The Diamond Lane

Praise for Karen Karbo

Karen Karbo is a very funny writer – from near slapstick to wry wit. Amazing.

            
THE NEW YORK TIMES

        
The Diamond Lane

        
•
  
A
New York Times
Notable Book

A flawless, page-turning story … this is a tale to treasure.

            
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

A wonderfully comic novel about savvy Hollywood outsiders trying to get in … not only is the plot ingenious, but the writing remains deft all the way through.

            
THE NEW YORK TIMES

It is a testament to Karbo's skill at high comedy that the ending of this book – a funeral rather than a wedding – leaves you smiling.

            
THE NEW YORKER

This astringent, humorous novel tackles two subjects ripe for satire: the Hollywood movie industry and marriage – both notoriously fickle institutions requiring blind hope to sustain life.

            
THE LOS ANGELES TIMES

This kind of novel is a devil to pull off … and Ms. Karbo has done her job brilliantly.

            
THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

        
Julia Child Rules: Lessons on Savoring Life

I want to make wallpaper out of this original and beautiful book just so I can have Karbo's unparalleled wit and wisdom always on hand.

            
CHERYL STRAYED
, author of
Wild

[A]nyone with even the slightest interest in cooking and pop culture may find it hard to resist this series of epigrammatic guidelines for living large, especially when they come from a master at doing just that.

            
THE LOS ANGELES TIMES

Karbo's Kick Ass books follow a unique structural blend of biography and advice-giving. When you read
Julia Child Rules
, you not only learn more about Julia's fascinating life, you come away feeling as though you can be a little bit like Julia too.

            
GLAMOUR

A lighthearted trek through a food icon's life, studded with satisfying tips for modern living.

            
KIRKUS REVIEWS

This intriguing book is about how Julia Child became an icon, and Karbo attributes Child's success to her unique view on life. Here, through a fun and engaging set of rules, Karbo instructs readers on how they can follow Julia's example and find true joy in life, too.

            
FOREWORD REVIEWS

Karbo's joyful take on the ebullient, self-described “California hayseed” will charm readers new to the twists and turns of Child's life, as well as devoted fans.

            
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

Julia Child Rules
is a blast.

            
HEADBUTLER

Out of all the other Julia Child literature that's out there, Karbo succeeds in pointing out something that should be, but isn't always, obvious to us: the way Julia lived life with abandon, first and foremost, was by not allowing her age or place in life to dictate her career.

            
THE BRAISER

You won't get any gushing food description here. In its place you'll find humor, a little heartbreak, and a lot of wit and grit to inspire your own inner Julia.

            
THE OREGON IAN

        
How Georgia Became O'Keeffe: Lessons on the Art of Living

“Georgia was a proto slacker,” writes Karbo. “There were days and weeks when she would read, spend hours tramping around outside, write letters, sew, and play dominoes. …But when Georgia worked, she worked her ass off.”

            
O MAGAZINE

Simply a revelation.

            
ELISSA SCHAPPELL
,
Vanity Fair

Karen Karbo's fresh and revealing take on the epic life of Georgia O'Keeffe is both effortlessly entertaining and profoundly inspirational.

            
SHEILA WELLER
, author of
Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon

[I]ntimate, joyful, and absolutely fun biography …

            
JULIE METZ
, author of the
New York Times
bestseller
Perfection

I want to give this book to every young woman I know who's setting out on her own in the world – not to mention the rest of us …

            
MEGHAN DAUM
, author of
Life Would Be Perfect If I Lived In That House

How perfect that a writer as thoughtful, original, and hilarious as Karen Karbo takes on as a subject as talented, passionate, and fearless Georgia O'Keeffe. The result is a fresh, funny, highly personalized take on “the nation's greatest woman artist,” a meticulously researched, page-turning romp through the life of a painter whose days were as bold and unique as her art.

            
CATHI HANAUER
, author of
Sweet Ruin
and editor of
The Bitch in the House

This intimate, quirky, and sassy essay makes its iconic subject into an accessible, relevant figure with whom readers can identify.

            
PUBLISHER
'
S WEEKLY

[T]old with great wit and hilarity throughout. While O'Keeffe is already revered by millions of women and aspiring artists everywhere, Karbo's original, wry analysis is bound to enrich her status even further.

            
SHELF AWARENESS

        
The Gospel According to Coco Chanel: Life Lessons From the World's Most Elegant Woman

Karbo delivers a mini-biography, with perceptive and amusing commentary … The fashion is merely fascinating, a means to an end. The life lessons? For a woman trying to find a safe haven in America, this book delivers more wisdom – and wit – per page than Dr. Phil will dispense in a lifetime.

            
HEADBUTLER

Reading Karbo is like listening to a dear friend talk about the legendary designer over brunch. This is a fun, insightful look at the genius behind the little black dress.

            
THE LOS ANGELES TIMES

Anyone with a good sense of humor should hugely enjoy, or should I say
enjoie
, Karen Karbo's funny and stylish take on Coco Chanel. Like a little black dress, this handy life guide will take you from day into evening. K.K. on C.C.:
oui, oui!

            
HENRY ALFORD
, author of
How to Live: A Search for Wisdom from Old People (While They are Still on This Earth)

Wise, witty, and refreshingly colloquial,
The Gospel According to Coco Chanel
is an enchanting tour through the complex, often controversial life of fashion icon Chanel. Filled with relevant life lessons for the modern woman, this book is Karbo at her irrepressible best.

            
HILARY BLACK
, author of
The Secret Currency of Love: The Unabashed Truth About Women, Money, and Relationships

        
How to Hepburn: Lessons On Living From Kate The Great

Karbo presents all this heterodox advice with great humor, but there's a point she's making to sister Gen-Xers: Hepburn broke all the rules women were supposed to follow and still had a fabulous life.

            
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

These days, women in Hollywood and everywhere else are following [Hepburn's] fiercely independent lead – and
Redbook
contributing editor Karen Karbo is no exception. Her sassy new book,
How to Hepburn: Lessons on Living from Kate the Great
explains what we can learn from the iconic leading lady, who makes most of today's heavy-hitting celebrities look pretty lightweight.

            
REDBOOK

Karen Karbo's
How to Hepburn: Lessons on Living from Kate the Great
strides magnificently before our eyes, much as Hepburn did onscreen. Perhaps because Karbo's mother turned to Hepburn and not Jackie Kennedy as her 1960s household saint, Karbo goes for honesty over hagiography – and still finds much for us to emulate. And Karbo has the same appetite for a good sentence that Hepburn had for life.

            
MORE

Karen Karbo manages to come up with some offbeat gems in her witty new book,
How to Hepburn
.

            
USA TODAY

… Captures Hollywood mores and largely succeeds as an homage to “Miss Hepburn.”

            
NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

In an interesting blend of self-help book and star biography, novelist Karen Karbo seeks to extract lessons from the life of Katherine Hepburn.
How to Hepburn: Lessons on Living from Kate the Great
is a fun and spunky take on the life of the star.

            
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR

An exuberant celebration of a great original.

            
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

…A delightful, insightful little guide.

            
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER

…smart, witty and profound in a low-key way – everything you'd expect in a book by Karbo.

            
THE OREGONIAN

        
The Stuff of Life

        
•
  
A
New York Times
Notable Book

        
•
  
People Magazine
Critics' Choice

        
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Books for a Better Life Award finalist

        
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Winner of the Oregon Book Award for Creative Non-fiction

With generous honesty, Karbo describes nuanced moments of nearly excruciating tenderness, embarrassment, frustration, and love, balanced with passages of often side-splitting humor. A compulsively readable memoir about family and the writing life.