http://www.goodreads.com/review/list_rss/681511 en-US Sun, 20 Jul 2008 18:01:58 -0700 60 http://www.goodreads.com/ 200 41 http://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/gr_logo.gif 21511579 Sun, 20 Jul 2008 18:01:58 -0700
author: Gerald Clarke
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at: 07/08
date added: 07/20/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 21511290 Sun, 04 May 2008 19:00:42 -0700
In that respect, I am biased. Beyond what I have experienced in the wake of finishing this book, and making that first call for help, I can appreciate it for the truly well-written memoir that it is.

There are those who raise an eyebrow at Knapp's background. While it's true that she came from comfortable, upper-middle-class surroundings, her story resonates for anyone, from any background, who gets swept up into the maelstrom of addiction. There isn't much in the way of self-pity here; Knapp "owns her s--t," as it were.

The one "problem" with this book is its decidedly pro-12-Step stance. It doesn't address the growing number of 12-Step alternatives, but then it shouldn't have to. It is, after all, Knapp's story, and AA was the path Knapp took.

It's a pity she is no longer among us. I would have liked to read more from her. ]]>
author: Caroline Knapp
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.93
book published: 1992
rating: 5
read at: 11/01
date added: 05/04/08
shelves:
review:
It's interesting to read how many people here felt compelled to embark on their own recovery journeys after reading this book. I'm one of them as well. Knapp's frank, candid chronicle of her "drinking career" rang true with me in a way that no other "drunkalogue" had.

In that respect, I am biased. Beyond what I have experienced in the wake of finishing this book, and making that first call for help, I can appreciate it for the truly well-written memoir that it is.

There are those who raise an eyebrow at Knapp's background. While it's true that she came from comfortable, upper-middle-class surroundings, her story resonates for anyone, from any background, who gets swept up into the maelstrom of addiction. There isn't much in the way of self-pity here; Knapp "owns her s--t," as it were.

The one "problem" with this book is its decidedly pro-12-Step stance. It doesn't address the growing number of 12-Step alternatives, but then it shouldn't have to. It is, after all, Knapp's story, and AA was the path Knapp took.

It's a pity she is no longer among us. I would have liked to read more from her.
]]> 21515752 Sat, 03 May 2008 14:28:55 -0700
author: Carolyn Chute
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.48
book published: 1995
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 05/03/08
shelves:
review:
A brutal, astonishing story of poverty and its toll on people. This is a book I frequently come back to.
]]> 21529525 Sat, 03 May 2008 13:38:41 -0700
Well-researched without ever being dry, Bibeau speaks to role players, historians, self-confessed sanguinarians and clubkids, trying to make sense of who Vlad the Impaler was, and how he became the commodified, almost-cuddly vampire we all know and love today.

It's both hilarious and fascinating.]]>
author: Paul Bibeau
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 05/03/08
shelves:
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I picked this up expecting a fair amount of camp, and came away with a great deal of respect for this guy. Bibeau explores every conceivable element of the Dracula story, from Romania to New Jersey and making pitstops nearly everywhere in between.

Well-researched without ever being dry, Bibeau speaks to role players, historians, self-confessed sanguinarians and clubkids, trying to make sense of who Vlad the Impaler was, and how he became the commodified, almost-cuddly vampire we all know and love today.

It's both hilarious and fascinating.
]]> 21518027 Sat, 03 May 2008 09:49:11 -0700
And yet I was first in line to buy this "autobiography," helped along considerably by Neil Strauss (I somehow doubt that Vince Neil would drop the word "nacreous" in his everyday conversation). It's a fascinating read. We learn that Vince Neil is an avid golfer, Mick Mars is a fan of the Discovery Channel, Nikki Sixx is astonishingly well-read, and that Tommy Lee has an enormous unit (okay, so that last one wasn't exactly news to anyone).

The books takes the reader from the band's humble, filthy beginnings through their startling successes and subsequent overdoses and divorces. Through it all, though, you find yourself rootin' for 'em. You come away feeling sympathy and empathy for the guys.

Well, except maybe for Tommy Lee. He's still pretty much a douchebag.]]>
author: Tommy Lee
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2002
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 05/03/08
shelves:
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High atop my list of "guilty pleasures" (sandwiched somewhere in between "Valley of the Dolls" and airplane food) is Motley Crue. They're ugly as hell, crude, and their music is of dubious artistic merit.

And yet I was first in line to buy this "autobiography," helped along considerably by Neil Strauss (I somehow doubt that Vince Neil would drop the word "nacreous" in his everyday conversation). It's a fascinating read. We learn that Vince Neil is an avid golfer, Mick Mars is a fan of the Discovery Channel, Nikki Sixx is astonishingly well-read, and that Tommy Lee has an enormous unit (okay, so that last one wasn't exactly news to anyone).

The books takes the reader from the band's humble, filthy beginnings through their startling successes and subsequent overdoses and divorces. Through it all, though, you find yourself rootin' for 'em. You come away feeling sympathy and empathy for the guys.

Well, except maybe for Tommy Lee. He's still pretty much a douchebag.
]]> 21515355 Sat, 03 May 2008 09:06:48 -0700
Of her books, this is my favorite. It's a fine ghost story in the Irish tradition, with some obvious modern twists. ]]>
author: Lisa Carey
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2002
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 05/03/08
shelves:
review:
By and large, I'm not a big fiction reader. Lisa Carey is a friend and classmate, and she is tireless in the pursuit of her craft. I can honestly say that she works harder than anyone I know.

Of her books, this is my favorite. It's a fine ghost story in the Irish tradition, with some obvious modern twists.
]]> 21514663 Sat, 03 May 2008 09:02:59 -0700
His prose is not flowery. He gets to the point, and does so with an utter lack of self-pity that sets this memoir in a class by itself. I have re-read this a number of times, and it never ceases to amaze.]]>
author: Michael Patrick MacDonald
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.32
book published: 1999
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 05/03/08
shelves:
review:
With simple, unflinching honesty, MacDonald tells the story of growing up in South Boston's Old Colony Project during the height of the busing controversy and Whitey Bulger's unofficial reign.

His prose is not flowery. He gets to the point, and does so with an utter lack of self-pity that sets this memoir in a class by itself. I have re-read this a number of times, and it never ceases to amaze.
]]> 21513988 Sat, 03 May 2008 08:47:53 -0700
I don't mean to make light of the very real and very serious problem of bullying. But there are far better books out there addressing this.]]>
author: Jodee Blanco
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.48
book published: 2003
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 05/03/08
shelves:
review:
Honestly? If every person who ever got teased in junior high got to write a book about it, the world would be fairly teeming with wretchingly wrist-to-forehead tomes like this one.

I don't mean to make light of the very real and very serious problem of bullying. But there are far better books out there addressing this.
]]> 21512052 Sat, 03 May 2008 08:20:47 -0700
A lot of writers are lauded for having a "natural" gift with words. Lisa Carver is the real deal. She didn't go to college, didn't hole away in some pricey colony to hone her craft. Her true love of language shines on every page, and her story is at turns hilarious and heartbreaking. This was one of the few books I was truly sorry to have finished; I wanted more, tried to make it last, but couldn't. I read it straight through in one weekend.]]>
author: Lisa Crystal Carver
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 05/03/08
shelves:
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Known in the 80's and 90's as a sort of post-punk provocateur, both with her underground "opera" troupe Suckdog and her self-effacing, wry commentary (via her long-running zine "Rollerderby"), Carver spills what was really going on during those tumultuous years.

A lot of writers are lauded for having a "natural" gift with words. Lisa Carver is the real deal. She didn't go to college, didn't hole away in some pricey colony to hone her craft. Her true love of language shines on every page, and her story is at turns hilarious and heartbreaking. This was one of the few books I was truly sorry to have finished; I wanted more, tried to make it last, but couldn't. I read it straight through in one weekend.
]]> 21511206 Sat, 03 May 2008 07:54:48 -0700
author: Ariel Schrag
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2000
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 05/03/08
shelves:
review:
Schrag is a natural storyteller, and these tales of her first love are simultaneously thrilling and crushing.
]]> 21511081 Sat, 03 May 2008 07:52:03 -0700
author: Jacqueline Susann
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.78
book published: 1966
rating: 5
read at: 01/85
date added: 05/03/08
shelves:
review:
I don't care. This is the GREATEST BOOK EVER WRITTEN and if you don't agree, well, then you won't be invited over to my house to view my Deluxe DVD edition. Haters.
]]> 21511069 Sat, 03 May 2008 07:50:29 -0700
author: Stephanie Kaza
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 05/03/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 21511000 Sat, 03 May 2008 07:49:42 -0700
author: Hollis Gillespie
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 05/03/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 21510995 Sat, 03 May 2008 07:49:40 -0700
author: Hollis Gillespie
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 05/03/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 21510956 Sat, 03 May 2008 07:49:08 -0700
author: Flannery O'Connor
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.33
book published: 1980
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 05/03/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 21510944 Sat, 03 May 2008 07:48:56 -0700
author: Flannery O'Connor
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.58
book published: 1971
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 05/03/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 21510907 Sat, 03 May 2008 07:47:58 -0700
author: Retha M. Warnicke
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.45
book published: 1991
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 05/03/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 21510897 Sat, 03 May 2008 07:47:52 -0700
author: Karen Lindsey
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.89
book published: 1996
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 05/03/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 21510875 Sat, 03 May 2008 07:47:40 -0700
author: David Starkey
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2004
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 05/03/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 21510871 Sat, 03 May 2008 07:47:38 -0700
author: Antonia Fraser
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1992
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 05/03/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 21510857 Sat, 03 May 2008 07:47:31 -0700
author: Alison Weir
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.03
book published: 1996
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 05/03/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 21510841 Sat, 03 May 2008 07:47:24 -0700
author: Margaret George
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1998
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 05/03/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 21510831 Sat, 03 May 2008 07:47:19 -0700
author: Alison Weir
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1991
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 05/03/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 21510762 Sat, 03 May 2008 07:46:30 -0700
author: Lisa Jervis
name: Lisa
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 05/03/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 21510440 Sat, 03 May 2008 07:42:58 -0700
author: David Nadelberg
name: Lisa
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 03/08
date added: 05/03/08
shelves:
review:
Page after page of cringeworthy self-recognition.
]]>