Skewering the Society Snobs
353042
Anne Perry is a marvel!  From the unexpected beginning to the surprising and satisfying conclusion, Callander Square provides wonderful reading pleasures for the historical mystery lover.  Read her series in order!
2577342
There are better ways to use your time. The complaints indicate that the readers were being fed a relatively complex story line resulting in lots of moaning about so many characters. So, Dickens and Trollope are just not quite up to your standards. Bah, my bad. I read this book to participate in a neighborhood book club. The others lapped the thing up. I lapped up some wine.
4958843
Great book that really tells it like it is for the rest of us outside of DC, and the Calf. Snobs
4364896
This book attempts to humanize its authors.  In doing so, it frequently descends to the trivial or worse, the self-promotional.
818742
Terrible reformist identity politics of new social movements disguised as honest analysis. Using the word "oppressions" as a noun. Postmodern intersectionality bs. The question of class is reduced to "how do we lessen poverty?" This sort of awful tripe exemplifies the academic Left today.
796664
A fun read with a few rants regarding social policies the writer has found annoying - public school education quality specifically.
4820726
This is a painfully self-righteous and badly written read. Dalrymple comes across as a typical stiff and pretentious Englishman who confuses modernity with vulgarity.  I picture him standing on his door step shaking his fist after a retreating motorcycle shouting 'Kids these days!!' and wondering aloud why the poor don't just go to their Caribbean summer homes when they're feeling down.
In his effort to prove that all English negativity, including ethnic stereotypes and bad architecture, are the fault of bad attitude, he reminds me of just another Aspen-style guru in Connover's 'White Out'.  The book could have been called: 'I Did My Best and for What: a guilty upper classman's disassociation of guilt.'
He is able to successfully argue a few old tried and true clich&eacute;s,(kids don't think school is hip, people who are bored drink more at clubs  and act funny), but overall he falls into the problem of 'F'ed Companies' in that he ends up simply listing observations instead of delving into the academic task of analysis.  He is overcome by the rose tinted spectacles of false nostalgia for an imagined time when the church forced everyone to act respectably, public housing and assistance were available only to suitably clean and grateful 2-parent families, and beautiful women only said 'yes' out of the purest, emotionally mature, virginal love.
The book is more the author's ego trip for his martyrdom (Look at me, I condescended to study the savages in their own habitat!) than anything resembling an accurate treaties, and is often rather humorous as such.
2793217
This is a fun, funky little book. It's chunky, square, and has a great design sensibility. The main drawback is that, in spite of the book's loving and enthusiastic approach, the author has crafted snide, derisive captions for each item like some sort of insecure schoolyard bully. Does this guy really need to prove that he's cooler than the Bee Gees rhythm machine or refer to another item as being "made by retards?"
3000920
Profound.

Not.

Foxy is rakin' in money from suckers. Her pimp is a CPA.

OK the dumbos who like to look at her booty and boobies can now press the "not helpful" button, and the smart people can, at least, consider what I've written. Not too many smart people here.
809774
Granted that many people seem to find this a spoof, a send-up, and so on, I think a social scientist would have a field day analyzing the attitudes that inform this exercise.

In the first place, everything is couched in terms of pop culture, which assumes that those are the only earmarks by which to measure how with-it someone is.

In the second place, I'm not sure who the beneficiary of this advice is.  One's (old?) peers would dress and act the same out-of-it way, and the young will not be fooled into thinking you are also young, no matter where your jeans fit on your waist...or not.

In the third place, it's always been the privilege of youth to have its own code words, its own dress style, its own music, and so on---an exclusive club.  Gate crashers are not welcome, and are quickly identified as bogus.

In the fourth place, age has its own status if one has real achievements, and a self-confidence that can't be bought any other way. That in itself is sexy.

Finally, the author betrayed her own lack of hipness when she listed a turtleneck as something no one should ever wear, lest it betray old-fogey-ness.  Tell it to Steve Jobs, who is about the coolest guy on the planet and who invented iPods and all the rest of the hip new gadgets.
1893321
I am surprised this book moved pass the editing room floor. This is the cleaned up version that actually made it to the shelves? The authors address the readers as if we are all sniveling retarded 2 year olds. I did like the factual information that posed in the book, however, the authors fail to mention the subjectivity of the data. I am surprised the authors made it out of high school let alone college with the severe uppity sorority girl attitude that is laced throughout the entire book.

I appreciate the main points on animal cruelty, eating organic, healthy diet etc; but I think that it would have more of an impact without the airheaded persona.
3982218
I would compare this book favorably to similar titles by Dinesh D'souza and Jared Taylor. Pointing out the hypocrisy and fanaticism of the left, Horowitz demolishes modern society's anti-white bias and what a vile poison it is. Along the way, Horowitz sprinkles in anecdotes from his own life, notably when he worked alongside the Black Panthers--those parts are slower but mildly interesting as well.
2933994
I found this book to be insulting to those from this charming area of New York. At first, I read this book hoping that his snobbery was done in jest. As it was made clear that the author was completely serious and his ignorant view of this town was incorrect and offensive, the book lost its charm, if, of course, it ever had any. I was surprised that such a small-minded story was to follow in this book since the author presents himself in the first chapter to be world-traveled. Clearly, world-traveled does not mean you travel well.
809968
Audio snobbism at its finest.  No real advice here but spend as much as you can. It is an older book so much has changed in this world.
3055207
This book includes small time gossip and clearly quotes from folks who clearly we're not inner circle.  The book reads as one big hatchet job because the author doesn't like rich people especially if they are republican.  Waste of time
1624333
Misogyny and kid snuff masquerading as abstract intellectual philosophy. A world where sick men try to find and punish sicker men. Count me out.
381837
I purchased this book as part of my research for a presentation at a conference. Conceptually "tidying up" philosophy doesn't really interest me. The idea of spending your life ridding people of useless articles to improve the quality of their lives seems an oddly redundant occupation--a quest for a quick fix for the semi-hoarder and a pathological need for order by the tidier. Much of the early part of the book stresses Ms. Kondo's need for control over her environment--now its spread to anyone who will let her into their homes.

In Ms. Kondo's world a painting has no real use, nor a photo, a cake pan used once a year? Out the door with it, books already read? Off to the Goodwill...all these items are essentially "useless" using the paradigm stated by Ms. Kondo. Yet objects DO hold meaning to most people and that meaning changes throughout the life of the object and the owner. So the suggestion that we only should keep things that "spark joy" is absurd--since many things "spark joy" but not all the time.

Why not advise people to rid their life of negative people? I say out with the takers, users and abusers! Then everyone would be much happier. And most likely less attached to objects for comfort, and free to breathe with ease. People live as they do because that's who they are, or perhaps they are too busy living their lives to pay attention to those extra clothes, books, magazines, pictures, cooking pans.... When stuff and disorder becomes unbearable, most of us tidy up and send stuff off to charity, or sell it, or give it away to friends and family--there is a natural cycle to the owning and relinquishing of objects that mirrors the cycles of life. Those that don't go through these fairly commonplace cycles won't be helped by this book.

The books faux Zen/Puritanical approach is irritating, at least to me. I'm a happy collector who periodically purges what has become burdensome like Ms. Kondo's book that's the next thing out the door (well, off the Kindle). The book did not change my life, and quite frankly its unlikely to change yours.