false 85230 546024 1400062772 9781400062775 30 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175694116m/546024.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175694116s/546024.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/546024.Donorboy_A_Novel 3.82 142 Sean made a donation fifteen years ago, and his life since has not gone according to plan. Thirty-five, single, and still grieving the loss of his own mother twenty-seven years ago, he decides to take on the overwhelming task of caring for an unhappy teenager he doesn’t know.

Told entirely through e-mail, instant messaging, journal entries, and other random communications, Donorboy is the comic, compellingly readable novel of how these two people learn to converse, cook, write heavy-metal songs, and nail windows shut on their way to becoming a family. Brendan Halpin has written a universal story of how we laugh, cry, and occasionally punch our way to a new life in the face of tragedy.]]> 85230 3.85 595 148 2004 147288 0812969510 9780812969511 21 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172185645m/147288.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172185645s/147288.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/147288.Losing_My_Faculties_A_Teacher_s_Story 4.06 96 I am just one of those rare and probably defective people who really enjoy the company of teenagers.

Brendan Halpin’s It Takes a Worried Man—a memoir of how he and his family dealt with his wife’s battle against breast cancer—was praised for its can-dor, raw humor, and riveting voice. Halpin now turns his unique talent to an unforgettable account of the pursuit of his true calling: teaching.

Losing My Faculties follows Halpin through teaching jobs in an economically depressed white ethnic town, a middle-class suburb, a last-chance truancy prevention program in the inner city, and an ambitious college-prep urban charter school. In the same cuttingly observant voice that marked It Takes a Worried Man, Halpin tells us what it really means to be a teacher—the ups and downs in the classroom, the battles with administrators and colleagues, and the joy of doing a job that matters. Not the tale of a hero who changes his troubled students’ lives in one year, Losing My Faculties is, rather, the story of an all-too-fallible teacher who persists in spite of the frustrations that have driven so many others from the profession. After nine years of teaching, Halpin finds his idealism in shreds but his sense of humor and love for his work blessedly intact.


From the Hardcover edition.]]> 85230 3.85 595 148 2003 546023 0812977025 9780812977028 28 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175694116m/546023.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175694116s/546023.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/546023.Dear_Catastrophe_Waitress_A_Novel 3.56 102
Philippa doesn’t really think twice about cheating on her punk rocker boyfriend, Trevor. After all, she’s going to break up with him anyway. He mooches off her, treats her badly, and writes stupid songs about her breasts. Then Trevor’s band makes a splash with its one and only song sensation, “Philippa Cheats.” And suddenly Philippa is the most infamous ex-girlfriend in all of London.

Thus Philippa and Mark find themselves adrift, both single and living in Boston, still reeling from the impact that three minutes of music had on their lives. When these two minor-key souls meet and form a major chord, they will have to overcome the sneaking suspicion that each will betray the other . . . possibly with a song.

“Brendan Halpin adds weight to his funny moments and lightness to his sad ones . . . [reminding] us that comedy and tragedy aren’t opposites at all.”
–Carolyn Parkhurst, author of The Dogs of Babel, on Donorboy

“The author’s greatest gift: his pitch-perfect ear for dialogue.”
–People, on Long Way Back]]> 85230 3.85 595 148 2007 3416530 0374324360 9780374324360 31 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3416530.Forever_Changes 3.87 76
Funny, tear-jerking, and memorable, the author’s second novel for teens introduces readers to an extraordinary girl who learns that the meaning of forever can change, and that life – and death – is filled with infinite possibilities. ]]> 85230 3.85 595 148 2008 546027 0141008482 9780141008486 4 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175694117m/546027.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175694117s/546027.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/546027.It_Takes_a_Worried_Man 4.43 46
While his wife’s condition is always in his thoughts, Halpin’s memoir focuses more on the day-to-day, moment-to-moment concerns of a young English teacher forced into the role of temporary single parent to his young daughter, forced to test his relationship with his wife, and forced to face his own fears.

It Takes a Worried Man brilliantly skewers everyone from medical professionals to family members and details how work, pop music, and movies about flesh-eating zombies helped to save Halpin’s sanity. His rants about popular culture, God, and children’s birthday parties add levity and a fast pace to the narrative.]]> 85230 3.85 595 148 2002 797334 1400062780 9781400062782 7 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178469452m/797334.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178469452s/797334.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/797334.Long_Way_Back_A_Novel 3.88 42 Growing up with hippie activist parents, Clare and Francis Kelly share a strong bond. It’s firmly rooted in familial embarrassment (the Kellys’ house is “decorated like the inside of somebody’s hut in Guatemala”), reinforced by an abiding love of Dee Dee Ramone and other (lesser) gods of the rock pantheon, and cemented by the secret of a remarkable religious epiphany Francis experiences at the age of twelve.
Clare and Francis become happy adults with rewarding careers and loving spouses. But when tragedy strikes, Francis finds his faith shattered and his life horribly transformed, and Clare doesn’t know how to help the brother she loves but has never fully understood.
Nearly flattened by sadness, Francis turns to the angry, propulsive music that sustained him through adolescence and finds that you’re never too old to be punk rock. With the help of a bass guitar and the support of Clare and some unlikely new friends, Francis gradually finds his way back from the depths of despair to a life that feels worth living.
Told in Clare’s wry, compassionate voice, Long Way Back is an original, moving novel about grief, guitars, and grace. It shows that the Velvet Underground didn’t lie: Your life really can be saved by rock and roll.]]> 85230 3.85 595 148 2006 479206 0374334951 9780374334956 10 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175104572m/479206.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175104572s/479206.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/479206.How_Ya_Like_Me_Now 3.66 38
Two boys find that they have a lot to learn from each other in this touching, funny novel about finding your place and looking out for your friends.</div></div>]]> 85230 3.85 595 148 2007 5930137 0812977033 9780812977035 11 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5930137.I_Can_See_Clearly_Now_A_Novel 3.29 24 85230 3.85 595 148 2009 575055 0755322770 9780755322770 0 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175925714m/575055.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175925714s/575055.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/575055.Two_of_Us 4.00 2 85230 3.85 595 148 2004 7023992 3785722559 9783785722558 0 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7023992-all-about-dad 0.0 0 85230 3.85 595 148 731743 3.57 7 1 2006 7236446 0345497759 9780345497758 0 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7236446-dear-catastrophe-waitress 0.0 0 85230 3.85 595 148 2007 7236447 0307415066 9780307415066 0 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7236447-donorboy 0.0 0 85230 3.85 595 148 2007 7236448 0345513312 9780345513311 0 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7236448-i-can-see-clearly-now 0.0 0 85230 3.85 595 148 2009 2476584 3426623994 9783426623992 0 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2476584.Sch_nes_Leben_noch_ 0.0 0 85230 3.85 595 148 2002 575057 070200541X 9780702005411 0 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/575057.Patterns_of_animal_disease 0.0 0 85230 3.85 595 148 1975 2476593 0707001072 9780707001074 0 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2476593.Subsidizing_Jobs_Evaluation_of_the_Employment_Incentive_Scheme 0.0 0 253415 3.00 2 0 85230 3.85 595 148 1989