Best of
Diary

2004

Further Confessions of Georgia Nicolson


Louise Rennison - 2004
    He is mine, miney, mine, mine. There is a song in my heart and do you know what it is? It is that well-known chart topper "Robbie, oh Robbie, I . . . er . . . Lobbie You!!! I Do I Do!!!"Georgia Nicolson is now the girlfriend of the Sex God (aka Robbie), and everything should be perfect. But whether it's because her loony parents drag her off to Och Aye land (aka Scotland) or because she accidentally snogs old flame Dave the Laugh at a party, Georgia's life never turns out as planned!In this edition that combines the third and fourth volumes in the hilarious #1 New York Times best-selling series, Georgia may be about to become a shameless vixen! The hysterically funny third and fourth volumes of the best-selling Georgia Nicolson diaries: knocked out by my nunga-nungas and dancing in my nuddy-pants.

Our Hidden Lives: The Remarkable Diaries of Postwar Britain


Simon Garfield - 2004
    The idea was simple: ordinary people would record, in diary form, the events of their everyday lives. An estimated one million pages eventually found their way to the archive, and it soon became clear that this was more than anyone could digest. Today, the diaries are stored at the University of Sussex, where remarkably most remain unread. In Our Hidden Lives, Simon Garfield has skilfully woven a tapestry of diary entries in the rarely discussed but pivotal period of 1945 to 1948. The result is a moving, intriguing, funny, at times heartbreaking book.

Let's Pretend This Never Happened


Jim Benton - 2004
    Actually, it was better than okay. Angeline got her long, beautiful hair tangled in one of the jillion things she has dangling from her backpack, and the school nurse -- who is now one of my main heroes -- took a pair of scissors and snipped two feet of silky blond hair from the left side of her head, so now Angeline only looks like The Prettiest Girl in the World if you're standing on her right. (Although personally, I think she would look better if I was standing on her neck.)

Broken Summers


Henry Rollins - 2004
    In what was widely considered a witch hunt, three older boys were convicted of the killings. Ten years later, Henry Rollins used his considerable cultural chops to raise money for their defense fund and for DNA testing, which could help clear them. His vehicle? The acclaimed CD “Rise Above” and a world tour. Broken Summers details the rehearsing of Black Flag songs he hadn’t played in years, dealing with an arrogant manager or two, a diverse group of musicians, recording the CD, and the arduous trek from Tucson to Tokyo that included grilling by heartland shock jocks unsympathetic to his cause. The book covers 14 months of desperate lows and dramatic highs, all rendered in Rollins’s trademark combative style. Included are black-and-white photos of the rehearsals, recording sessions, and tour.

Goodnight Jim Bob: On the Road with Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine


Jim Bob - 2004
    They had 14 Top 40 singles in the UK and made 7 albums. This is their story as told by singer and guitarist Jim Bob.

The Blank Book


Lemony Snicket - 2004
    Looks are deceiving. Just as Lemony Snicket has spent years researching the distressing lives of the Baudelaire orphans, now you too can record your own unfortunate events. The blank pages of this fraudulent book are perfect for writing down any secretive and upsetting research of your own, including the names of suspicious teachers; secret codes you have devised; details of sinister conversations you have overheard; maps of places that are important to you, and other crucial and woeful information. With cover art by Brett Helquist, a beautifully designed interior, a page of black-and-white stickers, and quotations from A Series of Unfortunate Events, this journal is the perfect way for fans of Lemony Snicket to begin documenting their own alarming lives. Ages 9-11

The Mystic Hours: A Daybook of Inspirational Wisdom and Devotion


Wayne Teasdale - 2004
    In his new book, Teasdale presents a powerful daily guide to interspiritual wisdom with 365 quotes from the great religious and spiritual traditions, from sources as varied as St. John of the Cross, Confucius, the Dhammapada, and Allen Ginsberg. Designed as an aid for daily reflection and meditation, Teasdale's illuminating commentary follows each passage.

The Hungry Heart


Zoe Nicholson - 2004
    Joining with 7 women, traveling to Springfield, Illinois, living on water only; Zoe sat in the eye of the political storm and searched for spiritual insight. She wrote about it all from Phyllis Shlafly to Governor James Thompson, Mahatma Gandhi to Dick Gregory. Historical and inspiring, she writes from the heart with intimacy and humor.

Conquest of the Useless: Reflections from the Making of Fitzcarraldo


Werner Herzog - 2004
    Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man) is one of the most revered and enigmatic filmmakers of our time, and Fitzcarraldo is one of his most honored and admired films.  More than just Herzog’s journal of the making of the monumental, problematical motion picture, which involved, among other things, major cast changes and reshoots, and the hauling (without the use of special effects) of a 360-ton steamship over a mountain, Conquest of the Useless is  a work of art unto itself, an Amazonian fever dream that emerged from the delirium of the jungle.  With fascinating observations about crew and cast - including Herzog’s lead, the somewhat demented internationally renowned star Klaus Kinski - and breathtaking insights into the filmmaking process that are uniquely Werner Herzog, Conquest of the Useless is an eye-opening look into the mind of a cinematic master.