From “The Outlander” TV Series.

I’m in the middle of 18th century Scotland — in the highlands of The Outlander series which I’m reading on my new Kindle to save my eyes from the fine print of the books.  It’s full of historic accuracy, steamy sex, and violent squinch-my-eyes-up bloodshed.  Sometimes I have to stop reading just because it’s too hard on my old and fragile sensibilities.

Ron Howard as Opie Taylor on “The Andy Griffith Show.”

Tucker to the  rescue (though I doubt that he knows it!)  He just loaned me a book called The Boys by brothers Ron and Clint Howard.  Both were child stars in Hollywood, yet grew up in a normal (actually, more than normal) household, and ended up making show business their  careers.  Though the roles they played as children — Ron as Opie on “The Andy Griffith Show” and Clint as Balok in “Star Trek,” for instance — were often polar opposites, the normalcy of their 1960s-’70s homelife is a side of Hollywood that is not often seen.

Clint Howard as Balok in the “Star Trek” Series.

While the book borders a bit on “corny” (just as “The Outlanders” might rely a smidge on “horny”) it is worth reading to balance out all the horror stories of pushy stage moms and dads who see their kids as the proverbial cash cow.

So, while neither book is exactly well-balanced, I’m enjoying each for its own sake.  And for sure there is little danger of conflating the plots!