Book picks similar to
You Can Leave Anytime by Rob Dinsmoor


reviewed
sampled-and-liked
5-and-4-star
cultural-studies

Coma


Pierre Guyotat - 2006
    --from Coma The novelist and playwright Pierre Guyotat has been called the last great avant-garde visionary of the twentieth century, and the near-cult status of his work--because of its extreme linguistic innovation and its provocative violence--has made him one of the most influential of French writers today. He has been hailed as the true literary heir to Lautr?amont and Arthur Rimbaud, and his "inhuman" works have been mentioned in the same breath as those by Georges Bataille and Antonin Artaud.Winner of the 2006 prix D?cembre, Coma is the deeply moving, vivid portrayal of the artistic and spiritual crisis that wracked Guyotat in the 1980s when he reached the physical limits of his search for a new language, entered a mental clinic, and fell into a coma brought on by self-imposed starvation. A poetic, cruelly lucid account, Coma links Guyotat's illness and loss of subjectivity to a broader concern for the slow, progressive regeneration of humanity. Written in what the author himself has called a "normalized writing," this book visits a lifetime of moments that have in common the force of amazement, brilliance, and a flash of life. Grounded in experiences from the author's childhood and his family's role in the French Resistance, Coma is a tale of initiation that provides an invaluable key to interpreting Guyotat's work, past and future.

Songs Only You Know: A Memoir


Sean Madigan Hoen - 2013
    Songs Only You Know begins in late ‘90s Detroit and spans a decade during which a family fights to hold together in the face of insurmountable odds. Sean’s father cycles from rehab to binge, his heartsick sister spirals into depression, and his mother works to spare what can be spared. Meanwhile, Sean seeks salvation in a community of eccentrics and outsiders, making music Spin magazine once referred to as “an art-core mindfuck.” But the closer Sean comes to realizing his musical dream, the further he drifts from his family and himself. By turns heartbreaking and mordantly funny, Songs Only You Know is an artful, compassionate rendering of the chaos and misadventure of a young man’s life. “Few books convey the fever-pitch intensity of youth with such vividness and so little glamorization, or as deeply explore the heartbreaking complexity of family — both those we're born into and the ones we choose.” —Rolling Stone Magazine

Crazy Stupid Money (Kindle Single)


Rachel Shukert - 2015
    On social media and beyond, we dish on all aspects of our personal lives: our relationships, our children, our sex lives, our health. But there's one thing that no one ever mentions-- our money. How much do we actually have? Who makes it? And how does that make us feel about ourselves? These are the uncomfortable questions that Rachel Shukert managed to avoid for years, buffered from the gnawing anxiety of her patched-together freelance living by the comfortable salary of her loving and successful husband. But when a sudden change in circumstances forced her to step up and start supporting her family for the first time, she had to face the depth of her phobias about money for the first time, and truth about the damage they had caused to her relationship. It wasn't pretty. Plates were thrown. Police were called. Accountants were vomited on -- or at least, near. And a marriage was pushed to the breaking point by the curious power that money -- or the lack of it -- has in our lives. Hilarious, painful, and searingly honest, CRAZY STUPID MONEY tells the hard truth about all the things that married people (not to mention not-quite-successful creative freelancers) never talk about but desperately wish someone would. The story of how one couple broke themselves down and struggled to come back together again, it's an unflinching look at what we talk about when we DON'T talk about money -- and how alone it makes us feel.RACHEL SHUKERT is a television writer living in Los Angeles. She is the author of five books, including the memoir EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE GREAT and the Kindle Single LET ME BE YOUR STAR. You can follow her on Twitter At @RachelShukertCover Design by Adil Dara

All in All: An Actor's Life On and Off the Stage


Stacy Keach - 2013
    In his long, impressive career, he has been hailed as America's finest classical stage actor, earning acclaim for his portrayals of Hamlet, Macbeth, Richard III, and King Lear. He has worked alongside and become friends with the giants of American culture, from Joseph Papp to George C. Scott, from James Earl Jones to Oliver Stone.Keach’s memoir begins with the riveting account of his arrest in London for cocaine possession. He takes readers through his trial and his time at Reading Jail as he battles his drug addiction and then fights to revive his career. Keach poignantly reveals his acting insecurities and relationship struggles. All in All is full of priceless behind the scenes Hollywood moments and friendships—from his late-night pool and backgammon showdowns with John Huston to his passionate relationship with Judy Collins.

Signs, Wonders and a Baptist Preacher: How Jesus Flipped My World Upside Down


Chad Norris - 2013
    He shares transparently, recounting his own history of depression and panic attacks until Jesus rescued him and showed him how to do the works of the Father. As Norris explains, "I had no paradigm for that." Then he challenges readers to engage with the supernatural. Even though Jesus said we will do even greater things than he did, we don't. Norris's engaging narrative style lowers readers' defenses and opens their minds to the idea that these "greater things" are more attainable than they think. Because we are loved more than we imagine, says Norris, we are more capable of doing the Father's works than we have ever considered.

Confessions of a Bangkok Private Eye: True stories from the case files of Warren Olson


Stephen Leather - 2006
    Fluent in Thai and Khmer, Olson walked the mean streets of Bangkok and was able to go where other Private Eyes feared to tread. The stories are based on Olson's case files, fictionalized (to protect the innocent, and the guilty) by bestselling author Stephen Leather.

Notorious C.O.P.: The Inside Story of the Tupac, Biggie, and Jam Master Jay Investigations from NYPD's First "Hip-Hop Cop"


Derrick Parker - 2000
     Always straddling the fence between "po-po" and NYPD outsider, Derrick threatened police tradition to try to get the cases solved. He was the first detective to interview an informant offering a detailed account of Biggie Smalls's murder. He protected one of the only surviving eyewitnesses to the Jam Master Jay murder and knows the identity of the killers as well as the motivation behind the shooting. "Notorious C.O.P. "reveals hip-hop crimes that never made the paper--like the robbing of Foxy Brown and the first Hot 97 shooting--and answers some lingering questions about murders that have remained unsolved. The book that both the NYPD and the hip-hop community don't want you to read, "Notorious C.O.P. "is the first insider look at the real links between crime and hip-hop and the inefficiencies that have left some of the most widely publicized murders in entertainment history unsolved.

TJ's Last Summer in Cape Cod


Garfield Whyte - 2016
    Some will like it.... some wont but its all fiction and TJ just wanted a good time for his last summer back home. NOTE ... Uncle Peter cheats on his wife, so if you will have issues with this, then this is not the book for you. It's all fiction, with some youthful exuberance. We were all young at some time in our lives and we may have made mistakes too.One last wild summer before college. TJ always spent the summer with his uncle since he was 15. He looked forward to spending time with Uncle Peter and all the adventures he got to experience. But now he was 18 and this summer was going to be different; he had a girlfriend whom he could not bear to leave behind. During those past summers, TJ had been the sole witness and confidant to Uncle Peter and his endless shenanigans with the different women in his life. As such, TJ felt Uncle Peter owed him and it was time to collect; it was time for Uncle Peter to return the favor and cover for TJ. To TJ's delight, Uncle Peter was more than eager to comply and he even came up with the perfect plan for the two of them to spend time together without TJ leaving his girlfriend's side. Follow the wicked adventures of this duo as TJ finds himself at a crossroads between being an honorable man or the ladies' man his uncle groomed him to be. Was it worth it when summer ended? That will depend on whose side you are on.Some readers focus on Uncle Peter's cheating ways and less on the crux of the story which is, the unique bond between a nephew and and uncle as well as your sins will find you out.

I'll Be Back Right After This: My Memoir


Pat O'Brien - 2014
    In all the familiar ways, he was on the road to nowhere until a professor, who envisioned his future as the household name he would soon become, dramatically changed his life.From that day forward Pat's life took turns that were both spectacular and destructive: from the Huntley-Brinkley Report and afternoons at Bobby Kennedy's living room with Muhammad Ali to conversations with six Presidents. He did acid with Timothy Leary, drank with Mickey Mantle, and over the course of a remarkable career up close and personal with the Beatles, The Stones, The Kennedy's, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and virtually every star in Hollywood.In I'LL BE BACK RIGHT AFTER THIS, Pat reveals the highs and lows of the life of a radio and TV broadcaster, spent sharing the mic with the world's rich and famous while battling an infamous public scandal and demons that nearly killed him. With laughter, tears and miracles he reveals how he learned to accept his mistakes, find redemption and become the father he never had, proving there really are second and even third acts in life.

Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside


Quincy Carroll - 2015
    The first, Thomas, is an entitled deadbeat, content to pass the rest of his days in Asia skating by on the fact that he's white, while the second, a recent college graduate named Daniel, is an idealist at heart. Over the course of the novel, these two characters fight to establish primacy in Ningyuan, a remote town in the south of Hunan, with one of their more overzealous students, Bella, caught in between. Quincy Carroll's cleverly written debut novel examines what we bring from one country to another.

This is Not for You


Venus Soileau - 2014
    This is Not for You is a memoir which vividly describes the memories of growing up in a dysfunctional environment and how these circumstances developed a spirit within the narrator. This is a story of resiliency and drive to overcome the extreme adversities that addiction and poverty can create in the life of a young child.

Please Stay: A Brain Bleed, A Life In The Balance, A Love Story


Greg Payan - 2018
    Diagnosed with a ruptured brain aneurysm and Grade IV hemorrhage, the 39-year old college professor soon finds herself fighting for her life as her heart and lungs fail en route to emergency treatment.As family and friends rush to be by her side, former students and close friends from around the country write memories to be read at her bedside, detailing a life and legacy that has influenced so many.Experience what loved ones did in real-time as texts and e-mails sent during the medical crisis form the narrative for this compelling journey through the eyes of Holly and her boyfriend who kept vigil through it all. A book that will challenge and compel you to reflect not just on love and death, but also the hundred micro-reflections nestled in between as you ponder what constitutes a life well lived, and how one impacts others along the way.EDITORIAL REVIEWS: “Unforgettable. Readers not only receive insights into their (own) lives and connections to it; but on the medical challenges of aneurysms and the recovery process and prognosis. A(n) invigorating celebration of life unexpected in a memoir that depicts a close encounter with death: one which pulls heartstrings, educates about aneurysm and disability, and is replete with emails, text messages, and a peppering of black and white photos throughout. Readers who seek uplifting stories of recovery and life challenges will relish the tone, presentation, and surprisingly multifaceted story of Holly and Greg's journey from the brink in a saga that proves hard to put down.” (D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review)"The book is touching and engrossing, and much more than a memoir of an illness, telling a timeless story of a devotion among family and friends. The story becomes less about one couple than a universal story of endurance and love, which is at once harrowing and inspiring. Please Stay is a powerful message of love in the face of tragedy and how in times of hardship, people can rally around each other to reveal a deeper humanity." (Self-Publishing Review)“As anyone who has suffered the shocking loss or illness of a loved one will tell you, time is precious. This is a lovely meditation on that theme, a way to try and get to the bottom of that most complex idea - the "accident", the bolt out of the blue, the unforeseen event. Like grief, like asking why, like losing people - sometimes we can't understand things, we just have to learn to live with them. Life just is.” (James Hartley Books 5*) “Please Stay is a smoothly written memoir about what it’s like to live through a health crisis— a worthy, sometimes tear-inducing, and highly inspiring read.” (BlueInk Review)“Heartbreaking and heart-lifting.” (Reader Views)

Notorious: The Immortal Legend of the Kray Twins


John George Pearson - 2010
    After they were jailed in 1969 for thirty years for murder, Pearson's biography The Profession of Violence enjoyed a cult following among the young and was said to be the most popular book in H.M.'s prisons, after the Bible. Ron died in 1995. Reg followed him five years later, and both of their funerals drew crowds on a scale unknown for film stars, let alone for two departed murderers. Since then, far from fading with their death, public fascination with the twins has never flagged. Their clothes and memorabilia are sold at auction like religious relics. Ron's childlike prison paintings fetch more money than those of many well-known artists. And people still refer to them like popular celebrities. Why? This is the question Pearson asked himself, and over the past three years he has been re-examining their history, unearthing much previously unknown material, and has come to some fascinating conclusions. The Immortal Murderers reveals new facts about the Krays' tortured relationship as identical twins; a relationship which helped predestine them to a life of crime; a relationship that made them utterly unlike any other major criminals. Pearson has discovered two new and unsuspected murders, along with fresh light on the killings of George Cornell and Jack 'the Hat' McVitie. There are facts about the twins' obsession with publicity, and how far this made them 'actor criminals' murdering for notoriety. Most riveting of all are the chapters which reveal how Ron Kray caused a major sexual scandal in which a prime minister, together with other leading politicians, condoned the most outrageous establishment cover-up in British politics since the war. The Immortal Murderers contains many more surprises, but the one thing that emerges is that the Kray twins were not only stranger but also far more important than anyone ever suspected. Fascination with them will forever remain; they will never lose their role as the immortal murderers.

To Be Perfectly Honest: One Man's Year of Almost Living Truthfully Could Change Your Life. No Lie.


Phil Callaway - 2011
    He has been laughed at—repeatedly—by large crowds of people from Halifax to Hong Kong. He fathered three children in three years, spent much of last year on airplanes built by the lowest bidder, and flipped an out-of-control ATV, which doesn’t mean he sold it for a profit. So who better than Phil Callaway to boldly accept a challenge that would make the average person run and hide?  Phil promised to tell the truth for an entire year, and he wasn’t joking. Twelve months later, his journal was crammed with successes, near-successes, and outright failures. During his year-long experiment with veracity, he made a disastrous financial investment, fielded hundreds of intrusive questions from friends and strangers, attended a thirty-year class reunion, and waded into possibly the most revealing—and hilarious—situations he has ever documented.  Find out what happens when a follower of Jesus does his level best to always tell the truth. There is no doubt you’ll be entertained. But don’t be surprised if you are left with a question: how might your life be changed if you sold out to the truth—with no exceptions?

Bodies


Jed Mercurio - 2002
    But for first day junior doctors, their initiation into this world - the 'Killing Season' - is about to begin. A whistle-blowing despatch from the frontlines of hospital life, Jed Mercurio's Bodies takes us on a nerve-jangling journey through one junior doctor's loss of innocence, and his desperate, dangerous attempts to right his - and his colleagues'- wrongs.