Bitter is the New Black (Jennifer Lancaster)

First, i should mention that discussing two Jenn’s (Jenn and Jen) in one post is really rough.. excuse me if i come across a bit more grammar-retarded than normal.

Lets begin with the title:

Bitter is the new black: Confessions of a condescending, ego-maniacal, self-centered smart ass or Why you should never carry a Prada bag to the Unemployment Office

how could you NOT want to read this book?

before we get started, to the male readers out there, no worries, you will likely enjoy this. Jen Lancaster is like the sarcastic best friend you had in high-school that loved her fashion but doesn’t make you feel like a fool for not knowing the difference between Prada, Coach, and Juicy Couture handbags, she would just roll her eyes then school you with something heavy, and likely blunt ended.. she would be the friend that drank you under the table, mocked you, stole the bacon from your burger, and in the end, you were pleased to let her do it all.

that said, this is NOT a chick book, it is a golden humorous godsend.

I was turned onto Jen Lancaster’s brand of kickassery by my wife (also a Jenn) just over a year ago. I thought now would be the appropriate time to finally put up my review, it languished in my drafts folder for a long time. i kep t meaning to finish it, but life gets in the way sometimes.. oh yeah, and i am lazy, that should be mentioned for sure…

Why post it now you ask? Because Lancaster just released a new book titled “My Fair Lazy” and though i have only read the first of her five books, i know based on the laughter coming from Jenn’s person and my enjoyment of book 1 that i need to get off my ass and get caught up :). the reading list just gets so long that sometimes knowing it is already in the house is enough to make it a lower priority.. it will still bet there when i get to it after all, right? well, enough excuses, time to get to reading the rest of them.

Bitter is a series of memoirs in pseudo-essay format. They detail Lancaster’s demise in the corporate world as she loses her job when the dot-com “bubble” bursts. she is left with a crap ton of bills and not a whole lot to do with herself.

Lancaster wallows in her own panic for a while and then starts looking for a job… which doesn’t go very well as she has very high expectations of what is appropriate for her. The book follows her as she over spends, panics, sells all things of worth in her home, moves to a smaller place, panics, pesters her husband Fletch (yes, just like the Chevy Chase character), panics, gets a dog, panics, remodels her new house, panics, and eventually gets a new job.

she does this all while wearing a string of pearls, because real women ALWAYS wear pearls.

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: NAL Trade (2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451217608

To Jen Lancaster: my wife, forgives you for being a Republican and really wants to be your BFF. you should give her a call :)

To the publisher, New American Library:

fantastic work all the way around. love the cover art (on all her books), format is spot on. keep up the good job and give the person who finalized the layout a big fat raise.
–

Check out Jen’s blog on her website –http://www.jennsylvania.com
it is a great place to go for some daily (or near daily) humor :)

Her RSS feed is absent from her site for some reason, but no fear! i will post it here for all to enjoy.. no no, seriously, you are welcome. no need for further praising..

http://www.jennsylvania.com/jennsylvania/rss.xml