A great choice if you want to analyze your sex life and spice it up a bit. There's plenty of good advice here.
Here is a young heroine with a keen, socially observant eye who is shockingly, innocently, perfectly coquettish. Despite its popularity, it must have ruffled some feathers at the time -- this novel acknowledges high-school age girls as being sexually aware (however limitedly so).
Something about the girls' little idiosyncratic communication tics really get at the amusement inherent in being a teenage girl. There are some hilariously concise descriptions of such occurrences as barely stifled laughs, conspiratorial glances, and little gloaty "I know something" dances.
Although this is a predecessor of such dreck as the Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars series of YA books, its heroine is admirably self-aware and while she may come across as shallow, it's made clear that she is diamond-sharp and as introspective as she is aware of the motivations and designs of those around her. Claudine is bitingly funny and simply charming.
Something about the girls' little idiosyncratic communication tics really get at the amusement inherent in being a teenage girl. There are some hilariously concise descriptions of such occurrences as barely stifled laughs, conspiratorial glances, and little gloaty "I know something" dances.
Although this is a predecessor of such dreck as the Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars series of YA books, its heroine is admirably self-aware and while she may come across as shallow, it's made clear that she is diamond-sharp and as introspective as she is aware of the motivations and designs of those around her. Claudine is bitingly funny and simply charming.
This really earnestly wants to be a much more solid memoir. There are many, many wonderful things about this memoir's tone and lightheartedly honest treatment of some very heavy life experiences, and the author is very funny, engaging, and sincere. Rabin's voice is an extremely endearing one, and the way he handles issues such as depression is a breath of fresh air. One review I read (probably here on LT) expressed appreciation for Rabin's status of "still figuring things out" as he wrote this -- that it was a refreshing angle for such a hard-knock memoir in contrast to the usual "here I sit in fully-recovered normalcy as I look back on my difficult youth" point of view. I totally agree.
Unfortunately, I did not finish the book because I found a few nuts and bolts of the narrative perturbingly hard to piece together. I love well-written and insightful anecdotes as much as anyone, but there were too many instances where I was distracted from enjoying his writing because I was trying to make sense of some concrete aspect of the larger story -- how events related to each other in sequence, for example, or exactly when or where a particular story was taking place.
Now, I recognize that putting minor things in clear sequence really, truly doesn't matter in the grand scheme of a memoir like this, but we're inclined to make as much sense of things as we can and it is frustrating when a narrative doesn't allow that to happen naturally.
A secondary nitpicky issue I encountered was show more the author's apparent determination to make Deeply Insightful Observations (some of which are brilliantly astute, but which occur far too often to all be winners) a priority over crafting a solid structure for the book. With the life experience Rabin had to work with, going light on the insightful observations would have worked just fine and would likely have given them more impact.
Structure-wise, the pop-culture threads which begin each chapter provide better framework for some chapters than for others, and that's to be expected. However, this device doesn't support the weight of the work as a whole and the attention to overall narrative structure is lacking. This might have made a fine serialization.
The gems in this book are impressive, but want for a little more careful arranging. show less
Unfortunately, I did not finish the book because I found a few nuts and bolts of the narrative perturbingly hard to piece together. I love well-written and insightful anecdotes as much as anyone, but there were too many instances where I was distracted from enjoying his writing because I was trying to make sense of some concrete aspect of the larger story -- how events related to each other in sequence, for example, or exactly when or where a particular story was taking place.
Now, I recognize that putting minor things in clear sequence really, truly doesn't matter in the grand scheme of a memoir like this, but we're inclined to make as much sense of things as we can and it is frustrating when a narrative doesn't allow that to happen naturally.
A secondary nitpicky issue I encountered was show more the author's apparent determination to make Deeply Insightful Observations (some of which are brilliantly astute, but which occur far too often to all be winners) a priority over crafting a solid structure for the book. With the life experience Rabin had to work with, going light on the insightful observations would have worked just fine and would likely have given them more impact.
Structure-wise, the pop-culture threads which begin each chapter provide better framework for some chapters than for others, and that's to be expected. However, this device doesn't support the weight of the work as a whole and the attention to overall narrative structure is lacking. This might have made a fine serialization.
The gems in this book are impressive, but want for a little more careful arranging. show less
Aisha Tyler (Talk Soup, Archer) is funny, honest, and spot-on in this compulsively readable humor collection. She is hilarious and witty and not afraid of mocking herself. I love this woman.
Susan, Be Smooth: A Handbook of Good Grooming for Girls, Especially Girls Under Twenty, Who Want to be Seen and Heard by Nell Giles
This book is beyond cute. I discovered this still in the stacks (!) of my university, which had been a women's college in the first half of the 20th century. If you're a fan of fluffy vintage beauty books like I am, you'll appreciate the light, conversational, big-sister tone of the author and the quaint, gentle nudges toward such important grooming points as "having a nice smell."
The book also makes a nice light social & cultural study of feminine popular culture of the time (Claudette Colbert is mentioned as an ideal of smooth-ness, and there are a few references to hairstyles and fashion trends of the recent past). For this reason vintage fashion and beauty buffs will find this book delightful.
The illustrations by Winifred Coffin are adorably charming and perfectly of-the-time. (Caveat: there is one ugly instance of cultural caricature which does not translate flatteringly to the present-day, but sadly was likely commonplace at the time.) "Susan" herself, her clothing, and her surroundings are all drawn in a style that will delight fans of '40s and '50s fashion illustration.
This is a telling time-capsule of cute fluff -- worth a look if you get a chance.
The book also makes a nice light social & cultural study of feminine popular culture of the time (Claudette Colbert is mentioned as an ideal of smooth-ness, and there are a few references to hairstyles and fashion trends of the recent past). For this reason vintage fashion and beauty buffs will find this book delightful.
The illustrations by Winifred Coffin are adorably charming and perfectly of-the-time. (Caveat: there is one ugly instance of cultural caricature which does not translate flatteringly to the present-day, but sadly was likely commonplace at the time.) "Susan" herself, her clothing, and her surroundings are all drawn in a style that will delight fans of '40s and '50s fashion illustration.
This is a telling time-capsule of cute fluff -- worth a look if you get a chance.
Great if you need to make something on the fancy side, but as with any cookbook, try dishes out first.
This cookbook is a little fancypants/foodie for my everyday needs. I'm sure it will make a great reference for special occasions or when I just need to get out of a rut. Most of the time I am too frugal (and too fond of simplicity) to invest in the flourishes that populate this book -- although they look delicious and will likely make wonderful "sometimes" treats.
Admittedly, I have only tried a couple of the recipes. One turned out great, but the other was a total dud -- it was bland and had some serious texture issues. I made it again but frankensteined the recipe with a similar one in another book, cooked some ingredients separately (fixed the texture issue), and tweaked the spices myself. It was delicious that way. I think maybe I require Too Much At All Times in the spice/heat department. That's my problem, not the authors'.
Check this book out to look it over & try a few recipes, then invest if it suits your style.
This cookbook is a little fancypants/foodie for my everyday needs. I'm sure it will make a great reference for special occasions or when I just need to get out of a rut. Most of the time I am too frugal (and too fond of simplicity) to invest in the flourishes that populate this book -- although they look delicious and will likely make wonderful "sometimes" treats.
Admittedly, I have only tried a couple of the recipes. One turned out great, but the other was a total dud -- it was bland and had some serious texture issues. I made it again but frankensteined the recipe with a similar one in another book, cooked some ingredients separately (fixed the texture issue), and tweaked the spices myself. It was delicious that way. I think maybe I require Too Much At All Times in the spice/heat department. That's my problem, not the authors'.
Check this book out to look it over & try a few recipes, then invest if it suits your style.
Great intro to knitting and reference for those "how's that go?" moments. This book allowed me to teach myself how to knit! Many imaginative project patterns are included.