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837 reviews for:
The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick
Mallory O'Meara
4.11 AVERAGE
837 reviews for:
The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick
Mallory O'Meara
4.11 AVERAGE
A fascinating, heartbreaking, and inspirational story of an incredible woman, beautifully told.
Thanks to a Goodreads giveaway, I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this fantastic book.
As someone who normally loses interest in nonfiction books, this one did a great job of holding my attention from start to finish. The intertwined narratives of Milicent Patrick’s life and Mallory O’Meara’s research provided an abundance of information without feeling bogged down in too many details. I’m left with a greater understanding of these two women, as well as a new perspective on old Hollywood. The dedication and drive involved in this project was apparent throughout the narrative, and anyone would be lucky to have someone to champion their life and accomplishments with such passion.
As someone who normally loses interest in nonfiction books, this one did a great job of holding my attention from start to finish. The intertwined narratives of Milicent Patrick’s life and Mallory O’Meara’s research provided an abundance of information without feeling bogged down in too many details. I’m left with a greater understanding of these two women, as well as a new perspective on old Hollywood. The dedication and drive involved in this project was apparent throughout the narrative, and anyone would be lucky to have someone to champion their life and accomplishments with such passion.
I read this book in a day and cried. I love Reading Glasses and Mallory’s voice shines through. I loved learning Milicent’s story (and Mallory’s along the way). My heart aches for this incredibly talented, fabulous woman. I am so glad she got the attention she deserves in this loving biography.
informative
medium-paced
3.5/5
Not quite a pick, but better than so-so. It's a so-so pick. Really interesting and tragic story about a legacy buried. I knew nothing of Milicent before, aside from what Mallory has said on RG. Her life was a wild ride. The "women have it rough" point got old and a bit redundant for 300 pages. I felt a little like I was being beat over the head with the same 4 lines. I had a minor issue with the insistence that Italians were white. In the early 20th century, Italians weren't white. Mil was among first generations to be "white." No doubt that being half-German contributed to her success, but it wasn't necessarily easy back then.
Not quite a pick, but better than so-so. It's a so-so pick. Really interesting and tragic story about a legacy buried. I knew nothing of Milicent before, aside from what Mallory has said on RG. Her life was a wild ride. The "women have it rough" point got old and a bit redundant for 300 pages. I felt a little like I was being beat over the head with the same 4 lines. I had a minor issue with the insistence that Italians were white. In the early 20th century, Italians weren't white. Mil was among first generations to be "white." No doubt that being half-German contributed to her success, but it wasn't necessarily easy back then.
funny
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
This book wasn't what I thought it would be, but that said, it was great. There isn't much known about Milicent Patrick's life, and O'Meara went above and beyond to find what information she could. Because of this, a lot of the book is a chronicle of O'Meara's research journey, as well as Milicent's life. While a lot of the research journey felt like filler, it also did well to build the connection between the author and her hero. I also absolutely loved the footnotes, which really helped to build up the witty and sassy voice of O'Meara. The author is a die-hard feminist, and I want to have lunch and cocktails with her and talk about art.
4.5 stars
I adored this book and this journey! Mallory O'Meara brought Milicent Patrick to life and I very much enjoyed her narrative on the *quest* that was uncovering Milicent Patrick's life.
This book was engaging and fun, the footnotes made me laugh on several occasions (My favorite honestly was when O'Meara goes to meet with Mindy Johnson who wrote [b:Ink & Paint: The Women of Walt Disney's Animation|33785185|Ink & Paint The Women of Walt Disney's Animation|Mindy Johnson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1499783638l/33785185._SX50_.jpg|54671246] and was helpful in the quest for uncovering Patrick's work at Disney and the in text description is that it was dark and stormy, and the footnote attached was along the lines "just kidding. It's CA. Of course it's bright and sunny".
The humor in this book was delightful.
The passion in this book was ever present and transcended the page.
Milicent Patrick was brought to life.
And her work and time very much relates to our own, and O'Meara did such a great job of tying the past lessons to future realities.
I love it. I recommend this book highly if you like books that uncover lost histories of the amazing women, I recommend it if you like books about hollywood/monster movies, I recommend it if you like biographies.
Basically. Read this. It's wonderful.
(Finished thanks to #24in48!)
I adored this book and this journey! Mallory O'Meara brought Milicent Patrick to life and I very much enjoyed her narrative on the *quest* that was uncovering Milicent Patrick's life.
This book was engaging and fun, the footnotes made me laugh on several occasions (My favorite honestly was when O'Meara goes to meet with Mindy Johnson who wrote [b:Ink & Paint: The Women of Walt Disney's Animation|33785185|Ink & Paint The Women of Walt Disney's Animation|Mindy Johnson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1499783638l/33785185._SX50_.jpg|54671246] and was helpful in the quest for uncovering Patrick's work at Disney and the in text description is that it was dark and stormy, and the footnote attached was along the lines "just kidding. It's CA. Of course it's bright and sunny".
The humor in this book was delightful.
The passion in this book was ever present and transcended the page.
Milicent Patrick was brought to life.
And her work and time very much relates to our own, and O'Meara did such a great job of tying the past lessons to future realities.
I love it. I recommend this book highly if you like books that uncover lost histories of the amazing women, I recommend it if you like books about hollywood/monster movies, I recommend it if you like biographies.
Basically. Read this. It's wonderful.
(Finished thanks to #24in48!)
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
As a fan of classic horror, The Lady from the Black Lagoon by Mallory O'Meara was marvelous. I learned so much from this detailed biography and it's an incredibly accessible read as well. If you're interested in Hollywood history, women's history, or are a fan of the horror host Svengoolie, I can't recommend picking this up enough. Everyone needs to meet Milicent Patrick. By the way, I listened to the audiobook and the author narrated her own work which really added to it. I can't wait to read more of her work in the future. This was exactly what I needed and I would love more nonfiction along these lines in the future.
I absolutely adored this book. Honestly, seeing Mallory's personal connection as she wrote was satisfying and made the lessons learned from Milicent Patrick's life meatier. The only thing I could do with more of is the actual research. It's clear, amazingly, the author found enough, but I think maybe it's the creepy stalker in me that wants to see more pictures and memos and honestly anything else she had access to. I am obsessed.
Really appreciate the lack of pictures of Bud Westmore in the book though. What a toxic dick.
Really appreciate the lack of pictures of Bud Westmore in the book though. What a toxic dick.