Ron Tanner

Ron and Jill — his girlfriend of six months — discovered the house of their dreams in 2000: a landmark Baltimore brownstone that had belonged to a notorious fraternity. It was condemned property, had sat abandoned for nearly a year, and was such a wreck that no one would buy it. But Jill wanted the house and Ron wanted Jill. So he bought the 4500-square-foot ruin. Neither he nor Jill knew anything about house repair or renovation. The bank gave them six months to get the house up to code.

As soon as Ron and Jill started working on the house, they were at odds every day and it became clear to them both that the project would very likely ruin them financially and emotionally. Panicked, flirting with bankruptcy, and barreling through disasters, they had to learn how to live, love, and work together—and succeed against seemingly insurmountable odds. A book for lovers, dreamers, do-it-yourselfers, and fans of old houses, From Animal House to Our House: A Love Story recounts Ron and Jill’s adventure, offering inspiration, insight, and hilarity as they hammer away at the American Dream of home ownership and true love.

Ron Tanner has published stories and essays in such magazines as The Iowa Review, the Massachusetts Review, the Literary Review, Story Quarterly, and West Branch. His work has been anthologized in Best of the Web and the Pushcart Prizes, and acknowledged as "notable" by Best American Short Stories and Best American Essays. He is the recipient of a James Michener Fellowship from the Copernicus Society, first prize in the New Letters national fiction competition, a gold medal in the Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society national competition for short fiction, and others. He is the author of the illustrated novel Kiss Me, Stranger and the short-story collection A Bed of Nails, which won the G. S. Sharat Chandra Prize and the Towson Prize for Literature.

Location: Street: Abbot Public Library Additional: 235 Pleasant Street City: Marblehead, (added from IndieBound)… (more)

Imagine the classic National Lampoon toga party played entirely on rewind, and you might get a feel for Ron Tanner's book From Animal House to Our House: A Love Story. In the 90's, Tanner and his then-girlfriend bought condemned property: an abandoned Victorian brownstone, once Baltimore's most infamous fraternity. Knowing nothing about home repair, the two rose to occasion and restored the house to its original 1897 splendor. Join us for the reading and stick around to get a signed book!

Location: Street: 4736-38 N Lincoln Ave City: Chicago, Province: Illinois Postal Code: 60625 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

Ron Tanner is a historic home perservationist from Baltimore now on tour promoting his book, From Animal House to Our House: A Love Story. Tanner gives a talk and narrates a slideshow about how he and Jill, his then-girlfriend (now wife), took on a huge, wrecked fraternity house and-- knowing nothing about renovation--brought it back to its 1897 Victorian splendor.

Location: Street: Auntie's Bookstore/Mezzanine Additional: 402 W. Main Ave. City: Spokane, Province: Washington Postal Code: 99201-0214 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

Ron and Jill—his girlfriend of six months—discovered the house of their dreams in 2000: a landmark Baltimore brownstone that had belonged to a notorious fraternity. It was condemned property, had sat abandoned for nearly a year, and was such a wreck that no one would buy it. But Jill wanted the house and Ron wanted Jill. So he bought the 4500-square-foot ruin. Neither he nor Jill knew anything about house repair or renovation. The bank gave them six months to get the house up to code. The neighborhood historians told them flatly, "You'll never bring that house back." Ron's realtor said, "This house will eat you alive." Ron's mother said, "Why do you always do things the hard way?"

Impulsive and quixotic—and with two marriages behind him—Ron inspired little confidence. His life had been a series of mistakes and wrong turns. He recognized that taking on this wrecked frat house could be the biggest mistake of his life and he wondered if this time, in what seemed his final reach for love, he had reached too far. As soon as he and Jill started working on the house, they were at odds every day and it became clear to them both that the project would very likely ruin them financially and emotionally. Panicked, flirting with bankruptcy, and barreling through disasters, they had to learn how to live, love, and work together—and succeed against seemingly insurmountable odds. A book for lovers, dreamers, do-it-yourselfers, and fans of old houses, From Animal House to Our House: A Love Story recounts Ron and Jill's adventure, offering inspiration, insight, and hilarity as they hammer away at the American Dream of home ownership and true love.

Location: Street: 160 Courthouse Sq City: Oxford, Province: Mississippi Postal Code: 38655-3914 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

Venue: Left Bank Books - Central West End | Ten years ago, Ron and Jill bought a condemned property--a big Victorian brownstone that had formerly belonged to Baltimore's most notorious fraternity--and vowed to bring it back to its original glory. A book for lovers, dreamers, do-it-yourselfers, and fans of old houses, From Animal House to Our House offers inspiration, insight, and hilarity as Ron and Jill hammer away at the American Dream of home ownership and true love. Ron and Jill now live in a big Baltimore brownstone and run the popular website, houselove.org.

Location: Street: Left Bank Books - Central West End Additional: 399 N. Euclid City: Saint Louis, Province: Missouri Postal Code: 63108 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

Ron Tanner, Do-it-yourself hero, is putting his house on wheels this spring and touring the country to talk about his new book, From Animal House to Our House: A Love Story. This book chronicles his and his wife's adventuresrestoring a ruined Victorian landmark, and former frat house, in Baltimore, Maryland.

Ten years ago, Ron and his then-girlfriend, Jill, did the impossible. They bought condemned property -- a big Baltimore Victorian brownstone – and vowed to bring it back to its original glory. The house had been home to Baltimore’s most notorious fraternity for a decade and now, wrecked and abandoned, it was filled with garbage. As if that weren’t daunting enough: Ron and Jill had been dating for only six months and they knew nothing about fixing up old houses. Friends, family, and concerned onlookers told them not to do it – they would surely lose their shirts and their love in the bargain.

Location: Street: 4139 Park Road Additional: Park Road Shopping Center City: Charlotte, Province: North Carolina Postal Code: 28209-2229 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)