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Title: The Portable Curmudgeon by Jon Winokur ISBN: 0-452-26668-8 Publisher: Plume Books Pub. Date: 01 October, 1992 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.44 (9 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Curmudgeons should like this one..
Comment: The only quotation book I've seen that is limited to Curmudgeons and it stays fairly true to its theme.It shows what a mean spirited and miserable bunch most curmudgeons are.They are more to be laughed at than laughed with. Most seem to have a very negative existance and it would be hard to imagine spending much time with any of them.How could you find them likeable when they don't even like themselves;but that would suit them just fine.If you are looking for wit,humor and great observations on life in general,you'll find this book lacking;except possibly the quotes from Twain.However,if you like self-centered satire emanating from a deep seated bitterness and loneliness ,then this is for you.
Webster defines a curmudgeon as "a bad tempered,churlish man."
Many of the characters quoted don't fit that definition and certainly it doesn't fit females.Example.."one more drink and I'll be under the host."..Dorothy Parker.How is that a quip from a curmudgeon?
The interviews were a bit of a drag and a better effort would have been to give a short note on each quoted,especially the less known names;and an index by author.
I have rated this book on how well the compiler completed what he set out to do.
Rating: 5
Summary: Great little book, tons of laughs per page
Comment: I'm a little young to know many of the people who are quoted in this book, but the hilarity of the quotes made me look up and start reading authors like George Shaw and Oscar Wilde. Those two names should give you an indication of the type of quotes you'll be reading in this little gem. Most are wry, a bit sarcastic, pessimistic and critical.
I have no idea what book the previous reviewer was reading when he talked about the author's interpretations of the quotes. I've had this book for years and went thru it tons of times; there are no interpretations. It is a bunch of quotes on topics arranged alphabetically with some selected biographies mixed in. It actually reads quite nicely.
Buy this book unless you agree with Oscar Levant..."I have given up reading books; I find it takes my mind off myself". (pg 34)
Rating: 5
Summary: Anyone who loves language used well will enjoy this book.
Comment: A collection of quotes from a smorgasbord of irascible writers, critics, philosophers, and celebrities, this book is organized alphabetically, inviting you to thumb to a topic that rankles, finding just the right words (albeit someone else's) to express your cynicism, contempt, or outrage.
At a time when public discourse seems largely derived from the banalities of reality TV, it's reassuring to have at hand hundreds of sharp and sensible observations from curmudgeons, both classic and contemporary. And Jon Winokur's catalogue of curmudgeons also reminds us that the best curmudgeonly commentary is purposeful: its aim is to puncture pretense, to expose hypocrisy. Winokur provides illuminating profiles of some of the "greats" -- including two of my favorites, H.L. Mencken and Dorothy Parker -- letting us see the context that helped create their curmudgeonliness. The book is also sprinkled with brief but revealing interviews with successor curmudgeons, like John Simon and Calvin Trillin.
In teaching writing, I've found the quotes collected here invaluable for introducing students to such alien concepts as wit, irony, and the artful use of metaphor.
If you haven't yet become acquainted with this classic volume -- and with the eloquently testy people you meet on every page -- you're in for a treat.
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Title: The Book of Poisonous Quotes by Colin Jarman ISBN: 0809236818 Publisher: McGraw-Hill/Contemporary Books Pub. Date: 01 October, 1993 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: The Traveling Curmudgeon: Irreverent Notes, Quotes, and Anecdotes on Dismal Destinations, Excess Baggage, the Full Upright Position, and Other Reasons Not to Go There by Jon Winokur ISBN: 1570613893 Publisher: Sasquatch Books Pub. Date: 01 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Cynic's Dictionary by Rick Bayan ISBN: 0785817131 Publisher: Castle Books Pub. Date: 01 January, 2003 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: The Curmudgeon Woman by Nancy Henley, Jacqueline D. Goodchilds ISBN: 0740710079 Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing Pub. Date: 15 October, 2000 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
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Title: Return of the Portable Curmudgeon by Jon Winokur ISBN: 0452270308 Publisher: Plume Books Pub. Date: 01 September, 1995 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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