For anybody that has ever worked in retail this book is for you!
In this quick and hysterical read you will meet all of the customers that you love to hate. It will also remind you why you love to work in retail. Despite the crazy hours and the angry customers, working in retail is an addiction. Freeman will make you laugh out loud and want to read passages to your coworkers.
Freeman worked at Nordstrom's in the handbag(never the purse) department for years. He tells you about all of his regulars- the good, the bad, and the ugly. He recalls the people that made his job the best and worst thing that ever happened to him.
If you like the writing that Jen Lancaster brought to the table you will love Retail Hell.
Bitter is the New Black
Sarcastic, witty, and fun; Jen Lancaster brings humor to the unemployment line in pearls. Never before have I read such an entertainingly playful memoir with an actual story. From the rise of the dot com era to the fall of the industry and Jen right onto her self proclaimed smart-ass, this book will have your attention. Endless e-mails, job applications, interviews, phone calls, the unemployment office, an awkward proposal, a wedding, pet adoption, not being able to make rent, and a blog; this book has it all. I've never laughed out loud so hard while reading a book in my life and with this quick and witty read, you'll be cracking up in no time.
In the Sanctuary of Outcasts
Neil White had it made. He had a beautiful family, lovely home, and fancy cars, all afforded to him by his career as a magazine publisher and journalist. Eventually the price of the luxe life caught up with him, and he schemed and cheated just to keep up appearances. It seemed a small offence, but his world was turned upside down when the FBI caught him kiting checks.
Neil was sent to a low security prison in Carville Louisiana. Little did he know that this isolated prison also served as a leper colony, where all known cases of leprosy in the US were quarantined. Of course, when he realized that "patients" also resided at Carville he had the same reaction that every other ignorant prisoner had—horror struck him. He didn't want to see them, be near them, or even breathe the same air as them. However, like any avaricious intellectual, he couldn't stand to waste his days in prison, so he found work...and the work led him to the lepers.
Here, Neil met Ella, a kind-hearted African American double amputee who contracted leprosy as a child and had been "incarcerated" in Carville for most of her eighty years. Ultimately, his relationship with Ella allowed him to refocus. He violated the "no socializing" policy to spend hours talking to her and other patients, as well as watch them truly enjoy life for what it was. He rediscovered the simple things in life—friends, trust, compassion. Although his marriage crumbled and he lost his wealth, he was released feeling like he had a new lease on life.
In the Sanctuary of Outcasts is an eye-opening memoir laden with heartache, humor, and hope.
Beauty Beyond Words
As one who values a unique perspective, this memoir is the epitome of beauty and perfection. With enchanting language, painstakingly constructed, Bauby's writing transcends my capabilities of description. Written literally by blinking, this short story tells of his experience with Locked-In Syndrome, an unfortunate condition where your entire body is paralyzed while your mind is perfectly in tact. Straightforward and honest, without becoming too depressing or overly optimistic, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is a literary jewel that will be the treasure of your library.
If You Need a Laugh
After a night of heavy drinking with some buddies, British comedian Tony Hawks awoke to find a note pinned to his shirt stating that he had accepted a bet to hitchhike the circumference of Ireland with a refrigerator in tow. Part memoir and part travel journal, Tony takes us on his adventure 'round Ireland as he and his mini-fridge attempt to win this bet. You will laugh out loud every chapter as events unfold that could only happen in Ireland and be moved as those events start to take on significant meaning in Tony's life. If you are someone who loves to laugh and values a unique perspective then I highly recommend this book for you.
The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner’s Semester at America’s Holiest University
When Brown University student Kevin Rouse applied to Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University, he wasn’t just a liberal Ivy Leaguer slumming in a fundamentalist “Bible boot camp.” As The Unlikely Disciple demonstrates, he was making an honest leap across a giant gaping cultural and religious chasm. What he learned in his “sinner’s semester” at this stern Christian institution (no sex, no kisses, no protracted hugs) should convince would-be warriors on both sides of the great divide that they can learn something from other viewpoints; but even if you read this book as just a brave anthropological experiment, it’s worth your time and its price.
Spiced: A Pastry Chef’s True Stories of Trials by Fire, After-Hour
Dalia Jurgenson has lived out the life of most foodies’ dreams: She quit her dreary office job; went through the hard fire and burnt cakes of training; and emerged as the pastry chef of a well-known three-star restaurant. Along the way, she picked up a full menu of kitchen secrets and stories of staff escapades (including her own). Spiced is a spicy, entertaining read; a Kitchen Confidential from a woman’s perspective; less profane, but sometimes more profound.
Picking Cotton: Our Memoir of Injustice and Redemption
Little Pink House: A True Story of Defiance and Courage
The little pink house on this book’s cover belonged to Suzette Kelo; or at least, so she believed. In 1997, this strong-minded EMT left a troubled marriage and bought this modest cottage in working class New London, Connecticut. She was still settling in when the city’s development corporation threatened to invoke its right to eminent domain to force home owners to make way for a giant Pfizer research complex. Refusing to abandon her newfound home, Kelo joined neighbors in legal actions that eventually landed her case in the United States Supreme Court. Even a historic decision in that high court, however, did not bring final resolution. In fact, as award-winning journalist Jeff Benedict notes in this powerful book, the saga of the single little pink house has implications that none of us can ignore.
It Sucked and Then I Cried: How I Had a Baby, a Breakdown, and a Much-Deser
Heather Armstrong, the author of It Sucked and Then I Cried, describes her award-winning blog as “talking a lot about poop, boobs, her dog and her daughter.” As the book’s title suggests, that earthiness is omnipresent in Armstrong’s very candid memoir about her pregnancy, new motherhood, and a post-partum depression so severe that she wound up in a mental hospital. As you read, you will need tissues for both tears of laughter as well as sniffles of sadness. By the end, you’ll wish Heather was a friend you wish you could have over for lunch, and you’ll be almost as in love with her husband, daughter, and two wacky dogs as Heather herself clearly is.
12 defining days in American history
Author, James L. Swanson, wholeheartedly admits his obsession with the topic and his lifelong pursuit of all things related to this important event. This passion, combined with historical records, newspaper articles from 1865 and thousand of recorded first-hand accounts of each facet of this 12-day portion of American history, makes Manhunt the most comprehensive and intimate work to date on the Lincoln assassination and its surrounding events.
Swanson paints an emotional and very tangible description of all the players in this drama and gives you a real sense of being there, whether it is along side the doctor resuscitating an already- dead Lincoln, knowing that he was only delaying the inevitable, or tensely hiding in a dense woods with a wounded, but jubilant assassin.
A great book for fans of Erik Larson (Isaac's Storm, Devil in the White City), Lincoln and Civil War aficionados or anyone who loves history.
The Gift Of An Ordinary Day: A Mother’s Memoir
There is something so graceful and neighborly about Katrina Kenison's writing that while reading this memoir, I often fell into thinking that I wouldn't mind living her life. When I snapped to, I realized, of course, that was sheer delusion: I didn't want to be the mother of two teenage sons; I didn't want to be suddenly fired; I didn't want to live with my husband's parents; and so on. What I did want to do was to live at the sane, perceptive pace of Kenison; to find a nesting place where troubles no longer distract me from being the person I can be. This sequel to Mitten Strings for God has a feel best understood perhaps by people who know first-hand what a changing experience mid-life can be.
Meet one amazing kitty
When a tiny black kitten was brought into a vet's office at two weeks of age, with a severe eye infection, the couple that found him wanted him put down. The brave vet thought he could survive, just without his eyes.
Meet Homer, an amazing cat that had his eyes surgically removed. This little boy can catch a fly in mid air. He can distinguish between a can of soup and a can of tuna, before they are open. He even saved his owner from a burglar.
This is a great read for any animal lover. It reminds you that anything is possible if you want it to happen. A warm and fuzzy book.
Bicycle Diaries
When David Byrne auctioned off his weathered old bike this August, he parted with a faithful longtime traveling companion. In his eBay description, Byrne admitted that twenty-five years and four trips around the world had left its mark on the folding Montague: "It's scratched up, rusty in spots and there are pieces of travel stickers all over the center post (Manila and Roma are still pretty much intact.)" Of course, only one well-heeled bidder could win this rolling piece of nostalgia, but fortunately, the former lead singer of the Talking Heads is sharing with all of us another keepsake from his cycling travels; his infinitely more engaging (and less inexpensive) Bicycle Diaries. These entries about Paris, Istanbul, Buenos Aires, and numerous other cities are much more than just fragmented backpack jottings; Byrne approaches each new urban setting as a fresh opportunity to sort out his ideas on class, human interaction, city planning, marketplaces, cultural institutions, art, and much more. Like any other veteran biker, this versatile visual artist knows that alertness and good breaks are the name of the game. But, honestly, you don't have to be a biker, a rock fan, or an eco-friendly world traveler to enjoy this book. Bicycle Diaries takes you places where no car or average book could go.
The Accountant
This book was an amazing recount of the boom in the cocaine industry and distribution. This real-life account by Roberto Escobar, brother of Pablo Escobar, will have you second guessing your perception of drug traffickers. Roberto tells the tale of his Robinhood-like brother who truly was a man of the people who wanted nothing more than to work in politics. He tells the tale of exotic palaces with animals from all over the world and of the rise and fall of the Medellin Cartel. This book takes you through Columbia, the jungles, drug laboratories, even prison. This book was easy to read, easy to follow, and had such an amazing content. This story definitely makes you take a better look at what is behind the drug and the people who brought it to the world on a platter, sometimes 15 tons a day.
The Glass Castle
Join Jeannette Walls in the story of her upbringing. Living as almost vagabonds, her family was always on the run. Follow her family across the USA while her parents somehow make life seem like a game...for awhile that is. At 3 years old, Jeannette finds herself on fire as she was cooking herself hotdogs, as an adult on the way to a dinner party, she sees her mother rummaging through a garbage can, each chapter will have you wondering what could possibly come next. This story will have you locked in and won't let up until it's over. It's amazing how strong people can really be and how the lives that each of us lead can be so much deeper than we imagine. If you're looking for a book that you will not be able to put down, this is it.
An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith
For many people, authentic spiritual experience and practice doesn’t begin or end inside the walls of a church, synagogue, or mosque. Barbara Brown Taylor’s Altar in the World serves as a beacon and counsel for those “unchurched” faithful who see themselves not as religious, but as spiritual. In this evocative, wise book, the author of Leaving Church describes how she learned to encounter the God who does not live in the church. An exploration that is both memoir and spiritual guide.
Embracing the Wide Sky: A Tour Across the Horizons of the Mind
A mind-boggling, awe-inspiring view of our most astonishing asset, the human mind….
On March 14th 2004, Daniel Tammet recited 22,514 digits of Pi from memory. This mind-boggling achievement (which he accomplished in approximately five hours), however, might not be Tammet’s most momentous achievement. Scientists are even more impressed by the ability of this high-functioning autistic savant to explain how his own mind functions: “Savants can’t usually tell us how they do what they do. It just comes to them. Daniel can. He describes what he sees in his head. That’s why he’s exciting. He could be the Rosetta Stone.” In Embracing the Wide Sky , the author of the bestselling memoir Born on a Blue Day describes what his experiences and cutting-edge neuroscience research have taught him about the human mind. Brimming with detail, this book will change the way you think about thinking.
