Bitch, Read! #2: Queen of the Oddballs

Hi, nurses! I know it's been a little while since my last, "Bitch, Read!" and I promise that in the future, they'll be coming at you more fast and furious than a cow at Helen Hunt's face. In fact, in the intervening time I've read most of three books, but since I'm still finishing two, I'll talk about the one I just breezed through.

Queen of the Oddballs is Hillary Carlip's fun, fun, F-U-N melding of autobiography and its cousin, the based on a true story vignette (practiced by such excellent authors as David Sedaris and Augusten Burroughs). The result is a roller-coaster ride through the latter half of the twentieth century that will have you laughing, learning and living alongside our heroine.

As time tumbles forward, Hillary pauses at the beginning of each chapter to update us on the pop culture of the moment (she's to be commended for these concise bullet-point updates that really give a sense of the changing face of pop culture and politics), but the real fun begins when the camera pushes up close for a portrait of Hillary — as a young girl doing a truly extraordinary job of stalking Carly Simon and Carol King, as a politically-active teenager coming to terms with her body image, and - more recently - as a victim of Miss Oprah Winfrey! (As a man with an admitted fondness for big O, I found it fascinating to read about someone with a legitimate beef against her. No cattlemen pun intended!)

Perhaps it shouldn't be surprising that such a wonderful step forward in the artistry of personal memoir should come to us from Carlip, the motivating force behind FreshYarn: An Online Salon for Personal Essays. You can learn more about this extraordinary woman (and her extraordinary life and work) at www.HillaryCarlip.com.