Marlene Dietrich’s ABC’s
One of the most colorful, deliciously fun and original stars from old Hollywood (or any Hollywood for that matter) is Marlene Dietrich. The way she viewed the world was magic in its uniqueness and the way she, then, put it to words has long been a personal fascination.
Truth be told, I’ve had a lifelong love affair with words – whether they come out of my own mouth or the mouths of others – I love to see words in action. I began collecting quotes (in notebooks… you can imagine how many I have!) when I was in my early teens and have kept up the practice over the years. There’s something very satisfying to my soul when words are gathered together and taken on a joyride and, quite frankly, Marlene Dietrich knew how to have fun with words as well as anyone!
When I found out there was actually a book (Marlene Dietrich’s ABC’s, Amazon link) with her quotes already gathered in one place (alphabetized no less), I was over the proverbial moon.
The University Press of Kentucky sweetened the deal by sending me one simply for telling y’all about it.
Seriously – it doesn’t get any better than that! This book worm’s and book collector’s message to them would simply be this, “Send me as many books as you see fit… I’ll tell everyone all about them!”
ESPECIALLY when they’re as wonderful as the books they have always are. Marlene Dietrich’s ABC’s (Amazon link) is no exception – it is everything I’d hoped it would be and then some. While I had a few of the quotes in my Old Hollywood Actresses N-M Notebook (I’m nothing if not organized with my quote collection), the majority of the quotes were new to me and have left me smiling ear to ear.
As soon as the book arrived in the mail, I took it and a tall iced raspberry tea to my favorite den chair and didn’t get up again until the book and tea had been completely devoured.
MY kind of afternoon!
This is, without a doubt, one of the most enjoyable book companions I’ve had in a while. I love that it is packed with great humor (she was, as my grandmother would have said, a perfect hoot!), a couple of cooking ideas/recipes I can’t wait to try, and plenty of thoughts that beg to be turned over and over again in the reader’s mind. You may or may not agree with everything the legendary actress said but you cannot help but admire her boldness to say exactly what was in her mind and heart.
That’s one of the things I love most about quotes – they bring out your inner philosopher and make you think… really think… about life, about others, and about things we may tend to take for granted.
Let me tell you, spending time with Marlene Dietrich made my inner philosopher so happy she was buzzing for days.
As you’d imagine, I cannot recommend Marlene Dietrich’s ABC’s (Amazon link) highly enough. In fact, I suggest grabbing a copy for your own library and at least one to squirrel away for Christmas gift-giving. This is the type of book anyone will love.
The book is 154 pages long and reads wonderfully fast. You will find yourself returning (and using!) to her thoughts and expressions again and again. You’ll also find yourself inspired by her honesty and by the freedom which she found in expressing herself. It’s truly just a magnificent book and I hope you, yourself, are sitting down with Marlene and a tall glass of tea in your own favorite chair very soon.
You’ll find her company to be exquisite.
Marlene Dietrich’s ABC’s (Amazon link)