Local bestsellers for the week ended May 25
3.
Doubleday
4.
Knopf
5.
Berkley
6.
Little, Brown and Company
7.
Simon & Schuster
8
Mariner Books
9.
Riverhead Books
10.
Orbit
HARDCOVER NONFICTION
1.
Penguin Press
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2.
W. W. Norton & Company
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3.
Mel Robbins
Hay House LL
C
4.
Crown
5.
Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster
6.
Random House
7.
Penguin Press
8.
John Green
Crash Course Books
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9.
Scribner
10.
The Dial Press
PAPERBACK FICTION
1.
Ecco
2.
Berkley
3.
Vintage
4.
Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster
5.
Riverhead Books
6.
Vintage
7.
Poisoned Pen Press
8.
Random House Trade Paperbacks
9.
Penguin Books
10.
Harper Perennial
PAPERBACK NONFICTION
1.
Crown
2.
Michael Finkel
Vintage
3.
Vintage
4.
Harper Perennial
5.
Milkweed Editions
6.
Haymarket Books
7.
Holt Paperbacks
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8.
Matt Kracht
Chronicle Book
9.
TarcherPerigee
10.
Knopf
The New England Indie Bestseller List, as brought to you by IndieBound and NEIBA, for the week ended Sunday, May 25, 2025. Based on reporting from the independent booksellers of the New England Independent Booksellers Association and IndieBound. For an independent bookstore near you, visit
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New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
The guarantee Bill Belichick got from book publicist before cringeworthy CBS interview went off the rails
Bill Belichick's publicist at Simon & Schuster assured the North Carolina football coach that his 'CBS Sunday Morning' interview, which turned out to be a media disaster, would only be a 'puff piece' to promote his new book, 'The Art of Winning,' and that CBS producers assured them the interview would not go beyond the book, according to TMZ. Senior director of publicity David Kass reportedly flew to North Carolina to convince Belichick to commit to the sit-down interview with CBS, as the former NFL coach had concerns that media outlets would try to use his book as a way to ask unrelated questions. 4 Jordon Hudson reportedly interrupted Bill Belichick's interview with CBS, which aired on April 27, 2025, multiple times. YouTube/CBS Advertisement 'I can assure you that the conversation [will be] about the book,' Kass wrote to Belichick in an April 9 email. 'This is a book segment that looks at your life in football and what people can learn from you to achieve success in their own lives.' The day prior, he warned Belichick that CBS would not provide any questions in advance of the interview. Advertisement In another message, Kass told Belichick in writing that he had spoken with a CBS producer 'about sticking to the book and shared that if they do, they'll get a great interview, and he was really open, saying he's not interested in going beyond the book.' 4 Jordon Hudson reportedly interrupted Bill Belichick's interview with CBS, which aired on April 27, 2025, multiple times YouTube/CBS Although Belichick had his doubts, Kass emphasized, 'I wouldn't be this insistent if this wasn't so important to book sales and without risk.' Advertisement He reportedly tried to set up a call with a show producers to 'talk things through' before the actual interview. What happened during the interview would soon turn into a PR nightmare. Belichick's interview with 'CBS Sunday Morning' co-host Tony Dokoupil aired April 27 and showed things going off the rails when his 24-year-old girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, interrupted a question about how the couple met — telling Dokoupil, 'we're not talking about this' as she sat alongside producer Gabriel Falcon. Advertisement Prior to the April 21 taping of the interview, Kass warned Belichick on March 26 'there would likely be one question about what you're up to now.' Belichick, 73, was asked multiple questions about Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who is not mentioned in the book. Dokoupil asked at least two questions about Hudson, whom Belichick refers to as his 'idea mill' and 'creative muse' in the book — but she wouldn't allow it. At one point, Hudson reportedly tried to call Kass as the interview went aray, but she couldn't reach him. After the CBS interview aired, multiple reports said Hudson was trying to control Belichick's career to further her own. 4 Jordon Hudson, Lil Wayne and Bill Belichick at a UNC spring practice. Jordon Hudson / Instagram Belichick released a statement after the fallout and explained that Hudson — who manages his opportunities outside of UNC football — stepped in to refocus the interview on the book. 'Prior to this interview, I clearly communicated with my publicist at Simon & Schuster that any promotional interviews I participated in would agree to focus solely on the contents of the book,' Belichick said. Advertisement 'Unfortunately, that expectation was not honored during the interview. I was surprised when unrelated topics were introduced, and I repeatedly expressed to the reporter, Tony Dokoupil, and the producers that I preferred to keep the conversation centered on the book. After this occurred several times, Jordon, with whom I share both a personal and professional relationship, stepped in to reiterate that point to help refocus the discussion.' 'The final eight-minute segment does not reflect the productive 35-minute conversation we had, which covered a wide range of topics related to my career. Instead, it presents selectively edited clips and stills from just a few minutes of the interview to suggest a false narrative — that Jordon was attempting to control the conversation — which is simply not true.' 4 Bill Belichick and Jordon Hudson attend the 14th Annual NFL Honors at Saenger Theatre on Feb. 6, 2025. Getty Images Journalist Pablo Torre reported that UNC coaches and staff, as well as Belichick's family, are concerned about his relationship with Hudson, a former NCAA champion cheerleader at Bridgewater State University. Advertisement Last month, Belichick and UNC issued a statement and specifically denied Torre's claim that higher-ups at UNC banned Hudson from the team's facility. Kass has yet to publicly address the situation. Simon & Schuster declined to comment to TMZ on Tuesday.
Los Angeles Times
7 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Personalized perfume by text? I tried it with this scent stylist
There's a reason perfume commercials aren't close-up images of the ingredients noted in a specific fragrance. Instead, they're sweeping landscapes, a beautiful man on a galloping horse, a wistful goodbye between two lovers with no backstory. That's because scent isn't simply the notes — say vanilla, sandalwood, tuberose; it's about the feeling they evoke. It's more effective to produce a visceral reaction than provide a technical definition. It makes sense, as scent is processed by the limbic system, the part of the brain that handles emotion and memory. So when Anna Dorn texts to ask me what I want to smell like, she provides some thought-starters that sound like treatments for big-budget fragrance ads: 'like a library in ancient Egypt,' or 'like Persephone rising from the ashes.' Dorn is a prolific author of three novels and a memoir, 'Bad Lawyer,' where she divulges secrets from her past life as a reluctant lawyer trying to meet her family's expectations. She also moonlights as a perfume stylist, offering scent fittings for clients performed over text message. It's not an established side hustle, but if there was ever a city where it could thrive, it would be Los Angeles. I've hired Dorn to help me find a new scent, something more adventurous than my current Sephora-grade options. My hope is that like with a romantic match, I'll find something that ticks the boxes, but ultimately has an unspoken variable I'm drawn to. It's a task well worth her $150 fee. The service promises eight tiny vials of custom-selected scents shipped directly to me. The product is included in Dorn's fee, which means she pockets around $70 per session, but to her, it's a labor of love she is happy to spend hours on. My inquiry comes at the perfect time to offer a distraction from working on her forthcoming novel 'American Spirits,' out next April with Simon & Schuster. 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'In the beginning, the novel had nothing to do with perfume, I just liked the title — which I jacked from a 1950s out-of-print lesbian pulp novel,' she says, 'but then I started collecting all this niche perfume knowledge and I knew I had to put it into the book. Once the book came out, I had all these new 'fraghead' followers, some of whom have become friends and my perfume obsession just continued.' Despite her obsession, her Los Feliz apartment isn't a storage unit of scents. When it comes to full-size bottles, Dorn says she only keeps about five at a time, taking to eBay to sell lightly used bottles to make room for new ones. She estimates her collection of decants — the insider term for 2-milliliter bottle samples, which she orders from the website DecantPlanet for between $4 and $12 — is in the hundreds. I'm intrigued by Dorn's suggestion of 'baddie florals,' but I want to make sure I don't end up with a grab bag of grandma scents. (Think the infamous, but simply too strong for me, Chanel Number 5.) Dorn immediately clocks my concern and deploys more jargon. 'Contemp [contemporary] andro [androgynous] florals, got it,' she replies. I try my best to reply with moody adjectives instead of notes. I hope for something sexy, mysterious and fresh from nature. Something that seems foreign, not simply tropical, but dare I use it in this context, exotic. 'How do you feel about a heady, narcotic, floral? Is that too femme?' Dorn asks me. It sounds aligned with the adjectives I gave, but I'm unsure what narcotic means in this context. 'In the Victorian era they allegedly didn't let virgin women smell tuberose because they thought it would make them spontaneously orgasm,' Dorn clarifies. It feels like a challenge. I tell her I'm interested in tuberose. Dorn has an idea and texts back quickly to ask if I am open to mainstream designers. In order to maximize her expertise over, say, a Sephora employee, I decide against it. 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She's not the only writer who is applying her love of storytelling and world-building to fragrance fandom. Los Angeles-based Arabelle Sicardi, writer of the newsletter 'You've Got Lipstick on Your Chin,' offers a virtual nose-training course. Sicardi ships participants a box of 40 objects and leads discussions on the properties of each, establishing the 'building blocks' of a scent. If texting Dorn descriptions of scents seemed too abstract for me, a podcast seems like an even more difficult medium to describe scent. Yet New York City-based writers Tynan Buck and Sable Yong have hosted the popular podcast 'Smell Ya Later' for five years. There's clearly a connection between prose lovers and nuanced noses, and I want to join the club. I think of the phrases Dorn deployed in our text messages and instead of giggling, I'm impressed. I know the pain of finding the right adjective for a situation. 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I'm intrigued by Dorn's use of 'creamy' to describe its sandalwood. At first, I worry I've over-applied, but as I finish getting ready — arguably my favorite part of any night — the scent settles into an earthy depth I can't place without Dorn's cliff notes but know I like. It's the most abstract of the bunch, inspired by 'liquid deposits in limestone caves,' something I've never encountered and likely never will. True to her narcotic floral promise and tuberose history lesson, Dorn includes Moon Bloom by Hiram Green from the Netherlands. There is no spontaneous orgasm, but it smells like the marriage of the musky scents and warm and spicy florals (called 'oriental florals' by the industry) in my entry-level collection. I like to wear it during the day. I put my new vials in a little jar on my vanity. They're still foreign to me, so I pull up Dorn's email to remind myself which has 'creamy woods' or 'subtle gin.' Where I once thought having an expected, signature scent was a sign of adulthood and knowing yourself, I see why Dorn opts for hundreds of decants instead of a dozen chic bottles displayed. I'm having a lot more fun with my curated choose-your-own-adventure, building my arsenal of fantasies that are one spritz away. Lina Abascal is a writer and filmmaker born and raised in Los Angeles. She is the author of 'Never Be Alone Again: How Bloghouse United the Internet and the dancefloor' and director of the award-winning short documentary 'Stud Country.'
Yahoo
20 hours ago
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ITV The Chase's Bradley Walsh says 'wow' after hearing contestant's impressive job
Bradley Walsh said "wow" when one player revealed what he does for a day job. Jack, Dorrett, Kim and Simon made up the team of four contestants who were keen to test their general knowledge skills on the hit ITV quiz show. Simon from Oxfordshire was first up to take on The Chaser, who in this case was Anne Hegarty aka The Governess. But first, Bradley Walsh was lost for words when he heard what the contestant does as his day job. Simon explained he had worked for 30 years in the Royal Air Force. The ITV presenter asked what rank he was, suggesting roles such as "Commander." But Simon replied: "I'm an air vice marshal." READ MORE: No fire extinguishers in block of flats where blaze broke out READ MORE: BBC series dubbed 'show of the summer' starring Scouser will be your next binge-watch Bradley Walsh was taken aback as he said: "You're an air vice marshal! No you're not." Simon joked: "I'm surprised too." Brad turned to the team and said: "Wow." He added: "An air vice marshal that's big news guys." The impressive position is a senior officer rank, above air commodore and below air marshal. It is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the Royal Navy or major general in the army. When the host came to terms with Simon's impressive role, he continued the regular game-play as Simon tackled the Cash Builder round. He accumulated an impressive £6,000 and bagged himself a spot in the final. Simon returned to his teammates and kickstarted the shared cash prize pot ahead of Kim's turn to take on The Governess. She gave a great performance and earned £5,000 for the team. However, her time on the ITV show came to an unfortunate end when she was caught by The Chaser. She soon heard Bradley's dreaded words: "For you, The Chase is over" and she left the show empty-handed. Dorrett was next up who hoped to make a better impression against The Governess. She proved her general knowledge skills as she joined Simon in the final and increased the prize pot to £11,000. Jack was eager to join the quizzers after he accumulated an impressive £8,000 in the Cash Builder. He gave a great performance against The Chaser and secured his spot alongside Simon and Dorrett. With the cash pot now standing at £19,000, the three quizzers tested their luck in the final chase. But their score of 17 was not strong enough to triumph against The Governess, and they were caught with just one second remaining. The Chase airs weekdays at 5pm ITV1 and ITVX
