Huntsville recently lost one of its Books-a-Million stores, but the remaining location on Memorial Parkway is stocked for the Christmas holidays, and among the piles of “Twilight” and “Harry Potter” merchandise are some interesting finds for classic movie fans. Here are a few items that might fit your Christmas shopping list and your budget for the 2011 holiday season.
The most popular celebrity icons are represented with the books “Elvis in the Movies” and “Marilyn Monroe in the Movies.” Both of these books are smaller volumes that celebrate the film careers of their subjects with photographs and discussions of the movies. (Read more about Marilyn Monroe.) Thicker books that cover more territory include “Hollywood Musicals” and “Halliwell’s: The Movies that Matter,” although the Halliwell’s guide is an abbreviated version that reportedly fails to live up to the usual standard expected of that series. The gem of the selection for classic movie fans is undoubtedly the hardcover re-issue of “On Cukor” by Gavin Lambert, which looks at the films and career of the great director behind classics like “The Women” (1939), “The Philadelphia Story” (1940), and “Adam’s Rib” (1949). The original 1972 work was updated and released in a new edition to coincide with a 2000 “American Masters” television program (the DVD of that documentary is available from Amazon.com for $10). All of these books are priced from $8 to $13, a significant reduction for most of them.
Look for these books on the bargain tables marked “Entertainment” in the center of the Books-a-Million store. Most of these selections should be available at Books-a-Million locations across the country, but stock may vary from store to store. The Books-a-Million on Airport Rd. is no longer open, but the location at 1001 7 N. Memorial Parkway remains in business. Books-a-Million locations can also be found in Madison and Decatur.
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