4% Famous and over 360,000 other books are available for Amazon Kindle – Amazon’s new wireless reading device. Learn more

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
Express Checkout with PayPhrase
What's this? | Create PayPhrase
Sorry!
More Buying Choices
41 used & new from $0.01

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
4% Famous: A Novel
 
 
Start reading 4% Famous on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don’t have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here.
 
  

4% Famous: A Novel (Paperback)

~ (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)

Price: $12.95 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Only 1 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

Want it delivered Tuesday, November 10? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
15 new from $0.86 26 used from $0.01

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
  Kindle Edition, May 9, 2006 $9.99 -- --
  Hardcover, May 8, 2006 -- $0.27 $0.01
  Paperback, April 23, 2007 $12.95 $0.86 $0.01

Best Value

Buy Capital Crimes: Murder in the Supreme Court; Murder in the CIA; Murder in the House and get 4% Famous: A Novel at an additional 5% off Amazon.com's everyday low price.

Capital Crimes: Murder in the Supreme Court; Murder in the CIA; Murder in the House + 4% Famous: A Novel
Buy Together Today: $25.52

Show availability and shipping details


Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Model Student: A Tale of Co-eds and Cover Girls

Model Student: A Tale of Co-eds and Cover Girls

by Robin Hazelwood
4.4 out of 5 stars (24)  $13.95
Tabloid Love: Looking for Mr. Right in All the Wrong Places, A Memoir

Tabloid Love: Looking for Mr. Right in All the Wrong Places, A Memoir

by Bridget Harrison
4.1 out of 5 stars (34)  $3.52
Target Underwear and a Vera Wang Gown: Notes from a Single Girl's Closet

Target Underwear and a Vera Wang Gown: Notes from a Single Girl's Closet

by Adena Halpern
3.7 out of 5 stars (21)  $11.97
Chasing Harry Winston: A Novel

Chasing Harry Winston: A Novel

by Lauren Weisberger
2.7 out of 5 stars (176)  $10.88
Shoe Addicts Anonymous

Shoe Addicts Anonymous

by Beth Harbison
Explore similar items

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Schoeneman (of New York magazine) writes a fast-paced, seductive first novel that follows three gossip columnists immersed in the chaos of Manhattan celebrity life. When 22-year-old Kate Simon takes a job at the New York Examiner, her college roommate, "Zoe Miller of Fifth Avenue," becomes a welcome resource, as do fellow columnists Tim Mack and Blake Bradley. As Kate adjusts to a world where she and her colleagues "get paid to be the last ones standing" at celebrity shindigs and good press is exchanged for free goods, she reveals herself as neither an ingenue nor a socialite, but an endearing outsider looking "to succeed at gossip enough that she'll be able to get out of it." Her public snafus provide laughs without turning her into a clown, and her colleagues avoid easy caricature as well, as Tim has to face the "mattress" (that's a model/actress) he's impregnated and Blake deals with his disapproving father, whom he must help out of a tax scandal. It's to Shoeneman's credit that there are few happy endings, giving the proceedings a tone several shades darker than similar media-girl-in-the-city stories. This is an unforgiving portrait of fame from the underlings' point of view with Schoeneman the Bret Easton Ellis of chick lit. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.


From The New Yorker

The recent scandal at the New York Post couldn't have come at a better time for this début novel; Schoeneman, a former Page Six contributor, makes much of the perks, freebies, and quid pro quo of the gossip game. Her heroine aspires to be an investigative reporter but has a job as the "legs" for a weekly column, trawling the party circuit for tidbits of rumor. The plot is unashamedly formulaic: girl meets dashing, on-the-rise chef; chef breaks girl's heart; chef fails miserably while girl finds happiness with the boring but decent guy who was there all along. Schoeneman's occasional attempts at social critique—for instance, the observation that very thin girls may be on Ritalin—come off more like life-style tips, and the novel's many veiled references to actual people make it read something like an extended blind item.
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Three Rivers Press (April 24, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0307237478
  • ISBN-13: 978-0307237477
  • Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,271,485 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

More About the Author

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

Visit Amazon's Deborah Schoeneman Page

Inside This Book (learn more)
Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?


Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).
 

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

 

Customer Reviews

25 Reviews
5 star:
 (14)
4 star:
 (4)
3 star:
 (3)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:
 (2)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (25 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing book, dated gossip, August 6, 2006
This review is from: 4% Famous: A Novel (Hardcover)
I found this book pretty disappointing (and I totally agree that a lot of these other "reviews" are very fishy). I was really prepared to like this book. It looked clever and funny. Out of a book like this, you don't expect much more than some juicy celebrity gossip and maybe some biting social commentary. I was disappointed that I didn't really find either here. The writer, to me, didn't seem very in touch with the scene she was covering.

The problem with covering people who are only "Four Percent Famous" in a tell-all book is that by the time the book is published a few years later, the people are probably Zero Percent famous and the gossip in the book is very dated and irrelevant. This book basically contains "gossip" that anyone in New York, and probably even people outside of New York, has already heard and is probably no longer interested in.

For example, the main focus of the book is a gossip about a character clearly meant to be Rocco diSpirito and how nervous he is about the opening of his restaurant. Other "juicy" items include a big story on the closure of Moomba coming as a surprise to its investors. I don't know too many people who still care about either of these things. Even if they did, I am sure they would want a little bit more in-depth and interesting gossip about these subjects. All the rest of the gossip in the book is similar to this - several years dated, not very juicy, and about people who most people would say are no longer that relevant on the New York scene.

To me, the book was so tedious and obviously dated (constant references to Beyonce's "Crazy Right Now" didn't help the dated feeling) that I almost couldn't even get through it. It just wasn't a great or juicy book. The extra star is for the one bit of juicy gossip I liked in this book - that Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen say "Prunes" when having their photo taken. That was funny. More stuff like that and this book would have been a fun read.

I feel bad writing this review, because I really wanted to like this book, but, especially in light of all the pretty "fishy" reviews here, I thought I had to warn people expecting something really juicy that this book didn't deliver. Better, snarkier, more relevant fictionalized accounts of celebrity with some more interesting gossip can be found in the books Chore Whore (funny LA A-list gossip) and Glamorama (Bret Easton Ellis's account of the NY scene is years old but still way more relevant than this).
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars should be glamorous, merely dull. , March 16, 2007
By Matty (Manhattan Isle) - See all my reviews
This review is from: 4% Famous: A Novel (Hardcover)
This novel is virtually unreadable. There is too much exposition, and of a sort that makes me think that every character (and every quip) is a thinly veiled and unimaginatively retold from the author's own life -- invented characters would not be nearly so dull or indistinct. It's unfortunate because there probably is a rich vein of story here, but the depths have been left undisturbed.

She's certainly been there, but lacks the skill bring her life to life on the page, and has little perspective or irony to offer in the telling. Thoroughly dissapointing.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars A good summer read, June 11, 2006
This review is from: 4% Famous: A Novel (Hardcover)
I just finished this book and found it quite good. Not being a New Yorker, many of the blind references were lost on me, but this did not take away from the story itself. Schoeneman's behind the scenes narrative was both engaging, and a sarcastic poke at our societal obsession with celebrities. If you enjoy authors like Candace Bushnell, you'll probably enjoy this.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Not Well Written and No Real Gossip
All the gossip items are blind, with no hints given, so it's not that interesting. The 1st chapter was very hard to follow, with no back stories on any of the characters, or even... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Hello Kitty Ellen

3.0 out of 5 stars I wanted to love this book....
you know when you psych yourself out to really love a book and find parts that work only to be really disappointed by the rest? that's this book. Read more
Published 11 months ago by D.J. Harper

4.0 out of 5 stars Eye-opening look at the 'quid pro quo' nature of the gossip game
"4% Famous" is a book I suspect I'd like and appreciate more were I more attuned to the NYC gossip scene. Read more
Published on March 21, 2007 by Andy Orrock

1.0 out of 5 stars Completely Boring!
I couldn't even get 2 chapters into the book. It is that boring to me! Might try and read some other time but for now, going back to the library it goes!
Published on March 18, 2007 by H. Coleman

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good for a short story
It was pretty good. I like all of there different short stories.
Published on November 9, 2006 by i<3books

5.0 out of 5 stars 4% Famous is 100% Adorable!
I just finished this book and I LOVED it! I mean, not only did Deborah expertly explain the columns, the parties, the scenesters/publicists/writers/socialites etc, and everything... Read more
Published on August 18, 2006 by Jamie Krauss

5.0 out of 5 stars Beach Buddy
Almost missed my Jitney stop to Hamptons while reading it. Also, 2 other women on the bus were reading the same book. It's exactly what I want from a summer read. Read more
Published on June 17, 2006 by Book eater

5.0 out of 5 stars Grab it from your girlfriend
I picked up this book when my girlfriend had finished it. She hadn't been able to put it down on our long weekend of a vacation--which I found very annoying. Now I know why. Read more
Published on June 13, 2006 by Kurt

5.0 out of 5 stars Great in La La land!
I work in a talent agency in LA and this book is making the rounds, of course. It's hot and fast, but I think it's better for TV than for movies. Read more
Published on June 13, 2006 by Vicky

5.0 out of 5 stars Most fun, entertaining book I've read in a long time!
Though I'm not from Manhattan, I found this book to be an absolutely addicting read. This fascinating look behind the scenes of celebrity gossip is non-stop fun and the most... Read more
Published on June 12, 2006 by Andrea Hanarse

Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 

Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   




Product Information from the Amapedia Community

Beta (What's this?)


Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject

Search Books by subject:







i.e., each book must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...
 

Feedback

If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.
 Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
Is there any other feedback you would like to provide?

Your comments can help make our site better for everyone.


Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.