Writing

The Fran Lebowitz Reader

The Fran Lebowitz Reader

  • Downloads：9080
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-05-09 11:54:32
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Fran Lebowitz
  • ISBN：0679761802
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

Fran Lebowitz in
Public Speaking
A Martin Scorsese Picture
Now an HBO® Documentary Film

The Fran Lebowitz Reader brings together in one volume， with a new preface， two bestsellers， Metropolitan Life and Social Studies， by an "important humorist in the classic tradition" （The New York Times Book Review） who is "the natural successor to Dorothy Parker" （British Vogue）。 In "elegant， finely honed prose" （The Washington Post Book World）， Lebowitz limns the vicissitudes of contemporary urban life—its fads， trends， crazes， morals， and fashions。 By turns ironic， facetious， deadpan， sarcastic， wry， wisecracking， and waggish， she is always wickedly entertaining。

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Reviews

Jennifer ，

Hilarious and poignant。 Fran is the voice we all need but don't deserve。 Hilarious and poignant。 Fran is the voice we all need but don't deserve。 。。。more

keli williams ，

2。5I love Fran Lebowitz a lot but this。。。not so much。

Mirjam ，

Two years ago， my sister and her girlfriend gave me socks for my birthday — a souvenir from our amazing trip to New York， bought at the NY Public Library。 The socks said: "Think before you speak。 Read before you think"。 At the time， I didn't know who coined these words， but fortunately， they also gave me this reader， so I've since made the connection。Apparently， I've been making my way through these columns since June 2019。 That seems to imply I didn't enjoy them， but I did， a lot。 It's just tha Two years ago， my sister and her girlfriend gave me socks for my birthday — a souvenir from our amazing trip to New York， bought at the NY Public Library。 The socks said: "Think before you speak。 Read before you think"。 At the time， I didn't know who coined these words， but fortunately， they also gave me this reader， so I've since made the connection。Apparently， I've been making my way through these columns since June 2019。 That seems to imply I didn't enjoy them， but I did， a lot。 It's just that you shouldn't read too many columns by the same author at once — it does get a bit repetitive。 But taking breaks in-between columns made me treasure them all the more。 Her style is so witty and distinctive。 I'm going to end this review with my favourite quote （one of them， anyway）:"As one whose taste in mental states has always run largely towards the coma， I have very little patience with the current craze for self-awareness。 I am already far too well acquainted with how I feel and frankly， given the choice， I would not。 Anyone who is troubled by the inability to feel his or her own feelings is more than welcome to feel mine。" 。。。more

Dan Organ ，

I listened to this as an audio book。 I came to F。L by watching her Netflix series and loved it。 No doubting she is smart， quick-witted and sharp as a tack。 The book is structured into essays and i’m sure individually they are digestable and a pleasure to read but this style back-to-back can get a bit tedious， especially the listing。 The book was written in the early 70s and some of the material has not aged well。 However， there were many laugh out loud moments and I loved the gag about her being I listened to this as an audio book。 I came to F。L by watching her Netflix series and loved it。 No doubting she is smart， quick-witted and sharp as a tack。 The book is structured into essays and i’m sure individually they are digestable and a pleasure to read but this style back-to-back can get a bit tedious， especially the listing。 The book was written in the early 70s and some of the material has not aged well。 However， there were many laugh out loud moments and I loved the gag about her being offered six figures for an unwritten book but declining as she was too busy drinking， smoking and forming superficial friendships。 Lots a great little quotable lines but i’ll leave you to read the book and find those。 。。。more

Shelby ，

3。5 STARS

Elle Klock ，

Like a lot of people， I started this book after watching Fran’s short series “Pretend It’s a City” on Netflix and am obsessed with her bluntness， her absurd opinions about anything and everything and this book gave me exactly that。 Her voice is unlike any other。 I don’t know if I want to be her friend so much as I want to be as unconcerned about the （wrong） opinions of others， just like her。

Kathy ，

If you like David Sedaris， you will like Fran Lebowitz。 If you have not read either， read both now。 Also， watch "Pretend It's A City" on Netflix。 If you like David Sedaris， you will like Fran Lebowitz。 If you have not read either， read both now。 Also， watch "Pretend It's A City" on Netflix。 。。。more

Addie ，

These are all highly entertaining， witty， wry， and often sarcastic writings， although many are not completely agreeable

Katelyn ，

This was quite hit and miss for me。 I checked this out from the library after watching a couple of episodes of Pretend It's a City， which benefits from including Lebowitz's voice and mannerisms。 There are some deeply funny satires in this collection。 Overall， though， I found myself thinking that the author finds herself more clever than she really is。 This was quite hit and miss for me。 I checked this out from the library after watching a couple of episodes of Pretend It's a City， which benefits from including Lebowitz's voice and mannerisms。 There are some deeply funny satires in this collection。 Overall， though， I found myself thinking that the author finds herself more clever than she really is。 。。。more

Librarymary ，

What a mind！

Gabriella Mesce ，

Hilarious， dry， biting， and the kind of book one can pick up and put down at will without feeling as if one has lost track of the narrative。

Shirley ，

A compilation of articles written。 There is a definite similarity to the humor of Dorothy Parker。

Katarína ，

This book was great！ You’ll especially appreciate it when you are traveling by yourself and have no one to talk to。 Fran is an amazing and witty humorist。 Can’t wait to read it again。

Ryan ，

Fran Lebowitz is a national f*cking treasure。

Chris ，

The cover is correct。 Very， very like Dorothy Parker。 But fifty years later。

Hannah Garden ，

Kicky。

Rachel Fucci ，

Oh， Fran。 I really feel like we've been through hell and back together。 Look， I'm gay， so I love Fran Lebowitz as much as the next vaguely femme aspiring writer。 I like the glimpses of ~old New York~ present in this， and I like seeing where other humor writers and essayists have clearly pulled from。 That being sAID this is two full books in one and is definitely meant to just， like， sit on your coffee table so you can pick up an essay once every few months。 That is not what I did and regret it。 Oh， Fran。 I really feel like we've been through hell and back together。 Look， I'm gay， so I love Fran Lebowitz as much as the next vaguely femme aspiring writer。 I like the glimpses of ~old New York~ present in this， and I like seeing where other humor writers and essayists have clearly pulled from。 That being sAID this is two full books in one and is definitely meant to just， like， sit on your coffee table so you can pick up an essay once every few months。 That is not what I did and regret it。 Anyways， as is expected， some shit doesn't age well， but I'm glad to live at the same time as this lady。 。。。more

Gramem ，

THE STORY IS WELL-WRITTEN

David Ryan ，

If you need a good， hefty dose of sharp， snippy wit， here t’is！ You gotta be on your toes to keep up， however。 Lebowitz’s summersaults and backflips with wordplay can make you a bit dizzy at times。 Snarky and irreverent， her sentiments， opinions， and imagined repartees may not be to everyone’s liking， but more often than not， they’re spot on。 No prescription needed for this pep pill， one followed by chuckles， snickers， snorts and spirited laughter。 Enjoy！

Sarah Al-Ajeel ，

This book is so pointless but perhaps in a good way （definitely not the type of book that you want to be reading cover to cover。 Lots of witty observations and hilarious commentary on urban life。 If you're a fan of Fran， you'll probably enjoy this。 "Read" this as audio book which was nice because she narrates her stories， so bonus points for that。 This book is so pointless but perhaps in a good way （definitely not the type of book that you want to be reading cover to cover。 Lots of witty observations and hilarious commentary on urban life。 If you're a fan of Fran， you'll probably enjoy this。 "Read" this as audio book which was nice because she narrates her stories， so bonus points for that。 。。。more

jane august ，

I love New York City and I love Fran

anna🤎 ，

fran my queen

taylor conley ，

3。5 stars

Alyanna ，

4 stars for Metropolitan Life， 3 for Social Studies。 Started out strong but you could tell she ran out of things to complain about in the second collection。 Still a huge fan。 You either hate Fran for being a snarky， elitist New Yorker or you love her for it。

George Neville-Neil ，

Broad and unevenLike any longitudinal study of a humorists’ work there are good bits and not so good bits here。 If you like sarcasm New York style， and who doesn’t， then some of these bits are for you。

Spats and Hats ，

Sarcastic， Acid， and FunnyNot for everyone， but if you like snarky， critical writing that’s clever and funny， then you’ll like this book。 Some essays are definitely better than others， but on the whole， the texts are humorous。

Emily Cyr ，

Some essays I was laughing out loud， amazed at her wit and imagination。 Others I had no idea what was happening

Daniel Wilson ，

Great humor， a lot to take in directly but a nice book to sip

Rocklee ，

（audio book）。 I love Fran！

All My Friends Are Fictional ，

Two great collections of bitter and funny essays。 I found "Metropolitan Life" more impactful than "Social Studies"。 I feel that once you become acquainted with Lebowitz's comedy and her style， the second collection slowly loses its appeal。 Two great collections of bitter and funny essays。 I found "Metropolitan Life" more impactful than "Social Studies"。 I feel that once you become acquainted with Lebowitz's comedy and her style， the second collection slowly loses its appeal。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Fran Lebowitz Reader

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Fran Lebowitz Reader&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Fran Lebowitz Reader&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0