What do you think?
Rate this book
Ridin' Around: Taillights in Chrome, 8-Tracks on Wheels
Gas was cheap, cops were allowed to laugh on duty, and all we needed to have fun was music, wheels, and friends. Like a 1980 version of American Graffiti, with a lot more laughs, Ridin' Around is filled with stories of hilarious escapades-and sometimes heartbreaking experiences-of a group of college-age friends. You will be taken back in time to small-town America where the pleasures of a simpler time-like Saturday nights cruising up and down "the drag"-is the backdrop to this funny and nostalgic story of guys and gals living it up. Hang on and ride along for the pranks, the brushes with the law, and the zany adventures!Author Elaine Fields Smith, drawing on real-life experiences vividly captures the joy and pain of young adulthood...and how the friendships that help up get through it can last a lifetime.
360 pages, Paperback
First published August 31, 2010
28 people want to read
About the author
Elaine Fields Smith
21 books7 followersJust a gool ol' gal with a talent for writing, some humor, and who loves her family, friends and pets.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 27, 2010
Won this in a First Reads giveaway.
This was just a good, fun read. Lots of memories back to the 80's when I was growing up. I wasn't in college yet, as most of the characters in the book were, but I remember the times. Always wanting to cruise, music as the centerpiece of your day, hanging with friends doing something fun or even something illegal.
Anyone who was a teen from the late seventies to mid-eighties will really love this book.
This was just a good, fun read. Lots of memories back to the 80's when I was growing up. I wasn't in college yet, as most of the characters in the book were, but I remember the times. Always wanting to cruise, music as the centerpiece of your day, hanging with friends doing something fun or even something illegal.
Anyone who was a teen from the late seventies to mid-eighties will really love this book.
January 22, 2012
Ridin' Around--Taillights in Chrome, 8-Tracks on Wheels by Elaine Fields Smith is a trip down memory lane for several generations. I used to drag the strip around my hometown. In my day there were no 8-tracks, but we did have the radio and our favorite DJ’s and stations. My son later rode around in another small Texas town with his cassettes and favorite DJ’s and radio stations.
Ms. Smith has created a nostalgic trip down memory lane reminiscent of her own personal memories. The story centers around a group of university students in a small Texas town called Dairyville. They have the normal lives of young people who are searching for themselves and enjoying the college life. The main characters are primarily college students and local kids. Some of the participants are even high school age.
There are several funny and serious stories about revenge and retribution. One of the funniest ones has to do with how the ‘good girls’ got revenge on a high school girl who egged the car of one of the ‘good girls’. They got specially made ‘burrito bombs full of onions and sauce from the local taco house and bombed the offending girl’s car. Then, for further protection, the next day they armed themselves with water balloons filled with colored water to fend off any more attacks. As the saying goes, ‘Ya’ had to be there’. Reading the book will make it come to life for you. You may also like some of the other escapades that are described with such a funny vent even better.
““I don’t think anyone saw us!” Candace stated happily.
“I certainly hope not!” Linda Lou said nervously. “Seems like every time ya’ll go out – or is it we? Anyway, we get into somethin’, or do you always do stuff like this?”
Ms. Smith does have an underlying plot that involves a romance, used to tie the story together, but the main thrust of the novel is the ‘adventures’ of riding around town and the interactions of the players that will take you ‘ridin’ around’ memory lane with style.
Elaine Fields Smith describes herself: “A Texas native born to Missouri and West Virginia hillbillies, my roots run deep. Friends are very important to me and play a pivotal role in my writing….
Living in Central Texas among a husband of 28 years, four dogs, two cats and 82 acres, life is good!”
Ms. Smith has created a nostalgic trip down memory lane reminiscent of her own personal memories. The story centers around a group of university students in a small Texas town called Dairyville. They have the normal lives of young people who are searching for themselves and enjoying the college life. The main characters are primarily college students and local kids. Some of the participants are even high school age.
There are several funny and serious stories about revenge and retribution. One of the funniest ones has to do with how the ‘good girls’ got revenge on a high school girl who egged the car of one of the ‘good girls’. They got specially made ‘burrito bombs full of onions and sauce from the local taco house and bombed the offending girl’s car. Then, for further protection, the next day they armed themselves with water balloons filled with colored water to fend off any more attacks. As the saying goes, ‘Ya’ had to be there’. Reading the book will make it come to life for you. You may also like some of the other escapades that are described with such a funny vent even better.
““I don’t think anyone saw us!” Candace stated happily.
“I certainly hope not!” Linda Lou said nervously. “Seems like every time ya’ll go out – or is it we? Anyway, we get into somethin’, or do you always do stuff like this?”
Ms. Smith does have an underlying plot that involves a romance, used to tie the story together, but the main thrust of the novel is the ‘adventures’ of riding around town and the interactions of the players that will take you ‘ridin’ around’ memory lane with style.
Elaine Fields Smith describes herself: “A Texas native born to Missouri and West Virginia hillbillies, my roots run deep. Friends are very important to me and play a pivotal role in my writing….
Living in Central Texas among a husband of 28 years, four dogs, two cats and 82 acres, life is good!”
November 30, 2011
Ridin' Around--Tailights in Chrome, 8-Tracks on Wheels is an awesome trip that anyone who came of age in the late 70's early '80s will want to read. Elaine Fields Smith sincerely and poignantly brings alive memories so spot on as well as universal stories that stand the test of a time for college students in those magic moments of the waning 20th century. Learning life lessons while driving fast and feeling the wind through your fingers held out the open window were part of every day life. The road Glenda, Tanya, Janie and others take as they complete college are full of unforgettable highs and lows of friendship and love and growing up in a period not often written about, but worthy of these memories.
Smith recalls the truths of those times in a way only an observant, honest and genuine storyteller can bring to life over 30 years later. She easily brings readers right back to a time when Camaro's, Corvettes, Thunderbirds, TransAm's and pick ups were as important to a teen's life as their friends. And music was all the more memorable and remarkable because of a new-fangled technology called the 8-track. It "was wonderful to have mobile music at your fingertips" the girls of Central Texas University recall.
Dairy Queens and Taco Bells, Boz Scags and Otis Day and The Knights, love that deepened slowly, all in good time, life lessons from families where troubles ran deep, and the special relationships shared with dads and their daughters who were growing up--all of that is part of a decade that was at once happily naïve, kinder and easier than the life of today's college kids. My kids, many young men and women whose parents grew up exactly as Smith captures--they wouldn't go wrong gifting their parents with Ridin' Around--Tailights in Chrome, 8-Tracks on Wheels by Elaine Fields Smith. We'll be remininiscing forever!
Smith recalls the truths of those times in a way only an observant, honest and genuine storyteller can bring to life over 30 years later. She easily brings readers right back to a time when Camaro's, Corvettes, Thunderbirds, TransAm's and pick ups were as important to a teen's life as their friends. And music was all the more memorable and remarkable because of a new-fangled technology called the 8-track. It "was wonderful to have mobile music at your fingertips" the girls of Central Texas University recall.
Dairy Queens and Taco Bells, Boz Scags and Otis Day and The Knights, love that deepened slowly, all in good time, life lessons from families where troubles ran deep, and the special relationships shared with dads and their daughters who were growing up--all of that is part of a decade that was at once happily naïve, kinder and easier than the life of today's college kids. My kids, many young men and women whose parents grew up exactly as Smith captures--they wouldn't go wrong gifting their parents with Ridin' Around--Tailights in Chrome, 8-Tracks on Wheels by Elaine Fields Smith. We'll be remininiscing forever!
November 30, 2010
Ridin Around
Remember those teen years and cruising the strip in hot rods or fancy new cars, seeing who had the noisiest engines or could go the fastest? I do and so I was thrilled when Elaine Fields Smith wanted to send me her book to review! Oh my gosh I think I love this woman! Truly a writer after my own heart. Reading Ridin’ Around Taillights In Chrome, 8-Tracks on Wheels just brought back so many good memories for me. A wonderful book that any Baby Boomer is sure to love.
Elaine Fields Smith Author of Ridin Around
Elaine brings us back to the nostalgic days of small town America in 1980 when Saturday night on the drag strip was the thing to do and the place to be seen. Of course gas was a lot cheaper then so cruising the drag didn’t cost much. Back to days of hamburgers and fries that melted in your mouth, and the music made you want to jump up and dance! Back to good friends you thought you would know forever. Trying to avoid the cops. Through all the experiences that were sometimes hilarious and often just broke your heart. Going to the drive in to see movies like The Jerk with Steve Martin. Each and every page was sheer joy to read and I know you’re going to love this book as much as I have.
Available at Blazing Star Books for $17.97.
Elaine Fields Smith is an author/publisher living in Central Texas. A non-tattooed lady motorcyclist, dog
lover, and horticulturist, she, even after all these years, still drives a fast car and loves to go ridin’ around.
Remember those teen years and cruising the strip in hot rods or fancy new cars, seeing who had the noisiest engines or could go the fastest? I do and so I was thrilled when Elaine Fields Smith wanted to send me her book to review! Oh my gosh I think I love this woman! Truly a writer after my own heart. Reading Ridin’ Around Taillights In Chrome, 8-Tracks on Wheels just brought back so many good memories for me. A wonderful book that any Baby Boomer is sure to love.
Elaine Fields Smith Author of Ridin Around
Elaine brings us back to the nostalgic days of small town America in 1980 when Saturday night on the drag strip was the thing to do and the place to be seen. Of course gas was a lot cheaper then so cruising the drag didn’t cost much. Back to days of hamburgers and fries that melted in your mouth, and the music made you want to jump up and dance! Back to good friends you thought you would know forever. Trying to avoid the cops. Through all the experiences that were sometimes hilarious and often just broke your heart. Going to the drive in to see movies like The Jerk with Steve Martin. Each and every page was sheer joy to read and I know you’re going to love this book as much as I have.
Available at Blazing Star Books for $17.97.
Elaine Fields Smith is an author/publisher living in Central Texas. A non-tattooed lady motorcyclist, dog
lover, and horticulturist, she, even after all these years, still drives a fast car and loves to go ridin’ around.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews