Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
492nd out of 1,873 books
—
3,708 voters
They Call Me Naughty Lola: Personal Ads from the London Review of Books
by
David Rose (Goodreads Author)
I've divorced better men than you. And worn more expensive shoes than these. So don't think placing this ad is the biggest comedown I've ever had to make. Sensitive F, 34.
Employed in publishing? Me too. Stay the hell away. Man on the inside seeks woman on the outside who likes milling around hospitals guessing the illnesses of out-patients. 30-35. Leeds.
"They Call Me Naugh...more
Employed in publishing? Me too. Stay the hell away. Man on the inside seeks woman on the outside who likes milling around hospitals guessing the illnesses of out-patients. 30-35. Leeds.
"They Call Me Naugh...more
Hardcover, 165 pages
Published
November 28th 2006
by Scribner
(first published 2006)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
749)
Sep 20, 2007
Nathan
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Lonely, cynical book lovers who need to get out.
Shelves:
humor
This is a perfect read for lonely English majors to read between actual books. It's a collection of personal ads from the London Review of Books. It would have been the funniest book I read all year if it weren't for the fact that I got one too many of the Star Trek references in the chapter about X-Files sub-plot character rejects, which, in all honesty, pretty much sums up why I was reading the book in the first place.
NC
NC
8 likes · like · see review
view 1 comment
Jul 19, 2009
Elizabeth
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
lonely Anglophiles and silly people everywhere
Tired of feeling patronised by the ads in this column? Then I am not the woman for you, little man. Today you may be benighted and insignificant, tomorrow you will be more so. Now off you go. Box no. 1912
This one is my favorite.
I have always struggled with the modern literary novel (the ones that win Booker Prizes and are raved about at parties by people who I don't think actually finished them). So, about ten years ago, I decided to subscribe to The London Review of Books. I think this was just...more
13 likes · like · see review
Tired of dating sites where liars and charlatans make ridiculous claims of perfection? Welcome to the bizarre world of the London Review of Books' personal ads, possibly the most surreal and brutally honest in the world:
"Beneath this hostile museum curator's exterior lies a hostile museum curator's interior. F, 38"
"Blah, blah, whatever. Indifferent woman. Go ahead and write. Box no. 3253. Like I care."
"List your ten favourite albums. I don't want to compare notes, I just want to know if there's...more
"Beneath this hostile museum curator's exterior lies a hostile museum curator's interior. F, 38"
"Blah, blah, whatever. Indifferent woman. Go ahead and write. Box no. 3253. Like I care."
"List your ten favourite albums. I don't want to compare notes, I just want to know if there's...more
"A girlfriend isn't a girlfriend unless she makes my mother cry with grief every time she visits. For two years now she's sat, contented, in front of the TV with not a care in the world. That's where you come in. Professional M, 38, seeks, heartless common slut with no small knowledge of sheltered-housing application procedures."
Perhaps 2.5 stars. Some of these were really quite amusing, and this would probably be a good book to keep on a shelf in a guest bedroom for desultory browsing. The cumu...more
Perhaps 2.5 stars. Some of these were really quite amusing, and this would probably be a good book to keep on a shelf in a guest bedroom for desultory browsing. The cumu...more
May 16, 2009
Eva Leger
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
???
Recommended to Eva by:
found on BM
Shelves:
b-non-fiction,
humor
This really isn't my type of humor or my type of book. It's a slim book but still too long in a way. How many personal ads can one read before wanting to puke?
Some of them were kind of funny- "My ideal woman is a man. Sorry mother."
Others were just plain stupid and still others tried so hard to be witty and funny and fell short. By a long shot.
It made me wonder, because with a lot of these ads you could really just tell so much thought went into them, what do these people do? Do they really h...more
Some of them were kind of funny- "My ideal woman is a man. Sorry mother."
Others were just plain stupid and still others tried so hard to be witty and funny and fell short. By a long shot.
It made me wonder, because with a lot of these ads you could really just tell so much thought went into them, what do these people do? Do they really h...more
Apr 10, 2007
Angie
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
those looking for love in all the wrong placees
this book is just down right hilarious. My personal favorite.
"Gynotikolobomassphile (M, 43) seeks neanimorphic F to 60 to share euneirophrenia. Must enjoy pissing off librarians (and be able to provide the correct term for same)."
"Gynotikolobomassphile (M, 43) seeks neanimorphic F to 60 to share euneirophrenia. Must enjoy pissing off librarians (and be able to provide the correct term for same)."
They Call Me Naughty Lola: Personal Ads from the London Review of Books, edited by David Rose
"They Call Me Naughty Lola" was recommended to me by a friend, and I normally enjoy British humor, so I thought I'd like it. But something about the book was off for me.
It just wasn't that funny.
The book is nicely put together, with some footnotes for references to British pop culture, but there were some missing references. The acronym WTLM is used in almost every ad, but is never explained. The ads th...more
"They Call Me Naughty Lola" was recommended to me by a friend, and I normally enjoy British humor, so I thought I'd like it. But something about the book was off for me.
It just wasn't that funny.
The book is nicely put together, with some footnotes for references to British pop culture, but there were some missing references. The acronym WTLM is used in almost every ad, but is never explained. The ads th...more
I have just found my true love. Unfortunately, he lives in England and wrote a personal ad at least five years ago (and is thus probably now married).
"If John Sutherland were a soul disco diva, would he sing Barry White? Hopeful author of new OUP modern philosophy series (read my pilot, 'Who would win in a fight between Proust and Marvin Gaye?). Man, 37, WLTM woman to 40 who would be Wuthering Heights read by Rose Royce if she were a 19th-century novel given to a '70s supergroup."
I loved readin...more
"If John Sutherland were a soul disco diva, would he sing Barry White? Hopeful author of new OUP modern philosophy series (read my pilot, 'Who would win in a fight between Proust and Marvin Gaye?). Man, 37, WLTM woman to 40 who would be Wuthering Heights read by Rose Royce if she were a 19th-century novel given to a '70s supergroup."
I loved readin...more
Weird humor. Try-hard. In snippets it's okay but don't try to read it in one sitting: you might go crazy. Inexplicable footnote reasoning. Oh, the reader probably knows what a sherbet dib dab [also we don't even know how to spell dip dab correctly] is, but a DORITO? No fucking way; explain it. UK size 34 converts to what, now? Random Evel Knievel history of accidents at the end? I'd love to send the no poetry guy some poetry, but that's about it.
I guess I won't be moving to London if there are s...more
I guess I won't be moving to London if there are s...more
Whenever I read a book of epic proportions (in this case, Team of Rivals) I like to have something to break up the reading experience. Naughty Lola is kind of the perfect example of this. It's a book full of random personal ads, and while they're not all pure gold, there are some great ones. And I really liked the footnotes; apparently, the British need to be told what Dorritos and "Battlestar Galactica" are. Plus, it ends with an Evil Kneivel timeline and that's FTW.
Reading a couple pages at a...more
Reading a couple pages at a...more
If you are looking for an amusing read that can be put down and picked up at any time, this fits the bill. The puzzle is whether anyone who wrote these supposed personal ads ever receives a response. They are funny, quirky, and literate, but the people who write them do not truly seem to want to meet a mate. My favorite: gynotikolobomassophile (M, 43) sees neanimorphic F to 60 to share euneirophrenia. Must enjoy pissing off librarians (and be able to provide the correct term for same). Box no. 4...more
This is a little book to keep in the car or by the breakfast table.....short and no story line to keep track of when you have time lapses in reading it. It is a collection of personal ads from the London Review of Books.....and it is quite humorous. Written by well-read and witty people, these ads are tongue-in-cheek and keep you on your toes figuring out some of the literary allusions. Some are downright insane and will cause you to laugh out loud. One of my many favorites is: "My favorite woma...more
This book takes pride of place as my favourite toilet read, next to Letterbox by Viz. A quintessential selection of British humour, intelligence and wit, combined with quiet desperation and understated sexual frenzy, you just know that more than half these submissions are written to entertain instead of attract a mate. Let’s face it, if you were as half as funny as these personal ads are, you wouldn’t be crying yourself to sleep every night in your lonely bed-sit or mansion. Buy it, and find you...more
One of the funniest books I've ever read. It's a strange thing to read - not like list books, or general ephemera, but really as a snap-shot of a very particular demographic of people. However you read it, it is genuinely hilarious - very literary, very bizarre, often dark but always very very funny. If you like Flann O'Brien's journalism, or Thomas Bernhard, you get a much better sense of where this book is coming from. Buy this book as a gift to cheer up a friend and you will instantly see the...more
This book is simply a collection of personal ads published in the London Review of Books. They're awesome. I really like 'I'd like to dedicate this advert to my mother (difficult cow, 65) who is responsible for me still being single at 36. Man. 36. Single. Held at home by years of subtle emotional abuse and at least 19 fake heart-attacks.' The advertisers are quirky, funny and desperate, a great combination.
Japan people, let me know if you want to borrow this, otherwise I'll be leaving it at ho...more
Japan people, let me know if you want to borrow this, otherwise I'll be leaving it at ho...more
I suscribed to the London Review of Books for several years. It gave me a little thrill to tell my hubby that I was reading "my literary magazine." (A little joke to counter all his financial magazines.) I loved the reviews. But the first thing I read in every issue? The personals. The LRB attracts its own brand of lonely hearts ads and they are usually hilarious. They Call Me Naughty Lola by David Rose (ed) is a tribute book to those ads--chock full of some the best personals 1998-2005. It is a...more
As expected, a little hit or miss. Here are a few gems:
"Emmdee-Emmay: to you it means nothing but to me it opens the door to wealth beyond your wildest imaginings in the form of a herbal tablet found in my son's wallet that transforms an aging, withered man (64) into an Asian dancing beauty with tremendous breasts! Patent (and bail) pending. Look at my fingers! They're moving like wondrous vipers!"
"I have a recipe for space cakes. My theory is that, when they're eaten, the human body no longer n...more
"Emmdee-Emmay: to you it means nothing but to me it opens the door to wealth beyond your wildest imaginings in the form of a herbal tablet found in my son's wallet that transforms an aging, withered man (64) into an Asian dancing beauty with tremendous breasts! Patent (and bail) pending. Look at my fingers! They're moving like wondrous vipers!"
"I have a recipe for space cakes. My theory is that, when they're eaten, the human body no longer n...more
I have had this book on my TBR list for basically forever and finally remembered to add it to my wishlist for Christmas this year. Luke won all sorts of prizes for the books he gave this year and this one was included. It's a collection of personal ads from the London Review of Books, where the ads themselves are seen as a form of art as much as a solicitation of romance. For example:
I've divorced better men than you. And worn more expensive shoes than these. So don't think placing this ad is th...more
I've divorced better men than you. And worn more expensive shoes than these. So don't think placing this ad is th...more
Did you know that things can be "[adjective] as teeth"? Such as "cute as teeth" or "queer as teeth"? This is news to me!
Some excerpts from my favorite ads:
"When you do that voodoo that you do so well, I invoke 16th-century witchcraft laws and have you burned at the stake."
"Eager-to-please woman (36) seeks domineering man to take advantage of her flagging confidence. Tell me I'm pretty, then watch me cling."
"Look at my fingers! They're moving like wondrous vipers!"
"During intercourse, I can lis...more
Some excerpts from my favorite ads:
"When you do that voodoo that you do so well, I invoke 16th-century witchcraft laws and have you burned at the stake."
"Eager-to-please woman (36) seeks domineering man to take advantage of her flagging confidence. Tell me I'm pretty, then watch me cling."
"Look at my fingers! They're moving like wondrous vipers!"
"During intercourse, I can lis...more
Personal ads from the London Review of Books written by witty, depressed and extremely odd Brits; about 80% of them seem to be cross-dressing history lecturers with severe mother issues. The perfect nightstand book, except that it's impossible to stop reading and go to sleep. I also loved the new sequel, "Sexually, I'm More of Switzerland."
Hilarious, absurd, quirky... I'm really looking forward to the second volume of this quick read. One of my favorite ads:
"In a certain light I look like Robert Mitchum. In a certain light you look like Kim Novak. More usually I look like Shrek. More usually you still look like Kim Novak. Yes, you're very unlucky. Now pass me the Doritos and get over it."
"In a certain light I look like Robert Mitchum. In a certain light you look like Kim Novak. More usually I look like Shrek. More usually you still look like Kim Novak. Yes, you're very unlucky. Now pass me the Doritos and get over it."
I'm not sure what I expected this to be, but it was just bare personal ads. Somehow I thought there would be more context - interviews with people, or stories of people who met that way. But, no.
There were some annotations, but they were clearly not aimed at me - for example they explained what Doritos were but left some (primarily British, I think) things obscure.
It would have been fun to read these to someone else, but as a book to pick up and read? It was sort of....just...weird and not tha...more
There were some annotations, but they were clearly not aimed at me - for example they explained what Doritos were but left some (primarily British, I think) things obscure.
It would have been fun to read these to someone else, but as a book to pick up and read? It was sort of....just...weird and not tha...more
Personal ads from the London Review of Books. I cried laughing.
For example: "I'd like to dedicate this advert to my mother (difficult cow, 65) who is responsible for me still being single at 36. Man. 36. Single. Held at home by years of subtle emotional abuse and at least 19 fake heart attacks."
or
"These ads try too hard to be funny. Not me. I'm a natural, juggling, monkey-faced idiot. (M, 34)"
or
"TIred of feeling patronized by the ads in this column? Then I'm not the woman for you, little man. T...more
For example: "I'd like to dedicate this advert to my mother (difficult cow, 65) who is responsible for me still being single at 36. Man. 36. Single. Held at home by years of subtle emotional abuse and at least 19 fake heart attacks."
or
"These ads try too hard to be funny. Not me. I'm a natural, juggling, monkey-faced idiot. (M, 34)"
or
"TIred of feeling patronized by the ads in this column? Then I'm not the woman for you, little man. T...more
I have a few fetishes for what I love to read or learn about. Personal ads are one of them. This book is not merely a collection of run of the mill or kinky personal ads, but a collection of "intellectual" ads from a British literary magazine. While enjoyable, it is what it is: a collection of short ads. If you don't find things of that nature terribly enjoying, this isn't for you-- it drags easily, even for people who enjoy it.
Well that was quick, fun, and will help get the relentlessly nagging 2012 book goal widget off my back. Now only one book behind.
Seriously, if you enjoy reading wacky, literate personal ads that seem designed to discourage responses, this book is definitely for you.
Seriously, if you enjoy reading wacky, literate personal ads that seem designed to discourage responses, this book is definitely for you.
Dec 26, 2009
Khaya
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Bathroom libraries
Recommended to Khaya by:
Goodreads
Shelves:
humorous-or-trying-to-be,
readablenonfiction
I'm a book of a lot of clever personal ads, many of which are laugh-out-loud funny. Hard to read in one sitting, but excellent for keeping in the bathroom. I also contain a timeline of Evel Knievel's exploits, spectacular failures in particular. I don't know why. Box no. 26.
My aunt highly recommended this book if you are someone seeking laughter. Some of her favorites included "“Blah, blah, whatever. Indifferent woman. Go ahead and write. Box no. 3253. Like I care.” and "I’d like to dedicate this advert to my mother (difficult cow, 65) who is responsible for me still being single at 36. Man. 36. Single. Held at home by years of subtle emotional abuse and at least 19 fake heart attacks. "
Even though I love my aunt and value her opinion, I found most of the book tedi...more
Even though I love my aunt and value her opinion, I found most of the book tedi...more
Seriously...what is not to like about this book!
I hunted around town for it when it first came out.
I still read them online!
I might not understand half of them, or the English slang..but in my books, its a thumbs up!
I hunted around town for it when it first came out.
I still read them online!
I might not understand half of them, or the English slang..but in my books, its a thumbs up!
Simultaneously hilarious and depressing. I laughed a lot. Couldn't put the thing down in fact, but in the end I felt melancholy, like love is futile, and humans will always be lonely. Push and pull, all smiles and boohoo's.
A compilation of some of the more amusing and insightful personal ads in the London Review of Books. My favourite opening line: "Gay, wasted Cambridge dandy"... it just inspires a desire to meet this Wildean character!
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
