Entertainment | Book Spectrum

Master Builder Leads a Deck Rebellion

I remember when my father built his first deck. It was a small one at one side of the pool. Years later, he took it to a new level where he built one connected to the house with sliding glass doors, a grilling and dining area leading to the pool. That was decades ago, but my first experience with a deck as not simply a platform, but a living and entertainment space. Fast forward to 2025, Deck Rebellion: Revolutionary Concepts for Outdoor Living takes deck design up several notches (as the great Casey Kasem used to say) into a dimension so fascinating, it is limited only by one’s imagination.

Sean McAleer, founder of Deck Remodelers, winner of a plethora of prestigious awards, offers us not only a look into his own mind and skill, but a trending attitude toward decks as not only a place to enjoy a newspaper and grill burgers, but as the centerpiece of a backyard resort. We all enjoy going to 5-star hotels with beautiful outdoor deck areas, why not have one at home? This book not only let’s the reader explore his or her potential with photos of McAleer’s heralded work, but a series of short story testimonials from those whose backyards he and his company enchanted.

The decks shown in this book not only epitomize the new wave in yard-wide reimagination but also reveal how much McAleer loves a challenge and takes true joy in improving people’s lives through their homes. Why not, as he says, bring what you enjoy about the inside of your home outside?

While the photos inspire imagination and offer readers a chance to think about the possibilities for their own backyard paradise, McAleer also offers practical advice to those who want to take on one of their own Deck Rebellions. He conveys what a well-conceived and quality-constructed deck can do for a home both to its aesthetic and investment value

Biographies Entertainment Lifestyle Non-Fiction

S3 E12 – Marilyn Monroe as You Never Knew Her with Jay Margolis

Many know Marilyn Monroe as the iconic movie star through her on-screen persona. On Book Spectrum’s Season 3 finale, we will bring you a look the Hollywood legend as you never knew her, far from the spotlight.
Biographer Jay Margolis, author of ‘My Maril, Marilyn Monroe, Ronald Reagan, Hollywood and Me.” tells Marilyn’s personal story through the eyes of Terry Karger, whose family were close friends of the sliver screen legend dating back to when she was known as “Norma Jeane” and the young narrator’s babysitter.
Jay discusses Terry’s memories of Ms. Monroe, who she really was when not pretending to be the “dizzy blonde” sterrotype, how Marilyn was an influence in Terry’s own life and career, her loves and relationships away from the paparazzi and tabloids as well as both Jay’s and Terry’s thoughts on the mysterious circumstances surrounding the acclaimed actress’ death.
In the book, Terry also recalls her interactions and personal relationships with other members of the Hollywood Hierarchy like Ronald Reagan, Jane Wyman and many more.

Pick the book up here: My Maril: Marilyn Monroe, Ronald Reagan, Hollywood, and Me: Karger, Terry, Margolis, Jay, Reagan, Michael: 9781637583265: Amazon.com: Books

About Terry Karger: Terry Karger graduated from the University of Southern California in 1963, one year after Marilyn Monroe’s death. She taught at Crescent Heights Elementary and would later teach at Westwood Elementary where her students had parents such as Micky Dolenz, Millie Perkins, Ronny Cox, and Richard Pryor.

About Jay Margolis: New York Times bestselling author Jay Margolis graduated summa cum laude from the University of Southern California and became a Jesse Unruh Research Scholar for his paper on African American Reparations. On October 15, 2014, The National Press Club in Washington, D.C. accepted Margolis’s book The Murder of Marilyn Monroe: Case Closed for display at the 37th Annual Book Fair & Authors’ Night, in partnership with Politics & Prose. The Murder of Marilyn Monroe: Case Closed was translated into Italian, French, and Russian and became a New York Times bestseller. Jay Margolis appeared in the 2014 United Kingdom documentary, directed by Renny Bartlett, titled The Missing Evidence: The Death of Marilyn Monroe, a Blink Films production in association with the Smithsonian Channel.