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Super in the City (Zephyr Zuckerman #1)
by
Daphne Uviller (Goodreads Author)
In this off-the-beaten-sidewalk debut, native New Yorker Daphne Uviller reveals the secrets of a sexy, story-filled Big Apple, where a mystery lurks behind every apartment door—and a savvy but slightly lost young woman unexpectedly finds herself holding the keys.
In a city brimming with opportunities for heroism, twenty-seven-year-old Zephyr Zuckerman has often fantasized...more
In a city brimming with opportunities for heroism, twenty-seven-year-old Zephyr Zuckerman has often fantasized...more
Paperback, 304 pages
Published
January 27th 2009
by Bantam
(first published December 27th 2008)
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This is a funny, entertaining, intelligent romp of a read. The heroine, Zephyr Zuckerman, is a 27-year-old unemployed college graduate living in an apartment in a Greenwich Village brownstone owned by her parents. She returns home one day to find the building's super being led away in handcuffs by the police. Since she is unemployed, her parents talk her into filling the role of super. Her very vivid imagination leads her into one scrape after another, aided and abetted by her four closest frien...more
"Super" cute book.....and the author spoke at our local bookstore, so now I even have a signed copy! At first glance, I thought this was some silly chick lit read......and yes, it was funny and light......BUT on the contrary, I had to look up SIX words in the dictionary. She's smart this author......and I told her and the audience at the book-signing that I was impressed at the fact that I had gained some new vocabulary/SAT words from her novel......she was very happy to hear that from me.
I would classify Super in the City as a sort of Chick-Lit Mystery, I thought it was a great combination! From the Chick-Lit side we have a great group of friends with interesting personalities and occupations, an obsession with an ex-love, and a mysterious potential new love. On the mystery side we have a bunch strange and mysterious residents and a former Super with two sides to him, among other things (don't want to give anything away).
I thought for the most part this combination worked really...more
I thought for the most part this combination worked really...more
I received this book from the Goodreads Giveaways before it was released and I really enjoyed it! Not something I would normally pick up but since it was sent to me as an early read, I read it! And I'm really glad I did! I found out that Zephyr sometimes would build a whole scenario around something and inflate it to extreme proportions, much like Becky Bloomwood does in the Shopaholic books. As I read it I found myself laughing and shaking my head at her imagination and getting so far ahead of...more
I won this book off of goodreads, and while I'm all for a free book, this one was awful. It was so bad, I couldn't even bring myself to read it all. It was definitely a Sex and the City knock-off with worse characters and an even worse storyline. The main character confused me because if she was so smart why didn't she finish med school or go to law school?? People who are excepted to prestigious schools just don't decide to not go. Mainly, I found myself falling asleep trying to read this book....more
I saw a reference/recommendation of this book on Feministing in a regular feature they have called "Not Oprah's Book Club," put there by Courtney Martin who is a smart woman. I very much enjoyed the book: quick-paced, witty, and I loved the group of friends. It was an absorbing read during my endless commute -- any book that can make me forget that I am commuting rates highly in my book.
Funny, fast-paced and clever.
Ultimately, I'd rather see protagonists, especially women, with more confidence, less neuroses, and a with a primary goal other than securing a relationship.
The mystery was fun and enjoyably convoluted. I felt there were some loose ends that could've been wrapped up to improve the overall story, but it wasn't a major deficit.
Overall, a fun beach or plane read, but maybe not one I'd recommend.
**NOTE: Reading an advanced readers' copy is difficult. It's printed off of...more
Ultimately, I'd rather see protagonists, especially women, with more confidence, less neuroses, and a with a primary goal other than securing a relationship.
The mystery was fun and enjoyably convoluted. I felt there were some loose ends that could've been wrapped up to improve the overall story, but it wasn't a major deficit.
Overall, a fun beach or plane read, but maybe not one I'd recommend.
**NOTE: Reading an advanced readers' copy is difficult. It's printed off of...more
It was an easy light read with an interesting story line. That is why I liked the book. However I did feel that it took awhile to get to the point and the author got too hung up on the character's sex life. There were parts that were too "sex and the city-ish" and that drives me crazy! These parts are small and can be looked over for the whole of the story. It makes for a good beach read or airplane read!
There were a lot of typos but maybe that's because it was a free book!
There were a lot of typos but maybe that's because it was a free book!
Didn't thrill me but was an okay read. I seem to be burned out with Chick Lit and this protagonist who is fecklessly living off of her rich parents was hard for me to warm up to.
Still...there were lots of interesting characters, an intriguing story line/plot, humor, and a great portrayal of strong female friendships!
I am also tired of reading about New York and New Yorkers. (But again, that's just me.) I think a lot of readers will really like this book. I just wasn't in the mood for it.
Still...there were lots of interesting characters, an intriguing story line/plot, humor, and a great portrayal of strong female friendships!
I am also tired of reading about New York and New Yorkers. (But again, that's just me.) I think a lot of readers will really like this book. I just wasn't in the mood for it.
Won this in a Goodreads giveaway.
It's a very light and funny read. The narration exhibits remarkable cleverness and wit from a female perspective. It borders on being a "chick" book, but I enjoyed it quite a lot even though I'm a guy--but I have to say that it feels like a book that a lot of women in particular could appreciate (not to be sexist or anything).
The protagonist, Zephyr Zuckerman, is half Ellen Paige's Juno, half Tina Fey's Liz Lemon from 30 Rock--she's quirky, neurotic, imaginative,...more
It's a very light and funny read. The narration exhibits remarkable cleverness and wit from a female perspective. It borders on being a "chick" book, but I enjoyed it quite a lot even though I'm a guy--but I have to say that it feels like a book that a lot of women in particular could appreciate (not to be sexist or anything).
The protagonist, Zephyr Zuckerman, is half Ellen Paige's Juno, half Tina Fey's Liz Lemon from 30 Rock--she's quirky, neurotic, imaginative,...more
I would be willing to bet that this novel will be the beginning in a series. It laid the groundwork for the story to continue by leaving some open endings. I look forward to what the author has in store for us!
The description on the back is rather misleading I would say. It focuses on promoting the mystery aspect of the novel, which wasn't the main theme throughout. The story was much more based in chick lit.
Daphne Uviller's debut novel "Super in the City" has taken inspiration from Sex and the...more
The description on the back is rather misleading I would say. It focuses on promoting the mystery aspect of the novel, which wasn't the main theme throughout. The story was much more based in chick lit.
Daphne Uviller's debut novel "Super in the City" has taken inspiration from Sex and the...more
I won this book from goodreads last month. It took me a while to get around to reading it, but once I got too it I devoured it. I'm not a huge reader of chick-lit. I don't have anything against it, but it's not the genre I prefer to spend my time on. This book was a really nice break from the stuff I usually read.
Some reviewers have complained that it's a lot like Sex in the City. To that I say: That's a bad thing? I liked Sex in the City, a lot of people did, and if this book has some things i...more
Some reviewers have complained that it's a lot like Sex in the City. To that I say: That's a bad thing? I liked Sex in the City, a lot of people did, and if this book has some things i...more
Zephyr Zuckerman is a 28-year-old slacker with potential. It's not that she doesn't know what she wants to do with her life; it's that so many things interest her that following one path means that she won't be able to pursue the others. On the brink of her high school reunion, Zephyr is surrounded by her successful friends but doesn't have an impressive job of her own. So what does she do? She becomes the super of the building her parents own and live in when the former super gets arrested for...more
This book made me laugh out loud at several points - Zephyr and her friends are quick-witted and aren't afraid to say what's on their minds (no matter how stream-of-consciousness that may be). I enjoyed the fact that Zephyr is a late-20s woman who still isn't quite sure what she wants to do or where she wants to head in life. While many of her friends have it "all figured out," she's still questioning her path but making the most out of her new "opportunity" to be the super of her parents' build...more
I was looking for a quick mystery and was charmed by this fun and energetic read. The novel's slightly neurotic and somewhat directionless protagonist is a charmingly clumsy sleuth and instantly relatable – sort of how I imagine Pippi Longstocking would be once she grew up, moved to NYC, and developed a deep love for baked goods and crime-solving. Uviller's writing was funny and smart and I felt like I befriended the characters. Also, this book featured a hilarious bathroom scene that had me lau...more
Zephyr is a 27 year old woman who is still trying to figure out what to do with the rest of her life. When the superintendent of her parents building is arrested for embezzlement, Zephyr's parents make her the current superintendent since she was unemployed anyway. What an eye opener this job is for her as she learns all sorts of things about the other tenants in this building that she has lived in her whole life. Who knew there was a prostitute living right upstairs or that another tenant is so...more
★★★½☆ (This is a review of the audiobook.) Emily Janice Card does a nice job of reading this one. In fact, I think I enjoyed her narration more than the book. Alas, the book itself suffers from my having read too many chick-lits (not my favorite genre) books in a row. I think I might like this one better at a later date. Or else it was something the heroine did at the beginning of the book, which stayed with me through-out her story and had me not admiring her. My hang-up, not the author’s. Othe...more
Fun chick lit with a protagonist that is smart but at a loss career-wise. (Though I plucked this off the mystery new book shelf, I think it's definitely chick lit). Anyway, Zephyr ends up being the superintendent for her parents' apartment building in Greenwich Village, while dealing with a slimy ex-boyfriend, her friends' romances as well as her own, jury duty, and many Walter-Mittyesque fantasies. I liked it a lot, and hope that Uviller writes about the friends, too. I want to hear more about...more
Sueños de una chica de ciudad es mi primera incursión propiamente dicha al chick-lit, un género que no me llamaba especialmente la atención, pero que voy a ir introduciendo entre mis lecturas.
Nos presenta a Zephyr, una chica más cerca de los 30 que de los 20 y que ha fracasado, o más bien, se ha rendido, en todos sus intentos por forjarse un futuro. Es una maraña de líos, al contrario que todas sus amigas, que parecen tener su vida perfectamente organizada. Debido a la extraña detención del cons...more
Nos presenta a Zephyr, una chica más cerca de los 30 que de los 20 y que ha fracasado, o más bien, se ha rendido, en todos sus intentos por forjarse un futuro. Es una maraña de líos, al contrario que todas sus amigas, que parecen tener su vida perfectamente organizada. Debido a la extraña detención del cons...more
My father-in-law and his wife gave this to me after reading it and giving it to her daughter, who is 20 years younger than me. I'm not sure why they thought I would love it so much. It was pleasurable enough, but a bit smarmy and really about and for a younger female set. Perhaps because I read it just off the heels of A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN, which was brilliant, the poor book just couldn't hold its own in that classic's shadow.
Still, a fun read for, say, the airplane or long train ride.
Still, a fun read for, say, the airplane or long train ride.
Thank you, thank you Lisa for suggesting this book! This has to be one of the best books I ever read, I just loved it! I loved the character of Zephyr, and her wonderful, creative, over-active imagination that had her creating mini-fantasies about everyone she met and every possible career she could imagine. I loved the depictions of friendship and romance. I just wish this weren't a library book I will now have to return. I may have to get myself my own copy now...
So, I've had this book on my bookshelf for almost two and a half years and I have to admit that I only picked it up because I needed it for a reading challenge. And I'm so glad that I did...its just what I needed right now--something light hearted and funny--nothing deep or sad.
I really liked Zephyr. And I have to say that we have a lot in common. Both of us took quite a while to get un-obsessed with our loser ex who just strung us along. Both of us have a huge imagination and are very curious....more
I really liked Zephyr. And I have to say that we have a lot in common. Both of us took quite a while to get un-obsessed with our loser ex who just strung us along. Both of us have a huge imagination and are very curious....more
This is a debut novel for Uviller. It was very slow to capture my attention but after reading about 50 pages it began to be more interesting. A little bit of a mystery but not typical of that genre. I will give Uviller another try since she does have a followup novel with the same character and her group of friends and family. We'll see if I like that book any better.
The story of a somewhat aimless young woman who gets talked into being her apartment building's "super." In the process of learning her new job, she uncovers and solves a few mysteries, finally forgets her wretched ex, and falls in love.
This book is everything a good chick-lit book should be: light, funny, and frothy, with a little sex thrown in the works.
This book is everything a good chick-lit book should be: light, funny, and frothy, with a little sex thrown in the works.
This was a fun read - great summer reading! I never got into "Sex and the City" but I can understand why people are comparing this book to that series. It's got a group of friends and lots of love interest with a little bit of adventure in NYC. I wish that Zephyr had a little less of a need to be attached but I enjoyed this fun little romp of a book.
So maybe I've rated this book higher than I would usually rate this type... but I have a soft spot in my heart for anything that allows me to experience NY again. And I liked her descriptions:
"a male specimen to my right asked me something in a voice so bedroom-saavy I felt the polish slide off my toenails."
"A Harley farting its way down Fifth Avenue swerved to avoid me..."
"a male specimen to my right asked me something in a voice so bedroom-saavy I felt the polish slide off my toenails."
"A Harley farting its way down Fifth Avenue swerved to avoid me..."
I'd like to give this 4 1/2 stars, actually; but it's not quite a 5. Smart chicklit with characters who aren't so stupid you want to throw the book against a wall repeatedly. The main character here is a tad boy-crazy, but the writing is fun and clever. Highly enjoyable.
Reading this book may be grounds for having your NOW membership rescinded, as the main character may reflect every bad stereotype about women. There was so much I hated about this book, but it kept my (annoyed) interest, so I couldn't in good conscience give it one star.
Yes, it's chick-lit with the requisite group of moaning group of female single friends, but interesting characters and a plot that will keep you turning the pages. And a happy ending. A cut above, will be looking for more books by Daphne Ulliver.
Another "did not finish". I thought it was a mystery based on a recommendation that I saw but it isn't, at least not so far as I can tell. It is chick lit and I get so tired reading this type of book, the angst, the self-examination, the naval gazing. Grrrrr.
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Daphne is pleased to announce the April 2011 release of Hotel No Tell, featuring the return of
Super in the City
's hapless, lovable heroine, Zephyr Zuckerman.
Publishers Weekly has already called it a "refreshing, smart caper novel [that] will appeal to anyone who loves well-plotted mysteries and funny, off-the-wall characters” while Booklist says it's "an "irrepressible sequel...Snappy crime fict...more
More about Daphne Uviller...
Publishers Weekly has already called it a "refreshing, smart caper novel [that] will appeal to anyone who loves well-plotted mysteries and funny, off-the-wall characters” while Booklist says it's "an "irrepressible sequel...Snappy crime fict...more
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