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  <id>4661</id>
  <title><![CDATA[Trying to Save Piggy Sneed]]></title>
  <isbn><![CDATA[0345404742]]></isbn>
  <isbn13><![CDATA[9780345404749]]></isbn13>
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  <description><![CDATA[&quot;Supple and energetic as a stylist, Mr. Irving also knows just how to create in the reader's mind a vivid impression of an existing world *and just how to populate it.&quot;<p> *The New York Times Book Review<p><p>&quot;CANDID . . . COLORFUL . . . Those who have followed John Irving's writing career will delight in his newest, Trying to Save Piggy Sneed. . . . Readers will leave this book feeling as if they have had a terrific conversation with Irving about why he writes and how he goes about it.&quot;<p> *USA Today<p><p>&quot;[THIS] NEWEST BOOK IS A FIRST FOR IRVING: a collection of memoirs, short fiction, and essays. Trying to Save Piggy Sneed features tributes to Dickens and Günter Grass, whose novels percolate with a political and moral courage Irving admires. It also includes six short stories, a form Irving doesn't claim as his own. Reminiscences round out the collection, from his caustic recollections of an awkward dinner with former President Reagan to the title piece, in which the death of his town's garbage collector symbolically sparked the teenage Irving's desire to write.&quot;<p> *Minneapolis Star Tribune<p><p>&quot;THESE PIECES ARE WORTH SAVING AND SAVORING. . . . Trying to Save Piggy Sneed is a welcome oasis on the long desert passage leading to John Irving's next novel.&quot;<p> *The Seattle Times/Post-Intelligencer<p><p>&quot;ENGAGINGLY CANDID . . . The essays on himself and other writers make the book valuable, for they tell us a great deal about Irving's views of fiction, much in the public eye since the success of Garp in 1978.&quot;<p> *Newsday<p><p>&quot;A rich, wonderful and diverse look into the creative mind of one of America's most imaginative and passionate novelists. . . . Irving again proves he has enough imagination for 10 writers.&quot;<p> *The Denver Post<p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p>]]></description>
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  <original_publication_year type="integer">1993</original_publication_year>
  <original_title>Trying to Save Piggy Sneed</original_title>
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  <average_rating><![CDATA[3.19]]></average_rating>
  <ratings_count><![CDATA[1369]]></ratings_count>
  <text_reviews_count><![CDATA[35]]></text_reviews_count>
  
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4661.Trying_to_Save_Piggy_Sneed]]></url>
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  <authors>
    <author>
    <id>3075</id>
        <name><![CDATA[John Irving]]></name>
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    <average_rating>3.86</average_rating>
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      <review>
  <id>79852464</id>
    <user>
    <id>1743499</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Mazel]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[carrières sous poissy, France]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1743499-mazel]]></link>
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    <book>
  <id type="integer">321637</id>
  <isbn>2020246279</isbn>
  <isbn13>9782020246279</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">1</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Les rêves des autres]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173743728m/321637.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173743728s/321637.jpg</small_image_url>
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  <average_rating>2.00</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>3</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Here is a treat for John Irving addicts and a perfect introduction to his work for the uninitiated.  To open this spirited collection, Irving explains how he became a writer.  There follow six scintillating stories written over the last twenty years ending with a homage to Charles Dickens.  This irresistible collection cannot fail to delight and charm.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>1</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
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        <shelf name="nouvelles-" />
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Fri Dec 04 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Dec 04 05:22:21 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Dec 06 03:16:04 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Elles sont sept, ces nouvelles réunies pour la première fois en un volume, contrepoint à une oeuvre romanesque foisonnante. <br/><br/>Pour sa plus grande joie, le lecteur y retrouvera ce qu'il connaît : la satire du conformisme, l'imagination débridée, le goût du burlesque, les tabous joyeu...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79852464">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79852464]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79852464]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>57776579</id>
    <user>
    <id>2366167</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Gillian]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Charlotte, NC]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2366167-gillian]]></link>
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    <book>
  <id type="integer">4661</id>
  <isbn>0345404742</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780345404749</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">35</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Trying to Save Piggy Sneed]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447939m/4661.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447939s/4661.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4661.Trying_to_Save_Piggy_Sneed</link>
  <average_rating>3.19</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>1369</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[&quot;Supple and energetic as a stylist, Mr. Irving also knows just how to create in the reader's mind a vivid impression of an existing world *and just how to populate it.&quot;<p> *The New York Times Book Review<p><p>&quot;CANDID . . . COLORFUL . . . Those who have followed John Irving's writing career will delight in his newest, Trying to Save Piggy Sneed. . . . Readers will leave this book feeling as if they have had a terrific conversation with Irving about why he writes and how he goes about it.&quot;<p> *USA Today<p><p>&quot;[THIS] NEWEST BOOK IS A FIRST FOR IRVING: a collection of memoirs, short fiction, and essays. Trying to Save Piggy Sneed features tributes to Dickens and Günter Grass, whose novels percolate with a political and moral courage Irving admires. It also includes six short stories, a form Irving doesn't claim as his own. Reminiscences round out the collection, from his caustic recollections of an awkward dinner with former President Reagan to the title piece, in which the death of his town's garbage collector symbolically sparked the teenage Irving's desire to write.&quot;<p> *Minneapolis Star Tribune<p><p>&quot;THESE PIECES ARE WORTH SAVING AND SAVORING. . . . Trying to Save Piggy Sneed is a welcome oasis on the long desert passage leading to John Irving's next novel.&quot;<p> *The Seattle Times/Post-Intelligencer<p><p>&quot;ENGAGINGLY CANDID . . . The essays on himself and other writers make the book valuable, for they tell us a great deal about Irving's views of fiction, much in the public eye since the success of Garp in 1978.&quot;<p> *Newsday<p><p>&quot;A rich, wonderful and diverse look into the creative mind of one of America's most imaginative and passionate novelists. . . . Irving again proves he has enough imagination for 10 writers.&quot;<p> *The Denver Post<p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Mon Jan 05 00:00:00 -0800 2004</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri May 29 14:06:44 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri May 29 14:06:44 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Well, as it is quite the compilation of various pieces of writing Mr. Irving has written over the years, I feel like some of it is a little hit or miss.  I found 'The Imaginary Girlfriend' interesting.  There is something I almost always enjoy about reading authors I love write about writing.  Howev...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/57776579">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/57776579]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/57776579]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>24543977</id>
    <user>
    <id>273182</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Amanda]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Los Angeles, CA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/273182-amanda]]></link>
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  <id type="integer">4661</id>
  <isbn>0345404742</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780345404749</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">35</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Trying to Save Piggy Sneed]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447939m/4661.jpg</image_url>
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  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4661.Trying_to_Save_Piggy_Sneed</link>
  <average_rating>3.19</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>1428</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[&quot;Supple and energetic as a stylist, Mr. Irving also knows just how to create in the reader's mind a vivid impression of an existing world *and just how to populate it.&quot;<p> *The New York Times Book Review<p><p>&quot;CANDID . . . COLORFUL . . . Those who have followed John Irving's writing career will delight in his newest, Trying to Save Piggy Sneed. . . . Readers will leave this book feeling as if they have had a terrific conversation with Irving about why he writes and how he goes about it.&quot;<p> *USA Today<p><p>&quot;[THIS] NEWEST BOOK IS A FIRST FOR IRVING: a collection of memoirs, short fiction, and essays. Trying to Save Piggy Sneed features tributes to Dickens and Günter Grass, whose novels percolate with a political and moral courage Irving admires. It also includes six short stories, a form Irving doesn't claim as his own. Reminiscences round out the collection, from his caustic recollections of an awkward dinner with former President Reagan to the title piece, in which the death of his town's garbage collector symbolically sparked the teenage Irving's desire to write.&quot;<p> *Minneapolis Star Tribune<p><p>&quot;THESE PIECES ARE WORTH SAVING AND SAVORING. . . . Trying to Save Piggy Sneed is a welcome oasis on the long desert passage leading to John Irving's next novel.&quot;<p> *The Seattle Times/Post-Intelligencer<p><p>&quot;ENGAGINGLY CANDID . . . The essays on himself and other writers make the book valuable, for they tell us a great deal about Irving's views of fiction, much in the public eye since the success of Garp in 1978.&quot;<p> *Newsday<p><p>&quot;A rich, wonderful and diverse look into the creative mind of one of America's most imaginative and passionate novelists. . . . Irving again proves he has enough imagination for 10 writers.&quot;<p> *The Denver Post<p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sun Jul 06 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Jun 15 09:12:08 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Jul 06 20:45:39 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[a collection of memoirs and short stories by one of my favorite authors! the best part of this book is the author's notes after each story that explains when it was written, how it was written, what JI was thinking about, etc. As a literary nerd and an Irving-phile, this is like a dream come true! t...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/24543977">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/24543977]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/24543977]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>74501101</id>
    <user>
    <id>2167502</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Mike]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Cherry Hill, NJ]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2167502-mike]]></link>
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    <book>
  <id type="integer">355545</id>
  <isbn>1559703237</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781559703239</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">5</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Trying to Save Piggy Sneed]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174041101m/355545.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174041101s/355545.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/355545.Trying_to_Save_Piggy_Sneed</link>
  <average_rating>3.25</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>40</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[One dozen short works by the best-selling author of <em>The World   According to Garp </em>include the title piece, a loving portrait of the   author's grandmother, and additional stories under such headings as   &quot;The Pension Grillparzer&quot; and &quot;Dinner at the White House.&quot; 150,000   first printing.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Oct 31 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Oct 14 08:35:04 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Nov 08 20:38:05 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This is really three books -- 1)a set of autobiograpical memoirs, 2)a set of short stories, and  3) Irving's analysis of Charles Dickens and Gunter Grass. The first two parts get five-stars, the third section is, of course, a little drier given the subject matter.<br/><br/>The short stories are al...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74501101">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74501101]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74501101]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>62362298</id>
    <user>
    <id>1385615</id>
    <name><![CDATA[David]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Seattle, WA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1385615-david]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1220094726p3/1385615.jpg]]></image_url>
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    <book>
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  <isbn>0345404742</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780345404749</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">35</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Trying to Save Piggy Sneed]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447939m/4661.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447939s/4661.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4661.Trying_to_Save_Piggy_Sneed</link>
  <average_rating>3.19</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>1428</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[&quot;Supple and energetic as a stylist, Mr. Irving also knows just how to create in the reader's mind a vivid impression of an existing world *and just how to populate it.&quot;<p> *The New York Times Book Review<p><p>&quot;CANDID . . . COLORFUL . . . Those who have followed John Irving's writing career will delight in his newest, Trying to Save Piggy Sneed. . . . Readers will leave this book feeling as if they have had a terrific conversation with Irving about why he writes and how he goes about it.&quot;<p> *USA Today<p><p>&quot;[THIS] NEWEST BOOK IS A FIRST FOR IRVING: a collection of memoirs, short fiction, and essays. Trying to Save Piggy Sneed features tributes to Dickens and Günter Grass, whose novels percolate with a political and moral courage Irving admires. It also includes six short stories, a form Irving doesn't claim as his own. Reminiscences round out the collection, from his caustic recollections of an awkward dinner with former President Reagan to the title piece, in which the death of his town's garbage collector symbolically sparked the teenage Irving's desire to write.&quot;<p> *Minneapolis Star Tribune<p><p>&quot;THESE PIECES ARE WORTH SAVING AND SAVORING. . . . Trying to Save Piggy Sneed is a welcome oasis on the long desert passage leading to John Irving's next novel.&quot;<p> *The Seattle Times/Post-Intelligencer<p><p>&quot;ENGAGINGLY CANDID . . . The essays on himself and other writers make the book valuable, for they tell us a great deal about Irving's views of fiction, much in the public eye since the success of Garp in 1978.&quot;<p> *Newsday<p><p>&quot;A rich, wonderful and diverse look into the creative mind of one of America's most imaginative and passionate novelists. . . . Irving again proves he has enough imagination for 10 writers.&quot;<p> *The Denver Post<p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>1</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Jul 06 12:29:38 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Jul 06 12:29:38 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[There is nothing new in this material.  In essence what Irving has done is remove the very thin veil hanging over the autobiographical portions of his many novels, stepped forward and cried out, &quot;Hey look, it was almost all about me most of the time&quot;!  Wow, stop the presses.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/62362298]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/62362298]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>29597279</id>
    <user>
    <id>258979</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Jonathan]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[New York, NY]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/258979-jonathan]]></link>
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  <isbn>0345404742</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780345404749</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">35</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Trying to Save Piggy Sneed]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447939m/4661.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447939s/4661.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4661.Trying_to_Save_Piggy_Sneed</link>
  <average_rating>3.19</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>1428</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[&quot;Supple and energetic as a stylist, Mr. Irving also knows just how to create in the reader's mind a vivid impression of an existing world *and just how to populate it.&quot;<p> *The New York Times Book Review<p><p>&quot;CANDID . . . COLORFUL . . . Those who have followed John Irving's writing career will delight in his newest, Trying to Save Piggy Sneed. . . . Readers will leave this book feeling as if they have had a terrific conversation with Irving about why he writes and how he goes about it.&quot;<p> *USA Today<p><p>&quot;[THIS] NEWEST BOOK IS A FIRST FOR IRVING: a collection of memoirs, short fiction, and essays. Trying to Save Piggy Sneed features tributes to Dickens and Günter Grass, whose novels percolate with a political and moral courage Irving admires. It also includes six short stories, a form Irving doesn't claim as his own. Reminiscences round out the collection, from his caustic recollections of an awkward dinner with former President Reagan to the title piece, in which the death of his town's garbage collector symbolically sparked the teenage Irving's desire to write.&quot;<p> *Minneapolis Star Tribune<p><p>&quot;THESE PIECES ARE WORTH SAVING AND SAVORING. . . . Trying to Save Piggy Sneed is a welcome oasis on the long desert passage leading to John Irving's next novel.&quot;<p> *The Seattle Times/Post-Intelligencer<p><p>&quot;ENGAGINGLY CANDID . . . The essays on himself and other writers make the book valuable, for they tell us a great deal about Irving's views of fiction, much in the public eye since the success of Garp in 1978.&quot;<p> *Newsday<p><p>&quot;A rich, wonderful and diverse look into the creative mind of one of America's most imaginative and passionate novelists. . . . Irving again proves he has enough imagination for 10 writers.&quot;<p> *The Denver Post<p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Mon Aug 25 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Aug 08 06:30:25 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Aug 25 05:59:20 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I was looking for a long novel, similar to Owen Meany or Garp, and thanks to my utter distaste for research, all I got was a book of self-promoting memoirs and sub-par short stories.  Lines such as &quot;My good friend Kurt Vonnegut&quot; stick out in my head and threaten to change my opinion on Irv...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/29597279">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/29597279]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/29597279]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>18519971</id>
    <user>
    <id>229089</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Remi]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Kingston, RI]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/229089-remi]]></link>
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  <id type="integer">4661</id>
  <isbn>0345404742</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780345404749</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">35</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Trying to Save Piggy Sneed]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447939m/4661.jpg</image_url>
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  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4661.Trying_to_Save_Piggy_Sneed</link>
  <average_rating>3.19</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>1428</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[&quot;Supple and energetic as a stylist, Mr. Irving also knows just how to create in the reader's mind a vivid impression of an existing world *and just how to populate it.&quot;<p> *The New York Times Book Review<p><p>&quot;CANDID . . . COLORFUL . . . Those who have followed John Irving's writing career will delight in his newest, Trying to Save Piggy Sneed. . . . Readers will leave this book feeling as if they have had a terrific conversation with Irving about why he writes and how he goes about it.&quot;<p> *USA Today<p><p>&quot;[THIS] NEWEST BOOK IS A FIRST FOR IRVING: a collection of memoirs, short fiction, and essays. Trying to Save Piggy Sneed features tributes to Dickens and Günter Grass, whose novels percolate with a political and moral courage Irving admires. It also includes six short stories, a form Irving doesn't claim as his own. Reminiscences round out the collection, from his caustic recollections of an awkward dinner with former President Reagan to the title piece, in which the death of his town's garbage collector symbolically sparked the teenage Irving's desire to write.&quot;<p> *Minneapolis Star Tribune<p><p>&quot;THESE PIECES ARE WORTH SAVING AND SAVORING. . . . Trying to Save Piggy Sneed is a welcome oasis on the long desert passage leading to John Irving's next novel.&quot;<p> *The Seattle Times/Post-Intelligencer<p><p>&quot;ENGAGINGLY CANDID . . . The essays on himself and other writers make the book valuable, for they tell us a great deal about Irving's views of fiction, much in the public eye since the success of Garp in 1978.&quot;<p> *Newsday<p><p>&quot;A rich, wonderful and diverse look into the creative mind of one of America's most imaginative and passionate novelists. . . . Irving again proves he has enough imagination for 10 writers.&quot;<p> *The Denver Post<p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="reviews-by-remi" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[irving fans]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Mar 24 11:32:42 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed May 28 10:13:10 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Very good collection of John Irving's short stories, and a great way to learn more about my favorite author as well as his influences.  The 1st 3rd of the book is short vignettes of his life.  This is probably the best part of the book.  The 2nd 3rd is short stories he wrote (sometimes as practice, ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/18519971">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/18519971]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/18519971]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>53125842</id>
    <user>
    <id>2087960</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Terry]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Syracuse, NY]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2087960-terry-morris]]></link>
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  <isbn>0345404742</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780345404749</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">35</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Trying to Save Piggy Sneed]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447939m/4661.jpg</image_url>
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  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4661.Trying_to_Save_Piggy_Sneed</link>
  <average_rating>3.19</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>1428</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[&quot;Supple and energetic as a stylist, Mr. Irving also knows just how to create in the reader's mind a vivid impression of an existing world *and just how to populate it.&quot;<p> *The New York Times Book Review<p><p>&quot;CANDID . . . COLORFUL . . . Those who have followed John Irving's writing career will delight in his newest, Trying to Save Piggy Sneed. . . . Readers will leave this book feeling as if they have had a terrific conversation with Irving about why he writes and how he goes about it.&quot;<p> *USA Today<p><p>&quot;[THIS] NEWEST BOOK IS A FIRST FOR IRVING: a collection of memoirs, short fiction, and essays. Trying to Save Piggy Sneed features tributes to Dickens and Günter Grass, whose novels percolate with a political and moral courage Irving admires. It also includes six short stories, a form Irving doesn't claim as his own. Reminiscences round out the collection, from his caustic recollections of an awkward dinner with former President Reagan to the title piece, in which the death of his town's garbage collector symbolically sparked the teenage Irving's desire to write.&quot;<p> *Minneapolis Star Tribune<p><p>&quot;THESE PIECES ARE WORTH SAVING AND SAVORING. . . . Trying to Save Piggy Sneed is a welcome oasis on the long desert passage leading to John Irving's next novel.&quot;<p> *The Seattle Times/Post-Intelligencer<p><p>&quot;ENGAGINGLY CANDID . . . The essays on himself and other writers make the book valuable, for they tell us a great deal about Irving's views of fiction, much in the public eye since the success of Garp in 1978.&quot;<p> *Newsday<p><p>&quot;A rich, wonderful and diverse look into the creative mind of one of America's most imaginative and passionate novelists. . . . Irving again proves he has enough imagination for 10 writers.&quot;<p> *The Denver Post<p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sun Nov 18 00:00:00 -0800 2001</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Apr 18 09:39:22 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Apr 18 09:40:43 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I love this collection. Brenbar's Rant is fantastic, if you read nothing else this year, you are either a member of the Bush family or a moron. Eitherway read this book!]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/53125842]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/53125842]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>59189018</id>
    <user>
    <id>2405055</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Joanne]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Covina, CA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2405055-joanne-baines]]></link>
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  <isbn>0345404742</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780345404749</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">35</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Trying to Save Piggy Sneed]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447939m/4661.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447939s/4661.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4661.Trying_to_Save_Piggy_Sneed</link>
  <average_rating>3.19</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>1428</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[&quot;Supple and energetic as a stylist, Mr. Irving also knows just how to create in the reader's mind a vivid impression of an existing world *and just how to populate it.&quot;<p> *The New York Times Book Review<p><p>&quot;CANDID . . . COLORFUL . . . Those who have followed John Irving's writing career will delight in his newest, Trying to Save Piggy Sneed. . . . Readers will leave this book feeling as if they have had a terrific conversation with Irving about why he writes and how he goes about it.&quot;<p> *USA Today<p><p>&quot;[THIS] NEWEST BOOK IS A FIRST FOR IRVING: a collection of memoirs, short fiction, and essays. Trying to Save Piggy Sneed features tributes to Dickens and Günter Grass, whose novels percolate with a political and moral courage Irving admires. It also includes six short stories, a form Irving doesn't claim as his own. Reminiscences round out the collection, from his caustic recollections of an awkward dinner with former President Reagan to the title piece, in which the death of his town's garbage collector symbolically sparked the teenage Irving's desire to write.&quot;<p> *Minneapolis Star Tribune<p><p>&quot;THESE PIECES ARE WORTH SAVING AND SAVORING. . . . Trying to Save Piggy Sneed is a welcome oasis on the long desert passage leading to John Irving's next novel.&quot;<p> *The Seattle Times/Post-Intelligencer<p><p>&quot;ENGAGINGLY CANDID . . . The essays on himself and other writers make the book valuable, for they tell us a great deal about Irving's views of fiction, much in the public eye since the success of Garp in 1978.&quot;<p> *Newsday<p><p>&quot;A rich, wonderful and diverse look into the creative mind of one of America's most imaginative and passionate novelists. . . . Irving again proves he has enough imagination for 10 writers.&quot;<p> *The Denver Post<p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>2</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="have-it" />
        <shelf name="print" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Jun 10 14:38:06 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Jun 10 14:38:06 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[It's not his fault that I LOVE his books and am less then entertained by his life.  Wrestling.  Because of this book I now know how to treat a cauliflower ear.  ]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/59189018]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/59189018]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>11581756</id>
    <user>
    <id>737152</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Irene]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/737152-irene]]></link>
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  <id type="integer">4661</id>
  <isbn>0345404742</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780345404749</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">35</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Trying to Save Piggy Sneed]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447939m/4661.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447939s/4661.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4661.Trying_to_Save_Piggy_Sneed</link>
  <average_rating>3.19</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>1428</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[&quot;Supple and energetic as a stylist, Mr. Irving also knows just how to create in the reader's mind a vivid impression of an existing world *and just how to populate it.&quot;<p> *The New York Times Book Review<p><p>&quot;CANDID . . . COLORFUL . . . Those who have followed John Irving's writing career will delight in his newest, Trying to Save Piggy Sneed. . . . Readers will leave this book feeling as if they have had a terrific conversation with Irving about why he writes and how he goes about it.&quot;<p> *USA Today<p><p>&quot;[THIS] NEWEST BOOK IS A FIRST FOR IRVING: a collection of memoirs, short fiction, and essays. Trying to Save Piggy Sneed features tributes to Dickens and Günter Grass, whose novels percolate with a political and moral courage Irving admires. It also includes six short stories, a form Irving doesn't claim as his own. Reminiscences round out the collection, from his caustic recollections of an awkward dinner with former President Reagan to the title piece, in which the death of his town's garbage collector symbolically sparked the teenage Irving's desire to write.&quot;<p> *Minneapolis Star Tribune<p><p>&quot;THESE PIECES ARE WORTH SAVING AND SAVORING. . . . Trying to Save Piggy Sneed is a welcome oasis on the long desert passage leading to John Irving's next novel.&quot;<p> *The Seattle Times/Post-Intelligencer<p><p>&quot;ENGAGINGLY CANDID . . . The essays on himself and other writers make the book valuable, for they tell us a great deal about Irving's views of fiction, much in the public eye since the success of Garp in 1978.&quot;<p> *Newsday<p><p>&quot;A rich, wonderful and diverse look into the creative mind of one of America's most imaginative and passionate novelists. . . . Irving again proves he has enough imagination for 10 writers.&quot;<p> *The Denver Post<p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>2</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[people who like John Irving]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[Ken's dad]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Nov 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Jan 03 17:27:10 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Apr 15 12:37:36 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[It's a collection of John Irving's memoirs and short stories. <br/><br/>I enjoyed reading about how he came to be a writer, and his experiences with books, critics, and other writers. It also sheds some light on why prep schools, Vienna, and wrestling play such a large part in many of his novels. ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/11581756">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/11581756]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/11581756]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>42041752</id>
    <user>
    <id>1870288</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Adina]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[New York, NY]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1870288-adina]]></link>
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  <id type="integer">4661</id>
  <isbn>0345404742</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780345404749</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">35</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Trying to Save Piggy Sneed]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447939m/4661.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447939s/4661.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4661.Trying_to_Save_Piggy_Sneed</link>
  <average_rating>3.19</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>1428</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[&quot;Supple and energetic as a stylist, Mr. Irving also knows just how to create in the reader's mind a vivid impression of an existing world *and just how to populate it.&quot;<p> *The New York Times Book Review<p><p>&quot;CANDID . . . COLORFUL . . . Those who have followed John Irving's writing career will delight in his newest, Trying to Save Piggy Sneed. . . . Readers will leave this book feeling as if they have had a terrific conversation with Irving about why he writes and how he goes about it.&quot;<p> *USA Today<p><p>&quot;[THIS] NEWEST BOOK IS A FIRST FOR IRVING: a collection of memoirs, short fiction, and essays. Trying to Save Piggy Sneed features tributes to Dickens and Günter Grass, whose novels percolate with a political and moral courage Irving admires. It also includes six short stories, a form Irving doesn't claim as his own. Reminiscences round out the collection, from his caustic recollections of an awkward dinner with former President Reagan to the title piece, in which the death of his town's garbage collector symbolically sparked the teenage Irving's desire to write.&quot;<p> *Minneapolis Star Tribune<p><p>&quot;THESE PIECES ARE WORTH SAVING AND SAVORING. . . . Trying to Save Piggy Sneed is a welcome oasis on the long desert passage leading to John Irving's next novel.&quot;<p> *The Seattle Times/Post-Intelligencer<p><p>&quot;ENGAGINGLY CANDID . . . The essays on himself and other writers make the book valuable, for they tell us a great deal about Irving's views of fiction, much in the public eye since the success of Garp in 1978.&quot;<p> *Newsday<p><p>&quot;A rich, wonderful and diverse look into the creative mind of one of America's most imaginative and passionate novelists. . . . Irving again proves he has enough imagination for 10 writers.&quot;<p> *The Denver Post<p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Jan 05 19:15:14 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Jan 05 19:16:47 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[this was a cool book a la &quot;the last action hero&quot;-movie.  he was writing about writing, but not in an annoying way.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/42041752]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/42041752]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>42385998</id>
    <user>
    <id>1216206</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Rita]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Kansas City, MO]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1216206-rita-arens]]></link>
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  <id type="integer">4661</id>
  <isbn>0345404742</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780345404749</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">35</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Trying to Save Piggy Sneed]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447939m/4661.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447939s/4661.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4661.Trying_to_Save_Piggy_Sneed</link>
  <average_rating>3.19</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>1428</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[&quot;Supple and energetic as a stylist, Mr. Irving also knows just how to create in the reader's mind a vivid impression of an existing world *and just how to populate it.&quot;<p> *The New York Times Book Review<p><p>&quot;CANDID . . . COLORFUL . . . Those who have followed John Irving's writing career will delight in his newest, Trying to Save Piggy Sneed. . . . Readers will leave this book feeling as if they have had a terrific conversation with Irving about why he writes and how he goes about it.&quot;<p> *USA Today<p><p>&quot;[THIS] NEWEST BOOK IS A FIRST FOR IRVING: a collection of memoirs, short fiction, and essays. Trying to Save Piggy Sneed features tributes to Dickens and Günter Grass, whose novels percolate with a political and moral courage Irving admires. It also includes six short stories, a form Irving doesn't claim as his own. Reminiscences round out the collection, from his caustic recollections of an awkward dinner with former President Reagan to the title piece, in which the death of his town's garbage collector symbolically sparked the teenage Irving's desire to write.&quot;<p> *Minneapolis Star Tribune<p><p>&quot;THESE PIECES ARE WORTH SAVING AND SAVORING. . . . Trying to Save Piggy Sneed is a welcome oasis on the long desert passage leading to John Irving's next novel.&quot;<p> *The Seattle Times/Post-Intelligencer<p><p>&quot;ENGAGINGLY CANDID . . . The essays on himself and other writers make the book valuable, for they tell us a great deal about Irving's views of fiction, much in the public eye since the success of Garp in 1978.&quot;<p> *Newsday<p><p>&quot;A rich, wonderful and diverse look into the creative mind of one of America's most imaginative and passionate novelists. . . . Irving again proves he has enough imagination for 10 writers.&quot;<p> *The Denver Post<p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Jan 08 14:48:44 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Jan 08 14:49:07 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[John Irving has the guts to publish his bad first stories and tell us how he got better. I love this man.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/42385998]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/42385998]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>75222064</id>
    <user>
    <id>2034676</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Gossymotto]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Essex, ON, Canada]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2034676-gossymotto]]></link>
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  <id type="integer">4661</id>
  <isbn>0345404742</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780345404749</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">35</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Trying to Save Piggy Sneed]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447939m/4661.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447939s/4661.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4661.Trying_to_Save_Piggy_Sneed</link>
  <average_rating>3.19</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>1428</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[&quot;Supple and energetic as a stylist, Mr. Irving also knows just how to create in the reader's mind a vivid impression of an existing world *and just how to populate it.&quot;<p> *The New York Times Book Review<p><p>&quot;CANDID . . . COLORFUL . . . Those who have followed John Irving's writing career will delight in his newest, Trying to Save Piggy Sneed. . . . Readers will leave this book feeling as if they have had a terrific conversation with Irving about why he writes and how he goes about it.&quot;<p> *USA Today<p><p>&quot;[THIS] NEWEST BOOK IS A FIRST FOR IRVING: a collection of memoirs, short fiction, and essays. Trying to Save Piggy Sneed features tributes to Dickens and Günter Grass, whose novels percolate with a political and moral courage Irving admires. It also includes six short stories, a form Irving doesn't claim as his own. Reminiscences round out the collection, from his caustic recollections of an awkward dinner with former President Reagan to the title piece, in which the death of his town's garbage collector symbolically sparked the teenage Irving's desire to write.&quot;<p> *Minneapolis Star Tribune<p><p>&quot;THESE PIECES ARE WORTH SAVING AND SAVORING. . . . Trying to Save Piggy Sneed is a welcome oasis on the long desert passage leading to John Irving's next novel.&quot;<p> *The Seattle Times/Post-Intelligencer<p><p>&quot;ENGAGINGLY CANDID . . . The essays on himself and other writers make the book valuable, for they tell us a great deal about Irving's views of fiction, much in the public eye since the success of Garp in 1978.&quot;<p> *Newsday<p><p>&quot;A rich, wonderful and diverse look into the creative mind of one of America's most imaginative and passionate novelists. . . . Irving again proves he has enough imagination for 10 writers.&quot;<p> *The Denver Post<p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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            <shelf name="fiction" />
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Oct 21 04:23:21 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Oct 21 04:25:25 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Picked this one up at the Library and started reading it only to realize I had read it a few years back. It was enjoyable enough to get me to read a few more of Irving's books.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75222064]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75222064]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>78256648</id>
    <user>
    <id>723071</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Erica]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[New Zealand]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/723071-erica]]></link>
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  <isbn>0345404742</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780345404749</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">35</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Trying to Save Piggy Sneed]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447939m/4661.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447939s/4661.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4661.Trying_to_Save_Piggy_Sneed</link>
  <average_rating>3.19</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>1428</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[&quot;Supple and energetic as a stylist, Mr. Irving also knows just how to create in the reader's mind a vivid impression of an existing world *and just how to populate it.&quot;<p> *The New York Times Book Review<p><p>&quot;CANDID . . . COLORFUL . . . Those who have followed John Irving's writing career will delight in his newest, Trying to Save Piggy Sneed. . . . Readers will leave this book feeling as if they have had a terrific conversation with Irving about why he writes and how he goes about it.&quot;<p> *USA Today<p><p>&quot;[THIS] NEWEST BOOK IS A FIRST FOR IRVING: a collection of memoirs, short fiction, and essays. Trying to Save Piggy Sneed features tributes to Dickens and Günter Grass, whose novels percolate with a political and moral courage Irving admires. It also includes six short stories, a form Irving doesn't claim as his own. Reminiscences round out the collection, from his caustic recollections of an awkward dinner with former President Reagan to the title piece, in which the death of his town's garbage collector symbolically sparked the teenage Irving's desire to write.&quot;<p> *Minneapolis Star Tribune<p><p>&quot;THESE PIECES ARE WORTH SAVING AND SAVORING. . . . Trying to Save Piggy Sneed is a welcome oasis on the long desert passage leading to John Irving's next novel.&quot;<p> *The Seattle Times/Post-Intelligencer<p><p>&quot;ENGAGINGLY CANDID . . . The essays on himself and other writers make the book valuable, for they tell us a great deal about Irving's views of fiction, much in the public eye since the success of Garp in 1978.&quot;<p> *Newsday<p><p>&quot;A rich, wonderful and diverse look into the creative mind of one of America's most imaginative and passionate novelists. . . . Irving again proves he has enough imagination for 10 writers.&quot;<p> *The Denver Post<p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>0</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
            <shelf name="currently-reading" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Nov 18 17:38:20 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Nov 18 17:38:44 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I hate short stories, just when you're getting in to them, they're over, sad]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78256648]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78256648]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>63442433</id>
    <user>
    <id>1738947</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Wade]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Palo Alto, CA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1738947-wade]]></link>
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  <isbn>0345404742</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780345404749</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">35</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Trying to Save Piggy Sneed]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447939m/4661.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447939s/4661.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4661.Trying_to_Save_Piggy_Sneed</link>
  <average_rating>3.19</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>1428</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[&quot;Supple and energetic as a stylist, Mr. Irving also knows just how to create in the reader's mind a vivid impression of an existing world *and just how to populate it.&quot;<p> *The New York Times Book Review<p><p>&quot;CANDID . . . COLORFUL . . . Those who have followed John Irving's writing career will delight in his newest, Trying to Save Piggy Sneed. . . . Readers will leave this book feeling as if they have had a terrific conversation with Irving about why he writes and how he goes about it.&quot;<p> *USA Today<p><p>&quot;[THIS] NEWEST BOOK IS A FIRST FOR IRVING: a collection of memoirs, short fiction, and essays. Trying to Save Piggy Sneed features tributes to Dickens and Günter Grass, whose novels percolate with a political and moral courage Irving admires. It also includes six short stories, a form Irving doesn't claim as his own. Reminiscences round out the collection, from his caustic recollections of an awkward dinner with former President Reagan to the title piece, in which the death of his town's garbage collector symbolically sparked the teenage Irving's desire to write.&quot;<p> *Minneapolis Star Tribune<p><p>&quot;THESE PIECES ARE WORTH SAVING AND SAVORING. . . . Trying to Save Piggy Sneed is a welcome oasis on the long desert passage leading to John Irving's next novel.&quot;<p> *The Seattle Times/Post-Intelligencer<p><p>&quot;ENGAGINGLY CANDID . . . The essays on himself and other writers make the book valuable, for they tell us a great deal about Irving's views of fiction, much in the public eye since the success of Garp in 1978.&quot;<p> *Newsday<p><p>&quot;A rich, wonderful and diverse look into the creative mind of one of America's most imaginative and passionate novelists. . . . Irving again proves he has enough imagination for 10 writers.&quot;<p> *The Denver Post<p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>0</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Jul 14 09:45:28 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Jul 14 09:45:28 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Trying to save Piggy Sneed by John Irving (1997)]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/63442433]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/63442433]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>25888049</id>
    <user>
    <id>1281717</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Nina]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[90403, Germany]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1281717-nina-mielke]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
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    <book>
  <id type="integer">1726203</id>
  <isbn>3257701764</isbn>
  <isbn13>9783257701760</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">1</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Deutschlandreise]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1187446263m/1726203.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1187446263s/1726203.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1726203.Deutschlandreise</link>
  <average_rating>4.00</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>1</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Here is a treat for John Irving addicts and a perfect introduction to his work for the uninitiated.  To open this spirited collection, Irving explains how he became a writer.  There follow six scintillating stories written over the last twenty years ending with a homage to Charles Dickens.  This irresistible collection cannot fail to delight and charm.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Jun 29 23:45:08 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Jun 29 23:45:21 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[John Irving beschreibt in dem Büchlein seine Literaturreise durch Deutschland. Er spricht über die Wende, über deutsche Schriftsteller-Kollegen und über Kritiker. Dabei erwähnt er das Treffen mit Thomas Manns Tochter und den Briefwechsel mit ihr.<br/>Was mir besonders gut gefällt, ist, dass er...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/25888049">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/25888049]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/25888049]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>78011121</id>
    <user>
    <id>2950938</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Roxanne]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Medford, MA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2950938-roxanne-kazda]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1258415263p3/2950938.jpg]]></image_url>
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    <book>
  <id type="integer">4661</id>
  <isbn>0345404742</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780345404749</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">35</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Trying to Save Piggy Sneed]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447939m/4661.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447939s/4661.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4661.Trying_to_Save_Piggy_Sneed</link>
  <average_rating>3.19</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>1428</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[&quot;Supple and energetic as a stylist, Mr. Irving also knows just how to create in the reader's mind a vivid impression of an existing world *and just how to populate it.&quot;<p> *The New York Times Book Review<p><p>&quot;CANDID . . . COLORFUL . . . Those who have followed John Irving's writing career will delight in his newest, Trying to Save Piggy Sneed. . . . Readers will leave this book feeling as if they have had a terrific conversation with Irving about why he writes and how he goes about it.&quot;<p> *USA Today<p><p>&quot;[THIS] NEWEST BOOK IS A FIRST FOR IRVING: a collection of memoirs, short fiction, and essays. Trying to Save Piggy Sneed features tributes to Dickens and Günter Grass, whose novels percolate with a political and moral courage Irving admires. It also includes six short stories, a form Irving doesn't claim as his own. Reminiscences round out the collection, from his caustic recollections of an awkward dinner with former President Reagan to the title piece, in which the death of his town's garbage collector symbolically sparked the teenage Irving's desire to write.&quot;<p> *Minneapolis Star Tribune<p><p>&quot;THESE PIECES ARE WORTH SAVING AND SAVORING. . . . Trying to Save Piggy Sneed is a welcome oasis on the long desert passage leading to John Irving's next novel.&quot;<p> *The Seattle Times/Post-Intelligencer<p><p>&quot;ENGAGINGLY CANDID . . . The essays on himself and other writers make the book valuable, for they tell us a great deal about Irving's views of fiction, much in the public eye since the success of Garp in 1978.&quot;<p> *Newsday<p><p>&quot;A rich, wonderful and diverse look into the creative mind of one of America's most imaginative and passionate novelists. . . . Irving again proves he has enough imagination for 10 writers.&quot;<p> *The Denver Post<p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Nov 16 16:34:03 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Nov 16 16:34:14 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I know I read this, but can't remember it.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78011121]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78011121]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>41022406</id>
    <user>
    <id>754717</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Emma]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Marblehead, MA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/754717-emma]]></link>
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    <book>
  <id type="integer">355545</id>
  <isbn>1559703237</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781559703239</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">5</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Trying to Save Piggy Sneed]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174041101m/355545.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174041101s/355545.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/355545.Trying_to_Save_Piggy_Sneed</link>
  <average_rating>3.19</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>1428</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[One dozen short works by the best-selling author of <em>The World   According to Garp </em>include the title piece, a loving portrait of the   author's grandmother, and additional stories under such headings as   &quot;The Pension Grillparzer&quot; and &quot;Dinner at the White House.&quot; 150,000   first printing.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Dec 27 13:03:03 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Jan 14 16:04:46 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This book had its up and down. Some of the stuff (fiction/dickens ect. in the second part of the book) wasn't so good. Irving does know how to tell a story and I enjoyed hearing about his wrestling and such.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41022406]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41022406]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>10994911</id>
    <user>
    <id>651577</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Megan]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Lawrence, KS]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/651577-megan]]></link>
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  <id type="integer">4661</id>
  <isbn>0345404742</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780345404749</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">35</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Trying to Save Piggy Sneed]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447939m/4661.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447939s/4661.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4661.Trying_to_Save_Piggy_Sneed</link>
  <average_rating>3.19</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>1428</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[&quot;Supple and energetic as a stylist, Mr. Irving also knows just how to create in the reader's mind a vivid impression of an existing world *and just how to populate it.&quot;<p> *The New York Times Book Review<p><p>&quot;CANDID . . . COLORFUL . . . Those who have followed John Irving's writing career will delight in his newest, Trying to Save Piggy Sneed. . . . Readers will leave this book feeling as if they have had a terrific conversation with Irving about why he writes and how he goes about it.&quot;<p> *USA Today<p><p>&quot;[THIS] NEWEST BOOK IS A FIRST FOR IRVING: a collection of memoirs, short fiction, and essays. Trying to Save Piggy Sneed features tributes to Dickens and Günter Grass, whose novels percolate with a political and moral courage Irving admires. It also includes six short stories, a form Irving doesn't claim as his own. Reminiscences round out the collection, from his caustic recollections of an awkward dinner with former President Reagan to the title piece, in which the death of his town's garbage collector symbolically sparked the teenage Irving's desire to write.&quot;<p> *Minneapolis Star Tribune<p><p>&quot;THESE PIECES ARE WORTH SAVING AND SAVORING. . . . Trying to Save Piggy Sneed is a welcome oasis on the long desert passage leading to John Irving's next novel.&quot;<p> *The Seattle Times/Post-Intelligencer<p><p>&quot;ENGAGINGLY CANDID . . . The essays on himself and other writers make the book valuable, for they tell us a great deal about Irving's views of fiction, much in the public eye since the success of Garp in 1978.&quot;<p> *Newsday<p><p>&quot;A rich, wonderful and diverse look into the creative mind of one of America's most imaginative and passionate novelists. . . . Irving again proves he has enough imagination for 10 writers.&quot;<p> *The Denver Post<p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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        <shelf name="read" />
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu Jan 10 07:15:10 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Dec 25 11:45:45 -0800 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Jan 10 07:14:48 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I loved the beginning of the book, full of Irving's memoirs about why he's a writer, the Iowa Writer's Workshop, wrestling, and his mentors.  There were a couple of good short stories tossed in.  But the end of the book was a long history about Charles Dickens, who it turns out is Irving's favorite ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/10994911">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/10994911]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/10994911]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>8981620</id>
    <user>
    <id>442036</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Angela]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[New York, NY]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/442036-angela]]></link>
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    <book>
  <id type="integer">355545</id>
  <isbn>1559703237</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781559703239</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">5</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Trying to Save Piggy Sneed]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174041101m/355545.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174041101s/355545.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/355545.Trying_to_Save_Piggy_Sneed</link>
  <average_rating>3.19</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>1428</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[One dozen short works by the best-selling author of <em>The World   According to Garp </em>include the title piece, a loving portrait of the   author's grandmother, and additional stories under such headings as   &quot;The Pension Grillparzer&quot; and &quot;Dinner at the White House.&quot; 150,000   first printing.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu Mar 19 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Nov 11 18:55:23 -0800 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Mar 19 19:22:06 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I suppose my rating is biased, as I'm a little bit in love with Mr. Irving to begin with. But this was a great little read. I can't resist &quot;lesser known&quot; works, and author commentary after each piece is an added bonus. It's like getting a little insight into the writer's mind, things I sho...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8981620">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8981620]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8981620]]></link>
</review>
    </reviews>
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