"Those old cows knew trouble was coming before we did." So begins the story of Lily Casey Smith, in Jeannette Walls's magnificent, true-life novel based on her no-nonsense, resourceful, hard working, and spectacularly compelling grandmother. By age six, Lily was helping her father break horses. At fifteen, she left home to teach in a frontier town -- riding five hundred miles on her pony, all alone, to get to her job. She learned to drive a car ("I loved cars even more than I loved horses. They didn't need to be fed if they weren't working, and they didn't leave big piles of manure all over the place") and fly a plane, and, with her husband, ran a vast ranch in Arizona. She raised two children, one of whom is Jeannette's memorable mother, Rosemary Smith Walls, unforgettably portrayed in The Glass Castle.
Lily survived tornadoes, droughts, floods, the Great Depression, and the most heartbreaking personal tragedy. She bristled at prejudice of all kinds -- against women, Native Americans, and anyone else who didn't fit the mold. Half Broke Horses is Laura Ingalls Wilder for adults, as riveting and dramatic as Isak Dinesen's Out of Africa or Beryl Markham's West with the Night. It will transfix readers everywhere.
1998 ~ Barrie
2003 ~ Toronto
2005 ~ London, Toronto
2006 ~ Toronto
2008 ~ Hartford, Mansfied I,
2009 ~ Toronto, Chicago I, Chicago II
2010 ~ Cleveland, Buffalo
2011 ~ Toronto I, Toronto II, Ottawa, Hamilton
2013 - London, Pittsburgh, Buffalo
Mao's Great Famine - The History of China's Most Devastating Catastrophe 1958-1962 - Frank Dikotter
'Between 1958 and 1962, 45 million Chinese people were worked, starved or beaten to death. Mao Zedong threw his country into a frenzy with the Great Leap Forward, an attempt to catch up with and overtake the Western world in less than fifteen years. It lead to one of the greatest catastrophes the world has ever known. Dikotter's extraordinary research within Chinese archives brings together for the first time what happened in the corridors of power with the everyday experiences of ordinary people, giving voice to the dead and disenfranchised. This groundbreaking account definitively recasts the history of the People's Republic of China.'
In 2005, Freakonomics exploded in the culture, forever changing our understanding of how the world works, how we really make decisions--even how we name our children. This revolutionary book spent two years on the New York Times bestseller list, sold more than 3 million hardcover copies, single-handedly spawned a new genre of books, and led to a column in the New York Times Magazine and a blog on the New York Times website. Now, University of Chicago economist Steven D. Levitt and award-winning writer Stephen J. Dubner return with this all-new book that is bigger, more provocative, and sure to challenge the way we think all over again.
1998 ~ Barrie
2003 ~ Toronto
2005 ~ London, Toronto
2006 ~ Toronto
2008 ~ Hartford, Mansfied I,
2009 ~ Toronto, Chicago I, Chicago II
2010 ~ Cleveland, Buffalo
2011 ~ Toronto I, Toronto II, Ottawa, Hamilton
2013 - London, Pittsburgh, Buffalo
just finished this book ... decent read, especially if you are into dogs and auto racing ... book is told / narrated by the dog ... and is the story of his owners life from whence he adopted the dog as a puppy ... funny and sure to choke a few people up ... :oops:
I'm reading Love is a mixtape by Rob Sheffield again. I've read it before but liked it very much and I was in the mood for it again
It's something of an autobiographic novel about a couple and how they sort of communicate via mixtapes. It's a sweet, funny and touching story with lots of musical inspirations. I love to stop reading to look for and listen to the songs that are mentioned.
Please, Pearl Jam, consider a Benaroya Hall vinyl reissue!
I'm reading Love is a mixtape by Rob Sheffield again. I've read it before but liked it very much and I was in the mood for it again
It's something of an autobiographic novel about a couple and how they sort of communicate via mixtapes. It's a sweet, funny and touching story with lots of musical inspirations. I love to stop reading to look for and listen to the songs that are mentioned.
Sounds like a fun read.
7/2/06 - Denver, CO
6/12/08 - Tampa, FL
8/23/09 - Chicago, IL
9/28/09 - Salt Lake City, UT (11 years too long!!!)
9/03/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 1
9/04/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 2
7/2/06 - Denver, CO
6/12/08 - Tampa, FL
8/23/09 - Chicago, IL
9/28/09 - Salt Lake City, UT (11 years too long!!!)
9/03/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 1
9/04/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 2
just finished this book ... decent read, especially if you are into dogs and auto racing ... book is told / narrated by the dog ... and is the story of his owners life from whence he adopted the dog as a puppy ... funny and sure to choke a few people up ... :oops:
I didn't think it was a really sad cry...more of a happy cry.
Currently reading:
just started, and I can already tell it's gonna be a tear jerker.
The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.
I'm reading Love is a mixtape by Rob Sheffield again. I've read it before but liked it very much and I was in the mood for it again
It's something of an autobiographic novel about a couple and how they sort of communicate via mixtapes. It's a sweet, funny and touching story with lots of musical inspirations. I love to stop reading to look for and listen to the songs that are mentioned.
Blood's A Rover is an amazing and (sort of) redeeming end to my favourite book trilogy of all time, my personal fave of the three is American Tabloid 'cause Pete Bondurant is the best character in the books. Also the way Ellroy writes them is fantasic, the way the jargon evolves through the late fifties and into the early seventies. I'm assuming you've read the other two, this one easily lives up to them. Enjoy!
How I choose to feel is how I am...I will not lose my faith, It's an inside job today.
Manchester Aug 17th 2009
Hyde Park June 25th 2010
Manchester June 20th & 21st 2012
Leeds July 14th 2014
just finished this book ... decent read, especially if you are into dogs and auto racing ... book is told / narrated by the dog ... and is the story of his owners life from whence he adopted the dog as a puppy ... funny and sure to choke a few people up ... :oops:
I didn't really like that book....until the end. Then I loved it
reading this:
de-press-ing. I don't get addiction :wtf:
If I had known then what I know now...
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
Reading "The Rum Diary" again so I can go watch the movie.
Shows: 6.27.08 Hartford, CT/5.15.10 Hartford, CT/6.18.2011 Hartford, CT (EV Solo)/10.19.13 Brooklyn/10.25.13 Hartford
"Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
I'm on Chapter 3 of Moby Dick...it's pretty good so far...my husband warned me to skip the chapters that describe the whaling industry because they're so boring...
Chicago 2000 : Chicago 2003 : Chicago 2006 : Summerfest 2006 : Lollapalooza 2007 : Chicago 2009 : Noblesville (Indy) 2010 : PJ20 (East Troy) 2011 : Wrigley Field 2013 : Milwaukee (Yield) 2014 : Wrigley Field 2016
Blood's A Rover is an amazing and (sort of) redeeming end to my favourite book trilogy of all time, my personal fave of the three is American Tabloid 'cause Pete Bondurant is the best character in the books. Also the way Ellroy writes them is fantasic, the way the jargon evolves through the late fifties and into the early seventies. I'm assuming you've read the other two, this one easily lives up to them. Enjoy!
Thanks, I look forward to it, mid-way through The Sherlockians and am enjoying it more than I thought I would.
I have read most of Ellroy's work and while I find it tough to pick a favorite I agree that American Tabloid is fantastic. His characters *spark* and I think AT, White Jazz and Black Dahlia all are so great in that way. I thought that Cold Six Thousand was a bit of a let down so am excited to read the close out of his trilogy.
Living in LA I love his LA stuff especially.
just finished this book ... decent read, especially if you are into dogs and auto racing ... book is told / narrated by the dog ... and is the story of his owners life from whence he adopted the dog as a puppy ... funny and sure to choke a few people up ... :oops:
I didn't really like that book....until the end. Then I loved it
That's my selection for my book club when I host it next month!
Right now I'm listening to "Columbine" by Dave Cullen.
That's my selection for my book club when I host it next month!
Right now I'm listening to "Columbine" by Dave Cullen.
Horrifying.
I read that last year. I thought I was well informed about Columbine but I was shocked at how much I didn't know. Cullen does an excellent job with a horrific story.
just finished this book ... decent read, especially if you are into dogs and auto racing ... book is told / narrated by the dog ... and is the story of his owners life from whence he adopted the dog as a puppy ... funny and sure to choke a few people up ... :oops:
I didn't really like that book....until the end. Then I loved it
That's my selection for my book club when I host it next month!
You are going to love this book. It is so wonderful. Keep your tissues close by.
Don't fuck sheep. -EV 7/11/11
You can never have enough Neil in the mix. -EV 10/24/10
There's only one commandment: Don't be an asshole. -EV 5/6/10
just finished reading it. that guy almost died so many times, really good read. Say whatever you want about GN'R, but I loved them, and they were the first real band I was introduced to.
I wanna check this out, but heard it's a lot of the same stories as the Slash autobiography which I have already read. I'm sure I will end up reading this eventually.
Hands down, my favorite writer ever. Consider the lobster is great. The tracy Austin is awesome. Really enjoyed the porn one too. That book is a great read.
I need to think about tackling infinite jest one of these days
Comments
"Those old cows knew trouble was coming before we did." So begins the story of Lily Casey Smith, in Jeannette Walls's magnificent, true-life novel based on her no-nonsense, resourceful, hard working, and spectacularly compelling grandmother. By age six, Lily was helping her father break horses. At fifteen, she left home to teach in a frontier town -- riding five hundred miles on her pony, all alone, to get to her job. She learned to drive a car ("I loved cars even more than I loved horses. They didn't need to be fed if they weren't working, and they didn't leave big piles of manure all over the place") and fly a plane, and, with her husband, ran a vast ranch in Arizona. She raised two children, one of whom is Jeannette's memorable mother, Rosemary Smith Walls, unforgettably portrayed in The Glass Castle.
Lily survived tornadoes, droughts, floods, the Great Depression, and the most heartbreaking personal tragedy. She bristled at prejudice of all kinds -- against women, Native Americans, and anyone else who didn't fit the mold. Half Broke Horses is Laura Ingalls Wilder for adults, as riveting and dramatic as Isak Dinesen's Out of Africa or Beryl Markham's West with the Night. It will transfix readers everywhere.
2003 ~ Toronto
2005 ~ London, Toronto
2006 ~ Toronto
2008 ~ Hartford, Mansfied I,
2009 ~ Toronto, Chicago I, Chicago II
2010 ~ Cleveland, Buffalo
2011 ~ Toronto I, Toronto II, Ottawa, Hamilton
2013 - London, Pittsburgh, Buffalo
'Between 1958 and 1962, 45 million Chinese people were worked, starved or beaten to death. Mao Zedong threw his country into a frenzy with the Great Leap Forward, an attempt to catch up with and overtake the Western world in less than fifteen years. It lead to one of the greatest catastrophes the world has ever known. Dikotter's extraordinary research within Chinese archives brings together for the first time what happened in the corridors of power with the everyday experiences of ordinary people, giving voice to the dead and disenfranchised. This groundbreaking account definitively recasts the history of the People's Republic of China.'
In 2005, Freakonomics exploded in the culture, forever changing our understanding of how the world works, how we really make decisions--even how we name our children. This revolutionary book spent two years on the New York Times bestseller list, sold more than 3 million hardcover copies, single-handedly spawned a new genre of books, and led to a column in the New York Times Magazine and a blog on the New York Times website. Now, University of Chicago economist Steven D. Levitt and award-winning writer Stephen J. Dubner return with this all-new book that is bigger, more provocative, and sure to challenge the way we think all over again.
2003 ~ Toronto
2005 ~ London, Toronto
2006 ~ Toronto
2008 ~ Hartford, Mansfied I,
2009 ~ Toronto, Chicago I, Chicago II
2010 ~ Cleveland, Buffalo
2011 ~ Toronto I, Toronto II, Ottawa, Hamilton
2013 - London, Pittsburgh, Buffalo
The Art of Racing in the Rain ... by Garth Stein
just finished this book ... decent read, especially if you are into dogs and auto racing ... book is told / narrated by the dog ... and is the story of his owners life from whence he adopted the dog as a puppy ... funny and sure to choke a few people up ... :oops:
It's something of an autobiographic novel about a couple and how they sort of communicate via mixtapes. It's a sweet, funny and touching story with lots of musical inspirations. I love to stop reading to look for and listen to the songs that are mentioned.
Sounds like a fun read.
6/12/08 - Tampa, FL
8/23/09 - Chicago, IL
9/28/09 - Salt Lake City, UT (11 years too long!!!)
9/03/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 1
9/04/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 2
6/12/08 - Tampa, FL
8/23/09 - Chicago, IL
9/28/09 - Salt Lake City, UT (11 years too long!!!)
9/03/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 1
9/04/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 2
I didn't think it was a really sad cry...more of a happy cry.
Currently reading:
just started, and I can already tell it's gonna be a tear jerker.
- Christopher McCandless
I read that and really enjoyed it too.
Great book!
Up next:
Blood's A Rover is an amazing and (sort of) redeeming end to my favourite book trilogy of all time, my personal fave of the three is American Tabloid 'cause Pete Bondurant is the best character in the books. Also the way Ellroy writes them is fantasic, the way the jargon evolves through the late fifties and into the early seventies. I'm assuming you've read the other two, this one easily lives up to them. Enjoy!
Manchester Aug 17th 2009
Hyde Park June 25th 2010
Manchester June 20th & 21st 2012
Leeds July 14th 2014
Then starting on these:
Or you can come to terms and realize
You're the only one who can't forgive yourself
reading this:
de-press-ing. I don't get addiction :wtf:
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
"Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
Thanks, I look forward to it, mid-way through The Sherlockians and am enjoying it more than I thought I would.
I have read most of Ellroy's work and while I find it tough to pick a favorite I agree that American Tabloid is fantastic. His characters *spark* and I think AT, White Jazz and Black Dahlia all are so great in that way. I thought that Cold Six Thousand was a bit of a let down so am excited to read the close out of his trilogy.
Living in LA I love his LA stuff especially.
I'd be curious to hear your opinion when you've finished "Tweak." Addiction and I are actually very well acquainted
* * * * *
Just finished "Five Against One."
Hard for me to truly appreciate as well. I just want to know enough about it to support the people I care about who are in recovery.
That's my selection for my book club when I host it next month!
Right now I'm listening to "Columbine" by Dave Cullen.
Horrifying.
You are going to love this book. It is so wonderful. Keep your tissues close by.
Don't fuck sheep. -EV 7/11/11
You can never have enough Neil in the mix. -EV 10/24/10
There's only one commandment: Don't be an asshole. -EV 5/6/10
thats either cause..
A: you dont have an addictibe personality
OR
B: youre insensive and havent mastered the art of empathy
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
"Consider the Lobster" by David Foster Wallace.
I wanna check this out, but heard it's a lot of the same stories as the Slash autobiography which I have already read. I'm sure I will end up reading this eventually.
Currently, I'm reading Griftopia by Matt Taibbi.
Hands down, my favorite writer ever. Consider the lobster is great. The tracy Austin is awesome. Really enjoyed the porn one too. That book is a great read.
I need to think about tackling infinite jest one of these days
"Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
I MISS YOU ALREDDIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
PJ 20 Alpine Valley 9/3/11, Eddie Vedder Albuquerque 11/6/12