Life on Altamont Court: Finding the Extraordinary in the Ordinary

I read the blurb and the "About the Author" section and was so excited to read this book. It was a struggle to get through, though. The amount of typos is staggering. Take for instance Brian the kitchen guy … or is it Bob the kitchen guy? I'm not sure which as he is Brian in one paragraph, Bob the next, and Brian again in another paragraph. Or the play the "Beauty Queen of Leenane" or is it "Beauty Queen of Liani" … again, I'm not sure as it was the former at the beginning of a paragraph and the latter at the end of the same paragraph. Typos are hard enough to deal with in a book but in the back of the book … the recipe section … OhMyGosh … you canNOT have typos in recipes!The chicken salad recipe calls for 1 teaspoons of ground white pepper. Is the "1" a typo or is "teaspoons" a typo? If teaspoons is correct then obviously "1" isn't correct so how many teaspoons do I use? ARG and this is just ONE example from this section.Having said all this, I really do like the author's voice. Seems like he has about the same smart a** personality that I do. The Court "family" sounds like dream neighbors and I'd love to be invited to a porch session, if Trent and Ken still lived in the Court.All in all I'd say the book is definitely a "read" but only with the CAUTION tag to BE AWARE OF THE CRAZY AMOUNT OF TYPOS.

I got this book because of the great ratings and I have yet to be let down. I have not been able to put this book down and finally have completed it and I want more. This book is a must buy/read!The book follows the life of a gay man living a family life in a neighborhood in New Jersey. The focus is not on the men being a gay couple, but about living life and dealing with the same issues and celebrations of life that any other family encounters...but with a FABULOUS flare. I'm a straight man living in Dallas, TX but I could relate to so many of the situations in the book, the macho men in the neighborhood that have more power tools than they know what to do with, the neighbor that goes overboard with Christmas decorations, and the wonderful cooks that you always invite to your parties because you know they will bring wonderful food.Speaking of food, the book includes many of the recipes that are referenced in the stories. I can't wait to try it out this holiday season. Don't these sound great?"Made a pot of sauce, you'll come to dinner" - sauce"Trent's divine balls" - risotto rice balls"The Nog" - just in time for the holidays"How do you say 'I need your cheesecake recipe,' in Italian?" - Italian CheesecakeThe only thing I would say this book is missing is the NEXT BOOK! What happens next in your life? What happened before you got to New Jersey?

What a treasure!! Life on Altamont Court is not only laugh-out-loud hilarious and FUN, but a wonderful story of the importance of commitment, love, friendship, and living life to the fullest with gratitude and joy! The author has done a wonderful job of writing the book so that you can either read a chapter at a time or submerse yourself into his life and world--not to mention the recipes and pictures that are included. I must confess that I even read a few chapters out of order and it was mind-altering--the night before I hosted our family Thanksgiving for 21, I took a break from everything to read about Trent and Ken hosting 48 family and friends. After I stopped laughing, I was crying with gratitude that I was able to not worry about the little details and just enjoy the blessing of being surrounded by family!! The author has such a wonderfully eclectic style that its hard to compare, but I would say it's the funniest Modern Family episodes narrated by George Carlin with recipes thrown in from Diane Mott Davidson or the Pioneer Woman!! But mostly, the best compliment that I can say is that I felt like I was sitting down in their kitchen over a delicious cup of coffee (or, more appropriately, a wonderful glass of wine!!) sharing a moment with dear friends!! And, you can never have too many moments of discovering the Extraordinary in the Ordinary--ENJOY :)

Magnificent! A true gem! What an honor to be invited to Altamont Court! It is truly a special place. This story will have you in stitches one minute, and the next minute, tearing up. How wonderful this is, knowing that there is such love and kindness waiting for you out there. Even with all the s*** we see day in, day out. We can still experience the good that right there in front of us.I so loved this story! Moving through the pages of the day in the life of Altamont Court showed the true gems of unconditional love, community, family, support, laughter and tears. Growing together through the years, being true to yourself and not holding back on being who you truly are. Given the the space to be free to be fierce! Yup, saw a lot of that. Grab your drink of choice and some tissue. Get ready for some shoutin' and laughin', and hold on tight.We are all at different points in our lives. But that does not mean we are without true feelings of love and understanding. Sometimes it takes a work such as this book to remind us of this. Bless you heart. :)p.s. Thanx for the recipes and pictures, Trent!

There is so much to love about Trent Pine's joy of a book. The picture of his everyday life with Ken has a ring of authenticity that I appreciate as one half of an over 31 year couple. But my enjoyment of Life On Altamont Court goes far beyond being a member of "the family", because of the larger family created by this wonderful group of people. I want them ALL for neighbors. There is so much laughter, fun , and above all love, on The Court that I felt at home there. This book is for EVERYONE, because we all know and enjoy people like the folks that call Altamont Court home. If you can only buy one book this year....make it Life On Altamont Court.

Very enjoyable book.

Good find I like quite camp humour and this tale of moving into a new area and meeting the some what eccentric n'bours and all that it entails kept me entertained.Bonus was there were recipes too!

A book with a international sense of humor - you laugh a lot even if you are a not an US citizenship. And the pictures at the end - what a great idea ;-))

good read