Shelfari Book Activity

Tags: american pop culture

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  Rapture Ready!: Adventures in the Parallel Universe of Christian Pop Culture

  by Daniel Radosh

  What does it mean when a band is judged by how hard they pray rather than how hard they rock? Would Jesus buy "Jesus junk" or wear "witness wear"? What do Christian skate parks, raves, and romance novels say about evangelicalism -- and America? Daniel Radosh went searching for the answers and reached some surprising conclusions. Written with the perfect blend of amusement and respect, Rapture Ready! is an... (more)
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  Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood

  by Mark Harris

  An epic account of how the revolution hit Hollywood, told through the stories of the five films nominated for the 1967 Academy Awards The year is 1963. The studios are churning out westerns, war movies, prudish sex comedies and overblown historical epics, but audiences whose interests have been piqued by an influx of innovative films from abroad are hungering for something more, something new. At Esquire ,... (more)
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  Starbucked: A Double Tall Tale of Caffeine, Commerce, and Culture

  by Taylor Clark

  STARBUCKED will be the first book to explore the incredible rise of the Starbucks Corporation and the caffeine-crazy culture that fueled its success. Part Fast Food Nation , part Bobos in Paradise , STARBUCKED combines investigative heft with witty cultural observation in telling the story of how the coffeehouse movement changed our everyday lives, from our evolving neighborhoods and workplaces to the ways we... (more)
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  39 Years of Short-Term Memory Loss: The Early Days of SNL from Someone Who Was There

  by Tom Davis

  39 Years of Short Term Memory Loss is a seriously funny, offbeat and irreverent memoir that chronicles the early days of Saturday Night Live and features some of its greatest personalities—Al Franken, Lorne Michaels, Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Bill Murray, Michael O'Donoghue, and Chris Farley. Written by Tom Davis, an original SNL writer and comedy partner of Al Franken, 39 Years of Short Term Memory Loss is... (more)
• The Third CoastTed McLelland

  

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  The Third Coast

  by Ted McLelland

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  Way Off the Road: Discovering the Peculiar Charms of Small Town America

  by Bill Geist

  “To say it very simply, freezer burn may very well have set in.” —neighbor on the frozen dead guy kept on ice in a backyard shed in Nederland, Colorado.     “Everybody loves a parade; we were just geographically challenged.” —David Harrenstein, organizer of a parade in tiny Whalan, Minnesota, where viewers are in motion and the “marchers” stand still. “We haven’t lost anyone off these switchbacks in at least... (more)
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  The Great Funk: Falling Apart and Coming Together (on a Shag Rug) in the Seventies

  by Thomas Hine

  In the sixties, as the nation anticipated the conquest of space, the defeat of poverty, and an end to injustice at home and abroad, no goal seemed beyond America’s reach.   Then the seventies arrived—bringing oil shocks and gas lines, the disgrace and resignation of a president, defeat in Vietnam, terrorism at the 1972 Munich Olympics, urban squalor, bizarre crimes, high prices, and a bad economy. The country... (more)
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  The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts

  by Tom Farley, Tanner Colby

  A biography of the Saturday Night Live star as told by his friends and family No one dominated a stage the way Chris Farley did. For him, comedy was not a routine; it was a way of life. He could not enter a room unnoticed or let a conversation go without making someone laugh. Fans knew Chris as Saturday Night Live’s sweaty, swaggering, motivational speaker; as the irresistible Chippendales stripper; and as... (more)
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  Like A Rolling Stone: The Strange Life of A Tribute Band

  by Steven Kurutz

  Since the creation of the hit Broadway musical Beatlemania tribute bands have become an indelible part of the musical landscape, playing local bars, biker rallies, banquet halls, town fairs, and, occasionally, even stadiums. In an age when famous rock groups charge $100 or more for a concert ticket, their tribute band imitators offer an accessible, intimate, and surprisingly authentic outlet for fans. The... (more)
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  The Actor and the Housewife: A Novel

  by Shannon Hale

  A very different kind of fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Shannon Hale. What if you were to meet the number-one person on your laminated list—you know, that list you joke about with your significant other about which five celebrities you’d be allowed to run off with if ever given the chance? And of course since it’ll never happen it doesn’t matter… Mormon housewife Becky Jack is seven months... (more)
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  Stories Done: Writings on the 1960s and Its Discontents

  by Mikal Gilmore

  The 1960s and 1970s represent a rare moment in our cultural history -- music was exploring unprecedented territories, literature was undergoing a radical reinvention, politics polarized the nation, and youth culture was at the zenith of its influence. There has never been, nor is there likely to be, another generation that matches the contributions of the artists of that time period. In this poignant book,... (more)
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  Heather Wells: Book 1

  Size 12 Is Not Fat

  by Meg Cabot

  Heather Wells Rocks! Or, at least, she did . That was before she left the pop-idol life behind after she gained a dress size or two -- and lost a boyfriend, a recording contract, and her life savings (when Mom took the money and ran off to Argentina). Now that the glamour and glory days of endless mall appearances are in the past, Heather's perfectly happy with her new size 12 shape (the average for the... (more)
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  Heather Wells: Book 2

  Size 14 Is Not Fat Either

  by Meg Cabot

  Former pop star Heather Wells has settled nicely into her new life as assistant dorm director at New York College—a career that does not require her to drape her size 12 body in embarrassingly skimpy outfits. She can even cope (sort of) with her rocker ex-boyfriend's upcoming nuptials, which the press has dubbed The Celebrity Wedding of the Decade. But she's definitely having a hard time dealing with the... (more)
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  Confessions of an Heiress: A Tongue-in-Chic Peek Behind the Pose

  by Paris Hilton

  "A lot of people seem to have the wrong idea about me. In fact, pretty much everything I read about myself is totally ridiculous.... I've finally decided to let the world know: Okay, I get it." Paris Hilton has a lifestyle most girls dream about. Her name is on everyone's lips, but can she help it if she was born rich and privileged? Now, with a sly sense of humor and a big wink at her media image, Paris lets... (more)
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  Brother Ray: Ray Charles' Own Story

  by David Ritz, Ray Charles

  Ray Charles (1930-2004) led one of the most extraordinary lives of any popular musician. In Brother Ray , he tells his story in an inimitable and unsparing voice, from the chronicle of his musical development to his heroin addiction to his tangled romantic life. Overcoming poverty, blindness, the loss of his parents, and the pervasive racism of the era, Ray Charles was acclaimed worldwide as a genius by the age... (more)
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  Elvis Presley: The Man. The Life. The Legend.

  by Pamela Clarke Keogh

  That voice, those eyes, that hair, the cars, the girls...Elvis Presley revolutionized American pop culture when, at the age of twenty-one, he became the world's first modern superstar. A Memphis Beau Brummel even before he found fame, Elvis had a personal style that, like his music, had such a direct impact on his audience that it continues to influence us to this day. Elvis Presley compellingly examines Elvis'... (more)