Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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Beneath the facade of glitz and glamour

The Swans of Fifth Avenue by Melanie Benjamin

January 17, 2019 by Mikki Blu 1 Comment

“The scandalous, headline-making, and enthralling friendship between literary legend Truman Capote and peerless socialite Babe Paley.” This is a fictional telling of the socialite “Swans” of the 1950s and early 1960s that focuses mainly on Barbara “Babe” Paley, and her friendship with Truman Capote; however it includes many other famous women such as Slim Keith, C. Z. Guest, Gloria Guinness, Gloria Vanderbilt, and Pamela Churchill.  These are the fabulously wealthy ladies who lunch, dress to impress, marry often and love to gossip.  The era was […]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: 1950s glamour, Babe Paley, melanie benjamin, scandal and glamour, truman capote

Mikki Blu's CBR11 Review No:4 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: 1950s glamour, Babe Paley, melanie benjamin, scandal and glamour, truman capote ·
Rating:
· 1 Comment

“I thought that Mr. Clutter was a very nice gentleman. I thought so right up to the moment that I cut his throat.”

March 26, 2018 by Caitlin_D Leave a Comment

Last year I made a grand plan to reread some of the books I read in high school and college. While I read several books for the second and third time (and in the instances of Perks of Being a Wallflower and Ender’s Game the 8th or 9th) I didn’t manage to read any of the books I read in AP English or my freshman lit course besides A Prayer for Owen Meany and The Great Gatsby. I guess I just hate the thought of missing out on the chance to read […]

Filed Under: Non-Fiction, Suspense Tagged With: in cold blood, truman capote

Caitlin_D's CBR10 Review No:41 · Genres: Non-Fiction, Suspense · Tags: in cold blood, truman capote ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

A Whole Bunch of Truman Capote

July 8, 2017 by vel veeter Leave a Comment

The Complete Stories of Truman Capote I think I answered my questions about Truman Capote with this whirlwind look at most of his writing. I read In Cold Blood a few years back and I like it a lot. I think it’s really strong, but I think more than anything, it’s too rich a backstory, too big of a book, and the movie is so good that I couldn’t help but love it. I liked a lot of these stories in this collection. Some of them […]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Complete Stories of Truman Capote, The Grass Harp, truman capote

vel veeter's CBR9 Review No:267 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Complete Stories of Truman Capote, The Grass Harp, truman capote ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

In which I show once again that I’m probably better suited to popular fiction

May 17, 2017 by ingres77 2 Comments

I knew a Holly Golightly once. We met in an art class in high school, and went on to be friends in college, before I fell in love with someone else. We would spend time together after class: she taught me that putting my loofah in with the laundry extended its life and kept it cleaner. I accompanied her on a modeling gig, where the artist she posed for belittled me for pronouncing Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres’s name without a proper French accent. She ended […]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: Breakfast at Tiffany's, Ernest Hemingway, Herman Melville, truman capote

ingres77's CBR9 Review No:39 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: Breakfast at Tiffany's, Ernest Hemingway, Herman Melville, truman capote ·
Rating:
· 2 Comments

“Never love a wild thing…If you let yourself love a wild thing. You’ll end up looking at the sky.”

May 14, 2017 by Caitlin_D 3 Comments

While I was gearing up to read Fifth Avenue, 5 AM (and by gearing up I mean placing it on my library request list) when it struck me that, while I’ve seen the film numerous times, I’ve never read the novella in which Holly Golightly is based! Our unnamed narrator is reflecting on the past after an old friend calls him with news about a woman, Holly, he used to know. Holly Golightly has left her home town and reinvented herself as a society girl. She drinks […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Short Stories Tagged With: Breakfast at Tiffany's, novella, truman capote

Caitlin_D's CBR9 Review No:55 · Genres: Fiction, Short Stories · Tags: Breakfast at Tiffany's, novella, truman capote ·
Rating:
· 3 Comments

A kookie little romance

April 30, 2017 by ingres77 12 Comments

This was a selection for the May nonfiction book club, and it lost. I’m so disappointed, you guys. But, I will persevere. Wasson recounts the history behind both Truman Capote’s 1958 novel, and the 1961 film directed by Blake Edwards and starring the inimitable and unconquerable Audrey Hepburn. Overall, this is a pretty good snapshot of Truman Capote, Audrey Hepburn, the film industry of the late 50s and early 60s, and the shifting beauty standards of the era. All of which amounts to a pretty […]

Filed Under: History, Non-Fiction Tagged With: 1960s, Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Fifth Avenue 5 am, Hollywood, movies, Sam Wasson, truman capote

ingres77's CBR9 Review No:34 · Genres: History, Non-Fiction · Tags: 1960s, Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Fifth Avenue 5 am, Hollywood, movies, Sam Wasson, truman capote ·
Rating:
· 12 Comments
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