Polling the Masses: Picks from the Random House Phone Sales Team

Stacey's Pick--The Healing

Today is both Friendship Day and International Forgiveness Day, so it seems appropriate that we pick on some of our pals and hope they're forgiving, right?  I (Liz) spend my office days sharing space with Zorro at home and safely removed from my colleagues around the country, but Random House also has a telephone sales department.  These reps manage thousands of accounts across the country, an incredible task, and they also have to be social and interact in a real office environment.  I'd last about 20 minutes before committing a fire-able offense.  I thoroughly enjoy the company of the phone sales reps and seek out their company at sales conferences; they are a twisted group of weirdos who know how to take a joke, recognize bullshit when they see it, and possess passion for both books and the stores with whom they work.  I also enjoy emailing one phone sales rep with instructions to pick on someone else in the group.  (And this is why I'm stationed 1,500 miles away.)  I thought it might be a hoot to see what books have stuck in their heads as great reads and then share them here.

Stacey at sales conference
with John Grisham

Stacey shares some of my geographical territory--the Deep South--and obnoxiously good at various iPhone word games.  I don't like losing.  She speaks Italian and likes to vacation in Branson, Missouri, even though she'll photoshop herself into pictures of coastal Mexico and argue that that's where she went for her trip.  Here's Stacey's pick:

The Healing by Jonathan Odell is a wonderfully powerful book with some of the most memorable characters I’ve ever encountered. It’s the story of a young slave named Granada, and her journey to find her true self with the help of mysterious healer, Polly Shine. The story is beautifully written, with characters who will stick with you long after you’ve finished the final page. But what I love most of all is the book’s message:  sharing our stories is our most valuable gift.

Pam's cat Fred. Trying to
clean something that, well,
no longer exists.

Let's talk about Pam.  Pam loves Chuck Palahniuk books (Fight Club, etc), and she owns a cat that recently had, as Stacey phrased it, "sex change surgery."  Pam's cat Fred (Frida?) had a penectomy, and she's now sending me emails that say things like "Fred now tinkles like a girl."  I'm not making any of this up. See why I love these people?  Pam recommends a new release and one of my favorite books for this fall:

The Dogs Stars by Peter Heller is seriously one of the best books I ever read. Some have compared this to The Road and I can see that comparison, for its post-apocalyptic story. But this is an entirely different reading experience. The Road is a much darker read, and I was never able to get close to McCarthy’s characters. While reading The Dog Stars, I not only felt close to Heller’s characters, I embraced them and felt completely connected to them. These people are so real and so damaged, but at the same time resilient and strong. I loved all of them, and will think of them for a very long time. There is heartbreaking beauty in the scenery, but the sense of loss is evident on every page. Do yourselves a big favor and pick up a copy of The Dog Stars at your local independent bookstore on August 7th. 

Sherri is an integral part of the Random House sales team as a whole, sending out reports every week to all of us that allow us to actually do our jobs (it's the little things that make a huge difference).  Sherri is my pick from the phone sales team as "most likely to secretly be a serial killer."  She's friendly and professional and hard-working and she has a corpse hidden in her cellar.  Her neighbors are quick to tell reporters that she was so quiet and friendly....

Sweeping Up Glass by Carolyn Wall
Sweeping Up Glass is a mystery filled with love, devotion and the devastating damage caused by bigotry and secrets. A powerful story of great depth and beauty that you won’t want to end. [Gianna and I both loved this book too.  Got a book group?  This would be a great choice.]

Sarah is the lone children's book expert working out of the Random House Westminster, Maryland, offices.  That's a formidable amount of work, yet she was considerate enough to send a recommendation for this piece.  That's some bookish dedication.  That she picked a Texas author too suggests that maybe she's trying to win brownie points over here in Book Land, to which I say "Yes!  I absolutely can be bought! Sarah is, without question, the greatest sales rep in the country, by which I mean 'the universe.'  Gianna is getting herself knocked up just so that she can name her child after Sarah (boy or girl, doesn't matter).  We also accept chocolate and cash as bribes."  From Sarah:

Texas boy grows up and writes a heck of a good kid’s book – author Lee Bacon grew up in College Station, Texas, and though he has moved away he certainly got his writing skills started there.

Joshua Dread coming out September 25 is clever, fast paced, and funny. This book is the reverse side of all those PERCY JACKSON books, with Joshua having to hide the fact that his parents are supervillains (The Dread Duo), enduring his friend’s adoration of Captain Justice (his parent’s enemy), and finding himself suddenly having inexplicable powers to burn things!

Laugh out loud scenes with interesting interactions between Captain Justice and the Dread Duo and Joshua and an unexpected friend saving the day.

Don’t miss this middle grade book for all your readers.

Scott. Questionable
taste in baseball teams.

Scott is the token man in the phone sales department.  I hope for his sake that his desk isn't close to Pam's (see above).  Scott and I share some accounts, which I can only describe as a terrible strain that has aged me grotesquely.  He is great about following through with my dastardly plans to create office turmoil (by kicking Stacey's or Pam's chairs for me), but I think he's still within the hazing period for newish reps (Random House does not have a hazing period and condemns such acts), so at some point I'm going to have to pick on him at sales conference.  Scott recommends:

I just finished The Last Policeman by Ben Winters and I can't wait for the other two books to come out!!

 At first I must admit my reservations in reading this book. I thought to myself "How could I get into any other pre-apocalyptic books that would rouse me as did the catastrophe in The Age of Miracles (the slowing)?" Well, it did because the lead protagonist Detective Hank Palace is quite a character. He is hellbent on investigating a death by hanging in a city that sees a dozen suicides every week. The story takes place in Concord, New Hampshire. This investigation is different, though, and Hank is determined to solve what he believes is a suspicious murder. The big picture is there is an asteroid en route to the earth with about six months left until impact. People are taking their own lives, giving up like there is no chance left, but not Detective Hank Palace. He is the only cop who cares and will stop at nothing to find out who murdered the late Peter Anthony Zell, a thirty-eight year old, Caucasian male, insurance salesman.

Thank you Quirk Books and Ben Winters for this wonderful new adventure in mystery, sci-fi, whodunit.

Judy?  Well, Judy loves the Baltimore Ravens.  Like LOVES them.  She believes in the power of wearing purple on Fridays.  She also wants to get a tattoo to honor her father...who hates that she has tattoos.  She's also the category specialist for audio and large print, travel, and information books.  I think there's a chance that someday Judy's body will be the one found in Sherri's cellar, identified by her purple boots and fairy tattoo that she swears is actually an angel. Judy picked this audiobook:

Drift by Rachel Maddow

Read by the author, so the timing and inflection is natural and even funny at times; this is great storytelling mixed with simple to understand descriptions of complex policies.

Cheryl and Emily poses with
The Night Circus display.

Cheryl is the mystery specialist, but she reads all kinds of books and has great taste.  Don't think she's the exception to this group of freaks, though.  She's a twin.  Twins are extremely disturbing.  Cheryl is also passionate about horses, which would make me inclined to like her, except again there's that twin thing.  Cheryl offered up a selection of great picks:

The River Wife by Jonis Agee
This oldie but goodie is my “go to” when gal pals ask me for a book suggestion. This epic historical fiction is about 5 women connected to Mississippi River pirate Jacques Ducharme. The writing is beautiful and if you’re a sucker for historical fiction, be prepared to get lost in this rich, atmospheric read. 

The Road to Valor by Aili McConnon and Andres McConnon
Think Unbroken for the cyclist fans – this is the story of Gino Bartali, Tuscan peasant and two time Tour de France winner who sets out to save Italian Jews during WWII. Bartali is brave, loyal, and has so much inner strength he was able to carry himself through the difficulties of WWII. The authors are a sibling team who have created a magnificent story. The history, facts, and mere story telling are fabulous. In fact, this is the required history reading I wish I had in school! 

The Eighty Dollar Champion by Elizabeth Letts 

Based on the life of a Dutch immigrant who saves a plow horse, this extraordinary story is about an unlikely hero who stole the heart of the our nation during the 1950’s. This book will appeal to history lovers, readers of animal stories, or anyone who simply loves a good book!

Emily is tall, and I don't like tall people.  She also has a decidedly geeky side and loves uber-geek read Ready Player One by Ernie Cline and things like experimental aircraft at the Smithsonian.  I think that there will come a time when Emily and I are pitted against each other in a cage match for ultimate domination, and because of this inevitability I think it's best to harbor a strong, unfounded hatred toward her.  Emily performed the penectomy on Pam's cat.  (I may be making up some of this stuff.)  What really pisses me off is that Emily picked a book that I absolutely love, which is further proof in my mind that she's trying to usurp my position as most beloved rep ever [Gianna: Really?  Does anybody really believe that Liz is beloved?] [Liz: The answer is always 'Liz.']  Here's Emily's pick:

Chinaberry Sidewalks by Rodney Crowell 9780307740977

I have nothing in common with Rodney Crowell, who turns out to be a pretty famous country music composer and singer. Country music to me is what my husband sings when he really REALLY wants to annoy me. But I fell in love with Crowell after reading his incredible autobiography Chinaberry Sidewalks. Really it is a biography of his hard-drinking, abusive, but loving parents. Crowell’s father always wanted to be a famous musician but the most he accomplished were bar gigs where his wife would tackle the women-of-loose-morals that undulated in front of him during gigs.  Rodney took up the guitar and, for himself and his father, achieved the fame that had eluded his family for so long. From a house in Houston with paper thin walls and cockroaches that ran for cover when the lights came on, to marrying the daughter of Johnny Cash, Crowell lived a life that all of us can learn from.

Lori Zook is the intrepid manager of the phone sales department, and is responsible for this group of reps.  I include her last name here because she's legendary for casting a "Zook Look" at people when she's annoyed.  I strive to receive the Look, but sadly every encounter I've ever had with Lori has been pleasant.  Usually she's laughing at me.  She's worked for Random House since she was, like, seventeen years old or something, so she's pretty much seen it all.  Some of Lori's reps revealed to me that she's scared of birds, which helps to explain how someone so seemingly level-headed and kind assembles this team of oddballs.  Lori was on vacation when I asked if I could feature her department on our blog, but she bothered to respond to my query anyway with her blessing.  Then she asked if she had to pick a Random House book (never a requirement for our blog), but then didn't get back to me with her actual selection.  So I'm picking a book for her.  I'm sure she would approve.

Inspired by the Cold War and the threat of Soviet attack in the aftermath of World War II, The Birds by Daphne DuMaurier was a 1952 novelette that became the basis for the famous Hitchcock film.  It's the story of a farmer and his family who come under attack by seagulls assaulting them from the sky.  It's the best book I've ever read.  I read it before I go to sleep each night.

[Not featured: Amiee was on vacation while we were gathering picks, and I can only hope that, in the spirit of International Forgiveness Day, she doesn't believe that her exclusion is a reflection of anything other than that we needed to post something on the blog and this is what I had in my file. I mean, if anything, I would have excluded Emily, because she's shifty and troublesome. Or Pam, because she chopped off her cat's wee-wee. Sorry Amiee. Or consider yourself lucky?]

Book Group Picks to Kick Off 2012

Now that we've shaken off the holiday season, it's time to grudgingly associate with acquaintances while pretending to care about their children and drinking lots and lots of wine, all under the pretense of reading the same books together.  I think if Gianna and I had a book group and I got to name it, I'd call it "Dear God I Resent You People."  In other news, yes, I'm still single.  Still, we love the idea of book groups because we love the idea of people buying and reading books.  We want to stay employed.  Here are some of our top book group picks, new or coming out soon in paperback, for the first three months of 2012.


Gianna's Picks:

The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obreht

Random House

Paperback out now

For those keeping track, this is the 147^th time that either Liz or I have blogged about this book. That is only one fewer than Let’s Take the Long Way Home (which is also an excellent book group choice). The Tiger’s Wife is textured, compelling, mystical, and multi-dimensional. It is a heartfelt work of serious literary fiction that only comes around once every few years. I’ve said this before, but Tiger’s Wife will be read for generations. I would say that if you are in a book group that truly cherishes literature, this is a must.

Open City by Teju Cole

Random House

1/17/12

This absolutely stunning work by Teju Cole has several built-in discussions/themes for book groups: the Holocaust, slavery, 9/11, genocide, and the invasion of Iraq are a few that will keep the discussion going late into the evening…so, you know, bring extra wine.

Blood, Bones, and Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton

Random House

1/24/12

Blood, Bones, and Butter is quite simply one of the best memoirs I’ve ever read, while officially it may actually be a food memoir. Memoirs can be very hit or miss for book clubs, but I would put this in the hit column. The writing is as fine as anything you will read. I would compare it to All Over but the Shoutin’ by Rick Bragg, or Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl (a huge book club favorite).

 

Dreams of Joy by Lisa See

Random House

2/1/12

I wanted to include a really good yet more commercial book on my list and Lisa See immediately came to mind. She brings timeless themes to every book: belonging, love, family (particularly sisters and mothers and daughters), and what it means to belong. Dreams of Joy is an outstanding sequel to Shanghai Girl; I highly recommend both books for clubs.

Welcome to Utopia by Karen Valby

University of Texas Press

3/1/12

Oh, how I love this book. I’ve read it three times and each time I find something new, something meaningful, something to hold on to. While the story of a small town in Texas, this small marvel of a book could have been nearly anywhere in this country. Themes are numerous and include: race, war, gender, family, change, the impact of pop culture, and what it means to live in a small American town. Utopia is a mix of To Kill a Mockingbird and The Last Picture Show. That’s a big statement, I am standing by it, and you know where I live.  Okay, if you actually know where I live that’s sort of creepy, but you know what I mean. [I'll send you Gianna's address for cash.]

Liz's Picks

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

Random House

Paperback available now

Who doesn't love a good, creepy ghost story that echoes classics like Rebecca?  Who doesn't want to see the Harry Potter kid's new movie?  The Woman in Black is a chilling read that has the added bonus of being Daniel Radcliffe's first starring film role since he went wizard.  Here's a great opportunity to read the book and then see the movie as a group.

Snowdrops by A.D. Miller

Random House

2/7/12

The surprise Booker Prize finalist offers lots of discussion material for groups.  Modern Russia, dishonest women, the mob, the black market, bodies in the snow--this isn't your mama's book group pick.  It's a contemporary con novel and rumination on truth in a country where everything is relative.

House of Prayer No. 2 by Mark Richard

Random House

2/14/12

I'm actually a fan of the idea of memoirs for book group picks.  The added reality of a true story adds another level to the conversation, and House of Prayer No. 2 offers lots.  Mark Richard grew up with physical problems that had him relegated to hospitals and special needs schools even though he was plenty smart.  He also was a wayward youth searching for purpose who spent time working as a fisherman, painting houses, and loafing.  How he became a writer's writer is a story worth reading.

Chinaberry Sidewalks by Rodney Crowell

Random House

3/13/12

I think I've mentioned this book almost as much as Gianna has written about The Tiger's Wife.  It's my favorite non-fiction book of 2011, a spellbinding, beautifully written memoir of growing up in a low income family in Houston in the 50's.  Crowell has the ability to bring humor and love to a story that's also full of hardship and violence and kooky religious fundamentalism.  He writes like a poet.  I love this book.

The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka

Random House

3/20/12

I've written previously about this slender novel as well.  The Buddha in the Attic was deservedly nominated for the National Book Award last year.  It's the story of the women who came to the US as mail order brides to Japanese immigrants.  It details culture shock, struggle, and perseverance in the years between the turn of the century and the start of World War II.  The writing is impeccable and because there is no one protagonist, the structure itself adds to a discussion.  And it's really, really good.  Trust me.

Best of 2011 Countdown: #9

Gianna:

The Informationist
Taylor Stevens
Crown

Enter the only thriller on my list! This book makes my list for several reasons but first and foremost it makes my list because it re-invigorated my love of thrillers  (and I really was sort of done with this genre).

Here is what you need to know about Vanessa Michael Munroe.

Taylor Stevens

1. She can kick your ass. Don’t test her; trust me.

2. She is smarter than you.

3. She’s hotter than you. [No one's hotter than me! Right?  RIGHT???]

4. She’s dark, she’s a loner, she’s damaged…just my type. [Why Gianna loves me...and I spurn her.]

5. She speaks over 20 languages. Told you she is smarter than you.  

Vanessa Munroe can get you the information you need… if you can pay. The daughter of a millionaire has been missing for several years and Munroe is hired to find out what happened to her. The coolest thing about The Informationist is the exotic places it takes you--Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea among others [Perfect for a family vacation!].  Munroe is an expert of infiltrating cultures, of fitting in and moving without being noticed (until she is noticed and then things go bad).  The plot is intricate, incredibly fast paced, and has several holy crap moments (lets just say Munroe’s weapon of choice is a knife). If you love Lee Child or Stieg Larsson you will not be able to put this book down. And yes, you will casting the movie in your head too.

The Informationist is available in paperback and the sequel, called The Innocent, is due on December 27^th. I am just starting The Innocent now so look for another blog on this Taylor Stevens series soon. 

Chinaberry Sidewalks

Rodney Crowell

Knopf

Gianna has already included this book on her list, so there are two votes of approval for you.  Here's what you need to know.  Did you read and like Mary Karr's The Liars Club or Jeannette Walls's The Glass Castle?  Then you need to read Chinaberry Sidewalks.  Actually, I'm going to say it--Rodney Crowell's book is BETTER than The Glass Castle.  Set aside that Crowell is a singer.  I loved this book and it should be painfully obvious to anyone who knows me that I'm not a music person.  My favorite song was in The Muppet Movie for crying out loud.  Focus on the fact that Crowell is a simply brilliant writer.

Rodney Crowell performing at
BookPeople in Austin

The story of Rodney Crowell's working class upbringing in Houston and East Texas is filled with humor, love, violence, and insanity, hard drinkers and religious extremists.  It's the sort of rearing that a some kids never survive.  He encounters hurricanes in a house filled with holes, guns and fights. Crowell does survive, though, and salvation mostly comes through music.  As a 12 year-old he was playing drums in a honky tonk.  And here's where you should consider Crowell's career.  He's a genius songwriter and that genius shows through in his prose.  That genius landed him in Nashville and led to a terrific career with such luminaries as Guy Clark, Emmylou Harris, and Johnny Cash.

I like this book so much I've made it my favorite nonfiction book of 2011.  I guarantee its genius.  Read it.

Best of 2011 Countdown: #11

Home stretch! Today we have a couple of great memoirs.

Gianna:

Chinaberry Sidewalks
Rodney Crowell
Knopf

Several musicians wrote books this year, and Random House was lucky enough to publish a few of the best (Joe Henry’s Lime Creek was on my top 30 and Josh Ritter’s novel is a favorite as well). What separates Crowell’s biography from so many others is that he worked on it for about a decade and wrote every word himself. Thoughtful and authentic, two words not normally associated with music memoirs, but Crowell digs deeper.

His book is more along the lines of The Liars Club or even All Over but the Shoutin’ (and clear influence from Kardashian Konfidential). This memoir is funny, sweet, dark, and in parts quite sad. He is the son of an alcoholic father and an epileptic, Pentecostal mother who also had a temper. Let's just say…there were fights in that house.  You will in fact get a good sense of his young life when he recalls a story of having to break up his parents New Year's party when gunfire broke out.   It is where the saying “It's not New Year's until there is gunfire” comes from! Well that should be a saying.

It's all here in this incredibly well-written memoir; love, sex, violence, music, drinking, poverty, more music, and then a little more music on top. If you’re like me (if you are, try to change) you’ll hope Rodney has another book on the way.

Visit his website to see an interview with Mary Karr:

http://rodneycrowell.com/

Liz:

Blue Nights

Joan Didion

Knopf

Nothing says "Happy Holidays!" like...a memoir about a woman coping with the death of her daughter.  Blue Nights, however, is written by Joan Didion, literary giant.  Following her memoir about the death of her husband, The Year of Magical Thinking, Didion manages to keep going only to once again find herself immersed in tragedy months later when her daughter Quintana passes away.  

Didion's grief is raw, but she intersperses her tough moments with a striking elegy to her daughter's life, from growing up in Malibu to her life as an adult woman, newly married.  Didion and her husband John Gregory Dunne were friends with Vanessa Redgrave, and their daughter Quintana was a friend of Natasha Richardson.  Redgrave's own loss of her daughter (Natasha Richardson died after a skiing accident) weaves into Didion's story; Vanessa Redgrave actually played Didion in the Broadway show of The Year of Magical Thinking.  

I am not a parent.  Zorro the cat is already too much responsibility for me.  I have, however, recently experienced the loss of a family member.  To read Joan Didion's memoirs about grief is to find one's own sorrow and pain and hope and strength.  Death is the universal experience; Joan Didion gives a voice to ones still living.

30 More Days Book Challenge: Day 29

As we wrap up the book challenge, don't forget to check us out and "like" our Facebook page.  If we get to 500 fans, I'll post the picture of Gianna with the camel toe.  We post new, occasionally book related, material there every day.  We'll still be posting to the blog too, but we may take a few more days off.

Day 29: Books By or About Musicians.

Hell.  I don't really listen to music.  I would focus on Gianna's list for quality on this topic.  Most of my favorite songs were originally performed by Muppets.  I don't know what the hell I'm going to write about.

Gianna:

Look into my eyes...
...and my soul, like glass.

My favorite book about or by a musician is by icon and personal shero; Celine Dion. Celine Dion: My Story, My Dream; Your Nightmare. My mother lives in Las Vegas (retired showgirl) and I spent time… a lot of time...in the Celine Dion gift shop. Mugs, champagne glasses, shirts, scarves…beautiful scarves (to hang one's self I assume), letter openers (not quite sharp enough to slit your wrist during a show), CD’s, books, perfume, watches (so you can literally see time fly during one of her shows…or seem like time is at a standstill), key chains, magnets, bracelets, charms, pins (almost sharp enough to poke your eyes out), hats, shorts (always keep an extra pair in case you shit yourself when she hits that high note) and photos! So many photos, Celine in every pose you can imagine, and if you are like me, you’ve imagined them all. The one thing they didn’t have….ear plugs. Now don’t be writing any hate mail, I am just kidding, she really is…something. [For the record, it's worth tracking down Celine's book for the truly excellent photo section in the middle.  She writes awesome captions; things like "This photo really captures my soul in its beauty."  I'm not kidding.]

Okay let me add a few more books to this blog – in fact let me make a top five list. I could do top ten easily but Liz gets mad when I steal her thunder.  [I have thunder?  I really have no ideas whatsoever for this blog.]

I am lucky enough to have seen Boy George. Yeah, that’s right, I said it. Saw him maybe 15 years ago in Miami and he was fantastic! I also got my copy of Take it Like a Man signed. Too many rock memoirs gloss over the bad bits…Boy takes the high road here and lays it all out – with much humor I might add. One of my favorite stories he tells is a sad/hilarious story about having a meal with Annie Lennox. Mid-way through the meal he passes out, which is bad, but when he wakes up he begins to sing one of Annie’s songs (very loudly). I believe the song was You Must be Talking to an Angel and I also believe Annie ended up walking out. Boy George also describes the punk scene in London during the late 1970’s and early 1980’s which is really fun.

I think the book that kept me off drugs is And I Don’t Want to Live This Life by Deborah Spungen, mother of Nancy. I read this book while in high school and found it absolutely mesmerizing. Again, it’s a great look at the music/punk scene during the 1970’s, but also a story about a lost girl obviously suffering from depression who becomes a horrible drug addict. Nothing good happens in this book by the way. Nothing. Sid and Nancy…. [I have never heard of any of these people.]

Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop by Jeff Chang is, in my opinion, the best contribution on the early hip hop scene. Chang was criticized for leaving certain people out of the book (Eminem for one) and for glossing over others (Missy Eliot for example), but I think when you write a book like this there will always be griping.

Rat Girl by Kristen Hersh is an example of her pure genius. This memoir is taken from a year of Hersh’s diary when she was a teenager and diagnosed with bipolar disorder. You won't find a more beautifully written memoir by a musician – actually written by that musician. By the way, Kristen Hersh is hilarious' you should follow her on Twitter or Facebook. I could talk forever about Kristen so if you want to call, please do.

“Before you can make good music, you just have to shut up. Then the music can say what it has to say.” K Hersh

Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story by Chuck Klosterman. This is my favorite Klosterman book; nothing goes better with rock & roll than a road trip.

Okay so that’s my five but as a bonus I want to mention the 33 1/3 series. Writers or fellow musicians choose a band, singer, or an album to write an essay about; simple ideas are usually the best ideas and this series is fantastic. They even have a Celine one! So you are getting a top ten list within a top five list which is almost unheard of in list making. In no particular order:

1.    Meat is Murder The Smiths 1985 by Joe Pernice
2.    Sign O the Times Prince 1987 by Michaelangelo Matos (I love Prince BTW)
3.    Born in the U.S.A. -Bruce Springsteen 1984 by Geoffrey Himes
4.    It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back -Public Enemy 1988 by Christopher R. Wein
5.    69 Love Songs-The Magnetic Fields 1999 by LD Beghtol
6.    Court and Spark 1974 Joni Mitchell by Sean Nelson
7.    Actung Baby U2 1991 by Stephen Catanzarite
8.    XO Elliot Smith 1998 by Mathew Lemay
9.    Rid of Me PJ Harvey 1993 by Kate Schatz
10.    Bee Thousand Guided by Voices 1994 by Marc Woodworth

Liz:

Crap.  Crap crap crap.  I've got nothing.  

Thinking.....

Still thinking.....

(Taking a break to scour my shelves for anything at all that's related to music and wondering if Marcel Marceau's miming counts....)

OOH!  I found something.  I loved Rodney Crowell's memoir Chinaberry Sidewalks about growing up in East Texas.  And Crowell's a singer to boot.  He managed to turn a hardscrabble, honky tonk childhood into a successful songwriting career.  And he writes brilliantly.  I attended Crowell's performance and book signing at BookPeople in Austin earlier this year, and it was hands down the best author appearance I've ever seen.  I could have listened to him read, tell stories, and sing for hours.  This book will appear in my top ten list for the year.

Is Toni Morrison is a do-wop group?  No?  Okay, that's all I've got.

30 More Days Book Challenge: Day 21

Day 21:  Favorite Book By a Texan or About Texas

Gianna:

Unlike our good friend (and part-time lover) Liz, I am not a Texan. [And I am not Gianna's part-time lover.] I’ve lived in Austin for over a decade but….Texans are pretty strict so as far as anyone here is concerned, I am a northerner. On that subject, I suspect anything over three drinks and Liz’s East Texas accent makes a big appearance. [Wouldn't you like to know.]

You really cannot talk about Texas literature without mentioning The Gay Place by Billy Lee Brammer. This novel (it is actually made up of three novellas) captures Texas politics in all its glory – think All the Kings Men with an LBJ-like character at the center. The Gay Place is a true classic that would inspire a generation of writers.

I thought this favorite would be easy, a slam dunk. But then I started putting real thought into it – I mean when you have to choose between Larry McMurtry and Cormac McCarthy (the battle of the Mc’s). I finally decided on The Border Trilogy by McCarthy over The Last Picture Show because I am going to write about McMurtry’s book later.

All the Pretty Horses was the first Cormac book I read, and if you’ve read him then you understand when I tell you I immediately read pretty much everything he had written to that point. The plot of Horses is filled with romanticism, which is very different than his previous or most recent work (although Horses certainly is dark as well). In 1950’s Texas a teenager learns that after the death of his grandfather their ranch will be sold. Rather than move into town, he convinces his best friend to travel with him via horseback to Mexico where they attempt to get work as cowboys. Things don’t go as planned.

Please put the movie out of your head – Cormac McCarthy is one of a handful of truly great American writers. I think it is safe to say that you will never find him on a list of overrated writers. I hope you will give All the Pretty Horses a chance; I feel pretty confident that you will go on to read The Crossing and Cities of the Plain to complete The Border Trilogy.

Liz:
 

Yes, I was born in Texas, but most Texans seem to think I'm from New England or Midwest.  I don't correct them.  I'm not a rah-rah "Texas is the greatest place in the universe" type of person.  And for the record, this topic was Gianna's idea.  That said, I have read a number of Texas books, both fiction and non. Gianna and I had decided on the topic in advance and I had a book in my head that I planned to select...and then I read what Gianna emailed me and realized that for the first time in this challenge we'd picked the same book: All the Pretty Horses. 
 
I stumbled onto McCarthy.  My boyfriend at the time read lots of Texas-themed books, but mostly the naturalists.  I found myself over at his apartment one night without reading material, and one of the few novels he owned that I hadn't yet read was All the Pretty Horses.  I picked it up, and I kept reading.  (By the way, one of the things we shared, the two of us, was that we could spend an evening reading in the same room.  This is a must for me--somehow I'm guessing that the convicts Gianna suggests for future Liz companions wouldn't be able to be still in a room and read.  Or, you know, in general, be able to read.)  This is a literary adventure story of the first order. 
 

I do think that West Texas and East Texas books are two distinct regional genres, however, and for that reason I would also like to give a shout-out to Rodney Crowell's Chinaberry Sidewalks.  Crowell, best known for his songwriting and country music career, wrote a brilliant, poetic memoir about growing up in '50's Houston and East Texas.  Hurricanes, family violence, music, and coming of age--this is a great read and a great addition to the Texas canon.  I can't stress enough how strong the writing is; Crowell is a wordsmith.  He's also the type of guy with whom you want to have drinks and then just listen to him spin stories.

Memoir, East Texas Style

Back when I was in college I recommended Mary Karr's The Liars' Club to my friends because my version of childhood in rural East Texas, a place where getting drunk on the catwalks above the livestock at the auction barn was considered a fine way to spend a Friday night, was so foreign from the movie theaters, malls, and restaurant meals my city friends experienced.  I still hold that book in high esteem as one of the best memoirs--and arguably the best book about East Texas--ever written.  I didn't expect to find another revelatory memoir moment resembling my first reading of Mary Karr, that feeling that the author just got it--that place, that time--and then was able to articulate that it with such grace, poetry, humor, humanity, and resilience.  Truly, I loved The Liars' Club, and I loved Karr's follow-up efforts, Cherry and Lit.

And then I read singer/songwriter Rodney Crowell's new book, Chinaberry Sidewalks.  I read it because I work for his publisher, and I read it because I live in Houston now and Crowell writes about growing up here in the Bayou City.  I picked it up because it was my job.  I discovered, though, that this book belongs in the canon of Texas writings and in the hands of all of those memoir readers out there.  Crowell's use of language is masterful, and just as I related Karr's book to my childhood, reading about the rougher parts of Houston in the 50's and 60's presented a version of the city and era in which my mother was raised.

Rodney Crowell is best known as a songwriter (and former husband of Roseanne Cash), a member of Emmylou Harris's back up band, a member of a band The Cherry Bombs which included Vince Gill as well, and an award-winning producer.  He's worked with Johnny Cash, Crystal Gayle, Guy Clark, Wynonna Judd, and Chely Wright among others, and scored a series of chart-topping singles in the late 80's and early 90's as a solo artist.  In 2004 he won the AMA (Americana Music Association) Song of the Year award for "Fate's Right Hand," and in 2006 the AMA gave him a lifetime achievement award for songwriting (an honor that went to Willie Nelson the following year).  He's a member of the Songwriting Hall of Fame.  I knew who Crowell was--growing up in the sticks, country is about the only radio option--but I didn't know that he'd grown up in Houston.



Hurricane Carla



Chinaberry Sidewalks recalls Crowell's childhood in East Houston, opening with a stunning scene in which a five year old Rodney breaks up his parents' rowdy party by firing a gun.  His is a story of heavy drinking adults, fighting, humor, and love.  He writes about the threat of a hurricane barreling down on Houston and the enormous holes in the walls on the dilapidated house in which he lives.  He details a harrowing scene with his best friend and his friend's unstable father.  He talks about his mother's devout Pentecostal beliefs and going to church with her, and his father's aspiring musical hopes and spending nights in honky tonks as an 11 year old drummer.  And he tells about the route of a kid who grew up along the ship channel to Nashville.  It's a terrific tale, but what really sets apart Chinaberry Sidewalks is Crowell's amazing use of language.  Technically this book is a celebrity memoir, but he is not your typical celebrity writer.  He's a poet; he writes as if he's been writing books his story for his whole life.  And I guess he has, set to music.

Around the time that I read Chinaberry Sidewalks last fall, I noticed that Mary Karr began posting comments about Rodney Crowell on Twitter and YouTube.  It turns out that the two know each other, even collaborate.  These two great writers could have been long lost siblings, otherwise unique voices detailing a part of the world I know too well.  I love Crowell's book, and I'm happy to write that Chinaberry Sidewalks hits bookstores today (Jan 18th).  Rodney Crowell is touring all over the country, including Mississippi, Houston, and Austin--if he's nearby, you absolutely MUST check him out.