"Now we come to the Rock Box, four films that I love, featuring two bands I adore and two artists that always left me cold, all in one brilliant box set: A Hard Day’s Night is Richard Lester’s 1964 gorgeous black-and-white faux-concert comedic film, of the four mop tops at the height of Beatlemania. The film ends with them beating a hasty retreat via helicopter from hordes of lovesick fans."

"This book doesn’t fit neatly into a category. It’s personal but also global. It doesn’t prescribe anything; it raises questions. It allows the reader to feel as if they are watching this brilliant woman think in real time. It seems as if you are inside her mind with her. It’s funny and sexy and made me cry. And it is one of the best books on being a stepmother I’ve ever encountered."

"Beyond the Valley of the Dolls is just a brilliant piece of work. It’s camp, it’s crazy, it’s out there, it’s not cerebral at all, it’s just visionary and against the grain. For me it’s just these female superheroes, and it’s using all the clichés but actually pushing them forward. Every time I think of something daring, I think of this film in particular, and it’s so inspiring whenever I want to do something pop."

"Gena Rowlands is a goddess. I almost don’t know what else to say beyond that. I love the scene when her character, an actress named Myrtle Gordon, shows up to the theater drunk beyond belief on opening night. The physicality of Rowlands’s performance is brilliant: the tension in her mouth, the heavy breathing, her limbs rigid one moment, limp the next. Watching her gain her composure is harrowing and hilarious at the same time."

"Anything by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featuring Sherlock Holmes. Many people have enjoyed the adventures of Holmes and Watson in films and on the small screen. My guess would be that far fewer have actually read the stories from which they’re taken. Sherlock and Dr. John aren’t cozy, tweedy, oddball caricatures. They’re tough guys—resolute, brilliant and action-oriented. And if you’ve got lots of reading time on your hands, we’re talking LOTS of stories."