2023 Classic Film Reading Challenge: My Books

It's time for another summer of the Classic Film Reading Challenge!

Sign up here

It's all ladies this summer, with silent stars, dancing divas, femme fatales and swimming starlets. Here are my picks: 

1. Veronica: The Autobiography of Veronica Lake by Veronica Lake and Donald Bain
2. Miller's High Life by Ann Miller with Norma Lee Browning
3. Lillian Gish: The Movies, Mr. Griffith and Me by Lillian Gish with Ann Pinchot
4. The Million Dollar Mermaid by Esther Williams and Digby Diehl
5. Mary Pickford: From Here to Hollywood by Scott Eyman
6. Gloria Swanson: The Ultimate Star by Stephen Michael Shearer

Here's how I chose them all: 

via ritahayworrth

I've seen a handful of Veronica Lake's films, but most of what I know about her is from an episode of 'You Must Remember This.' I'm reading an older print of her autobiography, but it's worth noting that a newer version was recently published with an intro by Eddie Mueller. 

via dorawinifredread

I love it when Ann Miller pops up in a musical and when I found out that she'd written an autobiography sometime in the '70s, I knew I needed to add it to this year's reading pile. Ann Miller strikes me as larger-than-life, if for no other reason than because she allegedly wrote 'lady star' as her occupation on her tax returns. If that's not the energy to match, I don't know what is. 

via tinyawazzzo

I've become more interested in silent films over the past few months (thanks mainly to Marion Davies's turn as Star of the Month earlier this year), and I have two biographies on my shelf that I've yet to actually read, one for Lillian Gish and the other for Mary Pickford. I know sparse details about Lillian so she's up!

gif by me

Esther Williams is an institution around this blog and her birthday on August 8 means a re-reading of her autobiography is going to be a great dog days of summer beach read. Also, I haven't read this in years, and now that I've seen (almost) all of her films, it'll be interesting to read with more context. 

via deforest

Mary Pickford's another silent star I'd love to learn more about; I'd say I know the most about her out of all the silent stars given that she's Canadian and we at least learn a little about her in some classes because of that. 

via brittanyhead

If I'm being honest, I wanted to read Lara Gabrielle's biography of Marion Davies for this challenge but someone managed to sneak in line ahead of me at the library and borrow it out from under me, so Gloria Swanson won by default. 

Are you participating in the Classic Film Book Challenge? Comment and tell me what books you picked!