Lisa's updates http://www.goodreads.com/user/updates_rss/681511 en-US Sun, 04 May 2008 19:00:42 -0700 60 Lisa's updates http://www.goodreads.com/ 200 41 http://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/gr_logo.gif 24089280 Sun, 04 May 2008 19:00:42 -0700 Review21511290 <![CDATA[Lisa added 'Drinking: A Love Story']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21511290 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars to: Drinking: A Love Story (Paperback) by Caroline Knapp
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. ]]> 24073200 Sun, 04 May 2008 15:24:39 -0700 Chapter18633 <![CDATA[Lisa McColgan wrote a story]]> http://www.goodreads.com/story/show/16328.Why_I_Left_MySpace?chapter=1 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
]]> 24002116 Sat, 03 May 2008 14:28:55 -0700 Review21515752 <![CDATA[Lisa added 'The Beans of Egypt, Maine: The Finished Version']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21515752 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars to: The Beans of Egypt, Maine: The Finished Version (Paperback) by Carolyn Chute
A brutal, astonishing story of poverty and its toll on people. This is a book I frequently come back to. ]]> 23998631 Sat, 03 May 2008 13:38:41 -0700 Review21529525 <![CDATA[Lisa added 'Sundays with Vlad: From Pennsylvania to Transylvania, One Man's Quest to Live in the World of the Undead']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21529525 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars to: Sundays with Vlad: From Pennsylvania to Transylvania, One Man's Quest to Live in the World of the Undead (Paperback) by Paul Bibeau
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. ]]> 23984189 Sat, 03 May 2008 09:49:11 -0700 Review21518027 <![CDATA[Lisa added 'The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21518027 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars to: The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band (Paperback) by Tommy Lee
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. ]]> 23981513 Sat, 03 May 2008 09:10:34 -0700 Review21515876 <![CDATA[Lisa added 'Hoodoo Herb and Root Magic: A Materia Magica of African-American Conjure']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21515876 Hoodoo Herb and Root Magic: A Materia Magica of African-American Conjure (Paperback) by Catherine Yronwode
bookshelves: to-read
]]> 23980905 Sat, 03 May 2008 09:06:48 -0700 Review21515355 <![CDATA[Lisa added 'In the Country of the Young']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21515355 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars to: In the Country of the Young (Paperback) by Lisa Carey
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. ]]> 23980018 Sat, 03 May 2008 09:02:59 -0700 Review21514663 <![CDATA[Lisa added 'All Souls: A Family Story from Southie']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21514663 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars to: All Souls: A Family Story from Southie (Hardcover) by Michael Patrick MacDonald
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. ]]> 23979194 Sat, 03 May 2008 08:47:53 -0700 Review21513988 <![CDATA[Lisa added 'Please Stop Laughing at Me: One Woman's Inspirational Story']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21513988 1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars to: Please Stop Laughing at Me: One Woman's Inspirational Story (Paperback) by Jodee Blanco
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. ]]>