Foolish/Unfoolish: Reflections on Love [Hardcover]

Ashanti Douglas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 13, 2002

Foolish/Unfoolish is a collection of vibrant and honest "reflections on love" by R&B singer Ashanti. Ever since she was thirteen years old, Ashanti has kept journals of her poetry, thoughts, and ideas about life and love. Now, in this very personal collection, Ashanti presents her poems about love, along with stories about what (or who) moved her to write them.

In Foolish/Unfoolish, Ashanti explores such universal themes as falling head-over heals in love, becoming insanely jealous, feeling broken-hearted, and being single but having hope for the future. In "No Words," she describes being completely addicted to a new boyfriend; in "Ride Out," she captures what it feels like to be joyriding with your man on a hot summer night; in "Insecure," she writes about telling a suspicious boyfriend to stop driving by her house at night to see if her car is there; and in "Us," she delves into the pain of discovering that your man is cheating on you.

Spirited, moving and often filled with humor, Ashanti’s poetry and reflections will entertain and surprise as they offer an intimate look into the life of one of today’s most popular performers. These are works that are both lyrical and raw and which tell the truth about love.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School-This book contains many of the highly successful singer's poems, written when she was a teen, complete with the stories behind them and her thoughts on relationships and friendships. Small black-and-white photos of Ashanti as a child are sprinkled throughout. The selections aren't very distinctive, but teen fans will still enjoy this title.
Jamie Watson, Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Ashanti first sang in a gospel choir at age six. Her music career began to take off in 1994 when her performance at a local talent show caught the eyes of industry insiders. Ashanti’s self-titled debut album was released in April 2002 and became the fastest-selling album by a female artsist of all time with 750,000 records sold in the first two weeks. The album stayed at #1 for ten weeks, and has since sold well over 2 million copies. Two songs from this album, Foolish and Happy, reached the #1 and #2 spots on the U.S. top singles chart. Since her debut, Ashanti has been nominated for five MTV Video Music Awards, five Lady of Soul Awards, and she received both the Teen Choice Breakout Artist of the Year Award and Soul Train’s Aretha Franklin "Entertainer of the Year" Award for 2002. Ashanti’s second album is due out in May 2003 from Def Jam’s Murder Inc. label.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion; 1 edition (November 13, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401300308
• ISBN-13: 978-1401300302
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,203,900 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Very Mediocre, December 25, 2002

By 

Kiran Rajagopalan (Boston, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Foolish/Unfoolish: Reflections on Love (Hardcover)

I checked out this book because I was searching for the hidden talent to back up the tremendous hype Ashanti has been receiving. Perhaps I could find it in her "phenomenal" writing skills. Yet, just like her songs, her poems lack sophistication and depth. They are always about the same old topic: "ups and downs of love." She might as well put her song lyrics (from her debut album) in the book and called it poetry. The grammar and the structure of the stanzas seem to reflect "elementary school" level poetry. Despite my negative comments, I must give her credit though for having the courage to publish her poetry. All she needs is a bit more inspiration and maturity in order to become the true artist she was meant to be. She has wonderful potential, unfortunately, its being channeled in the wrong direction.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This was complete garbage., June 21, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Foolish/Unfoolish: Reflections on Love (Hardcover)

This book was the worst thing I have ever read in my life. Ashanti is a horrible singer to begin with and now I find out how terrible of a writer she is. As a poet myself, I was deeply upset by this book's contents. Ashanti needs to promise the world that she will never dabble in writing again.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Nothing new, January 12, 2003

By 

David B Randolph (Silver Spring, Maryland United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Foolish/Unfoolish: Reflections on Love (Hardcover)

Foolish/Unfoolish: Reflections on Love is a very short book only 100 pages. I was surprised when I reached the last page of the book so suddenly. The book looks well over 200 pages because of the thick sheets of paper, the text didn't even feel up most of the pages. This book lacked a lot of details, Ashanti only mentioned her situations such as the way she felt when her prom date stood her up and she had to go alone with her girl friends; and the time she went on a date with her boyfriend and kissed in the restaurant after dinner and didn't care who was looking because she was in love, or the time she got into a very bad argument with another boyfriend in a car. If I wanted to hear experiences girls have with relationships I could asked any girl, not worth the price of this book. Your better off listening to Ashanti's album of the same name. Each chapter starts with lyrics from her album. Ashanti never delved into any sexual situations which was a disappointment. Lets hope Ashanti comes out with an autobiography someday.