The On The Bookshelf Podcast

Deidre Hall of DAYS OF OUR LIVES

Deidre Hall is an icon in the world of television, both daytime and primetime. Having performed in over 5,000 episodes as the beautiful, wise, and sometimes even demonic (literally and figuratively) "Dr. Marlena Evans" on Days of our Lives since originating the role in 1976.

Hall has been adored by fans worldwide for generations as one of the world's most recognized and filmed faces. Deidre became the first performer ever to star in both daytime and primetime series when she was cast as "Jesse Witherspoon" in NBC's family drama, Our House, for which she earned two nominations for People's Choice Awards and two consecutive nominations as Best Actress by Viewers for Quality Television. Co-starring with Wilford Brimley, they won the first Viewers for Quality Television "Seal of Approval" for a television show.

She has starred alongside notable actors of stage and screen including Richard Crenna and Rachel Ward, (And the Sea Will Tell), based on the best-selling novel by Vincent Bugliosi, and in NBC television movies For the Very First Time, Take My Daughters, Please, a Perry Mason movie of the week, one of the popular Columbo movies of the week and in 1993, another ratings winner, Woman On The Ledge. The same year Deidre created Never Say Never - The Deidre Hall Story, in which she not only starred but executive produced. The ABC television movie was based on her real-life struggle to create a family and her final choice of a surrogate as their solution. Her most recent guest appearance can be seen on the popular HBO Max series Hacks, starring Jean Smart.

Hall has been honored with numerous accolades and awards including Best Television Role Model, the prestigious American Women in Radio and Television (AWRT) Award, five Best Actress Awards from Soap Opera Digest, along with a Best Actress nomination, and she broke new ground for daytime stars when she guest-starred on shows such as ELLEN, The Tonight Show, Night of A Hundred Stars, a Bob Hope Special and 20/20 surrounding the event of the birth of her eldest son with a surrogate - for which she also graced the cover of People Magazine. She is [still] the devoted mother of both sons, both miracle babies via surrogate birth.

Her philanthropic activities include donating all proceeds from her Days of our Lives merchandise to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and from her hand-painted watercolor greeting cards to Wounded Warriors. A cause dear to her, and for which she appealed to members of Congress and held a press conference at the White House, was to renew the Child Nutrition Act. In 2009, she traveled with son David to Brazil as an ambassador for Operation Smile.

Hall was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2016.

DAYS OF OUR LIVES TO BE INDUCTED INTO THE BROADCASTING & CABLE HALL OF FAME AS ICONIC SHOW  

The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, the premier industry event paying tribute to the influencers, innovators and shining lights of broadcast, cable and streaming television, is set to induct its class of 2025 on Tuesday, Sept. 30, at New York's Ziegfeld Ballroom (141 W. 54th St).

Brian Boone with the 38th edition of Uncle John's Bathroom Reader

The wait is over! Beloved by trivia buffs, bathroom philosophers, and casual readers everywhere, Uncle John is back with its 38th annual edition. Once again, Uncle John and his team at the Bathroom Readers’ Institute have filled an absorbing volume with witty, weird, and wonderful articles perfect for readers of all ages.

This all-new edition continues the tradition that has entertained millions: a treasure trove of fascinating stories and quirky facts from the worlds of pop culture, history, sports, science, and beyond. Longtime fans and newcomers alike will delight in the signature mix of:

• Short articles for quick trips to the throne room
• Longer reads for extended stays
• Amusing lists, odd quotes, and brain-twisting quizzes
• Unbelievable exploits of dumb crooks
• Endless odd trivia to amaze friends, stump coworkers, and outwit family members

“Every year, our goal is to make readers laugh, learn, and look at the world a little differently,” said Uncle John. With more than 15 million Bathroom Readers sold, Uncle John’s tradition of turning idle minutes into mind-expanding adventures shows no sign of slowing down. Whether you’re a lifelong fan or discovering Uncle John for the first time, this year’s edition promises to keep your brain busy and your funny bone tickled.

  About the spokesperson: There are almost as many adventures both personal and professional in the life of Brian “Uncle John” Boone as there are fun facts in the average Bathroom Reader volume, the series to which he has been a contributor for more than two decades. Brian picked up a lot of fascinating knowledge and stories about the world around him from an early age, with a childhood spent reading voraciously, traveling, and watching lots of TV. He continued to absorb and retain interesting information when he learned how to share it in amusing ways as he studied journalism and went on to publish books of jokes, music, sports, and literature, as well as hilarious stuff for the likes of Funny or Die, Vulture, Mad, The New Yorker, The Onion, and Some ecards. He even wrote a couple of stage musicals and a wacky sci-fi novel, developed major podcasts and radio shows, and showed off his Uncle John cred as a contestant on Jeopardy! He’s authored thousands of articles in the Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader series and edited offshoot titles including Fake Facts, Germophobia, Robotica, and Beer-Vana.

 

Prolific Western author Casey Nash returns with Jubal Stone US Marshall's latest

Dusty Saddle Publishing, the leading publisher of Western fiction, introduced me to  Casey Nash, a cornerstone of the modern Western genre and author of the bestselling Jubal Stone: U.S. Marshal series—now 92 titles strong! "Miller's Revenge" is the latest novel, as Jubal and his wife and young son are in mortal danger from a ruthless and savvy killer seeking vengeance for the death of his criminal kinfolk.Known for his authentic characters and gripping tales of frontier justice, Casey has worked alongside top Western authors such as C. Wayne Winkle, Paul L. Thompson, and Randall Dale. 

Check the book at: A Jubal Stone: U.S. Marshal Western (92 book series)

Casey Nash's Amazon: Casey Nash Amazon Books

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dustysaddlewesternsonline 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/publishing.ds/

Website: https://dspublishingnetwork.com/ 

 

Marty Machowski wih 2 new books: The Sword & The Death and The Victory

The Epic Conclusion of "The Redemption Tales"
Marty Machowski’s final installment in the popular children’s series features stories of the animals that could have been present for the final days of Jesus’s life and other events of the New Testament. The Death and the Victory begins in the Garden of Gethsemane, 
The Redemption Tales series for readers ages 8–12, offers a creative presentation of the gospel message from the unique perspective of animals who could have witnessed the events of the Bible firsthand. The first two installments covered the events of the Old Testament, and the third volume retold the life of Jesus from his birth to the triumphal entry.
The other new book is "The Sword"

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Romans is the clearest, most complete, explanation of the gospel in the New Testament. John Piper calls it “the greatest letter ever written,” and he compares its theological insight to Mount Everest. Romans is saturated with God’s deepest truths—truths that adults can hardly begin to understand, but in his latest book, The Sword: Magnus and the Mystery of Romans​(New Growth Press/September 8, 2025), bestselling children’s author Marty Machowski makes studying Paul’s letter approachable for grade-school children. 

Following the format of his popular storybook studies such as The Ology and WonderFull, Machowski weaves a Bible study with a fictional story, leading young readers on an adventure to unlock the mystery of the swords of Magnus while exploring Paul’s letter to the Romans. The Sword shares the story of Katana and Brant who find a wooden sword and ancient journal belonging to Magnus, a one-time gladiator who became a guard who watched over the apostle Paul while he was under house arrest. Their discovery leads the siblings on a quest to reveal the mystery of the swords by studying Magnus’s journal.

The Bible study portion of The Sword is presented as the study notes of Magnus. It was through his study of the gospel from Paul’s letter to the Romans that Magnus received the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. Readers will learn alongside Katana and Brant the bad news of our sin and the good news that rescues us through the cross of Christ.

 

The text is written for elementary school ages (children 8–12), but the vivid, full-color illustrations by Flavia Sorrentino will help the youngest members of the family to follow along.​“The Sword is designed to be read alongside the Bible as a family. A Bible study section follows each chapter of the fictional story. Read the assigned Scripture verses, followed by the short commentary which explains key truths from the Bible passage for the day,” Machowski explains. “While your children may be eager to move through the study quickly to return to the fictional story, give the study sufficient time.”

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Chuck Collins-Burned by Billionaires exposes political & economic consequences

 We’re living through the Second Gilded Age, a period that has witnessed the rise of billionaires from 15 globally in 1980 to over 800 today, and which may mint its first trillionaire—yes, with a T—before the decade is out. The ultrawealthy daily gain access to new levers of power, yet their monies remain hidden—and untaxed—by virtue of the lawyers, accountants and managers who together constitute the “wealth defense industry.” 

 In Burned by Billionaires: How Concentrated Wealth and Power are Ruining Our Lives and Planet, author, senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies and “upper-class traitor” Chuck Collins exposes the system that allows such inequality to thrive and enables the skewing of our politics and the economic distortion of almost every aspect of our daily lives—from housing to healthcare, taxes to the food system, and education to climate. And finding the very existence of billionaires a policy failure rather than an example of capitalism’s flourishing as some maintain, he offers remedies to thwart the continued amassing of democracy-endangering concentrations of wealth.