Laura P. (hemmputnam) reviewed on + 1154 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 10
I realized why I didn't like this book much on p. 232 when the author explained, "I'm pretty sure he (her husband) thought that once the girl left the city, the city would leave the girl, but I'm simply incapable of making that kind of metamorphosis. In fact the reverse is true; I'm doing my best to Park Avenue this place up. You might say I'm on a mission to cosmopolitanize the country."
Rather than learning or growing from her rural experiences, the writer remains adamant that Starbucks is a need not a luxury. I think the book began as her blog, newspaper columns, and emails to friends, which I can see as being quite funny. It was when someone said, "you should put these into a book!" that the trouble began because I can't figure out her tone. Someone who is able to write and practice the piano daily must have some level of responsibility and dedication, but she refers to herself as a dumb blonde who doesn't listen to her husband, pays $25 to get her hair blown dry once a week, and lives on a farm for a year without purchasing a pair of practical boots. Are we supposed to like her?
I think she'd be fun to have coffee with (Starbucks of course!) because her tone is so conversational but reading her writing wasn't that rewarding. And, her parenting seems inconsistent. She volunteers in her son's classroom (a plus in my book) although she (pretends?) she can't understand the science. She bemoans the cost and amount of McDonald's toys piling up in her home which made me want to call out "just say no!" when she reports on her kids begging her to turn in to Mickey D's.
There's a nice chapter about the chemical basis of depression. This book got me through a plane ride, but I don't recommend it.
Rather than learning or growing from her rural experiences, the writer remains adamant that Starbucks is a need not a luxury. I think the book began as her blog, newspaper columns, and emails to friends, which I can see as being quite funny. It was when someone said, "you should put these into a book!" that the trouble began because I can't figure out her tone. Someone who is able to write and practice the piano daily must have some level of responsibility and dedication, but she refers to herself as a dumb blonde who doesn't listen to her husband, pays $25 to get her hair blown dry once a week, and lives on a farm for a year without purchasing a pair of practical boots. Are we supposed to like her?
I think she'd be fun to have coffee with (Starbucks of course!) because her tone is so conversational but reading her writing wasn't that rewarding. And, her parenting seems inconsistent. She volunteers in her son's classroom (a plus in my book) although she (pretends?) she can't understand the science. She bemoans the cost and amount of McDonald's toys piling up in her home which made me want to call out "just say no!" when she reports on her kids begging her to turn in to Mickey D's.
There's a nice chapter about the chemical basis of depression. This book got me through a plane ride, but I don't recommend it.
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