Jeannette Walls Popular Books

Jeannette Walls Biography & Facts

Jeannette Walls (born April 21, 1960) is an American author and journalist widely known as former gossip columnist for MSNBC.com and author of The Glass Castle, a memoir of the nomadic family life of her childhood. Published in 2005, it had been on the New York Times Best Seller list for 421 weeks as of June 3, 2018. She is a 2006 recipient of the Alex Award and Christopher Award. Early life and education Walls was born on April 21, 1960, in Phoenix, Arizona, to Rex Walls and Rose Mary Walls. Walls has two sisters, Lori and Maureen, and one brother, Brian. Walls' family life was rootless, with the family shuttling from Phoenix to California (including a brief stay in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco), to Battle Mountain, Nevada, and to Welch, West Virginia, with periods of homelessness. When they finally landed in Rex's Appalachian hometown of Welch the family lived in a three-room house without plumbing or heat.Walls moved to New York at age 17 to join her sister Lori (then a waitress, Lori soon became an artist for Archie Comics). With the aid of grants, loans, scholarships and a year spent answering phones at a Wall Street law firm, she was able to earn a bachelor's degree in Liberal Arts from Barnard College. Walls graduated from Barnard in 1984 with honors. Career Early in her career Walls interned at a Brooklyn newspaper called The Phoenix and eventually became a full-time reporter there. From 1987 to 1993 she wrote the "Intelligencer" column for New York magazine. She then wrote a gossip column for Esquire, from 1993 to 1998, then contributed regularly to the gossip column "Scoop" at MSNBC.com from 1998 until her departure to write full-time in 2007. Walls has contributed to USA Today, and has appeared on The Today Show, CNN, Primetime, and The Colbert Report. Her 2000 book, Dish: The Inside Story on the World of Gossip, was a humorous history of the role gossip has played in U.S. media, politics and life.In 2005, Walls published the best-selling memoir The Glass Castle, which details the joys and struggles of her childhood. It offers a look into her life and that of her dysfunctional family. The Glass Castle was well received by critics and the public. It has sold over 4 million copies and has been translated into 31 languages. It received the Christopher Award, the American Library Association's Alex Award (2006), and the Books for Better Living Award. Paramount bought the film rights to the book, and in March 2013 announced that actress Jennifer Lawrence would play Walls in a film adaptation. On October 9, 2015, it was reported that Lawrence withdrew from the film and she would be replaced by actress Brie Larson. The film adaptation of the same name was released in 2017. In 2009, Walls published her first novel, Half Broke Horses: A True-Life Novel, based on the life of her grandmother Lily Casey Smith. It was named one of the ten best books of 2009 by the editors of The New York Times Book Review.Walls' second novel The Silver Star was published in 2013. Her third novel, Hang the Moon, was published in March 2023. Personal life Walls married Eric Goldberg in 1988; they divorced in 1996. She married fellow New York [magazine] writer John J. Taylor in 2002, and the couple now lives outside Culpeper, Virginia, on a 205-acre farm. Bibliography Dish: The Inside Story on the World of Gossip. New York: Avon Books, Inc. March 2000. ISBN 0-380-97821-0. The Glass Castle. New York: Scribner. March 2005. ISBN 0-7432-4753-1. Half Broke Horses: A True-Life Novel. New York: Scribner. October 2009. ISBN 978-1-4165-8628-9. The Silver Star. New York: Scribner. June 2013. ISBN 978-1-4516-6150-7. LCCN 2012050790. OCLC 827848933. Hang the Moon. New York: Scribner. March 2023. ISBN 978-1-5011-1729-9.References External links Publisher's biography. Discover the Jeannette Walls popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Jeannette Walls books.

Best Seller Jeannette Walls Books of 2024

  • The Choice synopsis, comments

    The Choice

    Edith Eva Eger

    A New York Times Bestseller“I’ll be forever changed by Dr. Eger’s story…The Choice is a reminder of what courage looks like in the worst of times and that we all have the ability t...

  • When the Jessamine Grows synopsis, comments

    When the Jessamine Grows

    Donna Everhart

    For readers of Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier and Enemy Women by Paulette Jiles, an evocative, morally complex novel set in rural 19th century North Carolina, as one woman fights...

  • From the Ashes synopsis, comments

    From the Ashes

    Jesse Thistle

    This #1 internationally bestselling and awardwinning memoir about overcoming trauma, prejudice, and addiction by a MétisCree author as he struggles to find a way back to himself an...

  • Excommunicated synopsis, comments

    Excommunicated

    Craig Hoyle

    A heartwrenching multigenerational family memoir by an excommunicated member of the Exclusive BrethrenAfter coming out as gay, Craig Hoyle was excommunicated from the New Zealand E...

  • Extended Summary - The Glass Castle - Based On The Book By Jeannette Walls synopsis, comments

    Extended Summary - The Glass Castle - Based On The Book By Jeannette Walls

    Mentors Library

    EXTENDED SUMMARY: THE GLASS CASTLE – BASED ON THE BOOK BY JEANNETTE WALLS Are you ready to boost your knowledge about "THE GLASS CASTLE"? Do you want to quickly and conci...

  • Good Girl synopsis, comments

    Good Girl

    Sarah Tomlinson

    “Forthright, sensitive, and compelling” (Edan Lepucki, New York Times bestselling author of California), this heartrending memoir from journalist Sarah Tomlinson recounts her uncon...

  • The Education of Dixie Dupree synopsis, comments

    The Education of Dixie Dupree

    Donna Everhart

    A remarkable debut from the author of The Saints of Swallow Hill, composed in a voice as sure and resonant as that of The Secret Life of Bees. This story about mothers and dau...

  • Half Broke Horses synopsis, comments

    Half Broke Horses

    Jeannette Walls

    From the author of The Glass Castle and Hang the Moon“Walls vividly depicts her astonishing, resilient grandmother with a lightness of touch that is plainspoken yet heartfelt” (Chi...

  • My Father Before Me synopsis, comments

    My Father Before Me

    Chris Forhan

    An awardwinning poet’s “beautifully written” (The Seattle Times) portrait of an American family and his own coming of age in the 1960s and 1970s in the wake of his father’s suicide...

  • Life Is Magic synopsis, comments

    Life Is Magic

    Jon Dorenbos

    “Jon Dorenbos is a magical person. Life Is Magic shows how we can all choose happiness in the face of overwhelming odds.” Ellen DeGeneres An extraordinary and empowering story of r...

  • The Forgiving Kind synopsis, comments

    The Forgiving Kind

    Donna Everhart

    In this masterful new novel, set in 1950s North Carolina, the acclaimed author of The Road to Bittersweet and The Education of Dixie Dupree brings to life an unforgettable young he...

  • All the Forgivenesses synopsis, comments

    All the Forgivenesses

    Elizabeth Hardinger

    Set in Appalachia and the Midwest at the turn of the twentieth century, this exquisite debut novel paints an intimate portrait of one resilient farm family’s challenges and ha...

  • Hang the Moon synopsis, comments

    Hang the Moon

    Jeannette Walls

    “A rollicking tale.” The Washington Post “Propulsive.” Associated Press “Wild, smart, energetic.” Los Angeles Times “Brilliant and effervescent.” NPR From the #1 bestselling auth...

  • Becoming a Win-Win Teacher synopsis, comments

    Becoming a Win-Win Teacher

    Jane Bluestein

    Becoming a successful teacher in today's fastchanging world can be a daunting challenge. Jane Bluestein addresses the issues new teachers face and provides practical ideas and hone...

  • The Silver Star synopsis, comments

    The Silver Star

    Jeannette Walls

    From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Glass Castle and Hang the Moon, Jeannette Walls’s gripping novel "transports us with her powerful storytelling...contemplates t...

  • The Glass Castle synopsis, comments

    The Glass Castle

    Jeannette Walls

    THE BELOVED #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERFROM THE AUTHOR OF HANG THE MOONThe extraordinary, oneofakind, “nothing short of spectacular” (Entertainment Weekly) memoir from one of the ...

  • La estrella de plata synopsis, comments

    La estrella de plata

    Jeannette Walls

    Por la autora de El castillo de cristal, la emocionante y tierna historia de una intrépida niña dispuesta a todo para desafiar las injusticias del mundo de los adultos.Década de lo...

  • The Saints of Swallow Hill synopsis, comments

    The Saints of Swallow Hill

    Donna Everhart

    Where the Crawdads Sing meets The Four Winds as awardwinning author Donna Everhart's latest novel immerses readers in its unique settingthe turpentine camps and pine forests of the...

  • El Castillo de Cristal synopsis, comments

    El Castillo de Cristal

    Jeannette Walls

    El Castillo de Cristal es la historia conmovedora de una familia que ama y que también abandona, que es leal y al mismo tiempo decepciona. Su lectura no dejará indiferente a ningún...

  • The Road to Bittersweet synopsis, comments

    The Road to Bittersweet

    Donna Everhart

    Set in the Carolinas in the 1940s, The Road to Bittersweet is a beautifully written, evocative account of a young woman reckoning not just with the unforgiving landscape, but with ...