Showing results by author "Jennifer Armstrong" in All Categories

Comedians Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld never thought anyone would watch their silly little sitcom about a New York comedian sitting around talking to his friends. NBC executives didn't think anyone would watch either, but they bought it anyway, hiding it away in the TV dead zone of summer. But against all odds, viewers began to watch, first a few and then many, until nine years later nearly 40 million Americans were tuning in weekly.

Irene Gut was just 17 in 1939, when the Germans and Russians devoured her native Poland. Just a girl, really. But a girl who saw evil and chose to defy it.

It was the Golden Age of Radio and powerful men were making millions in advertising dollars reaching thousands of listeners every day. When television arrived, few radio moguls were interested in the upstart industry and its tiny production budgets, and expensive television sets were out of reach for most families. But four women - each an independent visionary - saw an opportunity and carved their own paths, and in so doing invented the way we watch TV today.

When Candace Bushnell started writing her “Sex and the City” column for the New York Observer, she didn’t think anyone beyond the Upper East Side would care about her adventures among the Hamptons-hopping media elite. But her struggles with singlehood struck a chord, making her a citywide - and soon nationwide - sensation. Beverly Hills, 90210 creator Darren Star brought Bushnell’s vision to an even wider audience when he adapted the column for an HBO series.

The untold stories of seven revolutionary teen shows (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, My So-Called Life, Dawson’s Creek, Freaks and Geeks, The O.C., Friday Night Lights, and Glee) that shaped the course of modern television and our pop cultural landscape forever.

It’s been 20 years since Mean Girls hit theaters, winning over critics and audiences alike with its razor-sharp wit, star-making turns for its then unknown cast, and obsessively quotable screenplay by Tina Fey. Fast forward two decades and Mean Girls remains as relevant as ever. Arguably, no other movie from the 2000s has had as big of an impact on pop culture. In So Fetch, New York Times bestselling author of Seinfeldia, Jennifer Keishin Armstrong, offers the first ever authoritative book about this beloved classic that shaped an entire generation

Sir Ernest Shackleton and a crew of 27 men set off from England aboard the ship Endurance, intending to cross Antarctica from one side to the other. Instead, Endurance becomes icebound and sinks 100 miles from land, leaving Shackleton and his men to fight brutal perils on ice, land, and sea...or die trying.

Mary Tyler Moore made her name as Dick Van Dyke's wife on the eponymous show; she was a cute, unassuming housewife that audiences loved. But when screenwriters James Brooks and Allan Burnes dreamed up an edgy show about a divorced woman with a career, network executives replied: "Americans won't watch television about New York City, divorcées, men with mustaches, or Jews." But Moore and her team were committed, and when the show finally aired, in spite of tepid reviews, fans loved it.

In 1896, Mary Emmons is surprised when her grandmother takes her along to visit an old friend, in Toronto, named Bethlehem. Mary has led a sheltered life in New York City, far from hardship and danger. But when Mary meets the ancient woman, the personal history she shares removes the blinders from Mary’s eyes, forcing the girl to recognize prejudice and injustice for the first time. As a young girl, Suzanna, Mary’s grandmother, is sent to live with her uncle in the South. Seeing slaves for the first time, and the horrible way they are treated, Suzanna decides to run away, back to her home in Vermont.

That's What She Said: From the Stage to the Page, Vol. 1 features stories by 16 women, developed originally for a live storytelling performance. These women were invited back to share their stories in our first ever published collection by the She Said Press. Each story is read by the author, allowing the listener to experience their unique voice and their powerful, yet relatable journey. These are real women sharing their extraordinatory stories.

Open the Door is a collection of four stories and three songs of traditional Celtic origin told and sung by Jennifer Armstrong. Her powerful performances include a startling rendition of W. B. Yeats' "The Lake Isle of Innisfree", the title song "Open the Door", and a melding of African and Scottish tales in "The Marriage Basket". Be you child or adult, listening for yourself or with a partner, Open The Door will lead you on an exploration of love for family, one's self, and the natural world.

Never before have so many women dominated their industry and pop culture itself with such creativity, passion, and force. Visionary and ferociously talented, these women are reshaping our society and our lives. In this stunningly designed compendium, Jennifer Armstrong offers an intimate, up-close look at 40 of pop music’s most revered goddesses, analyzing their performances, songs, videos, interviews, social media, activism, and personal lives to illuminate their significance for both critics and fans.

Released in 2004, iconic teen comedy Mean Girls remains as relevant now as ever. But what made an adaptation of a parenting guide by SNL writer Tina Fey so successful? And why, two decades later, can we all just not stop quoting it? Drawing on revealing interviews with the director, cast and crew, Jennifer Keishin Armstrong takes us behind the scenes of the film’s genesis, production and release.

The podcast for authors, by authors, featuring 100% real talk about how to navigate the wild, weird world of publishing.

Your biweekly pop culture book club.

Sex and the City and Us is the story of how a columnist, two gay men - Darren Star and fellow executive producer Michael Patrick King - and a writers’ room full of women used their own poignant, hilarious, and humiliating stories to launch a cultural phenomenon, pushing the boundaries of television and ignited a national conversation about single women and sex in the process.

Award-winning author Jennifer Armstrong makes history come alive through the heartwarming tale of a 19th-century horse who demonstrates to children the importance of responsibility and duty. Even when Magnus the horse is told his services to the Broadway Firehouse are no longer needed, he continues appearing at the scenes of fires. Luckily for the townspeople and the firemen, Magnus turns up just when they need him the most.

Xpress Your Best: Dr. A's Tips for College Success is a podcast designed specifically for today's college students. In each episode students will hear words of wisdom from Dr. A., peers, professors and others that will be just the dose of encouragement they need to make it through the week.