Frankie reads 2014

[pontalba]

Great review, frankie!  Makes me want to pick up my copy.....I think I have it....

[frankie]

Great review, frankie!  Makes me want to pick up my copy.....I think I have it....

 

Do pick it up! I think you might actually be one of those who I know who might like it, now that I think about it.

 

I'll start the clock... NOW! Let's see how many days it'll take for you to find your copy from your book stashes

[bobblybear]

Great review! I'm so sure I've read this book (in fact I'm sure I used to own it), but it's not ringing any bells and I can't find it on my bookshelf. I remember enjoying it, but I don't seem to recall anything about it.

[frankie]

Great review! I'm so sure I've read this book (in fact I'm sure I used to own it), but it's not ringing any bells and I can't find it on my bookshelf. I remember enjoying it, but I don't seem to recall anything about it.

 

Coincidentally I was just thinking earlier today how incredibly little one can remember about the books one reads, months later. Even a few weeks later! Like with Gone with the Wind. I really, really enjoyed it, but I think I've forgotten most of the plot twists So it's not even a case of forgetting the details of books one has not liked... It happens to well loved books, too!

 

I'm keeping my copy, I have a feeling I might want to re-read this some day in the future. Are you sure you kept the copy? Maybe you passed it on?

Edited March 27, 2014 by frankie

[pontalba]

Do pick it up! I think you might actually be one of those who I know who might like it, now that I think about it.

 

I'll start the clock... NOW! Let's see how many days it'll take for you to find your copy from your book stashes

 

LOL, ok, you can stop the clock!  I found the book I was thinking of, and it wasn't that one...it was Tom Wolfe though.  I have a huge hardback of Bonfire of the Vanities.  It does seem like there is another one...wait a mo....I'll check LT.......

~~

~~

~~

 

I Am Charlotte Simmons. Hah!

 

Oh well, one more to add to the Wish List.

[frankie]

No luck!

 

But I do remember now, that we talked about Wolfe some time ago. I think? I thought I had a copy of The Bonfire of the Vanities but it turned out I didn't, it was A Man in Full that I owned a copy of. Funny how we both thought we had the other book

 

Oh, can I ask you something? I already asked Kylie (which reminds me, I really need to get back to her on the subject) but let me ask you, as well: why is it the vanities? Why is it not The Bonfire of Vanities, without the? The 'the' sounds so odd to me, and I'm hoping a native English speaker might be able to explain. Are there some specific vanities? Or does one have to read the book in order to get it... Hm. This whole 'the' troubles me!

 

Good luck with finding a copy of AMiF! I'm definitely going to track down a copy of The Bonfire of the Vanities. In English. Then I will get a black magic marker and cross the second 'the' in the title Vandalism!!

Edited March 28, 2014 by frankie

[frankie]

Ah, I'd forgotten that I'd googled the title. Wiki says:

 

"The title is a reference to the historical Bonfire of the Vanities, which happened in 1497 in Florence, Italy, when the city was under the rule of the Dominican priest Girolamo Savonarola. The book's title is evidently a reference to the vanities of New York society of the 1980s and appears to also be influenced by Ecclesiastes: the phrase 'vanity of vanities, all is vanity' is from Ecclesiastes, 1:2. Both Ecclesiastes and The Bonfire of the Vanities have similar themes involving the lack of control anyone has over their lives regardless of their wealth, wisdom, or success.^{[original research?]"}

 

So I guess that would explain it ... I'm still going to magic marker the title

 

(No I'm not Blasphemy!)

 

 

Edit: Wikied the historical event:

 

"

Bonfire of the Vanities (Italian: Falò delle vanità) refers to the burning of objects that are deemed to be occasions of sin. The most infamous one took place on 7 February 1497, when supporters of the Dominican priest Girolamo Savonarola collected and publicly burned thousands of objects like cosmetics, art, and books in Florence, Italy, on the Mardi Gras festival.^[1] Such bonfires were not invented by Savonarola, however. They were a common accompaniment to the outdoor sermons of San Bernardino di Siena in the first half of the century.

The focus of this destruction was nominally on objects that might tempt one to sin, including vanity items such as mirrors, cosmetics, fine dresses, playing cards, and even musical instruments. Other targets included books that were deemed to be immoral, such as works by Boccaccio, and manuscripts of secular songs, as well as artworks, including paintings and sculpture.

"

Edited March 28, 2014 by frankie

[ethan]

Savonarola's Bonfire of the Vanities, Frankie, figures prominently in George Eliot's great historical novel, Romola (made my Top Ten last year). Savonarola then is about to voluntarily subject himself to a Trial by Fire in order to prove to the citizenry that he is indeed an emissary of Divine Will. But right before the trial begins, it starts to rain (no Weather Channel to consult in those days!) which douses the flames. The citizenry interpret this rain as a sign of God's displeasure with Savonarola, so they hang him.

[frankie]

Thank you for the further info! Interesting decision from the citizenry: they could've also come to the conclusion that God did not want Savonarola to burn, (because there is no such thing as Trial by Fire for God) and that indeed 'he' wanted to save him from death = meaning God is pro-Savonarola.

Edited March 28, 2014 by frankie

[ethan]

If I recall Eliot's version of the story correctly, Savonarola started having second thoughts about the trial and hesitated at the appointed hour. He was literally going to walk the plank through a sea of flames and emerge unscathed to confirm his holiness. When he was a no-show, the crowd grew impatient and restive. Savonarola had been whipping them into a religious frenzy for weeks with his severe, mystical fundamentalist vision, hence the burning of vanities. When the rains came and still no Savonarola, his enemies in the priesthood who resented his new autocratic rule were able to quickly turn the frenzy and hysteria of the crowds against him. To use another medieval term, Savonarola was "hoisted by his own petard".

[bobblybear]

I'm keeping my copy, I have a feeling I might want to re-read this some day in the future. Are you sure you kept the copy? Maybe you passed it on?

 

I don't know....maybe it's in the loft. The strange thing is that I thought I knew exactly where it was on the bookshelf, but when I turned around to get it, it wasn't there.

 

But I do remember now, that we talked about Wolfe some time ago. I think? I thought I had a copy of The Bonfire of the Vanities but it turned out I didn't, it was A Man in Full that I owned a copy of. Funny how we both thought we had the other book

 

I also have The Bonfire of the Vanities, and that's sitting on my bookshelf, so perhaps I'm confusing the two as well.

[frankie]

If I recall Eliot's version of the story correctly, Savonarola started having second thoughts about the trial and hesitated at the appointed hour. He was literally going to walk the plank through a sea of flames and emerge unscathed to confirm his holiness. When he was a no-show, the crowd grew impatient and restive. Savonarola had been whipping them into a religious frenzy for weeks with his severe, mystical fundamentalist vision, hence the burning of vanities. When the rains came and still no Savonarola, his enemies in the priesthood who resented his new autocratic rule were able to quickly turn the frenzy and hysteria of the crowds against him. To use another medieval term, Savonarola was "hoisted by his own petard".

 

Well, hesitating and then not showing up does make a difference of course...

 

 

I don't know....maybe it's in the loft. The strange thing is that I thought I knew exactly where it was on the bookshelf, but when I turned around to get it, it wasn't there.

I also have The Bonfire of the Vanities, and that's sitting on my bookshelf, so perhaps I'm confusing the two as well.

 

:lol: Why is it that we all confuse the two? I'm now going to google the cover of the Bonfire...

 

Edit: Naah, I don't think it's the covers that are misleading us... And us three live in different countries and some even on different continents, so it can't be the tap water, either...

Edited March 29, 2014 by frankie

[bobblybear]

It's very strange, isn't it?   Yeah, the two covers are totally different.....maybe it's because they are his best known books (at least, I can't think of any others off the top of his head ).

[frankie]

It's very strange, isn't it?   Yeah, the two covers are totally different.....maybe it's because they are his best known books (at least, I can't think of any others off the top of his head ).

 

For me his best known book is The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, which I haven't yet read, but it's so different from AMiF and TBotV that it's easy to keep that book separate. I think AMiF and TBotV are so similar in some ways that maybe it's just so easy to think of the two together and confuse them.

 

I'd heard of TBotV ages ago, but it took me really long to find out that it was by Tom Wolfe. I know him initially from his wilder, more out-there stuff like TEK-AAT.

 

Edit: And the initial reason why I know of TEK-AAT is that it's on the Rory Gilmore list If I didn't watch the show and didn't take part in the reading challenge, I don't think I'd have been interested in Tom Wolfe, and TEK-AAT, and therefore hadn't bought the copy of his other book, AMiF, and loved it so much. So, it really pays off to be a Gilmore Girls fan

Edited March 30, 2014 by frankie

[frankie]

^

That made me think of the Rory Gilmore reading challenge in general, and I wanted to take a look at the books I've read only because they were on the RG books list, and which I've really loved and enjoyed reading. (I'll also keep count of the 'duds' and see how the numbers will compare.)

 

- Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (I'm not 100% if I read this purely because of the RG challenge... But most likely, yes.)
- The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
- Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
- Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
- A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole (I can't say that I loved this book when I was reading it, but it's sort of stayed with me, and I've come to appreciate it more in hindsight. But I think I ought to re-read this soon so I'll see if it's really any good or if my senses have been impaired )
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (I'm not completely sure if I read this because it was on the list or because people on here were recommending it... A look into the date of when I read this would solve that... )
- The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
- Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
- The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby

- Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw

- The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
- Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach

- Sybil by Flora Rheta Schreiber

- Candide by Voltaire (although this I might have read for the 1001 Books -challenge, too, had it not been also on the RG list)

- The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band by Tommy Lee, Vince Neil, Mick Mars and Nikki Sixx
- Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
- Freaky Friday by Mary Rodgers

- Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry (being a true crime buff, I have to say that I would've read this one, too, even if it hadn't been on the list, had I come by it at the library or somewhere. But I particularly bought my own copy because it was on the list.)
- The Love Story by Erich Segal
- Marathon Man by William Goldman
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
- Peyton Place by Grace Metalious
- Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain

- Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf by Edward Albee

 

(I also want to say that most of those have made their way to the Frankie Recommends -list, too Great reads!)

 

Only two duds!:
- Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

- The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty by Eudora Welty (The Optimist's Daughter)
 

 

So, as you can tell, it's been a really rewarding reading challenge

Edited March 30, 2014 by frankie

[frankie]

#5, #6 and #11

 

Kati in America, Kati in Italy and Kati in Paris
by Astrid Lindgren

 

 

I'm doing an Astrid Lindgren challenge, I want to read all of her books (excluding pictures books and some such) at some point. I've always liked her books, but last year I realized that I never go for the books that I haven't read before, I always seem to gravitate towards re-reading my old favorites. I thought it was about time I read the others and find some new gems

The majority of Lindgren's books are children's books, and in fact I always thought she wrote nothing but. When I was doing research on her bibliography for my reading challenge, I found out that she's actually written three YA books, too, and I was thrilled by this discovery I was very much looking forward to reading something a bit different by her, even though I very much love her children's books.

 

The Kati books are about a Swedish teenager, Kati (I can't remember her exact age, maybe 17 or so), who travels to America (the US), Italy and Paris in the books, as you can imagine. It was so weird to read to read the book and think it was by Lindgren, when I'm used to the children characters! Weird, but not in a bad way. Thinking about the books now, I'm rather indifferent about Kati. I don't think I got inside her head at all.

 

I thought the first book was the best. The main theme is exploring the country and its customs and the places and people. This book was written in 1951 and I have to say, it was pretty remarkable to be able to read a Swedish description of the social issues of that day: racism and the role of women. It made me want to immediately start reading the biography I have of Lindgren: did she visit the States herself? What were her opinions on different social and political issues? I have a feeling I'm going to enjoy the biography, and I have a feeling I shall like Astrid Lindgren as a person.

 

Kati in Italy was also a good read, but I think it took a step towards being less about the country in question and more about Kati's personal life, which I wasn't very interested in myself. I would've preferred the book to be more about Italy.

 

And Kati in Paris made me rather frustrated. It was hardly about the city at all! I think Left Bank was mentioned, and some clothes stores were talked about in general, but it seems like that was that. A bit of a disappointment, I have to say!

 

All in all, I'm still glad I read the books. Not only because I can now cross them off the challenge list (actually I've done that already), but because it was another side to Lindgren's literature that I hadn't seen before.

 

 

Kati in America 3/5
Kati in Italy by Astrid Lindgren 3/5
Kati in Paris by Astrid Lindgren 2/5

[Athena]

Great review ! I also liked reading about your Rory Gilmore reading challenge books. Your thread's always interesting, Frankie .

[frankie]

Aww, thanks Athena!

[frankie]

#7

 

This Is Where I Leave You

by Jonathan Tropper

 

 

 

 

 

I've read one Jonathan Tropper novel before, called How To Talk To a Widower, which I really enjoyed (4/5), and that made me want to read more of his novels. The only other JT book at the library was TIWILY so naturally I went for that one. The premise sounded very good, too. Not wanting to give away too much, I'll just say that we have Judd Foxman as the main protagonist, and while he is having some marital problems, he finds out that his father has died and that the whole family is going to sit shiva for the father. For those who don't know, this means sitting in the house, reminiscing, and not leaving the house for seven days, etc. His family members all have their own secrets and/or problems, and the fact that they are not a very close knit family is what makes things interesting.

 

For some reason I like reading about dysfunctional families. And I loved reading this book! There were some great one-liners, and the plot twists were great, and I thought the characters were a great mix, varied and well thought out. The Mom for example had the tendency to just say the most inappropriate things whenever. Too funny!

 

I don't really have much to say about the novel, other than it made me laugh out loud and that it made me wishlist all the other books I haven't yet read by Tropper. I think he has a great talent for writing immensely readable and enjoyable, funny books.

 

5/5

Edited March 30, 2014 by frankie

[poppyshake]

I'm glad you got to cross the Kati books off your challenge list frankie .. pity they weren't more to your taste (Kati had no right going to Paris and then not telling you about it .. she might as well have gone to the end of her street ) This has reminded me that I need to make a start on my Astrid books .. they might be just the thing as I'm slightly struggling mojo wise but all because I'm not feeding it .. with literary nutrition anyway. I need to entice it with some good reads.

 

It would seem that Rory has been steering you in the right direction .. only two duds .. that's excellent. What was it you didn't like about Me Talk Pretty One Day? .. I haven't read it but have heard a bit of his stand-up on radio (or one of his monologues anyway) and thought he was quite funny .. don't know if I could sustain interest for a whole book but it definitely made me smile a lot while I was peeling spuds. Was he particularly annoying or something?  

[poppyshake]

Love the sound of This is Where I Leave You .. great review frankie .. I need to add this to my list  Laugh out loud books are just the sort I need and I too like reading about dysfunctional families .. I don't like being part of one but reading about them is great     

[frankie]

I'm glad you got to cross the Kati books off your challenge list frankie  .. pity they weren't more to your taste (Kati had no right going to Paris and then not telling you about it .. she might as well have gone to the end of her street )

I know!! She did move to another apartment, the one next to her previous one, and she seemed to talk about that a lot more than about Paris And she was very luvvy-duvvy with her man and made her single friend feel lonely and like a third wheel ... in The City of Love, of all places! Perhaps unintentionally, but tut tut! This single does not approve

 

This has reminded me that I need to make a start on my Astrid books .. they might be just the thing as I'm slightly struggling mojo wise but all because I'm not feeding it .. with literary nutrition anyway. I need to entice it with some good reads.

Oh, I think that would be a great idea, I would definitely recommend giving her books a go So you're still in the outs with mojo? I hope you can sort it out soon!

 

It would seem that Rory has been steering you in the right direction .. only two duds .. that's excellent. What was it you didn't like about Me Talk Pretty One Day? .. I haven't read it but have heard a bit of his stand-up on radio (or one of his monologues anyway) and thought he was quite funny .. don't know if I could sustain interest for a whole book but it definitely made me smile a lot while I was peeling spuds. Was he particularly annoying or something?  

It's so odd because people compare Augusten Burroughs to David Sedaris and their books are thought to be similar, and they are often mentioned in the same reference. And I do get why. However, I love Augusten Burroughs, and one would think that that would make me impressionable towards Sedaris? But it doesn't! I just couldn't stand the book. I thought he was trying to be funny and I do understand that some people will find him funny, but I just didn't. I did like one of the chapters, but that doesn't quite cut it. Actually, I even wrote the story on my reading log, due to popular demand I might go and search for the post and then post it here for your benefit. It's a turd story, so not for everyone.

 

I think I went in with an open mind, when I started reading the book. But it just wasn't for me. I will still be friends with people who like his books and find him funny, so no worries

 

 

Found the review on the book, too:

 

"

86. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

 

A Rory Gilmore read which I have been dying to read for years. I enjoy Augusten Burroughs's novels and it's been said that Sedaris writes in a very similar way, so I was really looking forward to reading the book which contains short stories or anecdotes. After reading the book I can safely say that I much prefer Burroughs and don't plan on reading any more of Sedaris whom I found very mediocre and at times a bit boring. There was one good turd story and that was it. 2/5

"

 

Wow, I gave it 2/5 and not 1/5...

 

Link to turd story. 

 

Edit: Donald... I'd forgotten about Donald! Where did he go? Did the turd story offend him? He's not been back since.

Edited March 30, 2014 by frankie

[frankie]

Love the sound of This is Where I Leave You .. great review frankie .. I need to add this to my list  Laugh out loud books are just the sort I need and I too like reading about dysfunctional families .. I don't like being part of one but reading about them is great     

 

Thanks poppyshake! I think you might like the book, yes There's a cheesecake involved... I'll let you read the book and then tell me, would you rather have the cake or save it for later

 

Yep, being part of a dysfunctional family is no fun but reading about them so is Makes one think 'at least my family is not that crazy!'

[Athena]

I also like reading about dysfunctional families. Great review , Frankie, the book might have to go on my wishlist..

[frankie]

I also like reading about dysfunctional families. Great review , Frankie, the book might have to go on my wishlist..

 

It's simply payback time from when your review made me want to add Picoult's Storyteller on my wishlist