“An Instant Classic”

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“An Instant Classic”

Read what this week's Time magazine says about Polly Shulman's book Enthusiasm:

OK, we’re helping out a friend here. But we just had to post Musepal Polly’s latest news about her book:

Please excuse the self-serving email, but:

Time Magazine reviewed Enthusiasm!!!!!!!

ENTHUSIASM
POLLY SHULMAN

Julie Lefkowitz is accustomed to public embarrassment: “When your best friend goes around town dressed in armor constructed from cookware, eyes naturally turn your way.” Julie’s best friend is Ashleigh, and Ashleigh is an enthusiast: she gets obsessed–way, over-the-top obsessed–with things like King Arthur or ballet or juggling. Ashleigh’s latest craze is Jane Austen, and in addition to dressing in gowns and talking in period English, she persuades long-suffering Julie to crash a dance at a fancy all-boys private school, hoping to meet a Mr. Darcy, or at least a Mr. Bingley. Winsome and witty, loaded with lunatic junior-high aperÃ§us (“Juliet’s not even 14 yet,” a young Shakespeare scholar remarks. “He’s going to kill himself over an eighth-grader?”), Enthusiasm has the makings of an instant classic.

(It should be on newsstands now; it’s on the web, anyway.)

Date: March 8, 2006

Author: Robert Coontz (Administrator)

Categories: Fiction, poetry, and fanfiction

Comments RSS TrackBack 47 comments

1

frankenfaerie

in March 8th, 2006 @ 14:32

sounds pretty awesome

must purchace

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embrace_your_poison

in March 8th, 2006 @ 14:49

Mr. Darcy!
…yeah, that sounds very cool. -gives thumbs up- I shall do my best to find it!

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Ebeth The Lurker

in March 8th, 2006 @ 14:55

w00t! Go pollyhymnia!

Now i have to go check if we got that yet…

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evildude131

in March 8th, 2006 @ 15:03

uh sure… (walks away slowly and initiates prototype Mostly Harmless)

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dark lord of darkness

in March 8th, 2006 @ 15:17

good 4 u!
no really!

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Polly Shulman a/k/a Pollyhymnia

in March 8th, 2006 @ 15:42

(((((((aw, shucks!)))))))

(Did I get the write number of parentheses?)

(Here are some extras just in case: ((((((()))))) )

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Queen Julietaini or Queenie (J), and Alternate Selves Rhonda, Stig, and Ikol

in March 8th, 2006 @ 15:43

w00t! That’s awesome! I have to pick this up after checking out the Museblog. Jeeves, ready the car. We’re going to the bookstore.

Bookstore people: Ah!
Jeeves: Is it possible to procure a copy of the book Enthusiasm by Ms. Polly Shulman?
Bookstore p.: H-h-here you go.
Jeeves: If you would fire up the carburator, miss?

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8

Violetfire

in March 8th, 2006 @ 16:26

I will read it soon, I promise. It sounds great. Congradulations, Polly!

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Zallie

in March 8th, 2006 @ 16:50

That’s so cool! I want to read your book now…

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Polly Shulman a/k/a Pollyhymnia

in March 8th, 2006 @ 17:25

I can’t believe it! I misssssspelled “right”! I meant to write “right,” but I wrote “write”–I failed to write “right” right. And I call myself a writer! I should call myself a “wronger” instead.

Embarrassed.

Pollyhymnia

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Pentatonikk (RRF)

in March 8th, 2006 @ 17:46

That’s awesome! I’m ashamed to say I still haven’t read it…

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12

kricket

in March 8th, 2006 @ 19:07

I’ve read it!!!!!!!! i would have to recommend it to anyone who likes to read!!!! it’s AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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13

Em

in March 8th, 2006 @ 22:36

meh two, rrf.

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Ebeth The Lurker

in March 9th, 2006 @ 16:47

i read it. it rocks.

Pollyhymnia, it’s merely creative spelling. Just an exploration into a frowned-upon art. There’s a kind of dignity in going against the average creativity. Fiynd a noo creeativ outluk! Bee a darring, imagineativ creetur! Ohpen upe a newe meedium ine wich tooe axpres yoreselfe!

what’s with all the parentheses anyway?

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Jadestone

in March 9th, 2006 @ 21:25

YAY FOR POLLY!

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16

Em

in March 10th, 2006 @ 00:47

i assume the parenthesis are for being discreet.

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((*discreetlypieskoko*))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

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17

Ebeth The Lurker

in March 10th, 2006 @ 07:52

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((*discreetlypiesem*))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

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18

King George the MMMXXLIII

in March 10th, 2006 @ 09:20

What are all these things about this book. I’ve never heard of it.

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Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in March 10th, 2006 @ 09:50

Polly Shulman is a friend of mine and a Muse fan. She drops in on the blog from time to time. (MuseBloggers call her Pollyhymnia, after one of the original Greek Muses.) You can read previous posts about her book here and here.

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echomikeromeo

in March 10th, 2006 @ 21:04

“Juliet’s not even 14 yet,” a young Shakespeare scholar remarks. “He’s going to kill himself over an eighth-grader?”

That has to go down in history as one of the funniest things a kid has ever said! And it’s so true!!!

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Jadestone

in March 11th, 2006 @ 10:40

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhoooo, VF! You should ask for Enthusiasm for your birthday!!!!!

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Queen Julietaini; Queenie (J); WDNT

in March 11th, 2006 @ 11:15

Don’t worry, Polly. I am going to cajol my parents into taking me to a bookstore today and purchase the books. Mistakes like that-and Zarquon knows I make more of them than you can possibly imagine-are what Musers and editors are for.

My name is Juliette (age 12) and there’s going to be chaos when I turn 14. I seriously cannot wait until some poor person in my class or whatnot is named Romeo. God, that’d be funny.

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Polly Shulman a/k/a Pollyhymnia

in March 11th, 2006 @ 13:14

Thanks for the kind words, everybody!

Juliette–watch out for that Romeo. I hear he likes to climb in girls’ balconies.

Have you read (or seen) the play? Remember how, before she meets Romeo, her parents are planning to fix her up with a guy named Paris? So watch out for guys named Paris, too.

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Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in March 11th, 2006 @ 13:19

Paris Hilton’s former boyfriend, Paris, was on the loose last time I checked.

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Polly Shulman a/k/a Pollyhymnia

in March 11th, 2006 @ 13:21

PS: The parentheses were to show that I was hiding because I was so embarrassed about having spelled right wrong (that is, write).

(Those parentheses above, though, are to show that the words inside them are an inessential clarification to the main point.)

(So are those ones above this.)
(So are those ones above THIS.)
(So are THOSE ONES ABOVE THIS!!)
(HELP!!)

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26

Jadestone

in March 11th, 2006 @ 19:03

Use brackets. Then type stuff in them.

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Jadestone

in March 11th, 2006 @ 19:03

[NO_COMMENT]

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Violetfire

in March 12th, 2006 @ 10:07

I will ask for Enthusiasm for my birthday! The bookstore better have it…….

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29

Violetfire

in March 12th, 2006 @ 19:55

Where is everybody??????? I’m the only one who’s posted today, and that was at ten in the morning!

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30

Violetfire

in March 13th, 2006 @ 16:33

Hellooo? It’s the 13th already. You better not be all gone!

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Polly Shulman a/k/a Pollyhymnia

in March 13th, 2006 @ 20:42

Hello, Violetfire! I’ve been working, but here I am stopping by.

Where’s everybody else?

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MontgomeryGurl

in March 14th, 2006 @ 12:34

I’m here. I just ventured off the random thread for the first time in a while.

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Robert Coontz (Administrator)

in March 14th, 2006 @ 12:45

Hello, MG! Welcome back!

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34

Phoenix

in March 14th, 2006 @ 12:58

Hey, MG!

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35

Clara

in March 14th, 2006 @ 15:21

MG – how do you open a starburst with your tongue????

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36

arasia121

in March 15th, 2006 @ 16:03

You tell me ,How do you open a starburst with your tougue?
I can’t even curl my tongue:(

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Violetfire

in March 15th, 2006 @ 20:15

Me neither. But I have a thirty-foot chain of Starburstâ„¢ wrappers. Though I’d rather not use ones that have been opened by someone’s tongue, thank you very much.

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MontgomeryGurl

in March 16th, 2006 @ 12:05

You unwrap a Starburst with your tongue by first putting it in your mouth, and then just using your teeth and tongue to lift up the flaps, and once you’ve done that you can slide your tongue under the crease and just roll it off. It’s really simple, actually.

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39

Ebeth The Former But Recently Rehabilitated Lurker

in March 16th, 2006 @ 15:32

Ah, but your brilliance simply makes it sound easy…we bow to your superior powers. lol

i’ll have to try it sometime though…

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40

Violetfire

in March 18th, 2006 @ 18:30

What exactly is the book about?

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41

Violetfire

in March 19th, 2006 @ 12:23

HELLO-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

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42

Violetfire

in March 20th, 2006 @ 16:51

Yay! 42nd post!
WHERE IS EVERYBODY?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

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43

Queen Julietaini; Queenie; WDNT

in March 20th, 2006 @ 17:16

I bought Enthusiasm yesterday and will read it over Spring Break (in Mexico this year) and then tell you what I think of it. OK, Polyhymnia?

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Polly Shulman a/k/a Pollyhymnia

in March 20th, 2006 @ 18:26

I hope you like it, Your Majesty! The narrator is named Julie, so maybe that will help make you feel well disposed toward it.

Violetfire, I just posted the jacket description in the other thread, where you asked for it. Here’s another description, this one by the reviewer from Booklist, a magazine for librarians and people like that:

“There is little more likely to exasperate a person of sense than finding herself tied by affection and habit to an Enthusiast. I speak from bitter experience.” So begins the wry, engaging narrative in which Julie relates the trials and rewards of her firm friendship with Ashleigh, an enthusiast. Since elementary school, Ashleigh has taken up one craze after another, from military strategy to ballet, from Harriet the Spy to King Arthur, and dragged her best friend along for companionship. But when Ashleigh begins sophomore year speaking Jane Austen’s prose and crashing an exclusive prep school’s cotillion to dance the Founder’s Quadrille, she commits a double fault: she takes ownership of Julie’s favorite book, Pride and Prejudice, and she sets her determined sights on the boy Julie secretly adores. Shulman captures the agony and the irony of Julie’s struggles to find her own way as she navigates the conventions of a culture that, for all its twenty-first-century trappings, still leaves young women hoping that the young men of their dreams will recognize and return their unspoken affections. While familiarity with Austen’s world through her books or, more likely, the movie renditions will deepen readers’ appreciation for Shulman’s impressive first novel, it is by no means a prerequisite to enjoying this involving and often amusing narrative of friendship, courtship, and (of course) true love.

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45

mike

in March 22nd, 2006 @ 11:42

waz up

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46

King George the MMMXXLIII (a.k.a George Washington the MMMXXLIII)

in March 23rd, 2006 @ 11:06

My brother’s name is mike. Anyway, now that I know what this book is about, I think I’ll get it. If not, I might die. I don’t know why, I just will.

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47

Violetfire

in March 23rd, 2006 @ 17:55

Thanks!

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“An Instant Classic”

Comments RSS TrackBack 47 comments

frankenfaerie

embrace_your_poison

Ebeth The Lurker

evildude131

dark lord of darkness

Polly Shulman a/k/a Pollyhymnia

Queen Julietaini or Queenie (J), and Alternate Selves Rhonda, Stig, and Ikol

Violetfire

Zallie

Polly Shulman a/k/a Pollyhymnia

Pentatonikk (RRF)

kricket

Em

Ebeth The Lurker

Jadestone

Em

Ebeth The Lurker

King George the MMMXXLIII

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

echomikeromeo

Jadestone

Queen Julietaini; Queenie (J); WDNT

Polly Shulman a/k/a Pollyhymnia

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

Polly Shulman a/k/a Pollyhymnia

Jadestone

Jadestone

Violetfire

Violetfire

Violetfire

Polly Shulman a/k/a Pollyhymnia

MontgomeryGurl

Robert Coontz (Administrator)

Phoenix

Clara

arasia121

Violetfire

MontgomeryGurl

Ebeth The Former But Recently Rehabilitated Lurker

Violetfire

Violetfire

Violetfire

Queen Julietaini; Queenie; WDNT

Polly Shulman a/k/a Pollyhymnia

mike

King George the MMMXXLIII (a.k.a George Washington the MMMXXLIII)

Violetfire