Jen Lancaster

Bitter is the New Black 

A memoir chronicles the adventures and misadventures of a woman whose perfect life and perfect job vanishes when she goes from a six-figure career to unemployment, and, forced to do some soul searching, becomes an author.

confessions of a condescending, egomaniacal, self-centered, smart-ass, or, why you should never carry a Prada bag to the unemployment office : a memoir

Bitter is the new black

Kerry Gibbons

Enjoyable quick book about someone who I really felt I couldn't relate to at all... until about halfway through the book. She's got a great voice and I'm going to go out on a limb and say she's fairly self-aware and reflects on her experiences with humor and humility.

Tanya Sutton

I'm glad this is not the first book by Jen Lancaster that I read or else I might have decided that she's an awful human being that I never wanted to read a book by again. That being said, I *have* read a much later book of hers and she's much different in that one, so I'm looking forward to reading about her transformation from a snobby, rude person to the kind person she was in her later books. 

All of that aside, I did mostly enjoy this story of Lancaster having a high paying job in the financial market that she lost post-9/11 and how she and her husband Fletcher learned to live like most of the rest of the world. Her realizations at the end of it that her relationship with her husband, her dogs, and the little things like functioning air conditioning are what really make us happy, not her $700 highlights and constant Nieman Marcus shoe department shopping trips.

I loved this book. It was shallow, sarcastic and downright evil at times. It was humorous, but it had some very serious moments too. I'm not usually a fan of "non-fiction" but this memoir was a totally different story. Can't wait to read her next one!

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Irreverent, narcissistic, and at times bordering on caustic and offensive, but always funny. This is Jen Lancaster's highly entertaining story of her real life riches-to-rags experience after being laid off from her executive position and spending 2 years unemployed. Jen goes from being a materialistic fashionista who dreams of designer labels and lives in The Best Neighborhood to a coupon-clipping, 'hood-living victim of the post-9/11 economy. After coming to a realization about what she could have used her money on (rent, health insurance, food) instead of umpteen bajillion shoes, bags, and twin sets, she eBays her stuff and sets out to live a simpler life. Along the way, she creates a wickedly funny web site to vent her frustration at not being able to find a job which leads to a book deal. All's well that ends well as Ms. Lancaster now enjoys a "faboo" new career as a writer. Hopefully, she is not blowing all of her royalties on cute shoes.

Bitter is the New Black

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