October 2005: Book Reviews
This is an archive of my shorter book reviews and notes, which historically have been posted over at the 50 Book Challenge on LiveJournal, but which I’m starting to move over here. I’m posting them with altered date-stamps, but they might show up in my LiveJournal cross-post anyway. Bear with me, please.
Note: Many of these books also have full reviews available in the book review podcast (RSS).
#50:
No surprises if you’ve seen the movie, but a good read nonetheless (I audiobooked it).
#51:
A non-fiction account of her attempts to “make it” as a low-wage worker. I originally thought the criticism of her attempt, like that of 30 Days’ Morgan Spurlock, was probably dead-on. If these folks want to “make it” in a low-wage lifestyle, they have to be willing to make more sacrifices. Ehrenreich, however, set it out pretty straight at the beginning– she didn’t want to *die* doing this, she gave herself an advantage in having a car, and she was willing to go whining home at any point. Her summary was that, to “make it” as a low-wage earner, in the sense of meeting her rent and food bills, she needed to work two jobs, and one of them had to feed her. The main culprit seemed to be rent, rather than any other expense, yet she never once took on a roommate, which is the one strategy that most people, especially single folks earning a low income, employ most often to stay afloat. Still, her conclusions were unsurprising, though getting such a close-up look at them was enlightening.
#52:
OK, look. I read books when I’m at lunch by myself, right? So, loudly cracking up and laughing isn’t uncommon for me. But with this book, I actually had someone lean across the aisle and ask me what I was reading. When I told him “it’s a book about dead bodies” he quickly left the cafe….
It’s hysterically funny, but also touching and respectful and lovely. If you are squeamish, there are passages that might be a little too much, but overall, it was quite good and straightforward. I am prone to nightmares, but had none while reading this book.
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