable piece about the escalating ways one can avoid going to the gym, are universal. Already known as an accomplished performer, Rannells proves with this book that he has a strong future as a writer. VERDICT A candid and thoroughly enjoyable read.--Peter Thornell

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.