Bitter is the New Black
All I do is read books. Not really, but it seems like it. I had gone through a dry spell of, oh, ten years or so, when I didn't really read that much. Now I am back, I don't know why.
the latest is Bitter is the New Black, by Jen Lancaster, this is both a blook and chick lit. My first blook, Julie and Julia, was wonderful, this one is merely fun. I have nothing against chick lit, in fact, it is good summer reading. I just think Jen needs to not rely on ALL CAPS to convey emotion.
This is the story of a highly paid 20 something in Chicago, happily living with her highly paid boyfriend in a chic loft in some trendy neighborhood. She loses her job, he loses his job. All their money goes to trying to maintain their lifestyle, but after it runs out, they have to downsize their lives, and actually, gasp, economize. They move out of the chic apartment into a cheapo apartment. She sells her 50 handbags on eBay. They have no savings, she sells her car.
Finally, at the end, he gets another job. She, having started a web site/blog, decides she likes writing better than sales, and writes this book.
It is mildly humorous, she has some good stories. The funniest is when Jen, a tad large, goes to pick up her friend's Chicago Marathon stuff, and gets quite the attitude from the ultrafit marathoners.
Mostly it was interesting for me to finally see who some of those well dressed 20 somethings are and why they live lives to desperate consumption. This woman wore all designer clothes, had many bags and hundreds of pairs of shoes, had a bimonthly pedicure, a monthly hairstyle/coloring. They are out all the time, drank $15 cocktails, went on spur of the moment vacations, and bought Starbucks everyday. I sometimes see people like this around town, not many in my town, and I wonder, why is this kind of thing so important to them, a bimonthly pedicure?
I have friends who have a little bit of this in them, stylish clothes, lots of magazine subscriptions. When I visit them I marvel at all the products in their bathrooms, how do they know which of the million of products are worth buying, and which are just good advertising? How do you know if it is important to have nightly eye cream or leave-in hair potion?
I read that those lipsticks that "plump" up your lips, presumably so they look like Angelina Jolie's lips, actually have abrasives in them that cause swelling, so that your lips appear big, but they are actually just inflamed. Who needs that?
Anyway, Jen discovers that she can be happy in jeans, without her Prada bag.
She does have a web site, www.jennsylvania.com (I think) but I have not checked it out.
the latest is Bitter is the New Black, by Jen Lancaster, this is both a blook and chick lit. My first blook, Julie and Julia, was wonderful, this one is merely fun. I have nothing against chick lit, in fact, it is good summer reading. I just think Jen needs to not rely on ALL CAPS to convey emotion.
This is the story of a highly paid 20 something in Chicago, happily living with her highly paid boyfriend in a chic loft in some trendy neighborhood. She loses her job, he loses his job. All their money goes to trying to maintain their lifestyle, but after it runs out, they have to downsize their lives, and actually, gasp, economize. They move out of the chic apartment into a cheapo apartment. She sells her 50 handbags on eBay. They have no savings, she sells her car.
Finally, at the end, he gets another job. She, having started a web site/blog, decides she likes writing better than sales, and writes this book.
It is mildly humorous, she has some good stories. The funniest is when Jen, a tad large, goes to pick up her friend's Chicago Marathon stuff, and gets quite the attitude from the ultrafit marathoners.
Mostly it was interesting for me to finally see who some of those well dressed 20 somethings are and why they live lives to desperate consumption. This woman wore all designer clothes, had many bags and hundreds of pairs of shoes, had a bimonthly pedicure, a monthly hairstyle/coloring. They are out all the time, drank $15 cocktails, went on spur of the moment vacations, and bought Starbucks everyday. I sometimes see people like this around town, not many in my town, and I wonder, why is this kind of thing so important to them, a bimonthly pedicure?
I have friends who have a little bit of this in them, stylish clothes, lots of magazine subscriptions. When I visit them I marvel at all the products in their bathrooms, how do they know which of the million of products are worth buying, and which are just good advertising? How do you know if it is important to have nightly eye cream or leave-in hair potion?
I read that those lipsticks that "plump" up your lips, presumably so they look like Angelina Jolie's lips, actually have abrasives in them that cause swelling, so that your lips appear big, but they are actually just inflamed. Who needs that?
Anyway, Jen discovers that she can be happy in jeans, without her Prada bag.
She does have a web site, www.jennsylvania.com (I think) but I have not checked it out.
posted by Shelly at 12:12 PM
3 Comments:
Okay, you got me. I had to look up "blook" on Wiki - well, duh. Will perhaps read the Jen blook.
are you making fun of me and my products in the bathroom?
I would never make fun of you or your products. I did not think it was written so as to poke fun at other people, merely to highlight the different ways people choose to spend their time and money. No slights intended, really. If you read the book you will see how over the top she is about obsessing on having the "right" clothes, makeup etc.
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