Weekend picks for book lovers: Carrie Fisher's 'Princess Diarist'
What should you read this weekend? USA TODAY’s picks for book lovers include Carrie Fisher's dishy new memoir, and J.K. Rowling's Fantastic Beasts screenplay.
The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher; Blue Rider Press, 272 pp.; non-fiction
Most of us have a romantic relationship (or something like it) we look back upon fondly, and questioningly, years later. Carrie Fisher just happened to have hers 40 years ago while making arguably the biggest movie of all time.
In her new memoir, the iconic Star Wars actress and author (Postcards From the Edge) reveals the diaries she kept as a 19-year-old starring in the blockbuster sci-fi film. She writes at length about her three-month affair with co-star Harrison Ford, who was 15 years older.
It’s an eye-opener for fans, but it also shows a gifted writer even at a young age. There was a lot going on between Princess Leia’s hair buns.
Fisher has never had a problem speaking her mind, and she’s extremely honest in discussing her love/hate dynamic with fan interactions, her place as a geek goddess and that slave bikini she had to wear in Return of the Jedi.
USA TODAY says *** out of four stars. “Funny and frequently touching.”
Carrie Fisher remembers being 19 and 'in love'
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay by J.K. Rowling; Arthur A. Levine, 280 pp.; non-fiction
Rowling’s film script, her first ever, for the new hit movie about magizoologist Newt Scamander and his case of magical creatures.
USA TODAY says *** stars. “A breezy read…that film fans will appreciate as a companion to the movie.”
'Fantastic Beasts' screenplay reveals what actors couldn't
Twenty-Six Seconds by Alexandra Zapruder; Twelve, 421 pp.; non-fiction
A “personal history” of the famed 26-second home movie of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, filmed by a Dallas dress manufacturer named Abraham Zapruder; written by Zapruder’s granddaughter.
USA TODAY says **** stars. “A first-rate work of biography and history…absorbing.”
New book 'Twenty-Six Seconds' details how famed Zapruder film haunts family
The Mothers by Brit Bennett; Riverhead, 288 pp.; fiction
Set in a black community in contemporary Southern California, this debut novel focuses on the lives of Nadia Turner, a high school senior mourning her mother; Luke Sheppard, the former football star and preacher's son Nadia falls for; and Aubrey, Nadia’s chaste best friend.
USA TODAY says ***½ stars. “A thought-provoking novel that will resonate long after it is read.”
A secret is at the heart of 'The Mothers'
The Spy Who Couldn't Spell by Yudhijit Bhattacharjee; NAL, 304 pp.; non-fiction
The true story of would-be spy Brian Patrick Regan, a misfit in the National Reconnaissance Office who in 2000 created a code to send messages to foreign governments, hoping to sell U.S. secrets.
USA TODAY says *** stars. "Bhattacharjee has done an excellent job explaining codes and ciphers. He makes that arcane world come alive.”
Contributing reviewers: Brian Truitt, Carly Mallenbaum, Matt Damsker, Mary Cadden, Ray Locker