Friends

"If a fight breaks out and you're the cause of it

In some redneck bar where you've been talkin' s*^t

I would not forsake you later in that parking lot
'Cause that's the kind of friend that you've got"

-Johnny Hickman

Here are some great books about friendship:

Patchett, Ann. Truth & Beauty: A Friendship. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2004.

Ann Pratchett (author of Bel Canto) writes about her difficult relationship with Lucy Grealy (author of Autobiography of a Face).

McMillan, Terry. Waiting to Exhale. New York, N.Y., U.S.A.: Viking, 1992.

This wonderful chick lit novel is much better than the movie.

Paterson, Katherine, and Donna Diamond. Bridge to Terabithia. New York: Crowell, 1977.
Be prepared to cry. The first time I read this book I was riding the subway and I felt like such an idiot sobbing in public.

Tyler, Anne. Digging to America: A Novel. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006.

Two families meet each other at the airport as they await the arrival of their adopted daughters. By the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Breathing Lessons, The Accidental Tourist, Saint Maybe, and Ladder of Years.

ps. Here are a few great books about friendship that I've already blogged about in the past:

Irving, John. A Prayer for Owen Meany: A Novel. New York: Morrow, 1989.

Saint-Exupery, Antoine de. The Little Prince. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1965.



Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. New York: Modern library, 1937.


Maupin, Armistead. Further Tales of the City. New York: Harper & Row, 1982.

Hornby, Nick. About a Boy. New York: Riverhead Books, 1998.

pps. Friends debuted on Johnny Hickman's solo album, Palmhenge. Click here for a preview.

Hickman, Johnny. Palmhenge. [Redlands, CA]: Campstove Records, 2005.

David Lowery and Patterson Hood perform a duet of the song on the latest Cracker album, Sunrise in the Land of Milk and Honey. Have you bought your copy yet?

Cracker (Musical group), David Lowery, Johhny Hickman, Frank Funaro, and Sal Maida. Sunrise In The Land of Milk & Honey. Santa Monica, CA: 429 Records, 2009.

Have a great weekend!

Your friend,
Rebecca

C is for Cracker and Catcher in the Rye

Here are some of my favorite classics:

C=Catcher in the Rye

R=Running with Scissors

A=About a Boy

C=Cider House Rules, The

K=Kiss my Tiara

E=Emma
R=Rest of her Life, The

Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown, 1951.

Teen Angst at its best.

Burroughs, Augusten. Running with Scissors: A Memoir. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2002.
So, you think you had a bad childhood . . .

Hornby, Nick. About a Boy. New York: Riverhead Books, 1998.
Good book. Great movie.

Irving, John. The Cider House Rules: A Novel. New York: Morrow, 1985.
Great book. Great movie.

Gilman, Susan Jane. Kiss My Tiara: How to Rule the World As a Smartmouth Goddess. New York: Warner Books, 2001
Growing up funny in NYC.

Austen, Jane, and Fiona J. Stafford. Emma. Penguin classics. London: Penguin Books, 1815.
The original Clueless.

Moriarty, Laura. The Rest of Her Life. New York: Hyperion, 2007.
Is there life after vehicular homicide? Everyone's worst nightmare.

Nick Hornby's Songbook

Hornby, Nick. Songbook. San Francisco: McSweeney's, 2002.

Nick Hornby turns 51 this month. He is the author of some of my all-time favorite books: About a Boy, High Fidelity, Fever Pitch, and Speaking with the Angel. He also wrote a few books that I didn't like: A Long Way Down, Slam, and How to be Good.

I just finished reading Songbook which is a collection of Hornby’s essays about music. I plan to add it to my list of all-time favorites. The book (hard cover edition) itself is a work of art. The binding is sewn, not glued, and the cover art by Marcel Dzama is suitable for framing. Songbook would make a great birthday present for anyone who loves music as much as you do. It even comes with a music CD!

Luckily, the inside of Songbook is every bit as beautiful as the outside. The author reveals more of himself in these essays than he does in any of his fictional works. For example, in the essay about Ben Folds Five, Hornby shares a bit about his own personal heartbreak:
"'Smoke' is, I think, lyrically perfect, clever and sad and neat . . . it's also one of the very few songs that is thoughtful about the process of love, rather than the object or the subject. And it was a constant companion during the end (the long, drawn-out end) of my marriage, and it made sense then, and it still makes sense now. You can't ask much more of a song than that."
Hornby also discusses his family's struggle with autism, and ends the book with information about the charities, TreeHouse Trust and 826 Valencia.

Happy Birthday, Nick Hornby!

Nick Hornby turns 51 today. He is the author of some of my all-time favorite books: About a Boy, High Fidelity, Fever Pitch, and Speaking with the Angel. He also wrote a few books that I didn't like: A Long Way Down, Slam, and How to be Good. I haven't read Songbook yet, but I'm going to check it out tonight. I'll let you know how I like it.