Happy Snow-a-ween!
Asylum-True Tales of Madness from a Life in Fashion by Simon Doonan*
“Ah! Fashion. A nuthouse? A refuge? Or maybe both. Yes, an asylum in both senses of the word. A place where unemployable crazy people are always welcome.
Every seasoned personage has his or her favorite stories of folly, aberration, derangement, kookiness and excess.”-Part of a quote of Simon’s author quote in his book Asylum: True Tales of Madness a collection of madcap essays about what Doonan has witnessed during his life in the fashion biz.
Among them include peers that peanut gallery of nuttiness, models who fancy themselves as spiritual advisers and who are also total cheapskates, Anna Wintour barely blinking, let alone freaking out, when a ceiling fell at a runway show during fashion week, the dating habits of the fashion elite, which include affairs with hustlers, porn stars, gangsters, and jailbirds, fabulous fashion femmes like Diana Vreeland, Polly Mellen, Suzy Menkes among them, and so much more sordid stylish and fashionable fables that will entertain both fashionistas and people who can’t tell the difference between a Jimmy Choo and a Jimmy John’s.
And of course, Doonan can’t help drop names, names, names when it comes to the factory of fashion, including Chanel, Rei Kawakubo from Commes des Garcons, Lagerfeld, Balenciaga, Tom Ford, Thierry Mugler, and so much more!!!
But there is essays that reflect on more serious topics, like how AIDs impacted the fashion industry, taking the lives of creative visionaries like Perry Ellis, Tina Chow, Willi Smith, Halston, Patrick Kelly, and Juan Ramos.
Smart, sassy and wonderfully written, you will find a sensitive man of true compassion and fashion. I have no doubt Mr. Doonan would give you one of his technicolor shirts off his back when you’re in the depths of despair while also filling you in on the a la mode of all the people, places and things of fashion.
*I also reviewed Doonan’s book Wacky Chicks.
Writer’s Block
Other than a couple of scheduled reviews, I will be taking some time off from this blog due to the upcoming holidays and some personal issues. Thanks for understanding. You’re the best.
Book Reviews: All the Good Things by Clare Fisher
Beth has done a bad, bad thing. And while she ruminates about the tragedy she brought on herself while paying the ultimate price, she goes on a journey of healing and redemption.
In Clare Fisher’s novel All the Good Things, Beth is seeing a counselor while serving a prison term. Convinced she is completely worthless, Beth’s counselor, with both compassion and wisdom, tells her to write a list of all the good things that have to her.
This is pretty difficult for Beth. In her young life, Beth has dealt with tragedy, abandonment, and heartbreak. Among these include being deserted by her mother, mental health issues, abusive relationships, one crappy job after another, and a series of dreadful foster homes.
But as she looks back on her life, Beth remembers the things. She’s very creative, she has a network of supportive friends, she’s felt the embrace of true love, and her sweet baby girl who she loves with great intensity.
Beth writes this list in a journal form that comes across like a series of letters to her daughter. And as he writes these letters she comes to terms with the lowest moments in her life, the moments that gave her life purpose, and one horrible mistake that altered her life. Now she’s asking herself is she can be forgiven and can she be redeemed?
All the Good Things kept me riveted, page after page. Beth’s story both broke my heat and uplifted my spirits.
Fisher’s debut novel is written with a great deal of clarity that fulfills all the senses. Beth is written as a fully-dimensional character, as are the tertiary characters.
Obviously I’m not going to reveal why Beth is being punished and in prison. But you just might gasp out loud when she admits her crime…like I did.
Book Marks
- Laundromat libraries in Milwaukee.
- Check’em out: Shelf Unbound Magazine.
- Mark Ruffalo gives us the “story behind the story” when it comes to his latest release.
- Twitter’s #DVpit creates a place for diversity in publishing.
- The Nobel Prize for Literature goes to two controversial writers.
- Children’s book author kills family and himself.
- Wham’s Andrew Ridgeley pays tribute to the late George Michael in his new book.
- Slate wonders who are feminist baby books for?
- Fifteen books marriage therapists suggest to their married clients.
- These are the women have have won the Nobel Prize for Literature.
- The Book Prize goes to Margaret Atwood and Bernadine Evaristo.
- Hatchette Book Group (HBG) launches HPGo.
Brag Book
Today is the sixth anniversary of The Book Self. Baby, I’m a star!
Our Books, Our Shelves
I’ve been making soap using the melt and pour method and this book is a great primer on this very topic.
thebookselfblog 