tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6905236167079601771.post8561354057633782166..comments2023-12-25T11:13:04.495+00:00Comments on Seraphic Singles: "How to Be Single" (Review, Part I)Seraphichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06251504033428511090noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6905236167079601771.post-49450595633103790072013-06-19T23:32:25.786+01:002013-06-19T23:32:25.786+01:00My goodness. You are absolutely right. I remembere...My goodness. You are absolutely right. I remembered that l'orgeuil was arrogance but I completely forgot about la fierté and assumed l'orgueil had lots of meanings, like English pride. <br /><br />Oh dear. Beware American chick lit featuring France, unless by Diane Johnson, whom I looooove for "Le Divorce." (Okay for married ladies unless they are tempted to fantasize about sleeping with very old French generals.)Seraphichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06251504033428511090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6905236167079601771.post-45219071416201143562013-06-19T21:30:06.870+01:002013-06-19T21:30:06.870+01:00Sounds terrible. The bad French alone would keep m...Sounds terrible. The bad French alone would keep me away.<br /><br />"L'orgeuil" has serious negative connotations, such as egoism, arrogance, and haughtiness. It is not just pride, but the mortal sin of pride.<br /><br />"La fierté" is the pride with positive connotations: self-esteem, self-worth, the glow of satisfaction in a job well done.<br /><br />American women characters who trot about the globe having sex with rich men sound, to me, like they have plenty of orgeuil.sciencegirlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6905236167079601771.post-20310985646114353942013-06-18T17:11:50.849+01:002013-06-18T17:11:50.849+01:00I saw this book in the sale rack at a bookstore on...I saw this book in the sale rack at a bookstore once and read the back. How disappointing to see yet another book that thinks "how to be single" is essentially to never ever be without a man, no matter how shallow or temporary the connection. What a sad, silly fantasy.Jamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18076215213828545013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6905236167079601771.post-77659826273252211022013-06-18T16:34:31.857+01:002013-06-18T16:34:31.857+01:00I can understand that. I was an obsessive-compulsi...I can understand that. I was an obsessive-compulsive footnoter in grad school. And I wish there was a way to footnote fiction! Seraphichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06251504033428511090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6905236167079601771.post-78229315724515032742013-06-18T15:33:00.597+01:002013-06-18T15:33:00.597+01:00My brain just goes into Plagiarism Avoidance Overd...My brain just goes into Plagiarism Avoidance Overdrive a lot because I'm doing a postgraduate research degree, and the commitment to avoiding plagiarism is one thing that keeps me and my colleagues up at night. <br /><br />Also, I have just got off the phone with a friend who is a law student, so I'm fixated on legal pedantry right now! :)Julianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6905236167079601771.post-64895578561474630842013-06-18T14:56:01.751+01:002013-06-18T14:56:01.751+01:00I have a different cover, the British soft-cover e...I have a different cover, the British soft-cover edition. <br /><br />I just saw the hardcover version while I was looking for other reviews, and---yeah.<br /><br />The biggest problem with "How to Be Single" is the same as the biggest problem with SATC: it's that it preaches that the way to be Single is to go out and have sex with as many attractive and exotic men as you feel like having sex with. This. Is. Simply. Not. How. To. Be. Being. Single. Let. Alone. Stop. Being. Single. But there are thousands of Single women who now go on holiday thinking that... Oh, it's so depressing. Seraphichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06251504033428511090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6905236167079601771.post-27889543706128709782013-06-18T14:34:01.607+01:002013-06-18T14:34:01.607+01:00I hope there is not a plagiarism lawsuit in there....I hope there is not a plagiarism lawsuit in there. Cries of plagiarism are the worst thing that can happen to a writer, even though all artists are influenced by other artists, most noticeably in music and film. My upcoming novel is heavily influenced by Graham Greene; in fact, it is in a way a conversation with Greene.<br /><br />Meanwhile, it is not surprising that someone who helped write Sex and the City is going to have a lot of Sex and the City type stuff in her work, and some of the narrator's observations at the ends of her chapters sound a lot like Carrie's observations at the ends of her chapters. This isn't plagiarism; it's a treat for women who love SATC and want more of it. <br /><br />I would not be surprised to discover that this book was a bestseller. (Must find out.) Not only was it written by a relatively famous writer (thanks to SATC and HJNTIY), it has beautiful, talented deserving women, handsome, rich and sexy men, exotic holidays and even an ashram. It's got sex scenes. In short, although it is not stuff for us, "the creative minority" it's the stuff zillions of other women buy again and again.Seraphichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06251504033428511090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6905236167079601771.post-36828191591172637252013-06-18T14:27:26.825+01:002013-06-18T14:27:26.825+01:00Man, I wish I could just fly off to adventures bec...Man, I wish I could just fly off to adventures because my life's not "super fun" right now. This probably explains why people keep asking me why I'm not traveling more, seeing as how I'm, y'know, so single.<br /><br />I had to look up the book in my local library's catalog and I just about died when I saw the cover--not sure if it is the same all over, but ours is a woman turned round so you can't see her face, and she's unzipping the back of her dress. What???<br /><br />And then there's this in the description of her friend: "Ruby, a curvy and compassionate woman, has been mourning the death of her cat for months." Just had to throw in the crazy single cat lady, huh?Kate Phttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03555660993363611776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6905236167079601771.post-71665427258401972942013-06-18T14:22:15.330+01:002013-06-18T14:22:15.330+01:00I don't even know how it is that a book like &...I don't even know how it is that a book like 'How to Be Single' gets published. Seraphic, why does this happen?<br /><br />I've not read the book, but it sounds pretty awful. Leaving aside the fact that it's clearly amoral trash with no artistic value, it seems as if it's totally unoriginal. I never watched SATC - I was too young to when it was on air, and had I been older I still wouldn't have bothered - but it sounds like Liz Tuccillo has borrowed heavily from the show. I know she wrote for SATC, but I wonder if there's a plagiarism lawsuit in there somewhere...?<br /><br />PS. There are men in Australia - in fact, based on my casual observations, I'd say there are just as many men as women. Also, not all of the men are rich. Julianoreply@blogger.com