Dirty Helen lived life by her rules. This irascible and defiant woman chucked tradition behind her as she fought for her independence the only way she knew how-on her back.
Celebrity journalist Amelia Stone is the quintessential L.A. party girl. She goes to Hollywood's most exclusive, star-studded events, where she rubs shoulders (and occasionally more) with celebrities, stays out until all hours of the night, and indulges in the ultimate sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll existence. In short, she's got everything a party girl needs: the looks, the job, the lifestyle. And oh, yes, the out-of-control coke habit. But it's hard to keep topping your own outrageous exploits, and after losing her job, her friends, and much of her mind (not to mention waking up in the hospital after combining five Ambien, four lines of Special K, and an inestimable amount of cocaine), Amelia makes the drastic decision to end her drug abuse. Sobriety, she finds, has its rewards: she starts seeing the man who could be her Mr. Right and gets hired by a big-name magazine to write a column detailing her wild adventures with the celebrity party crowd. And who could write it better? After all, she has plenty of experience to draw on. There's just one little problem. Overnight, Amelia Stone has become the new face of Hollywood nightlife, and her editors—who don't know she's come clean—want her to play the part. As her popularity skyrockets and the film and TV agents start calling, the lure of her former fast-and-furious lifestyle begins to pull at her. Faced with the most exciting opportunity of her career, she must now decide to either save herself—or salvage her reputation as the ultimate party girl. Acidly hilarious and achingly honest, Party Girl is a harrowing ride through the world of Hollywood excess with a heroine who's deliciously flawed. Whether snorting coke or crying in rehab, hooking up or breaking down, Amelia Stone makes her way across the treacherous grounds of addiction, self-destruction, and recovery without ever losing her sharp wit, unapologetic candor, or odds-defying optimism.
The room smells of sweat, smoke, beer, and longing. The music pulses, the lights flash, and Kata and Ana dance. For a moment the raucous crowd is tamed, and together the two girls soar above their lives. But then the deafening applause sends the dancers crashing down to earth, back to the gang wars, the gunfire, and the only way of life they know. In a neighborhood consumed by violence, every day may be a gang member's last. And sometimes the only life you can hope to save is your own.
A dazzling debut collection of raw and explosive poems about growing up in a sexist, sensationalized world, from a thrilling new feminist voice. i’m a good girl, bad girl, dream girl, sad girl girl next door sunbathing in the driveway i wanna be them all at once, i wanna be all the girls I’ve ever loved —from “Girl” Lauded for the power of her writing and having attracted an online fan base of millions for her extraordinary spoken-word performances, Olivia Gatwood now weaves together her own coming-of-age with an investigation into our culture’s romanticization of violence against women. At times blistering and riotous, at times soulful and exuberant, Life of the Party explores the boundary between what is real and what is imagined in a life saturated with fear. Gatwood asks, How does a girl grow into a woman in a world racked by violence? Where is the line between perpetrator and victim? In precise, searing language, she illustrates how what happens to our bodies can make us who we are. Praise for Life of the Party “Delicately devastating, this book will make us all ‘feel less alone in the dark.’ ”—Miel Bredouw, writer and comedian, Punch Up the Jam “Gatwood writes about the women who were forgotten and the men who got off too easy with an effortlessness and empathy and anger that yanked every emotion on the spectrum out of me. Imagine, we get to live in the age of Olivia Gatwood. Goddamn.”—Jamie Loftus, writer and comedian, Boss Whom Is Girl and The Bechdel Cast “I’ve read every poem in Life of the Party. I’ve read each of them more than once. In some parts of the book the spine is already breaking because I’ve spent so much time poring over it and losing hours in this world Olivia Gatwood has partly created, but partly just invited the reader to enter on their own, caution signs be damned. This book is enlightening, inspiring, igniting, and f***ing scary. I loved every word on every page with a ferocity that frightened me.”—Madeline Brewer, actress, The Handmaid’s Tale, Orange Is the New Black, and Cam
With the verve and bite of Ottessa Moshfegh and the barbed charm of Nancy Mitford, Marlowe Granados’s stunning debut brilliantly captures a summer of striving in New York City. Isa Epley, all of twenty-one years old, is already wise enough to understand that the purpose of life is the pursuit of pleasure. She arrives in New York with her newly blond best friend looking for adventure. They have little money, but that’s hardly going to stop them. By day, the girls sell clothes on a market stall, pinching pennies for their Bed-Stuy sublet and bodega lunches. By night, they weave between Brooklyn, the Upper East Side, and the Hamptons among a rotating cast of celebrities, artists, Internet entrepreneurs, stuffy intellectuals, and bad-mannered grifters. Resources run ever tighter and the strain tests their friendship as they try to convert social capital into something more lasting than precarious gigs as au pairs, nightclub hostesses, paid audience members, and aspiring foot fetish models. Through it all, Isa’s bold, beguiling voice captures the precise thrill of cultivating a life of glamour and intrigue as she juggles paying her dues with skipping out on the bill. Happy Hour is a novel about getting by and having fun in a system that wants you to do neither.
In this delicious, practical and efficient guidebook Pat Montandon - queen of California's jet set - tells every party giver how to become a great hostess and give unforgettable parties. ESQUIRE magazine chose Pat as one of the nineteen best hostesses in the United States. It is Pat Montandon's conviction that..."...Anyone, regardless of circumstances (i.e. income), can be an outstanding hostess and party giver. Self-confidence gained by being a good hostess can create a completely new world, especially for the unmarried girl who may want to enlarge her circle of friends and therefore her opportunities to meet the right man - also important for the married woman who wants to be something other than just a housewife."No kidding. This book is not a good-grief-let-someone-else-try-it come-on that no lady would follow. It is an immensely useful book that explains the makings of a party people remember, even if you start out not knowing anyone and your bank account registers almost zero: taste, imagination (Pat has plenty of both and is willing to share), hard work, plus a genuine love of people.According to Pat (who arrived in San Francisco a few years ago, a shy little girl from the Southwest), liking people and being considerate of their feelings is the cornerstone of social success. People enjoy good company. They like to have fun. So you don't have to break the bank to entertain well. From your office buddies (the first people you'll meet in a new town) to Social Bigwigs, to very special men - the people you know will be flattered by your attention. To make sure you shine in your hostess role there are chapters on grooming and wardrobe. Pat suggests imaginative themes for all different kinds of parties, and lays down rules for guest as well as hostess.Step number one is to invite them. They'll come.....The next steps are just as simple. Pat discusses food, clothing, decor, whom to ask and whom to avoid. In friendly, big-sister tones she tells you how to cope with the crises that occasionally come up in event the best-organized gal's life - and if you follow Pat's advice being a party girl is a lot simpler, and a lot more fun, than you think!Although Pat keeps in mind that most girls entertain to meet and keep men, she also makes it crisply clear that men don't trust the girl whose only social aim is sex. They prefer the girl who entertains because she loves to, who can say no and stay friends. And in her last, wonderful chapter, Pat discusses how to be a great hostess to one grand guy every evening (and morning and afternoon) of your life.
As the ever-increasing “quit-lit” audience explores new ways to get sober, many are asking, “What’s next?” A renowned sobriety coach shares a road map for long-term change and a fulfilling, alcohol-free life. Here is a practical and straightforward program to stop drinking, stay stopped, and develop emotional sobriety.
South Beach in the late 1990s is a town of blink-and-you'll-miss-'em nightclubs populated by celebrities, models, mobsters, heiresses, drug dealers, drag queens, and fun seekers of all stripes. It's a place where the famous come to party like locals, the locals party like rock stars behind velvet ropes, and the press is savvy enough to know what not to report. Rachel Baum is a sheltered, career-oriented everygirl when she moves to South Beach from her quiet Miami suburb, searching for a life less ordinary. Quickly making friends among SoBe's most exclusive scenesters, she spends her days building a career and her nights building a reputation. But in a town where friends become enemies faster than highs become hangovers, the life less ordinary turns into more than Rachel bargained for. As she pursues the endless party in penthouses, dive bars, after-hours clubs, and cocaine speakeasies, Rachel struggles to balance her goals and ambitions with the decadence and excess -- especially her drug-fueled, on-again off-again relationship with Yale-graduate-turned-addict John Hood -- that threaten to destroy everything she's always worked for. With tremendous wit and razor-sharp insight, Diary of a South Beach Party Girl portrays the innermost sanctums of South Beach's privileged Beautiful People through the eyes of a no longer innocent heroine.
The greatest thing Nicole Polizzi, aka "Snooki," ever did was by accident. But her son, Lorenzo, was never a mistake. When she and her boyfriend, Jionni, found out she was knocked up, they weren't married or engaged. She was only twenty-four and living with her parents -- and she had zero baby experience. With a reckless, party girl TV persona to deal with, she had a lot to learn and discover in becoming a mother. In this funny and frank book, Nicole shares her experiences, everything from the first sonogram to the nipple-cracking shock of breastfeeding. In each chapter, she tells the unvarnished truth about pregnancy symptoms ("The High Price of Gas"), the ridiculousness of her baby registry ("Butt Paste and Boogie Wipes") and the lowdown on postpartum life ("Shit Happens"). There's a ton of useful information, including a list of must-have baby products, MILF style tips, how to keep "I'm a whale" preggers bad body image in check, and how she got into the best shape of her life within six months of giving birth. Although Nicole had to give up partying, she's embracing motherhood the only way she knows how: with a fun-loving attitude -- and lots of leopard print!
“A rollicking murder mystery. . . . a wildly entertaining romp. . . . Laugh? I died.”—Vogue The New York Times bestselling author of Bergdorf Blondes takes us back to the decadent 1980s in this comic murder mystery set in the tony world of Oxford University. It’s 1985, and at Oxford University, Pimm’s, punting, and ball gowns are de rigeur. Ursula Flowerbutton, a studious country girl, arrives for her first term anticipating nothing more sinister than days spent poring over history books in gilded libraries—and, if she’s lucky, an invitation to a ball. But when she discovers a glamorous classmate on a chaise longue with her throat cut, Ursula is catapulted into a murder investigation. Determined to bag her first scoop for the famous student newspaper Cherwell, Ursula enlists the help of trend-setting American exchange student Nancy Feingold to unravel the case. While navigating a whirl of black-tie parties and secret dining societies, the girls discover a surfeit of suspects. From broken-hearted boyfriends to snobby Sloane Rangers, lovelorn librarians to dishy dons, none can be presumed innocent—and Ursula’s investigations mean that she may be next on the murderer’s list. Clueless meets Agatha Christie in this wickedly funny tale of high society and low morals, the first book in Plum Sykes’ irresistible new series.