In my lifetime, I have read copious amounts of books. When I was younger, we used to go the library (at least) once a week and were able to lend as many books as we could read. I went through the typical Nancy Drew, Sweet Valley High and Babysitters' Club series like water on a hot day. I could not get enough and felt like I had created a friendship with the characters in their stories.
(Sidebar: I still become embarrassingly connected to people that I have never met - but in 2010, it's with the people from Big Brother rather than Dawn & Stacy of BSC but I digress)
I've always treasured the art of telling a story from a female's perspective - I suppose that's my internal feminist talking but what can I say, I love a good story that I can relate to. I went through a period where intellectually I thought I was "above" female writing - not female authors but that chick lit that girls have become obsessed with over the past decade - so I often pushed aside anything that was deemed "fun" reading and stuck to boring, "mentally-stimulating" reading. Well, surprise surprise - those items being pushed down my throat as stimulating became anything but and I longed for a simply great, witty read.
Enter: Jen Lancaster - Now, this broad (I write that in love)can write.. and the best part? All her books are memoirs so it's beyond relatable because it actually happened to her. My pal Erin told me in passing that she was looking for a fun summer read and before she finished the sentence, my inner Tourette's came out and I blurted out about my blog and my task seven and how I would love to recommend the perfect book for her - Bitter is the New Black. Viola!
I've been actually a fan of Jen (See! We're like totally friends that haven't met yet) for years since her first book came out. I'm not really sure how she got on my radar but I'm so glad she did. She's hilarious and totally someone I would share a bottle (or three) of wine with and talk about all the trashy reality tv shows.
I asked Erin to write me an email about her thoughts/feelings on it for my blog and here it is:
"I totally loved the book! It gave me such insight into the mind of the girl who "has it all." I always look at those women and think "How did they get where they are and how can I do it too?" Reading Jen Lancaster's story really inspired me because I'm going through a rough patch (financially) in my own life, and I definitely related to her; especially the part where she is selling her designer bags on EBay and thinking "what I spent on this bag could have bought my groceries for an entire season." Thank you so much for lending this book to me! My next step is to follow Jen's blog - I'm a huge fan now!"
Erin, I'm glad you loved the book. I have all her other books so just let me know if you want to borrow those too!
Ah, I love a success story. I need to recommend four more books.. anyone want to read one of my recommendations? This could be YOU!
