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Florence King Books

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“My consultants recommended several nihilists and existentialists but I rejected them all. A black turtleneck sweater does not a misanthrope make. Nihilists and existentialists tend to be bohemians, who invariably run in packs; despite their alienated stance, they have always struck me as a sociable lot who surround themselves with people because they are forever saying "Nothing matters," and they need someone to say it to.”

ExistentialismNihilismMisanthropyMisanthropesNihilists
Author:Florence King
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“A cardinal rule of writing is never interrupt yourself to explain something. If you must bring up an obscure topic, drop informative hints about it as you go along so that you don't end up with the entire explanation all in one place. This keeps you from skidding to a stop and sounding teacherish. Otherwise it's better to omit the obscure topic altogether, or as mothers might put it: if you can't say it interestingly, don't say it at all.”

IfsWritingEndsMightMotherExplanationObscureTopicsHintsCardinalsInformativeCardinal Rules
Author:Florence King
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“The confidence and security of a people can be measured by their attitude toward laxatives. At the high noon of the British sun, soldiers in far-flung outposts of the Empire doctored themselves with "a spoonful o' gunpowder in a cuppa 'ot tea." Purveyors and users of harsh laxatives were not afraid of being thought mean and unfriendly just because their laxatives were. But in America, the need to be nice is so consuming that nobody would dare take a laxative that makes you run up the stairs two at a time, pushing others aside and yelling, "Get out of the way!”

PeopleWayNeedsMeanTwoRunningAmericaAttitudeSunNiceSecuritySoldierDareBritishTeaEmpiresPushingNot AfraidUsersBeing NiceHarshConsumingStairsNoonYellingGunpowderUnfriendly
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“Americans respect talent only insofar as it leads to fame, and we reserve our most fervent admiration for famous people who destroy their lives as well as their talent. The fatal flaws of Elvis, Judy, and Marilyn register much higher on our national applause meter than their living achievements. In Amerca, talent is merely a tool for becoming famous in life so you can become more famous in death - where all are equal.”

PeopleWellsTalentBecomingHigherFameEqualAchievementToolsFlawsAdmirationReservesApplauseRegisterMeterFerventFatal FlawsBecoming Famous
Author:Florence King
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“Recently while browsing in a secondhand bookstore I bought a paperback copy of The Intellectual and the City, but I was unable to read it. When I got home I discovered that the original owner had highlighted the entire book - literally. Every line on every page had been drawn through with a bright green Magic Marker. It was a terrifying example of a mind that had lost all power of discrimination.”

MindBookHomeLostLinesCitiesMagicExamplePagesIntellectualOriginalsGreenDiscriminationOwnersCopiesBookstoresMarkersBrowsing
Book:Reflections In A Jaundiced Eye
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“Thank God I'm over the hill. The only heat I have left comes from hot flashes, my promiscuity is confined to the words "one size fits all," and I buy my white cotton unmentionables at Boadicea's Retreat, not Victoria's Secret. None of the things men do to women could possibly happen to me now unless the U.S. is invaded by one of those new Russian republics whose soldiers aren't fussy.”

MenHappensLeftWomenWhiteSecretFitHotAgingSoldierSizeHillsHeatRepublicThank GodFlashRetreatConfinedCottonVictoriaPromiscuityMenopauseFussyOver The HillOne Size Fits AllVictoria's SecretHot Flashes
Author:Florence King
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“Misanthropes have some admirable if paradoxical virtues. It is no exaggeration to say that we are among the nicest people you are likely to meet. Because good manners build sturdy walls, our distaste for intimacy makes us exceedingly cordial "ships that pass in the night." As long as you remain a stranger we will be your friend forever.”

PeopleIfsLongNightFriendshipForeverVirtueRelationshipWallStrangerShipsMannersIntimacyParadoxGood ManGood PeopleExceedAdmirableExaggerationFriends ForeverParadoxicalGood MannersMisanthropyNice PeopleSturdyDistasteNicenessMisanthropeCordiality
Author:Florence King
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“One of life's intriguing paradoxes is that hierarchical social order makes cheap rents and outré artists' colonies possible. Raffish bohemian neighborhoods flourished in the days of racial segregation; under integration the artistic poor have no safe places in which to create.... If America lacks a vigorous culture it is partly because studios and ateliers have become crack houses.”

IfsAmericaArtistOrderCultureHouseSocialPoorSafeStudiosArtisticNeighborhoodParadoxCracksIntegrationSegregationVigorousIntriguingColonySocial OrderBohemianSafe PlacesRacial Segregation
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“By sending the contradictory message that the famous are just plain folks on Mount Olympus, America has forged a relentless tension between loftiness and accessibility. Stir in the fact that the inborn talent and intelligence needed to achieve fame are immune to distributive tinkering by government programs and you have a definition of fame certain to produce envious rage: somebody screwed democracy.”

FactsGovernmentAmericaCertainDemocracyAchieveTalentProduceNeededFameMessagesProgramFolksDefinitionsEqualityEnvyRageTensionContradictoryRelentlessImmuneEnviousForgedAccessibilityGovernment ProgramsOlympusTinkering
Author:Florence King
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