Leslie Simon – författare

Emo - confessional punk rock - is the first cultural movement born on the Internet, thanks in part to the development of social networking sites like MySpace. Tracing its angst-y roots all the way from Shakespeare to Holden Caulfield to today's most popular bands, this is the definitive handbook to Emo. From the movement's fashion and ideology, to its music, movies and eating habits, it's all covered here with razor-sharp wit.

Trevor Kelley and Leslie Simon perfectly capture the excitement, absurdity, and obsessive passion of rock history buffs in this travel guide/indie music biography. Whether they're poking fun at hipsters in trucker hats, or offering a hilarious list of best and worst bands featuring washed-up celebrities, the authors' snarky, opinionated, and hilarious voices come through on every page. So whether you're a seasoned traveler who wants to visit all of these essential spots on a cross-country road trip, or an armchair music-lover who's content to let Trevor and Leslie do the legwork for you, this is a can't miss book.

“The selection of indie music–centric cities is spot-on . . . knowledgeable . . . the book serves as a helpful jumping-off point for readers looking to learn more.” —Publishers WeeklyThe American underground music scene is exploding everywhere—not just in New York City and L.A. (although we’ve got those cities covered too!):In Washington, D.C. . . . Ian MacKaye and Fugazi inspired the straightedge culture, which had kids everywhere drawing black X’s on their hands in magic marker.In Omaha, Nebraska . . . A young Conor Oberst, aka Bright Eyes, started writing and performing gut-wrenching love songs at the tender age of thirteen.On Long Island, New York . . . Taking Back Sunday and Brand New battled for emo supremacy and the fragile hearts of a million teenage girls.From the coauthor of Everybody Hurts: An Essential Guide to Emo Culture comes Wish You Were Here—a combination travel guide and tortured history containing everything you ever wanted to know about your city’s indie scene.“This book was really fun to read and I actually learned a lot. Wait a minute . . . Does giving a quote for this book mean people will know that I didn’t actually already know this stuff? Lame.” —Hayley Williams, Paramore“Wish You Were Here knows way too much about the history, minute details, and inner-workings of these 11 punk and indie scenes. I don’t know how Leslie figured out all this stuff, but I’m changing my locks and checking the phone for bugs.” —Tim McIlrath, Rise Against guitarist and lead singer “Rob Dobi’s spot-on illustrations appear throughout the book as the perfect complement to [Simon’s] enthusiastic and hilarious voice.” —Sacramento Book Review online

In recent years, male geeks have taken the world by storm: They've become unexpected sex symbols (Seth Rogen and Michael Cera); they've penned pieces of literary brilliance (Rest in peace, David Foster Wallace); they've even reinvented the art of modern cinema (Kudos, Coen brothers!) But what about their female counterparts? After all, fangirls are just like fanboys - they put on their imperial stormtrooper Lycra pants one leg at a time. "Geek Girls Unite" is a call to arms for every girl who has ever wondered where her rebel sisters have gone. It's also a sassy, savvy celebration of all the women who are busy bucking convention and making the world a smarter, better, and, yes, cooler place. Each chapter is dedicated to a crosssection of the geek elite-fangirls, music fanatics, bookworms, craft mavens, funny girls, film buffs, and others - and looks at groundbreaking women, geek hall-of-famers, ultimate love matches, and most likely frenemies. Along with fun quizzes, illustrations, and trivia boxes, each group also gets tailored recommendations for playlists, books, movies, and websites.Fun, funny, and ultimately empowering, this is the perfect book for women of any age who've felt like they're on the outside looking includes.

Pieces of My Heart is a unique mingling of passions - poems and quilts. Poems that express the author's laments and joys, sorrows and successes, worries and victories, these poems stand alone to welcome the reader in, share a landscape of emotions that do not wallow but search for a glimmer of hope through the darkest of tunnels. These poems invite handmade quilts to join them, add vibrant dimension to words threaded stitch by stitch to build days past and pathways sewn together for bright tomorrows. Poems and quilts, words and swirls of colors, letter by stitch by verse by fabric, Pieces of My Heart engage the reader to immerse in words and pictures, a journey of heart that leads each one of us to today. The message throughout Pieces of My Heart is healing. Body, soul, mind, repairing the past, patching tears in relationships, building traditions. You ll find these scattered throughout, in the mirror of my life, I am rubbed raw of thoughts, dawn draws me to it, and I am not present. Darkness to light, everything exists / to quiet a healing soul, and the past speaking through the author centuries of people left footprints on the sand / for her to follow, drowning in awareness of her consciousness, helping me keep family traditions to pass on, and in retribution in time you will feel the fire you set. Joys and sorrows that flow tears escape from my eyes / without my consent, and a view to the future seven healing hearts to soothe a vacant soul. Here is your invitation to join hands with the author and stroll through Pieces of My Heart , my heart s dream fulfilled / a life blessed / sewn into a mosaic of splendid pieces. You ll be changed forever by the turn of each page, each poem and quilt binding you to this wonderful life. ~ Judy Turek