pertaining to Jacques Derrida (1930-2004), French…
How to Be Alone
by
Jonathan Franzen
March 13, 2017 - March 13, 2017
(read/literary-criticism/essay-collections)
Franzen, J. (2003). How to Be Alone. Picador.
p.188
Derridean »
p.277
skeins »
a length of thread or yarn, loosely coiled and kn…
p.269
schmaltz »
excessive sentimentality, especially in music or …
p.251
promulgated »
promote or make widely known
p.244
fetters »
a chain or manacle used to restrain a prisoner, t…
p.210
[...] Not long ago, one of my former undergraduat…
p.200
It's healthy to adjust to reality. It's healthy, …
p.95
Writing is a form of personal freedom. It frees u…
p.82
[...] "[...] And strong works of fiction are what …
p.72
Even harder to admit is how depressed I was. As t…
3
A Word About This Book
The Harper's essay was initially published in April 1996 as "Perchance to Dream" and was edited, cut, and retitled for this collection
1
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0
3
A Word About This Book
The Harper's essay was initially published in April 1996 as "Perchance to Dream" and was edited, cut, and retitled for this collection
1 / 0
7
My Father's Brain
about his dad, who had Alzheimer's, prostate cancer, and a not-so-great relationship with his mother
6
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0
7
My Father's Brain
about his dad, who had Alzheimer's, prostate cancer, and a not-so-great relationship with his mother
6 / 0
39
Imperial Bedroom
about privacy (the whole data brokerage industry, the political angle, home life etc)
3
/
0
39
Imperial Bedroom
about privacy (the whole data brokerage industry, the political angle, home life etc)
3 / 0
55
Why Bother?
by far the best essay in the book; about the process of writing for Franzen and his despair about the American novel (which began in Yaddo in 1991)
he started his first book (The Twenty-Seventh City) at 22, finished it at 28; afterward, he felt like he had failed in his goal of engaging with the culture (see note 156)
3
/
6
55
Why Bother?
by far the best essay in the book; about the process of writing for Franzen and his despair about the American novel (which began in Yaddo in 1991)
he started his first book (The Twenty-Seventh City) at 22, finished it at 28; afterward, he felt like he had failed in his goal of engaging with the culture (see note 156)
3 / 698
Lost in the Mail
The trials and tribulations of the Chicago post office in 1994
2 / 0
139
Erika Imports
"Erika Imports" being the name of a small business that Franzen worked for in high school, which was owned by a German couple. I think the main takeaway is that the work seemed very "personal" in the sense that he got to know his bosses too well. pretty forgettable
2
/
0
139
Erika Imports
"Erika Imports" being the name of a small business that Franzen worked for in high school, which was owned by a German couple. I think the main takeaway is that the work seemed very "personal" in the sense that he got to know his bosses too well. pretty forgettable
2 / 0
143
Sifting the Ashes
An investigative journalism piece on Big Tobacco (Franzen doesn't smoke)
4
/
0
143
Sifting the Ashes
An investigative journalism piece on Big Tobacco (Franzen doesn't smoke)
4 / 0
164
The Reader in Exile
presumably about the challenge of reading in an electronic age. he talks briefly about TV, Nicholas Negroponte's Being Digital (which he seems to feel negatively about), and Sven Birkerts' The Gutenberg Elegies
4
/
0
164
The Reader in Exile
presumably about the challenge of reading in an electronic age. he talks briefly about TV, Nicholas Negroponte's Being Digital (which he seems to feel negatively about), and Sven Birkerts' The Gutenberg Elegies
4 / 0
179
First City
about New York City: and its existence as a sort of Platonic tourist ideal; what it's like to live in the city; Jane Jacobs' Death and Life. don't really have a grand takeaway for this one
7
/
0
179
First City
about New York City: and its existence as a sort of Platonic tourist ideal; what it's like to live in the city; Jane Jacobs' Death and Life. don't really have a grand takeaway for this one
7 / 0
195
Scavenging
another essay about the death of reading and thus writing. also about how he first started writing on a typewriter, in college. ends with the image of a broken chair in note 336
1
/
2
195
Scavenging
another essay about the death of reading and thus writing. also about how he first started writing on a typewriter, in college. ends with the image of a broken chair in note 336
1 / 2
211
Control Units
another investigative journalism piece, this time into supermax prisons (specifically, the Federal Correctional Complex in Colorado)
4
/
0
211
Control Units
another investigative journalism piece, this time into supermax prisons (specifically, the Federal Correctional Complex in Colorado)
4 / 0242
Books in Bed
an eminently forgettable essay on books about sex
3 / 0
258
Meet Me in St. Louis
about being interviewed in St. Louis after the publication of his third book (The Corrections), and how "fundamentally bogus" it feels
1
/
0
258
Meet Me in St. Louis
about being interviewed in St. Louis after the publication of his third book (The Corrections), and how "fundamentally bogus" it feels
1 / 0275
Inauguration Day, January 2001
a short one about the atmosphere at GWB's inauguration
1 / 0