Who remembers this? (Taken with instagram)

Moving day hash brown (Taken with instagram)

Found this while packing.

Rory Dawn Hendrix is the coolest trailer-park girl name ever, and it’s the name of the protagonist and narrator of this month’s book, Girlchild, by Tupelo Hassman. This is a short, quiet novel set in a trailer park in Reno, NV. Rory’s father abandoned her and her alcoholic mother is rarely around. While Rory is abused, neglected, and ignored, she copes by reading library books, specifically a beat-up copy of the Girl Scout Handbook. Don’t read this novel expecting an inspirational underdog story, but a beautifully written study of what it’s like to grow up with the odds stacked against you.

• Roaming the hallways were several young employees, all color-coordinated, like comic-book henchmen. The boys wore black ties and yellow shirts; the girls wore black tights and yellow Anna Sui dresses.
• On his desk sat a cowbell, a pocketknife, a George Orwell reader and an antique ice-cream scoop. There was also a stack of business cards that read: “John A. White III, D.D.S. — Accidentist and Occidental Archaeologist.”
• “This generation is so dead,” he said at one point. “You ask a kid, ‘What are you doing this Saturday?’ and they’ll be playing video games or watching cable, instead of building model cars or airplanes or doing something creative. Kids today never say, ‘Man, I’m really into remote-controlled steamboats.’ They never say that.”
• White led the way inside, past collections of Mexican dolls and two stuffed hyenas, into his den.
• White said the kids had formed their own band, which they’d named Coke. “They’ve never had a Coke,” he said. “I think they just liked the syllable.”
• White led the way upstairs to the master bedroom, where a man in a Music City Masonry T-shirt was setting dropcloths around the fireplace. “Whoever lived here before built this ridiculous tan bedroom,” White said, spitting out the word “tan.”
• At 11, White taught himself to drum on a kit he found in the attic; later he taught himself guitar and piano so he could accompany himself on recordings. At one point he moved his bed out of his room to clear space for a drum kit and slept instead on a piece of foam.
• He also wanted to open a shop in Nashville specializing in high-end gentlemen’s hats. “I would sleep better at night,” he said, “knowing this town had a store like that.”

…And the saddest part of the article:

White said if it were up to him, the band would still be together. “I’d make a White Stripes record right now. I’d be in the White Stripes for the rest of my life. That band is the most challenging, important, fulfilling thing ever to happen to me. I wish it was still here. It’s something I really, really miss.”

flavorpill:

The 1Q84 paperback boxed set 

i didn’t think anything could top the design of the hardcover…

I loved John Green’s Looking for Alaska, so I was excited to hear that he released a new book in January. When I found out that the main characters of the novel were teenagers with terminal cancer, I figured I should skip The Fault in Our Stars and just come out for the next round. But all the hype surrounding what I thought would be a melodramatic slog sparked my curiosity, and I ended up reading the book in 1 day.

If you haven’t read it yet, don’t let the depressing subject matter scare you off. The book turned me into an emotional zombie, but the hopeful, life-affirming message made all the tragic, heartbreaking details worth reading. John Green is an immensely talented writer, and I can’t wait to see what lies ahead for him. All the press on the book is true - it is a touching, hilarious novel that makes you want to laugh, cry, and hug your loved ones.

Angry turtle (Taken with instagram)

I’m going to try to post a book recommendation each month. It might not be a new book, but it will be my pick for the best book I read that month. Maybe you will enjoy it! (Or maybe you will ignore it and look at cat pictures instead.)

This month’s pick is Girls In White Dresses by Jennifer Close. This is Close’s debut novel, and from what I’ve gathered about her on the interwebs, she’s a young, redheaded lady who grew up in Chicago and currently lives in D.C.

Girls In White Dresses is a funny, somewhat heartbreaking novel about a group of friends who have recently graduated from college. Their struggles with career, relationships, and family are so ridiculously true-to-life that you will probably think Close has been eavesdropping on all of your conversations with your girlfriends.  I would definitely file this book under intelligent chick lit - I devoured it in a weekend and recommended it to all of my friends.