Queen of the Oddballs: And Other True Stories from a Life Unaccording to Plan

Hillary Carlip

Harper Collins, Oct 13, 2009 - Cooking - 273 pages

A hilariously offbeat memoir about an adventurous young woman's escapades as she defies conventions and transforms an ordinary Los Angeles life into a star-studded, extraordinary miracle of self-discovery.

Queen of the Oddballs forms a chronology of Hillary Carlip's habitual straying from roads more traveled -- from a wisecracking third-grader suspended from school for smoking (while imitating Holly Golightly) to a headline-making teen activist, juggler and fire eater, friend (NOT "fan") of Carly Simon and Carole King, grand prize-winning Gong Show contestant, cult rock star, and seeker of spiritual and romantic truths that definitely defy expectations.

Illustrated with ephemera -- from diary entries and photographs to a handwritten letter from Carly Simon -- Queen of the Oddballs presents a virtual time capsule of pop culture's last four decades and celebrates a creative life lived to the hilt.

Contents

• Hilly Golightly: 3
• Mrs Paul Henreids Trrophhhy Baaallll: 19
• Theyre Very Loyal Fans and They Bake: 33
• The King Case: 47
• Teen Libber: 71
• Adventures of a Teenage Woman Juggler: 91
• Queen of the Oddballs: 105
• Jack Haley Jr s Coat Closet: 135
• The Case of the Inexplicable Birthday Treasure Hunt: 159
• Tyro Scribes Sell Spec for Big Bucks: 177
• Madame Zola Psychic to the Stars: 207
• Life Death and My Soap Opera Girlfriend: 217
• Vespas Vespas All Fall Down: 233
• Leaving Las Vegas Please: 245
• Finding the OH in Oprah: 259

Popular passages

Page 140 - If you understand ... things are just as they are; if you do not understand ... things are just MAN 4.‎

Page 52 - So far away Doesn't anybody stay in one place anymore? It would be so fine to see your face at my door.‎

Page 233 - ... ceremony that takes place in late February or early March. The telecast, which has appeared live since 1971, is now seen in more than 100 countries. Awards are presented in various fields, such as rock, rap, alternative, country, folk, jazz, Latin, classical, musical, spoken word, and snort video. "Album of the Year...‎

Page 232 - A bomb goes off at the World Trade Center, killing six people and injuring more than a thousand.‎

Page 90 - Court rules that a woman's right to an abortion falls within the right to privacy protected by the Fourteenth Amendment, and abortion is legalized. The number one song is Helen Reddy's "I Am Woman.‎

Page 130 - I guess all we can do is put one foot in front of the other and let destiny reveal itself.‎

Page 114 - I think we know each other well enough for me to call you Liwy.‎

Page 104 - Microsoft registers its trade name with the Office of the Secretary of the State of New Mexico.‎

Page 112 - Carter leads a boycott of the Summer Olympics in Moscow to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.‎

About the author

Hillary Carlip, author of Girl Power, has written commentaries for NPR, and is a performer and artist. She is the creator of the acclaimed personal essay Web site freshyarn.com, and she lives in Los Angeles.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Queen of the Oddballs: And Other True Stories from a Life Unaccording to Plan
• Author: Hillary Carlip
• Edition: unabridged
• Publisher: Harper Collins, 2009
• ISBN: 0061877735, 9780061877735
• Length: 273 pages
• Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / Culinary; Cooking / Essays & Narratives; Social Science / Essays