My Mother Was Nuts by Penny Marshall

My Mother Was Nuts is a memoir by Penny Marshall, the actress best known for playing Laverne in the hit TV show Laverne & Shirley. If that's too old a reference, she is the director of such hit films as Big, Awakenings, The Preacher's Wife, and A League of Their Own.

The sister of director Garry Marshall, she has a lot of stories about how her role in Happy Days was spun off into a hit TV show with Cindy Williams, its success, and its eventual cancellation - fans of that show will find lots to like. Her directing moved from success to success over the next decade, becoming the first female director to helm a 100$ million dollar grossing film. Her personal stories of hanging out with friends such as John Belushi and Carrie Fisher were also interesting.

Not knowing too much about her, this was an engaging look into her life and especially her films. I think you should be a fan before reading it to get the most out of it. Looking into the process of creating, producing, directing and releasing films is always interesting, and women going into the field will find it insightful. I'm not recommending it, but for the Laverne & Shirley stories alone, it was a good read.

2012 / Hardcover / 326 pages