The Glass Castle: A Memoir

by Jeannette Walls | Biographies & Memoirs |
ISBN: 074324754x Global Overview for this book
Registered by AuntNub of Tarrytown, New York USA on 2/24/2007
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6 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by AuntNub from Tarrytown, New York USA on Saturday, February 24, 2007
From Amazon.com:
"Jeannette Walls's father always called her "Mountain Goat" and there's perhaps no more apt nickname for a girl who navigated a sheer and towering cliff of childhood both daily and stoically. In The Glass Castle, Walls chronicles her upbringing at the hands of eccentric, nomadic parents--Rose Mary, her frustrated-artist mother, and Rex, her brilliant, alcoholic father. To call the elder Walls's childrearing style laissez faire would be putting it mildly. As Rose Mary and Rex, motivated by whims and paranoia, uprooted their kids time and again, the youngsters (Walls, her brother and two sisters) were left largely to their own devices. But while Rex and Rose Mary firmly believed children learned best from their own mistakes, they themselves never seemed to do so, repeating the same disastrous patterns that eventually landed them on the streets. Walls describes in fascinating detail what it was to be a child in this family, from the embarrassing (wearing shoes held together with safety pins; using markers to color her skin in an effort to camouflage holes in her pants) to the horrific (being told, after a creepy uncle pleasured himself in close proximity, that sexual assault is a crime of perception; and being pimped by her father at a bar). Though Walls has well earned the right to complain, at no point does she play the victim. In fact, Walls' removed, nonjudgmental stance is initially startling, since many of the circumstances she describes could be categorized as abusive (and unquestioningly neglectful). But on the contrary, Walls respects her parents' knack for making hardships feel like adventures, and her love for them--despite their overwhelming self-absorption--resonates from cover to cover."

Journal Entry 2 by AuntNub from Tarrytown, New York USA on Monday, February 26, 2007
Interesting book & a fascinating life, however I couldn't stop thinking way back in the depths of my brain....about the tv show Dharma & Greg because of the different type of lifestyle the parents chose to bring their family up in & then how the daughter's life as an adult is somewhat different than her childhood. Does this make sense? I wonder if anyone else feels this way, even slightly.

Journal Entry 3 by AuntNub from Tarrytown, New York USA on Monday, February 26, 2007
This book will be starting out on a "Bookray Journey" very soon & will be travelling from coast to coast! HOORAY!

Please bear with me for a moment, as this is my first Bookray & I don't know if any of you have participated in them before, nor am I sure of the exact protocol here. I'm sure you are looking forward to reading & releasing this book, & this is just a gentle reminder to keep the book for only about 2~4 weeks, journal it & then pass it on to the next person on the list directly below your name. You are responsible for getting the snail-mail address for that next person. The list is short & after a teeny bit of juggling, I've set it up somewhat geographically.

So...without further ado...here is the list of participants:
1) Aunt Nub (myself)
2) msjoanna
3) vlm1960
4) Flakes
5) unknowncritic
6) oldreader<<<~~~book is here

Once again, thanks for joining! If there are any questions/problems, please feel free to contact me! Enjoy the book!

Released 17 yrs ago (2/27/2007 UTC) at Postal Release in Sent To The Next Bookcrosser, Bookray -- Controlled Releases

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Sent via USPS to msjoanna. Enjoy!

Journal Entry 5 by msjoanna from Columbia, Missouri USA on Wednesday, February 28, 2007
This has arrived safely in NYC. I'm really looking forward to this one as I've heard so many good things about it.

Journal Entry 6 by msjoanna from Columbia, Missouri USA on Wednesday, March 7, 2007
This book was amazing. It's gut-wrenching to read parents choosing this type of difficult life for themselves (and thereby imposing it on their children). Walls writes with such compassion and obvious love for her parents that the whole memoir is elevated above other similar difficult childhood stories (see, e.g., Augusten Burroughs). I'm about to start reading her novel (Oranges are Not the Only Fruit).

I didn't really feel the Dharma & Greg connection here -- but I definitely was comparing it in my head to other memoirs like Another Bullshit Night in Suck City (which I very much enjoyed) and The Life of Catherine M. (which I thought was sort of boring to read and the writing style was so detatched that I had a hard time relating to the book).

This is in the mail this morning to vlm1960.

Journal Entry 7 by vlm1960 from Glen Burnie, Maryland USA on Friday, March 9, 2007
I just received this in the mail. I'll probably start this tomorrow. I am really looking forward to reading this.

Thanks for sharing, AuntNub and msjoanna!

Journal Entry 8 by vlm1960 from Glen Burnie, Maryland USA on Friday, April 6, 2007
I finally finished this book. I was unable to read this as quickly as I wanted due to some unforseen time restraints. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I had recently read Angela's Ashes, and was concerned that this was going to be too similar. Although both books were memoirs written by people growing up in poverty, this was a little different. Both of these parents had the resources and the means to give their children a better life, but for some reason chose not to. It was interesting to read about how the author and her siblings were able to rise above their upbringing. It wasn't until I was almost finished that I realized who the author was, and that I have read her column online.

I put this in the mail earlier today, on the way to Flakes.

Thank you AuntNub!

Journal Entry 9 by Flakes from Bloomington, Illinois USA on Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Arrived today, safe and sound! I've got one book to finish before this one, so I should be able to start reading by the weekend!:)

Journal Entry 10 by Flakes from Bloomington, Illinois USA on Sunday, April 15, 2007
What an amazing book. It's incredible to me that anyone could grow up in those conditions with such odd parents, and still manage to turn out ok! Jeannette Walls and her siblings are truly inspirational.

Thanks for sharing, Aunt Nub! This book will be in the mail to unknowncritic tomorrow!

Journal Entry 11 by unknowncritic on Tuesday, April 24, 2007
It's here!! (Actually, it got here yesterday.) I read the first page as soon as I tore in to the package, and I seem to have gotten hooked. (That's usually a good sign.)

Journal Entry 12 by unknowncritic on Monday, May 7, 2007
I finished the book and got oldreader's address several days ago. Then I skipped town and forgot all my responsibilities for a few days.

Now it's back to the grindstone.

Wonderful book. Be it truth or fiction, it is a well told story. I'm glad I read it and thanks for sharing, AuntNub!

I will now prepare it for it's continuing journey.

Journal Entry 13 by unknowncritic at mail in By mail, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases on Friday, May 11, 2007

Released 16 yrs ago (5/9/2007 UTC) at mail in By mail, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases

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Mailed at some point in the recent past. Should arrive with oldreader at some point in the near future. ;)

Journal Entry 14 by oldreader from Colorado Springs, Colorado USA on Tuesday, May 15, 2007
arrived today.2 ahead of this.

Journal Entry 15 by oldreader from Colorado Springs, Colorado USA on Thursday, May 31, 2007
The author has quite a talent for telling good stories.Seems to me her whole family lived in a fantasy world.The sad but true alchohol problems created by the alchohol's control over the family is heart wrenching.Thanks for sharing.

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