“Best known as a cofounder of The Pogues, Shane MacGowan has become a legend as both a writer of exquisite lyrics and an epic carousers … Sometimes maddening, sometimes charming, often brilliant and always honest, A Drink with Shane MacGowan is an enjoyable romp with a truly fascinating personality.”
Book Recommendations
What I’m Reading …
“Every film I listed in this book, including those everyone agrees are trashy, has devoted fans; these are the films that are discussed in film courses, constantly referred to by critics, and/or championed by movie-lovers. They aren’t all masterpieces – indeed, you’ll think that many are terrible – but in some way all are interesting to someone who is genuinely interested in film.” – Danny Peary
A Little Reckless
“The Keys are relaxed, a little reckless. The Keys are water and sky, horizon, daybreak, spectacular sunsets, the cup of night. The least interesting thing about them is the road, but the road, as is its nature, allows entrance. The road is the beginning … The best way to enjoy the Keys is still to seek out their simplicity and their eccentricity.” – Joy Williams, The Florida Keys: A History & Guide, 1988
One Day
“Let us spend one day as deliberately as Nature, and not be thrown off the track by every nutshell and mosquito’s wing that falls on the rails.” – Henry David Thoreau, Walden
What I’m Reading …
“Rock simply should not be played by fifty-five-year-old men with triple chins wearing bad wighats, pretending still to be excited about playing songs they wrote thirty or thirty-five years ago and have played some thousands of times since. Its prime audience should not be middle-aged, balding, jelly-bellied dads who’ve brought along their wives and kids. It should not be trapped behind glass in a museum display and gawked at like remnants of a lost civilization. That is not rock ‘n’ roll. Rock ‘n’ roll is not family entertainment.”
What I’m Reading …
“From the deepest swamps to the most civilized sidewalks, [50 Great Walks in Florida] … features the best short outdoor jaunts in the Sunshine State. These manageable walks will appeal to tourists in search of the real Florida as well as to residents who want to become better acquainted with their state but still be done in time for lunch. Though shoes may be required, backpacks are not.”
What I’m Reading …
“Perfect to have in the home for budding animal enthusiasts, ideal for armchair adventurers and great for Florida transplants who are experiencing a whole new range of wildlife, [Florida Animals for Everyday Naturalists] will help readers appreciate the abundance of life right outside their doors.”
What I’m Reading …
“Wake in Fright tells the tale of John Grant’s journey into an alcoholic, sexual and spiritual nightmare. It is the original and the greatest outback horror story. Bundanyabba and its citizens will haunt you forever.”
What I’m Reading …
“The Lincolns eclipses earlier accounts with riveting new information that makes husband and wife, president and first lady, come alive in all their proud accomplishments and earthy humanity. Award-winning biographer and poet Daniel Mark Epstein gives a fresh close-up view of the couple’s life in Springfield, Illinois … and dramatizes with stunning immediacy how the Lincolns’ ascent to the White House brought both dazzling power and the slow, secret unraveling of the couple’s unique bond.”
What I’m Reading …
“Focusing on the years 1934 to 1961 – from Hemingway’s pinnacle as the reigning monarch of American letters until his suicide – Paul Hendrickson traces the writer’s exultations and despair around the one constant in his life during this time: his beloved boat, Pilar. Drawing on previously unpublished material, Hendrickson shows that for all the writer’s boorishness, depression, and alcoholism, and despite his choleric anger, he was capable of remarkable generosity. Hemingway’s Boat is both stunningly original and deeply gripping, an invaluable contribution to our understanding of this great American writer.”
Wandering Florida 