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May 04
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Lisa McColgan
gave
to:
Drinking: A Love Story (Paperback)
by Caroline Knapp
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in November, 2001
Lisa said:
"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 th...more
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. ...less
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Lisa McColgan wrote Why I Left MySpace: Chapter One..
"I had a MySpace page. For a while, it was good. And then it wasn't. So I KILLED it.
It's been "
...more
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May 03
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Lisa McColgan
gave
to:
The Beans of Egypt, Maine: The Finished Version (Paperback)
by Carolyn Chute
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Lisa said:
"A brutal, astonishing story of poverty and its toll on people. This is a book I frequently come back to.
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Lisa McColgan
gave
to:
Sundays with Vlad: From Pennsylvania to Transylvania, One Man's Quest to Live in the World of the Undead (Paperback)
by Paul Bibeau
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Lisa said:
"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.
...more
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....less
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Lisa McColgan
gave
to:
The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band (Paperback)
by Tommy Lee, Vince Neil, Mick Mars
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Lisa said:
"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 i...more
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....less
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Lisa McColgan
marked as to-read:
Hoodoo Herb and Root Magic: A Materia Magica of African-American Conjure (Paperback)
by Catherine Yronwode
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Lisa McColgan
gave
to:
In the Country of the Young (Paperback)
by Lisa Carey
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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Lisa said:
"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...more
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. ...less
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Lisa McColgan
gave
to:
All Souls: A Family Story from Southie (Hardcover)
by Michael Patrick MacDonald (Goodreads author!)
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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Lisa said:
"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 d...more
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....less
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Lisa McColgan
gave
to:
Please Stop Laughing at Me: One Woman's Inspirational Story (Paperback)
by Jodee Blanco
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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Lisa said:
"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 prob...more
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....less
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