Free eBooks The Portable Curmudgeon (Plume) Available To Downloads
Do you believe that cynicism is simply common sense? Do sunny smiles make you want to snarl? Do you have the feeling you may answer with something unprintable the next time you hear "Have a nice day"? Then you'll be in the best of company with the whiplash wits and sardonic savants brought together in this collection. 15 line drawings.
Series: Plume
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Plume (October 1, 1992)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0452266688
ISBN-13: 978-0452266681
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.9 x 6.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #69,194 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #62 in Books > Reference > Quotations #84 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Humor > Jokes & Riddles #127 in Books > Literature & Fiction > United States > Anthologies
What is so admirable about a curmudgeon? I suppose that one answer is to ask what isn't so admirable about non-curmudgeons: People whose advise may reassure them more than you. After all, don't worry, be happy.Sometimes just acknowledging the cranky, bilious soul is more effective than drowning it in bland sweetisms. This book recognizes your (or someone else's) bad self, and implicitly encourages you to go with it. Perhaps it's the mix that makes us more human.This very funny collection of sarcastic, witty, cynical, caustic, and sometimes just downright... quotes will "speak" to you like the blues. Quotes are arranged alphabetically by topic, so that you can look up "G' for gratitude, and plagiarize Rochefoucauld: "Gratitude is merely the secret hope of further favors." Cynical--of course--but perhaps containing a grain of wisdom. This topical organization doesn't work that well; the categories are too fine grained (who would think of "dinner theatre?").The best feature are the multi-page sections devoted to one of the masters: W.C. Fields, Oscar Wilde, George S. Kaufman, Dorothy Parker, Quentin Crisp, Oscar Levant, and others. These sometimes take the form of interviews, biographies, and/or several pages of quotes. However, sprinkled liberally throughout its 299 pages are gems ("If you can't say anything good about someone, sit right here by me." -- Alice Roosevelt Longworth) by such notables as Marx (Groucho), Mencken, Bierce, and Twain and contemporaries such as Vidal, Woody Allen, and Rita Mae Brown.Oh--in case you were wondering--it was Paul Fussell who said the following about dinner theatre:"...
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