Playing Librarian

As promised, here's Part 2 of my Jonathan Franzen feature books.


Title:The Discomfort Zone: A Personal History
Author: Jonathan Franzen Page: 195 pages Genre: Non-Fiction
Subject: Memoir First Published: September 1st 2002


The Discomfort Zone is Jonathan Franzen’s tale of growing up, squirming in his own über-sensitive skin, from a “small and fundamentally ridiculous person,” into an adult with strong inconvenient passions. Whether he’s writing about the explosive dynamics of a Christian youth fellowship in the 1970s, the effects of Kafka’s fiction on his protracted quest to lose his virginity, or the web of connections between bird watching, his all-consuming marriage, and the problem of global warming, Franzen is always feelingly engaged with the world we live in now. The Discomfort Zone is a wise, funny, and gorgeously written self-portrait by one of America’s finest writers.
- Synopsis from www.goodreads.com
A New York Times Notable Book of the Year, The Discomfort Zone is Jona…

For this week I am featuring two books by Jonathan Franzen, an American novelist who is probably best known for the critically-acclaimed books: The Corrections and Freedom. I have yet to read The Corrections and I have Freedom somewhere in my bookshelvesfor almost a year now but haven't had the guts to pick it up due to its size (literally!). The two books featured however are from Franzen's non-fiction works. Here's Part 1:


Title:How to be Alone
Author: Jonathan Franzen Page: 320 pages Genre: Non-Fiction
Subject: Essays First Published: September 1st 2002

From the National Book Award-winning author of The Corrections, a collection of essays that reveal him to be one of our sharpest, toughest, and most entertaining social critics. - Synopsis from www.goodreads.com
This is one of the few non-fiction books that I have in my collection. I picked up this book one day while browsing aimlessly in the book store and this book in particular caught my attention, because of it's t…

Title:The Little Prince, originally in French: Le Petit Prince
Author: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, translated by: T.V.F. Cuffe Page: 118 pages Genre: Classics, Children's
Subject: Fable, Philosophy First Published: Penguin Books (1943)


A pilot stranded in the desert awakes one morning to see, standing before him, the most extraordinary little fellow. "Please," asks the stranger, "draw me a sheep." And the pilot realizes that when life's events are too difficult to understand, there is no choice but to succumb to their mysteries. He pulls out pencil and paper ... Thus begins this wise and enchanting fable that, in teaching the secret of what is really important in life, has changed the world forever for its readers. Often seen as a symbol of childhood innocence, Antoine de Saint-Exupery's best-selling book The Little Prince is cherished by children and adults alike across the globe.
- Synopsis from www.bookdepository.co.uk
My copy of the book is actually a …