Francesca Penchant

This book would have been better if the author had refrained from inserting his own opinions and judgements—for example, saying that Kafka was “handsome,” and also guessing at the motives behind his behavior.

Also, the narrator mispronounces a lot of words, which is grating: Flaubert, Proust, Octave Mirbeau's Le Jardin des supplices, the german word for mother, “Mutter,” etc.

Murder among a group of eccentric and silly amateur thespians is exactly like Christopher Guest meets Agatha Christie. Really funny page turner.

I gave this four stars instead of five, only because of the narrator Frederick Davidson, who has annoying speech patterns, and sounds bored with the material. It was hard to get through, and I usually avoid his books, but I really wanted to listen to this.

Entertaining, pleasant, easy read. Good introduction to Decadent short stories, themes, authors.

Entertaining, informative, inspiring. Easy listen, despite its length. Many insights, about creativity in general and Beethoven in particular. It has been so satisfying listening to his music with this new knowledge of his work and life.

Lesser Christie, but still a pleasure. Worth it, if you're a fan.

Excellent Audio book recording by Naxos. Excellent narrator.

I'm a feminist, and I really liked this book. The author dares to say that female and male brains are different, which helps to expand the field of brain research. For decades, scientists tested drugs on male subjects only, assuming that they would have the same reactions in women. This is like having “a jury of your peers” filled with twelve white men. I'm not sure if I would've liked this book in my twenties, but since then, my ideas about feminism aren't as strict. That said, there were some generalizations about women in the book that annoyed me, but I guess I assumed that with a book like this, you have to make some generalizations about the majority of women's brains.

Valuable information about positive psychology, but of course, it isn't much more than a pleasant read if you don't actually adopt the techniques. Also, I was kind of annoyed that it was so skewed toward people in business and parents—it made a lot of assumptions about the reader, which is so common in these general-interest psychology books.

I really enjoyed this book—learned so much. It is a magnificent achievement, although its focus on corruption, racism, violence, and selfishness made me feel pretty depressed by the time I finished.

I was worried by how “general interest” the beginning was, but was relieved that the book delved much deeper than expected. Full of interviews and studies.

Loved soaking in the film references and info, but was let down by Oswalt's pat conclusion that there's more to life than film. Oh—spoiler alert!

Such an eye-opener. So much new info about compulsive behaviors. A must-read for twelve-steppers.

A valuable practice. Expansive and learned.

Diane Arbus is a fascinating subject. I learned a lot about her from this book.

However, I was annoyed that the author pathologizes Arbus in some instances, but that may be the nature of psychobiography. Also, some conclusions that the author comes up with should be taken with a grain of salt. And the author focuses on single facts or statements of Arbus's and may exaggerate their importance.

The narrator's habit of putting on funny voices for different people is slightly annoying.

I recommend the book if you are an artist, and/or like contemporary/female/artist biographies. Be aware that the book doesn't shy away from disturbing topics such as suicide and incest. Lots of obscure psychology terms that are hard to understand.

Satisfying and accessible work of art theory.

Amazing book about a brilliant artist that humanizes the towering myth. Lots of gossip and humorous details. Highly recommended!

An understanding though effusive paean to Greta Garbo. This book made me want to watch Garbo's films, most of which I've overlooked because I've always just thought of her as a mediocre actress with a beautiful face. (Many who worked with her thought she was actually brilliant, which was a surprise.)

Garbo's introversion, unconventionality, and humble beginnings turned some people off–particularly the media–which led them to paint her as a cold, narcissistic recluse. But she was so much more complex, warm, passionate, and creative.

(I listened to the audio version of this book.)

An informative, psychologically in-depth, and fascinating look at the creative and troubled Barrymore family. My only complaint is that the author spends too much time on John Barrymore's later outrageous exploits, when he was suffering from the beginnings of Altzheimer's disease, and wasn't completely responsible for his actions. (This book must've been published before theories of Altzheimer's were developed, because no mention is made of the disease.)

All-in-all, a thrilling look at three complex artists: Lionel, John, and Ethel.

(I listened to the audio version of this book.)

This book is a beautiful tribute to a design genius. I loved learning about Dior's comfortable French childhood designing fanciful carnival costumes, that was to shape his later love of feminine frivolity. This book made me appreciate Dior's influence on 20th- and 21st-century fashion–as well as his business genius that introduced licensing as an important part of all haute couture businesses to come.

This is a great intro to how each Hollywood studio developed its particular expertise, and the moguls connected with each. I was annoyed, though, that the author can't appreciate the campiness of such monstrosities as, say, Crawford's later films, and spends too much time expressing his cynical opinions about the industry. The occasional film theory jargon and use of $10 words were also annoying.

An excellent and enthusiastic overview of the studio system of Hollywood's classic period, described through the careers of particular performers. Basinger shows how studios carefully crafted actors' and actresses' careers–the discovery of a star, the lessons, the publicity, the films as tests, and finally the hitting upon type and the playing against type. I love how Basinger brings some actors back from obscurity–such as Deanna Durbin–to make us appreciate why they were so popular in their day. The only part of the book that misses its mark is when she attempts to critique the current Hollywood system and stars.

I loved this book!

This book reads more like a philosophical treatise on Sacher-Masoch's type of love than it does a novel. By today's standards, it is actually extremely chaste.

I found it very romantic and sweet, except for the fact that Sacher-Masoch puts his main character through horrible ordeals, usually involving whippings of some kind.

Also interesting is the fact that the story closely parallels incidents from his life with his wife, Wanda.

This is the most shocking book I've ever read, and i've read a lot of shocking books. Sebastian horsley has done a lot of things. He's been a crackhead, a gigolo, he's eaten his own shit and had affairs with both men and women. He's tried to kill himself.

The book gets bogged down when his life is mired in drugs, but all in all it's funny, entertaining, and outrageous.