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mayaclaire12's review
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.25
binjuice's review
2.0
Someone said it felt like they were reading his Yelp reviews, I can’t help but agree.
emmareadstoomuch's review
2.0
I like F. Scott Fitzgerald quite a bit. He has not one, but TWO spaces in the extremely coveted Emma's Five Star Ratings Club, otherwise known as the One In A Million Never Going To Happen Perfect Reading Experiences Gang.
Quick break because now I'm curious how many authors have multiple places in that exclusive coterie.
(If you're curious, there are actually 12. In reverse alphabetical order: John Steinbeck, Lemony Snicket, Sally Rooney, LM Montgomery, Carmen Maria Machado, Sarah Hogle, Emily Henry, Neil Gaiman, Jonathan Safran Foer, Lewis Carroll, Leigh Bardugo, and Jane Austen.)
But anyway.
Even I, a fairly big fan of the guy, could not overcome the circumstances and like this book., which a friend of a friend offered to lend to me.
And gave to me at a party.
Which meant I spent an entire day looking like some kind of disaster nerd who brings books about alcohol to drinking-based events.
On top of that (and in addition to that guy turning out to be kind of a creep), this is not very good.
It's excerpts, quotes, and weird clippings from ol' Fitzy, brought together by the sheer power of having some small thing to do with alcohol.
And I like alcohol fine, too. But as it turns out that wasn't enough either.
None of this strikes me as particularly Fitzgerald's best, and even if it were, it would be doing it a disservice to halfheartedly toss it in among the strange remnants found here. Even his style seems choppy and odd given the framing.
Bottom line: Who thought this book was necessary?
clear ur shit prompt 3: a book you were recommended
follow my progress here
Quick break because now I'm curious how many authors have multiple places in that exclusive coterie.
(If you're curious, there are actually 12. In reverse alphabetical order: John Steinbeck, Lemony Snicket, Sally Rooney, LM Montgomery, Carmen Maria Machado, Sarah Hogle, Emily Henry, Neil Gaiman, Jonathan Safran Foer, Lewis Carroll, Leigh Bardugo, and Jane Austen.)
But anyway.
Even I, a fairly big fan of the guy, could not overcome the circumstances and like this book., which a friend of a friend offered to lend to me.
And gave to me at a party.
Which meant I spent an entire day looking like some kind of disaster nerd who brings books about alcohol to drinking-based events.
On top of that (and in addition to that guy turning out to be kind of a creep), this is not very good.
It's excerpts, quotes, and weird clippings from ol' Fitzy, brought together by the sheer power of having some small thing to do with alcohol.
And I like alcohol fine, too. But as it turns out that wasn't enough either.
None of this strikes me as particularly Fitzgerald's best, and even if it were, it would be doing it a disservice to halfheartedly toss it in among the strange remnants found here. Even his style seems choppy and odd given the framing.
Bottom line: Who thought this book was necessary?
clear ur shit prompt 3: a book you were recommended
follow my progress here
readersdijesst's review
2.0
This compilation would have benefitted from a good editor and a preface.
thechristined's review
4.0
On Booze is a collection of random thoughts, essays, and letters written by F. Scott Fitzgerald – only parts of which are focused around drinking and alcohol despite the way the title and synopsis make it sound.
I’m not much of a drinker. I don’t go to bars, clubs, etc. and I usually only drink in the comfort and safety of my own home, except for the very rare occasion. I haven’t even had my “debut,” as Fitzgerald calls it in this collection (“Debut: the first time a young girl is seen drunk in public.”)! So why did I pick up this book? Out of curiosity. And the fact that I know some people who would more than likely appreciate hearing about it, if not reading it for themselves. With that said, I enjoyed reading this collection, but was surprised it didn’t have as many drinking stories given it was hailed as being a collection of Fitzgerald’s best drinking stories on the back cover.
On Booze is divided into six parts. The first part is called Selections from the Notebooks and features various things Fitzgerald noted and jotted down. A lot of them had me laughing, but some of them didn’t make complete sense to me, and I think that’s because they needed more context. The thing to remember is that these were taken from Fitzgerald’s notebooks after his death, so this is more of a complaint towards the people who compiled it and not Fitzgerald’s actual writing. His definition of a ‘debut’ that I mentioned above is an example of what you can find in this section.
You can read the rest of my review on my blog: http://readerlymusings.com/2013/10/12/book-review-on-booze-by-f-scott-fitzgerald/
I’m not much of a drinker. I don’t go to bars, clubs, etc. and I usually only drink in the comfort and safety of my own home, except for the very rare occasion. I haven’t even had my “debut,” as Fitzgerald calls it in this collection (“Debut: the first time a young girl is seen drunk in public.”)! So why did I pick up this book? Out of curiosity. And the fact that I know some people who would more than likely appreciate hearing about it, if not reading it for themselves. With that said, I enjoyed reading this collection, but was surprised it didn’t have as many drinking stories given it was hailed as being a collection of Fitzgerald’s best drinking stories on the back cover.
On Booze is divided into six parts. The first part is called Selections from the Notebooks and features various things Fitzgerald noted and jotted down. A lot of them had me laughing, but some of them didn’t make complete sense to me, and I think that’s because they needed more context. The thing to remember is that these were taken from Fitzgerald’s notebooks after his death, so this is more of a complaint towards the people who compiled it and not Fitzgerald’s actual writing. His definition of a ‘debut’ that I mentioned above is an example of what you can find in this section.
You can read the rest of my review on my blog: http://readerlymusings.com/2013/10/12/book-review-on-booze-by-f-scott-fitzgerald/
chuffwrites's review
3.0
I enjoyed it on the basis that it was a collection of Fitzgerald's writings, but it did kind of feel like the editors did a Find-Replace of his work for anything that mentioned the words "drink" "gin" "drunk" "booze" etc., and copy-pasted them together to make a book. The back said it was his thoughts and experiences with drinking, and yet some stories would be 5, 10 pages and only mention the narrator sipping a drink at some point. So it was a little random in that respect. I think "The Crack-Up" articles were my favorites, though "The Lost City" was supremely evocative--in that I kind of felt like a depressed, listless piece of nothing while reading it. I DON'T KNOW, in the middle of that story, I just got this overwhelming wave of the futility of ALL THE THINGS. D: D: Anyway, it's cute little book, if completely random at times in its selections.