Customer Reviews

The Daria Diaries

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Left the town of Highland this morning with no regrets, looking forward to the move to Lawndale with excitement and anticipation. Then I remembered my family was coming, too." So starts the diary of Daria Morgendorffer, a teenage cynic who lives with her parents and overly-accesorized younger sister Quinn. If you've every watched "Daria" on MTV, you'll understand Daria's background. If not, picture Daria as Janeane Garafolo, and you'll pretty much catch on. The book contains some of Daria's journal entries, as well as the love notes between Kevin the QB and Brittany the cheerleader, a brief description and breakdown of all the characters, and (my favorite) Daria and Jane's "Babysitters Guide to New Endings for Classic Bedtime Stories"- THE UGLY DUCKLING:"...the ugly duckling looked down into the water, and there he beheld a beautiful swan. 'Wow'!, he thought, 'if I can change my life, anyone can'. He developed a series of self-improvement tapes and grooming products that he marketed to unattractive animals with poor social skills. He successfully exploited their insecurities, accumulating a large nest egg for himself and eventually retired to his own private pond with his striking swan trophy wife". Everything is included in this Dariapolooza Fest- from family vacation photos to Quinn's letter from Manatee College accepting her for the undergraduate program ("no need for you to fill out confusing forms", they write, "simply return the RSVP card in the enclosed envelope- you don't even need a stamp!") Every Daria fan needs this in their personal library for a quick pick me up!

Hi all,

Okay, I must admit, I am a major Daria fan. And anything and everything I can get my hands on about Daria, trust me, I get. And when I got this book, I was more than thrilled! Yet, I was sort of disappointed. The book wasn't made as if Daria was writing it, and it focused more on others than Daria herself. The sarcasm and wit weren't quite there like the show, and some of the information was a bit lacking. It did not go into enough detail.

The book though, was a page turned and that's why I gave it 4 stars. I still enjoyed reading it, but it was just too short! I finished it within about 10 or 15 minutes. I wish it would have been longer, but basically, it's a dollar a page for this book! I did like the Quinn and Fashion Club paper dolls, but wished they would have had Jane and Daria too. It would have been fun to dress them up like the ending credits of the Daria show! But, it was still fun seeing Quinn etc, in different outfits.

So, in closing, if you really like Daria, you will like this book, or if you are just getting into Daria, you will enjoy it. But if you are expecting a nice long book full with Daria's veiws and sarcasm, this is not your book, sorry!

*~*Raven White*~*

If you are a fan of Daria or even if you just want to read something funny, I highly recommend this book. Includes: diary entries from Daria, maps of places in Lawndale, descriptions and mottos of all of the major characters, Daria and Jane's renditions of classic fairy tales, Brittany and Kevin's love letters, Letters from the teachers and students, baby pictures and family photos of the Morgandorffer family, all-time best episodes of Sick Sad World, Helen's letters to her boss, a look at Lawndale music, Upchuck answering maching messages, Helen and Jake wedding photos, Lawndale High school newspaper clippings (inlcuding the "Ask Brittany" column), Mr. O'Neill's ways to remember names, Fashion Club Paper Dolls ("Cut them out, dress them up, and watch them ignore you."), cheerleeding squad letters, school security letters, a letter from an educational coaching system, secret notes passed during class, parent, teacher conference letters, Trent's lyrics for Mystic Spiral songs, Jake's military letters and photos, school planners, Upchuck's website, postcards, Janet Barch's letters to the faculty, short stories written by Daria, popularity contests, Fashion Club meeting notes, a look into the books at the Morgandorffer house, and more. Sorry, I went on for so long. This is just one great book!

I know that I haven't been a fan as long as many Daria viewers, but I still have an opinion and from what I can tell this book is awesome. The T.V. show is all about Daria, but I always wondered what the other charecters were like, there homes, families etc... But this gave an inside look at others lives, not just Darias. I have watched countless hours of the show, and I learned more about Daria and her chums by reading these books than I think I ever learned by watching the show. If you enjoyed this book you will probably also enjoy Daria Database, which is about Darias website, so she can spread her sarcasm and wit to the whole world. Hope you enjoy.
-Lauren-

i just got this book yesterday and I love it. Easy to skim through with a fair amount of pictures. A good sarcasm in every page makes this book almost unforgetable. Also good quality paper so this book will last wear and tear of repeated reading. The reason why I held back a star was that this book is just way, way, way too short considering this book is aimed at teens or older who love Daria (like me) -- I finished this book in less than an hour. I really think this book should be thicker like The Simpsons--A complete Guide to Our Favorite Family.

Of course 'Daria's Diary' is the must have item for all Daria fans, like myself, but if you're planning to buy this copy be sure NOT to buy 'The Daria Diaries' unless you want two copies...They are the same books...This one is just a hardcover version of it... I almost bought it, but found out through my wish list that they were, now I can write in one of my copies! woo hoo!

I understand that there are many younger fans of "Daria" out there, and I forget that I never agree with any of them. The purchase of this book was made after I read these reviews, which were misleading, to say the least. "The Daria Diaries" does have good illustrations, but it is a thin book with little material. The sarcasm is not very clever and doesn't sound like Daria's typical dry wit at all(i.e - poor characterization). They had many irratating maps of places I was not at all interested in and very short bios that were somewhat inaccurate. Many characters were overlooked, underplayed or not there at all. And they overemphisized such characters as Charles Ruttheimer, someone I don't care about at all. It uses episodic references only up to the second season, and is actually quite dull. It's a fun flip-through, but I don't recommend buying it unless you are a good fan, not an avid one, and enjoy pretty drawings and someone using waxing cynisicm to wade through a series of maps and boring, out-of-character material.

Think about how it would be if you were able to BE in Lawndale. What would you do first? Look around the rooms? Peek into Daria's notebook? Search the web for Upchuck's homepages? I would, and through this book, I'm able to. I loved it. Daria on TV shows you a glimpse of the characters rooms and why they act the way they do. But the Daria Diaries will show you around the bedrooms (even under the beds) of Daria and Quinn. It'll show you Mystic Spiral songs, love notes from Brittany and Kevin, and notes passed in class between everyone. Most often books about tv shows fail to capture the essence of that show, but the Daria Diaries go way beyond the essence.

wow could that title be any worse?
but anyway....
to be absolutely honest, its not the best thing you could buy.
i was hoping for some "real" (as in fake) diary entries from
daria, stating stuff like what pissed her off the other day
or whatever but its mostly just pictures with a few side notes.

if you're actually hoping to get some "insight" on her thoughts
or opinions, you wont. its more like a scrap book and nothing
more. it'd probably be better to get the dvd or movies rather
than this.

there are a few humorous comments by her but really....it just
doesnt live up to its name...or something...(?!)
...i've never written a review before so....(laugh? anyone?
ha?..) either way, its just not that great...or perhaps i made
my expectations too high?....damn...

daria's still great (or maybe i've gotten biased?...)
i'd suggest getting the dvds over this book definately.
i myself am trying to find the entire series on dvd...
i dont suppose amazon will add it on anytime soon????...
(hint hint?)

As a total Daria fanatic, I pretty already knew a lot of stuff that was in the book, but there are lots of things you can't find anywhere, like psychological tests and English papers and stuff. Overall, though, it's worth it to buy it if you really love Daria.. i can't wait to get The Daria Databases!!! :-)