Frankie reads 2014

[Chrissy]

It could be said that I am neither one nor the other really. I withdraw within myself when I am troubled, and consider regular time to myself a necessity in life, but although I don't enjoy social situations much, but am ok in / at them.

 

I am married to an introvert who has learned to function really well in his professional life, and we support each other when faced with daunting social occasions. I have always said I married the best person I know, but few would know he is that as people have a tendency not to spend the time finding out. I think that is the power that introverts have over extroverts - they tend not to just skim the surface of others, they actually look. Maybe that's why internet friendships work so well, we can interact without all the flapping and anxiety that often accompanies face-to-face.  

 

Books and t'internet, bringing people together.   

[Janet]

I wouldn't have said I skim over the surface of the people I meet.    I certainly hope I don't, anyway. 

[Nollaig]

I think there's probably a lot more loyalty and dedication, statisically speaking, in introvert relationships and friendships, simply because it requires more effort for us to put ourselves into social situations than it does for extroverts - so it's easier for an extrovert to have a lot of passing friendships in addition to their close friends, whereas an introvert will invest in people who take the time to understand and accept their natural inclination. That is is no way to suggest extroverts DON'T form loyal, dedicated relationships, just that it is easier for them to have passing friends also.

 

Maybe I'm just speaking for myself, but that's how I feel.

 

That said, I'm okay with being around some people 24/7. Like one of my best mates, I don't see him often but I have been known to spend several days in his company, staying at his house, hanging out, playing games, watching tv - because it's relaxed and easy to be around him, it's not as draining as, for example, going on a weekend trip with several people.

 

I think a major factor is that people are not either introverts or extroverts, it's a spectrum, like most aspects of personality are, and everybody is both things to a degree - generally a majority degree, but the fact that it's a degree does mean that not all introverts act the same, and not all extroverts act the same.

Edited February 5, 2014 by Nollaig

[Chrissy]

Sorry Janet, I didn't mean to talk in absolutes like that. Having met you I know without a doubt that you are not a 'skimmer'.

 

I was talking in terms of the in-your-face extroverts that spend conversations looking over your shoulder for someone 'more interesting' to come along. They come less under the heading of extroverts and more just bloody rude!

[Marie H]

These are 2 books I've read about introversion:

The Happy Introvert:A Wild and Crazy Guide to Celebrating Your True Self By Elizabeth Wagele 

The Introvert's Way:Living a Quiet Life in a Noisy World By Sophia Dembling

Both were okay, but just not that helpful with hints; things that you have probably worked out yourself. Both books are basically blogs that have been collected as a book, and I thought they were a by expensive for what they were. 

 

I browsed and found a recent published Success as an introvert for dummies, then ordered a copy from the library, and that could be more helpful. I quite like the format of the 'for dummies' series , and I find Mindfulness for Dummies is very good for anxiety/stress. I'll let you know how the success as an introvert book is, when I have a look at it  .

Edit: I've forgotten this ebook , I'm only approx 1/3 through it so far, but it's pretty much the same blogs made to a book.  

Insight: Reflections on the Gifts of Being an Introvert by Beth L. Buelow

Okay, yet again, but not that helpful.

Edited February 6, 2014 by Marie H

[Kylie]

t's hard to tell online though - I would say that none of you who have posted come across that way.

 

(I hope my post doesn't come across as offensive - that's just an observation)

There is nothing offensive there at all. I chat way more online than I ever would in real life. This forum is my social outlet, I guess!

 

I really hate it, too, when people draw attention to someone being quiet. I've sometimes thought I should've just asked S in return, 'why do you talk so much' and shrugged, as if saying you're this way and I'm that way, there's nothing more to it.

 

Bahaha! Oh I wish you had said it!

  

We don't even have that in Ireland - it's standard issue here that in order to particpiate in conversation you must talk over everyone else until they give up and wait to try again later! Definitely one of the contributing factors to me being so quiet is that I won't talk over anyone, I think it's incredibly rude, but Irish people do it all the time.

Apart from my natural shyness, this is another thing that prevents me from talking. I also think it's extremely rude to interrupt, so I'll wait for a break in the conversation and then wait another couple of seconds to make sure no one else wants to talk. Usually someone jumps in, and then of course I've missed my chance! I wouldn't mind it in Ireland though...half the reason I want to go there is so I can just listen to Irish people talk all day long. 

[Nollaig]

Haha I'm like that about Scotland Kylie!

[frankie]

This is all so amazing.

 

I don't know about the rest of you, but i feel more comfortable talking to a forum full of people I haven't met more than I do to my friends about certain things - like my health. Odd i know.

 

I don't think it's odd at all And I have to say I feel the same way sometimes

 

 

These are 2 books I've read about introversion:

The Happy Introvert:A Wild and Crazy Guide to Celebrating Your True Self By Elizabeth Wagele 

The Introvert's Way:Living a Quiet Life in a Noisy World By Sophia Dembling

Both were okay, but just not that helpful with hints; things that you have probably worked out yourself. Both books are basically blogs that have been collected as a book, and I thought they were a by expensive for what they were. 

 

I browsed and found a recent published Success as an introvert for dummies, then ordered a copy from the library, and that could be more helpful. I quite like the format of the 'for dummies' series , and I find Mindfulness for Dummies is very good for anxiety/stress. I'll let you know how the success as an introvert book is, when I have a look at it  .

Edit: I've forgotten this ebook , I'm only approx 1/3 through it so far, but it's pretty much the same blogs made to a book.  

Insight: Reflections on the Gifts of Being an Introvert by Beth L. Buelow

Okay, yet again, but not that helpful.

 

 

Thanks for the book info! I've written the titles down and I'm going to see if I can find any of them at the library. And now I'm actually rather curious about the Mindfulness for Dummies book, too!

[frankie]

#3

 

Vaudeville!

by Gaétan Soucy

 

 

 

 

Synopsis-like, in own words: The story is set in New York, in the 1920s. We meet Xavier X. Mortanse who is an apprentice demolition worker. He is clumsy, young, and bullied by the other demolition workers, but he tries to make light of things and get accepted in the work group. After work, he writes letters to his sister in Hungary and wonders why she never writes back. Xavier's only friends are the Philosopher (a co-worker from the construction site) and the girl he later meets and befriends. One day at the construction site, he finds a singing frog and this leads into an odd friendship and a try at vaudeville. Later on we also find more about Xavier's past which is in no way an ordinary tale.

 

 

Thoughts: I have previously read one book by Soucy: The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond of Matches. This was back in 2008 so I'm afraid I don't remember much about it. I do remember it was an odd book, and that there were a few interesting elements but maybe it was too clever for my liking back then. I'd love to re-read the book now, knowing what was the twist at the end, and seeing if I could enjoy it more on a second read, when I could concentrate more on the way the story is told, instead of wondering what on earth is going on.

 

When I finished reading Vaudeville!, I went to search for other titles by Soucy and found out that he had died of a heart attack just last year, and that he was only 54 years old 2013 was a horrible year for authors and readers.

 

My copy is in Finnish, so unfortunately I can't provide you with any quotes (couldn't find any on Goodreads, either, for shame) but I do want to show you how the book starts, because it pulled me right in, and I think the first chapter set the scene for the novel quite brilliantly. So this is a very rough translation, my apologies.

 

"

It all started with the fall. When the young man kneeled down to tie his shoe laces, somebody pushed him with his knee in between his shoulder blades. He rolled all the way down to the bottom of the ravine. The pit was fifteen meters deep and the size of three blocks. The boy lay as flat as a carpet in a mud puddle, his lungs squashed flat. The pusher stood on the edge of the cliff. His friend punched him in the back as to congratulate him. They laughed. They thought it was funny. The boy would have wanted to somehow tell them that it was alright, that he thought his somersault was funny, too. He couldn't get up, however. The scene is a construction site in the city of New York at the end of the 1920s. The boy had just only come to the States. That's what he always said. His name was Xavier X. Mortanse.

"

 

The above doesn't necessarily show what I think is so great about Soucy's language: short sentences, oldfashioned words, and an old style of people addressing each other (that is, of course more to do with the novel being set in the 1920s, of course).

 

Soucy also changes the narrative from that of Xavier, to that of the biggest bully at the construction site, and even though these are both written in the third person narrative, I wasn't confused when the narrative changed, but understood what happened and could follow on.

 

The novel is in no way realistic. A singing frog? There are also other unrealistic elements in the novel that I will not spoil for you. The blurb in my copy says that the novel is a mix of a suspense story, a mystery detective story, cartoon-like comicness and surprise twists, the fast pace and emotionality of silent movies, tragedy, picaresque novel, philosophy and fairy tale. I think that description is going a bit too far, but I do see why someone who's trying to make the book sell would say that: the elements are there, although not as strongly as the blurb promises.

 

As easily as I got into the book and as enjoyable it was to read, it was actually rather difficult to say if I liked the novel in the end. Or rather, how much I liked it. There was so much going on in the novel, and the twist at the end, for me at least, took it to a whole other place. It was like a mish-mash. That's not even a word, but you know what I mean. But I did feel very deeply for Xavier, and the story was great in many ways, and all the important, main characters were fascinating. Quite oddly I have to say that the frog was overshadowed by the other characters!

 

I wouldn't know to whom I would recommend this book... I know it will not be for everyone. I don't know what the English translation is like. The Finnish was wonderful. I was ready and willing to give away my copy after finishing the book, I was going to donate it to the library, but now when I think about the novel, writing these thoughts down, I realize I've grown quite attached

 

 

4/5

[Athena]

These are 2 books I've read about introversion:

The Happy Introvert:A Wild and Crazy Guide to Celebrating Your True Self By Elizabeth Wagele 

 

The Introvert's Way:Living a Quiet Life in a Noisy World By Sophia Dembling

 

Both were okay, but just not that helpful with hints; things that you have probably worked out yourself. Both books are basically blogs that have been collected as a book, and I thought they were a by expensive for what they were. 

 

I browsed and found a recent published Success as an introvert for dummies, then ordered a copy from the library, and that could be more helpful. I quite like the format of the 'for dummies' series , and I find Mindfulness for Dummies is very good for anxiety/stress. I'll let you know how the success as an introvert book is, when I have a look at it  .

Edit: I've forgotten this ebook , I'm only approx 1/3 through it so far, but it's pretty much the same blogs made to a book.  

Insight: Reflections on the Gifts of Being an Introvert by Beth L. Buelow

Okay, yet again, but not that helpful.

x

I'd also be interested in your thoughts on Success as an Introvert for Dummies, I hope you like it . I like the For Dummies format too. I might have to look at Mindfulness for Dummies though I'm not sure if it'd work for me since I've read articles and books on mindfulness before and it didn't seem to be very much my thing.

 

Frankie, that's a great review! I'm not sure if it'd be a book for me to be honest but it's great to have read your thoughts on it.

[Kylie]

Oh wow! Vaudeville sounds exactly like the plot of one of my favourite ever cartoons: One Froggy Evening.

 

http://vimeo.com/46018110

 

[Marie H]

Great review frankie . Soucy sounds a little Tim Burton-esque, (and I love Tim's films ) especially with a title of The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond of Matches. 

[frankie]

Frankie, that's a great review! I'm not sure if it'd be a book for me to be honest but it's great to have read your thoughts on it.

 

Thanks Athena

 

Oh wow! Vaudeville sounds exactly like the plot of one of my favourite ever cartoons: One Froggy Evening.

 

Wow, it really does, doesn't it? With a few different details. What the hell?

 

Great review frankie . Soucy sounds a little Tim Burton-esque, (and I love Tim's films ) especially with a title of The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond of Matches. 

 

I'm not very familiar with Burton's work so I can't really say. But I know Burton is 'outside the box' and so in that manner I think Soucy is the same, yes

[Marie H]

I'm not very familiar with Burton's work so I can't really say. But I know Burton is 'outside the box' and so in that manner I think Soucy is the same, yes

I have a little book of Tim Burton's poems called The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy: And Other Stories (with his weird drawings), very strange, but that is his style. I like the term 'outside the box'; my way of thinking can be a bit odd sometimes  .

[frankie]

I have a little book of Tim Burton's poems called The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy: And Other Stories (with his weird drawings), very strange, but that is his style. I like the term 'outside the box'; my way of thinking can be a bit odd sometimes  .

I didn't know he did poetry, too! Is he any good? Is it creepy poetry?

[frankie]

#4

Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops
by Jen Campbell

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Amazon: "What is your biggest pet peeve?"

This simple Twitter question posed by John Cleese inspired bookseller Jen Campbell to start a blog collecting all the ridiculous conversations overheard in her bookstore, everything from "Did Beatrix Potter ever write a book about dinosaurs?" to "Did Charles Dickens ever write anything fun?" Anyone who has ever worked in retail will nod knowingly at requests like "I’ve forgotten my glasses, can you read me the first chapter?" Or the absurdity of questions like "Excuse me . . . is this book edible?"

Filled with fun and quirky illustrations by the award-winning Brothers McLeod and featuring contributions from booksellers across the United States and Canada, as well as the author's native UK, Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores is a celebration of bookstores, large and small, and of the brilliant booksellers who toil in those literary fields, as well as the myriad of colorful characters that walk through the doors everyday. This irresistible collection is proof positive that booksellers everywhere are heroes.

 

Thoughts: I got this book as a Birthday present from my hometown friends The copy is in Finnish, and I love the Finnish title: Kummallisia kysymyksiä kirjakaupassa (= Strange questions at a bookshop). Yes, I love alliteration!

 

The book itself is short, only 114 pages, and there aren't any surprises to the contents: it's a book with quotes from odd dialogues/monologues/questions at bookshops. There are a few drawings in between the quotes. However, the quotes are solid I laughed out loud reading this book. I also put post-its next to each quote that I might to give you as an example, but looking at the book, I realize I can't do them all, there are too many of them!

 

A few though, just to sample. And again, I have a translated copy so all mistakes are mine.

 

C = Customer, B = Bookshop owner or someone working at the bookshop

 

*

 

C: I read a book in the 60s. I can't remember the author or the title of the book. But the book was green and it made me laugh. Do you know which book I'm talking about?

 

*

 

C: Hey, I'd like to return this book.
B: Okay, do you have the receipt?
C: Here.
B: Hmm, you've bought this copy from the Waterstone's.
C: Yes.
B: … We are not the Waterstone's.
C: But this is a bookshop.
B: Yes, but not the Waterstone's.
C: But you are all a part of the same chain.
B: No, I'm sorry, we are an independent bookshop.
C: …
B: Let's put it this way: you wouldn't buy clothes at Hennes & Mauritz and then return them to Zara, would you?
C: Well of course not, they are two different shops.
B: Exactly.
C: … I want to talk to your supervisor.

 

*

 

C: Do you have a copy of 1986?
B: 1986?
C: Yes, it's by Orwell.
B: Oh, you mean 1984.
C: No, I'm sure it's 1986. I remember it because I was born that very same year.
B: …

 

*

 

C: These books are really stupid, aren't they?
B: Which books?
C: Well you know, the kinds of books where animals like cats and mice are best friends.
B: Yes, they might not be very realistic, but they are works of fiction.
C: They are more than just unrealistic, they are stupid.
B: But authors use these sort of techniques to teach children to tolerate different kinds of people.
C: Yeah, books shouldn't make it out like different people can get along and that it's all 'lah di daa' and wonderful. Children should realize that life is just a bad joke, and the sooner they realize it, the better.

 

*

C: I'm just going to pop into the shops to do my weekly groceries. I will leave my sons here if it's alright? The other one is three years old and the other one five. They are no trouble at all.

 

*

 

C: What was the first book in the Harry Potter series?
B: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
C: And the second?
B: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
C: I will have The Chamber of Secrets. I don't want The Philosopher's Stone.
B: Have you already read it?
C: No, but I think with book series, it always takes some time before the books really start to get going. I don't want to waste my time in unnecessary introductions.
B: As a matter of fact, in the Harry Potter books the story starts right from the get go. I would personally recommend you start with the first novel – it's really good.
C: Do you work on a provision basis?
B: No.
C: Okay. How many books are there in the series, altogether?
B: Seven.
C: Exactly. I'm not going to waste my money on the first book, when there are so many sequels to buy. I will buy the second novel.
B: … If you're sure.

(The customer returns after a week)

B: Hey, would you like to buy The Prisoner of Azkaban?
C: What's that?
B: It's the book after The Chamber of Secrets.
C: Oh, no, absolutely not. The previous book was all too chaotic. I don't know how children are supposed to understand anything about books, if I can't understand them, either. I mean, who the hell was that Voldemort guy? No. I'm not going to bother anymore.

 

*

 

Oh, there are so many more to the book, but I can't do them all! If you're interested, you need to read it for yourself. If you don't feel like spending the money or have vowed not to buy books this year, at least see if there are any copies at your local library.

(Oh! And there was a short description to the bookshops from which most of the stories are collected, and I loved it that the description also talks about their book shop dogs! The Edinburgh Bookshop (the former The Children's Bookshop), for example, has a bookshop dog called Teaga and it's a leonberg. It apparently looks a bit like Nana the dog in Peter Pan.)

5/5

Edited February 11, 2014 by frankie

[Alexi]

That book sounds great Frankie. I literally just burst out laughing at the Harry Potter one!

[Athena]

Great review, Frankie ! The book is on my wishlist. I loved reading the quotes you've translated, they are funny .

[Marie H]

Great review frankie, the quotes had me in fits of laughter!  How weird people can be - I loved the one where the woman dropping of her two kids as if the bookshop was a creche  .

The Finnish alliteration was wonderful

(Oh yeah, Tim Burton's very short poems are as weird (even more so) as his films   )

[Kylie]

Great review, Frankie. Those quotes are hilarious! I love the alliteration of the Finnish title too. I love that the Finnish language uses the letter 'K' so much. It is woefully underused in English I think.

 

I have the ebook of this, and even though ebooks don't count towards my TBR pile, I think I will read this one very soon. (In fact, in the middle of writing this post, I opened the file and started reading. )

 

Speaking of Finland, I cheer inside and think of you every time I see a Fin (Finn?) at the Sochi olympics. 

[Devi]

I couldn't help myself but go and purchase the book frankie. While i was browsing for it, did you know there was a second one!? I purchased that too.

 

This is amazon in Australia, so you might want to check your local amazon.

 

http://www.amazon.com.au/More-Weird-Things-Customers-Bookshops-ebook/dp/B00CATDS3K/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1392180221&sr=8-2&keywords=Weird+Things+Customers+Say+in+Bookshops

[frankie]

Sorry for the late replies, I've had a few busy weeks.
 

That book sounds great Frankie. I literally just burst out laughing at the Harry Potter one!

 
Pretty unbelievable, right? It amazing how some people think they know everything better... She missed out on a great book series!
 

Great review, Frankie ! The book is on my wishlist. I loved reading the quotes you've translated, they are funny.

 
The book is really funny, I can't wait to read the sequel
 

Great review frankie, the quotes had me in fits of laughter! How weird people can be - I loved the one where the woman dropping of her two kids as if the bookshop was a creche.

And she wasn't the only one, there were other people like her doing the same thing

I remember someone coming in and asking if there used to be a camera shop before, and the clerk said 'yes'. Then the person was like 'Right. So where do you keep your cameras?'
 

Great review, Frankie. Those quotes are hilarious! I love the alliteration of the Finnish title too. I love that the Finnish language uses the letter 'K' so much. It is woefully underused in English I think.

Yes, 'k' is a wonderful letter. All the best things start with a k
 

Speaking of Finland, I cheer inside and think of you every time I see a Fin (Finn?) at the Sochi olympics. 

Thank you, we need all the help we can get

 
 

I couldn't help myself but go and purchase the book frankie. While i was browsing for it, did you know there was a second one!? I purchased that too.

I hope you enjoy the book when you get to reading it, Devi! I did know about the sequel, I noticed it when Kylie had started reading the first book after my review, and she'd rated the book on Goodreads and had marked the sequel as a read book, too.

[frankie]

At the moment I'm visiting my parents, and I visited the library a few times. They always have removed books for sale, but the books are more expensive than in Joensuu, for example. In Joensuu they cost 20cnt, when in Nurmes they cost 1e.

 

This time, though, there was a sign saying one could get a bagful of books for 2e, and even the special priced books that cost more than 10e are for 1e per book. So I thought okay, now's your chance... if you find 2 books you really want, you can go all in

 

Dad got one book, I got 10:

 

Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones (I loved her Fire & Hemlock and have been curious about her other books)

 

Tanglewreck by Jeanette Winterson (poppyshake will be surprised... I believe this is a children's book or YA at least. A very beautiful hardback!)

 

The Solitaire Mystery by Jostein Gaarder (a novel by the author of Sophie's World)

 

Two books by Walter Moers, and I'm having a difficult time finding out what the titles are called in English... Kylie will be pleased, though The other book features Rumo, and the other book features Ensel and Krete. There was also a copy of The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear, but I already own a copy of that. But when I visited the library the next day, I told a friend the book's supposed to be good and she took it

 

Arabat by Clive Barker (I think this is on a reading challenge or another. It's a rather beautiful copy, with beautiful illustrations!)

 

Fear of Fifty by Erica Jong (Jong's name comes up every now and then and I've been curious about her books, so of course I had to get this.)

 

Bare Bones: Conversations on Terror with Stephen King, editors Tim Underwood and Chuck Miller

 

Easy to Make Knitted Toys by Joy Gammon (my friend gave birth to a baby boy last week and I've been thinking about crocheting or knitting him something, and I just had to get this book! )

 

History of Twentieth Century Literature by Simon Beesley and Sheena Joughin (this was a real find... It's a big, beautiful book! It talks about a lot of different themes and genres of the century, and seems really interesting. The book's not very thick, so it will only work as an introduction, but it's beautiful!)

Edited February 21, 2014 by frankie

[frankie]

I did another 'shopping trip' to the library the next day after that, with a few friends. I only got four books that time, though!

 

- A book on NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) and codependency by Sally Chamberlaine and Jan Prince (I don't know the English title. I hate it when they don't have that information on the first pages of books!    )

 

- Pariisin päiviä - kirjoja ja kirjailijoita by Mirja Bolgar (This is a book from 1967, and it's Bolgár's notes about the literary scene and events of France and Paris in 1968-1969. I don't know who Mirja Bolgar is, I've never even heard of her, but I'm intrigued! )

 

- Naissubjekti & postmoderni - edited by Päivi Kosonen (book on literature and gender identity, marginality, motherhood and women's writings.)

 

- I don't have a clear idea what the fourth book is. It's called 'Friend'. I didn't read the blurb when I was at the library, I only looked through a few pages and there were some interesting ideas. The first page I noticed was a list of 10 things to do if you're lonely. I thought, 'this is for me!'. Because I'm feeling lonely in Joensuu. That's basically why I got the book. But now I'm reading the blurb and maybe it's not a book for me... It's a book for a teenager! According to the blurb, the book includes interesting facts and stories on growing up as a young woman. Like how your opinions are shaped and how they become your own, and how the body is changing. The book also includes tests for the reader, and lists you can make on different subjects. Lemme see... Oh, there's a ready made list of good books to read! These include:

 

Little Women, Pride and Prejudice, Ann -series and Emily of New Moon -series by L. M. Montgomery, Lord of the Rings, a series by Susan Cooper I don't know, Oliver Twist, Anna Karenina, War and Peace, something by Thomas Mann, Jonathan the Seagull, Gone with the Wind, Siddhartha, Narnia series, Jane Eyre, Little Prince, Tsehov, something something and Astrid Lindgren's books and Moomin books. Maybe I should give this to some teenager... But I might read it through, seems interesting

[Kylie]

Walter Moers! Yayyyyy! I'm currently reading Rumo & His Miraculous Adventures. But I'm so jealous because you have got his one book that hasn't been translated into English so I may never be able to read it. I believe it's a retelling of Hansel and Gretel. I really hope they translate it into English one day. Not sure why it hasn't been done already, especially since it's part of the series that has already been translated.