Book Description
The neon sign had seemed appropriate when the Honk and Holler Opening Soon was being built. But twelve years later, the once-busy highway outside Sequoyah, Oklahoma, is little-traveled, and "opening soon" is a tired joke. Today the sign is as battered and beaten as the cafe and its owner, Caney Paxton, a Vietnam War veteran who hasn't ventured outside since its opening. The characters who drift in and out of the Honk don't change much: Molly O, a four-times married earth mother who recognizes a wounded spirit when she meets one; Life Halstead, a widower who eats three meals a day in the cafe so he can be near Molly O; Hooks Red Eagle, Soldier Starr, and Quinton Roach, Cherokee veterans of World War II; and Bilbo and Peg Porter--Bilbo steadily puffing his smokes while Peg struggles for breath through her oxygen mask. With Christmas only days away, their lives are to be forever changed with the arrival of Vena Takes Horse, a Crow woman on a quest, and Bui Khanh, a Vietnamese refugee looking for home. A story that crackles and sizzles like burgers on a red-hot grill, The Honk and Holler Opening Soon captures a small town's prejudice and tolerance, violence and big-heartedness. It convinces us that dark clouds can really have silver linings. And it leaves us hungry for more writing from Billie Letts and the Oklahoma she portrays with so much vitality and love.
Download Description
The neon sign had seemed appropriate when the Honk and Holler Opening Soon was being built. But twelve years later, the once-busy highway outside Sequoyah, Oklahoma, is little-traveled, and "opening soon" is a tired joke. Today the sign is as battered and beaten as the cafe and its owner, Caney Paxton, a Vietnam War veteran who hasn't ventured outside since its opening. The characters who drift in and out of the Honk don't change much: Molly O, a four-times married earth mother who recognizes a wounded spirit when she meets one; Life Halstead, a widower who eats three meals a day in the cafe so he can be near Molly O; Hooks Red Eagle, Soldier Starr, and Quinton Roach, Cherokee veterans of World War II; and Bilbo and Peg Porter--Bilbo steadily puffing his smokes while Peg struggles for breath through her oxygen mask. With Christmas only days away, their lives are to be forever changed with the arrival of Vena Takes Horse, a Crow woman on a quest, and Bui Khanh, a Vietnamese refugee looking for home. A story that crackles and sizzles like burgers on a red-hot grill, The Honk and Holler Opening Soon captures a small town's prejudice and tolerance, violence and big-heartedness. It convinces us that dark clouds can really have silver linings. And it leaves us hungry for more writing from Billie Letts and the Oklahoma she portrays with so much vitality and love.
Customer Reviews:
Gorgeous Characters.......2007-08-07
This is what Billie Letts does best, involve us in everyday people with an eye for what is so distinct and special about the ordinary day-to-day. After reading this book, I found myself lingering in cafes, wondering about the lives of the men sitting at the counter, the waitresses pouring coffee, the bus boys clattering dishes, the mothers feeding oatmeal to grubby children in highchairs. Any story that can make you open your eyes to the world around you, that is a story worth reading.
The Honk and Holler Opening Soon.......2007-06-04
ISBN 0446675059 - I find myself put off by books that have a Reading Group Guide, which strikes me as wildly presumptuous on someone's part. That alone didn't have me thinking highly of this book, but it did get better.
Caney Paxton, wheelchair bound but broken in far more important ways, returned home from Vietnam and opened a cafe. One drunken phone call changed the name from "The Honk and Holler" to "The Honk and Holler Opening Soon", a name that - considering the people it is home to - is more appropriate than you'd think. Caney lives in a room in the back and hasn't been out of the cafe since it opened. His waitress, Molly O, pines for the return of her high-school-dropout daughter, who ran off to seek fame and fortune as a country singer. The regulars come and go like clockwork, new customers are rare and nothing really ever happens. So when the door opens for Vera Takes Horse, no one is prepared for the changes she will bring to the Honk.
A nice, if not particularly great, story about fairly average people whose dramas are bigger in their own minds than they are in reality, The Honk and Holler Opening Soon distracts the reader from the story with some of the unusual names and characters' weird behavior. Not a book I'd recommend, but it's not terrible, either.
A warm and engaging story..........2007-01-17
In a tiny Oklahoma community, it seems the heart of all the action takes place at the curiously-named Honk and Holler Opening Soon...
While it doesn't boast a five-star menu, the Honk's staff genuinely care about making customers happy...even when they aren't too happy themselves. Owner Caney Paxton, a wheelchair-bound Vietnam veteran, hasn't left the place in twelve years. His widowed waitress Molly O desperately longs for the return of her strong-willed daughter Brenda, who set off to become a singing sensation at age 17. Bui Kanh, a penniless immigrant from Vietnam, shrugs off the cold stares of the townspeople who still can't forget the war, focusing only upon being reuinited with his beloved Nguyet. And Vena Takes Horse, a young Crow/Cherokee woman who arrives mysteriously looking for work, carrying a wounded dog, and somehow unites them all...
Horrid.......2006-06-19
I could not read this book. I got to page four with the horribly wounded dog and six dead puppies and threw it in the trash. I'm still having nightmares. I got the book free and was leary from the start - EVERYONE has a weird name - yeah this is like life. I think the author is trying tooooooo hard. I was disoriented right off the bat and had to clue when or where I was. I'd never recommend this author - NEVER.
Great story, wonderful writing.......2006-05-15
I loved this book!! Beautifully written. Characters I cared about. Uplifting. Believable. Shows how transformation is possible. By taking a risk, the characters opened themselves to new relationships to heal their pain & loneliness.
Customer Reviews:
Great Story.......2007-01-12
I picked up this book at work desperate for something to read at lunch. I loved it so much it's been my pick for two different book clubs. As to why I like it so much? First, Billie Letts is a great writer. She has a way of making the characters real without being overly descriptive. Second, the story is hopeful without being too sappy - not everything turns out perfect in the end. And not all the loose ends are tied up in a pretty bow. There are several story lines that could be a sequel . . . or could be left for us to finish using our own imagination. It's not a complicated read, but I have found something new each time I have picked it up. I highly recommend this book. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.
Product Description
2 books by Billie Letts. Where the heart is. The honk and holler opening soon.
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Honk & Holler Opening Soon
Manufacturer: Turtleback Books Distributed by Demco Media
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0606276122 |
Product Description
Set of 3 Novels By Billie Letts - Where the Heart Is, The Honk and Holler Opening Soon, Shoot the Moon.
Product Description
Set of 2 standalone novels by Billie Letts.
Book Description
When a Balkan beauty is accused of stealing some diamonds, who can she turn to but Nero Wolfe — especially since she claims to be his adopted daughter! The stakes are suddenly raised when a student at her fencing school ends up dead. As Wolfe and sidekick Archie thrust and parry into a tangle of documents, identities, and political intrigue, another fencing student is killed. Is Wolfe’s alleged daughter actually a hot-blooded murderess? Michael Prichard interprets Rex Stout’s irresistible narrative and quirky characters with brio in this exciting whodunit.
Customer Reviews:
Confound it, another great Wolfe novel.......2007-06-03
Over My Dead Body is the seventh in the Nero Wolfe series. A young lady claiming to be Wolfe's adopted daughter from Yugoslavia asks for his help with a charge of stealing diamonds but this quickly evolves into a situation where she is suspected of murder. The case frustrates Wolfe no end, it gets more complicated all the while, but of course he manages to uncover the solution by the end of the story.
This book is a prime example of a Nero Wolfe novel. Archie Goodwin is in top form as a wise cracking pain-in-the-neck. Inspector Cramer is present more than a lot of stories giving Goodwin plenty of opportunities for zingers besides the ones he routinely fires at Wolfe. Wolfe himself is definitely out of his comfort zone dealing with the situation of his adopted daughter and this also adds to the potential for laughs.
This is a very entertaining book and I would recommend it for readers unfamiliar with Nero Wolfe as a great place to start or for established fans.
First rate Nero Wolfe.......2007-06-02
This book hits on all cylinders. The plot is excellent, intricate but clear. The characters are well drawn. The atmosphere, New York on the eve of World War II, is almost palpable. The dialogue is perfect. I'm at a loss as to what else to say about the book except, "Read it."
A Britsh undercover agent is murdered at a Manhattan fencing school, skewered by an epee with a gizmo attached that turns it into a weapon sans blunt end. Yugoslav women who are instructors there are possible suspects, one of whom is Nero Wolfe's adopted daughter from his days as an ill advised Austrian agent in the Balkans, pre World War, before we started numbering them. This alone is a startling revelation about Wolfe. Wolfe slender? Youthful? Abroad, outside, involved with people? I was astonished.
As usual, the beer drinking, orchid collecting, erudite, corpulent food lover Nero Wolfe declines, under any circumstances, to leave his brownstone abode with a greenhouse rooftop for his rare flowers. Using Archie, his assistant, as legs, Wolfe solves the baffling case. I knew he would. He's solved all the other mysteries in the Nero Wolfe books I've read.
Mystery fans who have not read mysteries from the golden age (pre-1950) do not know what they are missing. There is no sex to lure the lascivious reader, very little violence, no profanity. What there is (and this book is an excellent example of the sub-genre) is intelligence.
That's a rare commodity in most modern mysteries.
We Meet Wolfe's Daughter.......2006-05-10
In this Nero Wolfe mystery-one of the earlier episodes-we encounter Wolfe's adopted daughter, who is in a bit of a fix. Wolfe comes to the rescue and along the way, shares little glimpses into his past: his tumultuous youth in Europe; the origins of his suspicion of all women; how he came to adopt a child. In this book, probably more than any other in Rex Stout's series, do we see the effect that women-especially those from the former nation of Yugoslavia-have upon Wolfe's psyche. It's a good read-a good mystery with a great plot-like pretty much all of Stout's works.
Hvale Bogu!.......2004-10-09
This is, at once, one of the best books in the series and one which translated brilliantly to TV on the A&E series.
Rex Stout decides to deal us a little shock in this one: Nero Wolfe, woman-hater, has a daughter he's not seen since she was a baby. She comes from Yugoslavia to New York, unknown to her pops, and gets into a real tight spot involving murder by "coldymort."
When Archie learns this, he considers resigning on the basis of his boss's morals. You just have to read this one to find out.
Or, again, buy the A&E series - they did a great job here.
Classic Nero Wolfe.......2003-11-14
Having read just about all of the Nero Wolfe series, I have to say, this one contains all of the elements that make Rex Stout's detective novels wildly entertaining, without most of the elements that make some of them maddening
In this mystery, the utterly unswashbuckling Wolfe is revealed, in his younger, svelter days, to have been quite a romantic. Not only did he fight on the anti-Imperial side in Montenegro during the Great War, but he adopted and may even have actually sired a young girl.
To his shock, this young Yugoslav maiden--whom he had lost track of--reappears in his life, up to her neck in a particularly messy, intricate affair that may or may not include missing diamonds, a dead body or two, international intrigue, and a bellboy's uniform. For all of the peeks into Wolfe's previously unsuspected soul, he remains as crumudgeonly and as immovable as ever. Archie Goodwin, of course, remains the wisecracking, milk-drinking sidekick, flirting with anything in a skirt and even giving a Nazi agent a black eye just for the fun of it.
The joy of these books is their marriage of the American gumshoe attitude and the British cozy focus on character. Where they generally fall short is their plotting. This entry in the series is, without a doubt, the most successfully rounded out of the lot. Stout manages to keep the mystery truly mysterious, and yet never manages to confuse the reader so thoroughly that s/he can't find the exit. The plot actually ends on the last page--many of the Nero Wolfe mysteries fizzle out, wrapping up a chapter or two before the end, leaving nothing but rumination and grumbling for the final pages. Others seem never quite to wrap up all the loose ends. Here, the conclusion is both inevitable and unexpected--utterly satisfying.
Product Description
When the Balkan princess batted her black lashes and begged Wolfe for help, her plea almost melted me on the spot. Naturally, I was disturbed that our future together would be cut short by Wolfe's refusal to take her case.
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Over My Dead Body
Lee Server
Manufacturer: Chronicle Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Modern | Schools, Periods & Styles | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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Encyclopedia of Pulp Fiction Writers (Facts on File Library of American Literature)
ASIN: 0811805506 |
Book Description
Server takes us on a tour of the subversive twenty-five-cent paperbacks of the late 40's and early 50's that led readers through a lurid world of drugs, sex, and violence in sensation-packed tales of hard-boiled private eyes, deadly dames, sex fiends, beatnicks, and juvenile delinquents. This is the era that spawned Mickey Spillane, Philip K. Dick, William Burroughs, Jack Kerouac, Jim Thompson, and David Goodis. 100 color photographs and tips on how to collect vintage paperbacks.
"A terrific coffee-table book for the killer at heart." --
Scarlet Street
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Over My Dead Body
Anthony Fingleton , and
Michael Sutton
Manufacturer: Dramatists Play Service Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
United States | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0822216019 |
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ALZHEIMER'S?....OVER MY DEAD BODY!!!!
Jana James
Manufacturer: AuthorHouse
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Action & Adventure | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 141840134X |
Book Description
This book is a survivor, stolen in a burglary in Jana's home, rewritten at least fifty times and survived a computer crash. It was saved on five different disks, but mysteriously somehow every one of those disks were ruined. Luckily, a few months prior to the computer crash, a man, George Burns, (maybe God?) pleaded with Jana to print out a copy for his good friend, whose mother was just diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Jana made a copy for herself and it was because of this, that the manuscript was scanned back into a computer and saved! The story is about a woman, Nell Russell who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Her daughter Jona researched the disease and discovered some startling evidence. Her message throughout the book, "Don't take an Alzheimer's diagnosis without doing your own simple research." She is no expert on Alzheimer's but is convinced that there is an increase of diagnosis of this disease, when other illnesses have not been explored. The absence of common sense and stubborn denial are the most dangerous of mental problems she believes Americans face today. She believes there is such a disease, but a diagnosis given much to freely. It could very well be depression, an under diagnosed disease especially in the elder community. In this Western civilization where the elderly is disposed, rather than cared for, she asks that you take some time and read this book. In this baby-boomer era, it is soon that they, now getting into their 60's will be given the diagnosis of this disease from their doctors. It is the opinion of a layperson that is trying to get the attention of the general public to always investigate a diagnosis. Do not let a diagnosis be accepted because of behaviors or symptoms. Although a paid opinion from a doctor is important, it is too easy to be intimidated by medical professionals who some have high egos connected to their diagnosis.
Customer Reviews:
EVERY YANKEE SHOULD READ THIS BOOK.......2002-02-19
Was given If The South Rises Again It'll Be Over My Dead Body as a gift. Didn't know what to expect. It's hysterically funny and a must read for every Yankee and Southerner with a funny bone. This send up of the South, its people and habits will keep any reader laughing.
Loved it and have sent it as a present to all my friends.
A FUNNY, SATIRICAL BOOK........2002-02-08
THIS BOOK IS HYSTERICAL. BIG LAUGHS. IT TELLS THE TRUTH ABOUT THE SOUTH, AND SOUTHERNERS, FROM A YANKEE POINT OF VIEW. IT'S DONE TONGUE IN CHEEK BUT ALL OF THE INCIDENTS AND EXAMPLES OF SOUTHERN BEHAVIOR ARE TRUE.
THIS SHOULD BE REQUIRED READING FOR EVERY HUMAN BEING ABOVE THE MASON DIXON LINE. DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT VISITING OR DRIVING THROUGH THE SOUTH WITHOUT READING THE BOOK.
MAKES A GREAT GIFT.
Book Description
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY LOUIS UNTERMEYER
Book Description
...One of the most pioneering and valuable contributions to the field.
Dr. David K. Sakheim, co-editor of Out of Darkness: Understanding Satanism and Ritual Abuse
If you know or suspect that you are a survivor of ritual abuse, you are not alone. This book is an inspiring, comprehensive guide showing that healing is possible. In a clear and gentle voice, Oksana helps demystify ritual abuse cults, and offers groundbreaking strategies for recovery. Drawing on inner wisdom and spirituality Oksana takes survivors step by step through the healing process.
This has got to be, definitely, the best book yet available on ritual abuse healing. I loved the whole book. I kept saying "Yes, yes, yes - this is how it is"...I thank you, my inner kids thank you, and I think future generations will thank you.
A Survivor
Customer Reviews:
Way to go - finally a book for ritual abuse victims.......2007-08-28
This is a MUST HAVE for counselors and victims of ritual abuse. The most comprehensive book on the market. Just about every subject is addressed by Ms. Oksana. It is easy to understand, and yet an experienced therapist would learn something. It is a book that I would take out again and again to reference a specific subject.
THE SURVIVORS BIBLE! -Helpful for survivors and their allies.......2006-12-28
A Safe Passage to Healing is by far one of the best books written on this deeply painful and often overwhelming subject. I'd highly recommend it to survivors of ritual abuse and those who love them. This book is full of helpful chapters that will gently enlighten and provide some sense of comfort to the reader.
Chrystine Oksana has a deep sense of compassion and understanding when discussing some of the most difficult experiences ritual abuse survivors overcame. She's structured her book in easy to read short chapters providing short breaks in the author's narrative for those who may be upset by reading this material. Chrystine also gives the reader trigger warnings ahead of time when difficult subject matter is approaching.
Overall it's a very easy read and survivors and those who love them will walk away with a greater understanding of ritual abuse and a deeper sense of compassion for those who successfully endured it. This is one of the best books I've read and I'd recommend it to my survivor friends.
What a wonderfull book.......2006-06-24
I got this book about a year ago and I love it. It has helped me so much. It is a must for anyone who has gone through ritual abuse or knows someone who has been.
Helpful for ritual survivors.......2006-04-23
I have read many books for survivors of abuse, but nothing compares to this book. It's like my guide, my bible. I refer to it often, especially when I need reminders that I am not bad, that it will not always hurt so much, and I will get better. I am a SRA survivor and would recommend this book for those that have been ritually abused as well as therapists, family members and anyone wanting to learn more about ritual abuse, or help survivors as they work on their issues. It is helpful for survivors and their loved ones that are just starting to remember and face the reality of their childhood, as well as for individuals that have been in therapy awhile. For me, it reminds me of The courage to Heal book, but more specific for those who have been abused ritually, in cults, and those who developed Dissociative Identity Disorder (formally Multiple Personality Disorder) in order to cope and survive such horrendous abuse.
I will always keep this book, and refer to it as often as I need. The book offers hope to those who have been abused in any kind of ritual abuse, and for the people that care about them.
THE REAL THING.......2004-11-03
SRA does exist! I would have never dreamed this up. It is very disturbing when the flashbacks start, but it makes complete sense now. This book really saved my life. I love the way the author begins - by helping us not to feel crazy. It is a great suppliment to my own therapy and doesn't contradict the progress that I am making. This is a incredible book for therapists too giving them insight. Although there is not much out there regarding SRA, you wouldn't want any other book than this one. It doesn't go into stories. I have my own. It is a practical guide full of information that I need now. The author is a survivor of SRA and she also uses statements of advice from other SRA survivors. The concepts she discusses are to-the-point and extremely clear. The book is not filled with excessive wordiness and someone else's stories that tend to bog me down when I just need answers immediately. The chapters are short and organized well. The author stated that the reader could skip around and did not need to go through each chapter if not needed. However, I would recommend reading and learning even if you think you know about the subject. Looking at the index, the author covers every aspect of SRA. She is very careful not to point fingers at any group or religious sect. This is a great book that immediatley started making me feel better about myself. The author takes a sensitive approach. Her style is positve, uplifting and hopeful. I learned to trust in myself which is the most important skill I needed to learn about myself. In just a few minutes, I learned about the direction I needed to go and things I needed to stop doing. I know I will use this book as a guide for many years. Please understand, SRA is real and not dreamed up. If you have had SRA experiences or know someone who has had, please get this book and begin the healing.
Books:
- The Hot Flash Club: A Novel
- The Jasmine Moon Murder (Tea Shop Mystery)
- The Killing Sky
- The Last Heiress (Friarsgate Inheritance, Book 4)
- The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner (Contemporary Fiction, Plume)
- The Mangrove Coast (Prime Crime Mysteries)
- The Medusa Stone (Philip Mercer)
- The Miernik Dossier
- The Monstrous Races in Medieval Art and Thought (Medieval Studies (Syracuse, N.Y.).)
- The Passion of Artemisia
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- The Collected Stories of Isaac Bashevis Singer
- Mediterranean Winter: The Pleasures of History and Landscape in Tunisia, Sicily, Dalmatia, and Greec
- Evening Class
- Fury of Shadow: The Final Battle of Erethor
- Film Directing: Shot by Shot: Visualizing from Concept to Screen
- History: Fiction or Science
- Honoring The Civil War Dead: Commemoration And The Problem Of Reconciliation
- In Pursuit of a Legend: 72 Days in California Bigfoot Country
- Dusty Springfield: A Life in Music
- Shades of Gray: The Record of Gray Davis
Where the Heart Is (Oprah's Book Club)
Shoot The Moon
Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man: A Novel
Standing in the Rainbow (Ballantine Reader's Circle)
Crazy Ladies : A Novel
