Sunday July 26, 2009

The Glass Castle.... The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls

My rating: 5 of 5 stars This book, from Jeannette Walls, was impossible to put down. Many times I think I should write a memoir - interesting things have happened in my life. I had an interesting childhood and I had a lot going on as a teenager. That might be interesting, right?

Well, not compared to Walls' life!

Her painful memoir of growing up with a severely alcoholic, but brilliant, father and a depressed artist mother, always on the skedaddle, starts with recounting her tragic tale at the age of 3 - when she catches herself on fire while cooking at a gas stove.

The misery seems to go down from there.

The abject poverty and terrible neglect these children were raised in is appalling. The most concerning thing is that Walls talks about all of the other families in the same slums, living similar lifestyles. It's heartbreaking and compelling. It's a story of survival against all odds, and of overwhelming family love.

I can't recommend this enough. Let me know if you want to borrow it :-)

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Paramore/No Doubt concert was fun!

Went to a concert at the Shoreline Amphitheater again last night, again starting
with a wonderful molé burrito from Fiesta del Mar. YUM! I can't get enough of that place... ;)

Last night the girls and I caught The Sounds, Paramore and No Doubt.  I wasn't familiar with The Sounds, but enjoyed their upbeat fun tunes while sipping on a very expensive plastic cup of Fat Tire.

And Paramore was the "Twilight" band, which explained all the Bella/Edward lookalikes wandering around the audience.... along with the mad screeching that began when they started the song from the movie.

No Doubt put on a fun and energetic show, with mod white with black accent costumes and white stage. Lighting provided bright accents, and accompanying videos - both like the type you might see on MTV (remember, when it used to show videos?!) and documentary sorts - kept the pace of the show moving.

Not sure what happened to Stefani, though - she's now stick thin with freakishly defined abs. We were wondering if they had airbrush accents on them like they do for the guys on Dancing with the Stars...

The best part was hanging out with the girls at this estrogen fueled event. Chicks rock! :-)