The fifth installment of a set of memoirs written by and about Jen Lancaster does not disappoint! In fact, partners, Jen Lancaster and narrator Jaime Heinlen hit a proverbial home run in the publishing department for audio listeners of Penguin Audio. I only found out about the works of Jen Lancaster earlier this very same year when I got back into reading Chick Lit and joined several online book groups to discuss similar fictional and non-fictional novels. Since January, I have sped-read through all of Jen Lancaster's novels in anticipation of her latest release, My Fair Lazy (featured here). Between her first book, Bitter is the New Black and My Fair Lazy, there is a tight race vying for my favorite. I know one thing's for sure though, I already CAN'T WAIT for my next fix of comedienne, Jen Lancaster. Luckily enough for me, I recently found out (through her hilarious blog, http://www.jennsylvania.com/) that she is part of a weekly column feature, the Humor Hotel, which features her and three other funny authors writing about what she writes about best: making notable observations on pop-culture (Read: Making fun of the latest and greatest); talking about the roller coaster ride that is every relationship; gossip at the water cooler (or what happens at work), her unique, oh so very personal, take on life and finally, any other random nuance that enters her mind and lands on the published page. Basically, in a nutshell, her column, is a mini-version of one of her full-length books and something I plan to read up on as soon as I go into Jen-Lancaster-humor-withdrawal.
So, back to My Fair Lazy (notice how I'm trying hard to hang on to the very last shred of whatever I can get of her latest book to tide me over until the next release - there will be another release, right?!?!? Right???!) Okay, anyways, if you haven't guessed already, I LOVED My Fair Lazy. Once again, Jen Lancaster takes a creative spin on a satirical memoir, this time pondering the modern quest of whether or not there Reality TV has taken the place of America's "cultural" warfare? Jen Lancaster determines that, surely, there must be life out there beyond that offered by the programming of Bunim and Murray, but what? And, so she sets off on her "cultural manifesto".
In classic Jennsylvania style, Jen Lancaster begins to include adding all sorts of "cultural" activities to her daily routine - from getting her nails done at a Vietnamese nail salon, to visiting museums in various cities, eating every kind of ethnic cuisine possible, going to the opera, listening to jazz and learning poetry for the first time and anything else that might provide a more enlightening cultural experience than Season 15 of MTV’s The Real World. With hilarious vignette after hilarious vignette, readers get to indulge further into the uniquely, insightful mind and outrageous events that make up Jen Lancaster's life. I love how she manages to take so many excerpts from her life and turn it into an entire collection of related moments, by integrating her latest book tour, visits with old friends, taking care of her (multiplying) pets (and Fletch) and of course, in this novel the purpose of it all: "culturing up". I always love listening to these books so much more than reading them myself because Jaime Heinlein does the BEST job of narrating how I imagine each story to be told - she maintains all the sarcasm, humor, slight arrogance and naiveté (if you can have both at once) throughout every word. This may just be the pair's best release yet!! I can't wait to find out what the next saga will bring. To be read anytime you need a laugh or a smile, or just a break from reality.
Four Stars:
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