Hollywood Confidential: 12 Secrets to Becoming the Star of Your Own Life

In this solid debut, producer Jones looks to Oprah, Beyoncé, and other entertainment icons for wisdom on following one’s dreams. Drawing from his Hollywood Confidential live event series (where celebrities offer advice on breaking into the entertainment business) and his own career (which began with snagging an internship with Beyoncé Knowles after helping to save Destiny’s Child’s sophomore album from digital piracy), Jone highlights 12 values for making one’s aspirations reality. Among them are the courage to take career risks, the tenacity to stick with goals when the going gets tough, and the flexibility to push one’s skills in new directions (a good place to start is embracing one “uncomfortable thing” per week). Those manageable lessons are interspersed with inspiring anecdotes about how Issa Rae, Tyler Perry, and other stars overcame their own roadblocks even when others didn’t believe in them. For example, Jones discusses how Jennifer Lopez defied the odds to launch a music career after getting her start in acting and went on to sell more than 80 million records worldwide. Readers will be inspired. (May)