Two down...

I have conquered 2 of the books on the list in the course of a mere 3 days!

# 60
Nickel and Dimed... (On Not) Getting By in America

EW grade: A
Here is an excerpt from the EW review: “…how do Americans earning $6 to $7 an hour…..make ends meet? Ehrenreich found out by walking in their shoes…working the highest-paid ''unskilled'' jobs she could find -- like diner waitress, cleaning woman, and Wal-Mart ''associate.'' Her account is at once a clear-eyed portrait of how the bottom third lives, and a complacency-shaking expose of the dead-end-job economy.” Full Review

Now this is a book I would not have picked up on my own but…wow…was it good. It had all the characteristics of a good read: funny, sad, thought- provoking and it stayed with me for days. It has forever changed my views on “unskilled” workers.


Loved it! I would highly recommend

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# 63
Pastoralia

EW grade: A-
Here is an excerpt from the EW review: “…. compellingly strange, funny, and poignant style ''Twin Peaks''-y isn't to date his singular voice but to place it: The six hypnotically absurd stories in Pastoralia are all slices of life from a lumpy apple pie baked with utterly, mutantly American fruit “ Full Review

I was looking forward to this one, the review was provocative and I like odd, unusual storytelling. The first story, Pastoralia, was interesting but I found the rest of the stories bleak and depressing, it was like taking a peek into a person’s psyche and seeing the most neurotic, insecure side of their nature.

Not a fan...