They Call Me Naughty Lola: Personal Ads from the London Review of Books (Hardcover)

by David Rose (Editor)
Key Phrases: rotting column, enjoy volunteer work, forty tablets, Kate Bush, Gerald Kaufman (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"A compendium of the weirdest and funniest advertisements from eccentric readers." -- Seattle Times

"This compilation of hilarious personal ads placed in the London Review of Books celebrates the odd, the quirky, and the painfully honest in their search for love." -- Boston Herald

Product Description

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 Naughty Lola is a testament to the creativity and humor that can still be found among men and women longing for love and allergic to the concepts of Internet and speed dating. Here is an irresistible collection of the most brilliant and often absurd personal ads from the world's funniest -- and most erudite -- lonely-hearts column. The ads have been called "surreal haikus of the heart," and in an age of false advertising, the men and women who write them are hindered neither by high expectations nor by positivism of any kind. And yet, while hopes of finding a suitable mate remain low, the column has produced a handful of marriages, many friendships, and at least one divorce.

Here are the young, old, fat, bald, healthy, ill, rich, and poor hoping that they can find true love, or at the very least, someone to call them Naughty Lola.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Scribner (November 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416540296
• ISBN-13: 978-1416540298
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #307,137 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intellectual Humor with a Touch of the Loo, November 29, 2006

By	W. Heron, Jr. "wjheron" (California, United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The book is a gem and my title describing it as intellectual humor with a touch of the loo is apt...The English are wonderfully fastidious with the use of language. When combined with a sense of modesty, a wry British sense of humor and a penchant for understatement, one has a delightfully funny collection of snippets from the "London Review of Books" personals. The Brits who contribute to these personals go out of their way to make themselves seem both interesting and unattractive at the same time. Nothing here is close to "likes long romantic walks on the beach" that one finds in U.S. personals... these individuals all have warts ...real or imagined!

It is a wonderful holiday gift sure to evoke peals of laughter from any adult with a pulse.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Flatulent British gnome, toothless, does not seek romantic sunsets.", March 13, 2007

By	Bart King (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The personal ad in this review's title is from the LRB, but is not among this book's selections. Nonetheless, it provides one with the flavor of the treasures to be found herein. Actual paraphrased examples from the book include:

-- "Writing this ad has given the biggest sense of accomplishment I've felt since successfully ironing my pants for the first time (on June 14th, 1998.)"
-- "Blah, blah, whatever. Indifferent woman. Go ahead and write. See if I care."
-- "I used to have the sharpest mind in the land; now I can't even find my pen. Wait-- here it is!"
-- "Some chances are once in a lifetime. Not this one; I've been in the last 12 issues."
-- "I am not an accountant."
-- "Ppfffttttt, ssshhhhhhhhwwwwt, peeffwt, pffpt. Man, 36. Bad at whistling."

The only other thing that needs to be said is that editor David Rose provides some quite helpful annotations for the cultural references that might elude those of us on this side of The Pond.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious!, January 15, 2007

By	Anna A. Stanford (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Heard about this on NPR and it was worth buying. Wonderful as a present, it was a great icebreaker at a party and had us all rolling on the floor.