#19-Nickel and Dimed
The reason I hate Nickel and Dimed above the other books I haven't liked so far is because its supposedly true. The premise: Barbara Ehrenreich left her cushy life to see what it would be like to work jobs with low-paying wages. She moved from one job to another and kept an account of her experiences. A conceited, condescending, racist account, I might add. This book is just rubbish. I had started keeping track of ridiculous bits to quote here, but the number just became too big. She talks about how fabulous she is a lot and how she can't believe she isn't exposed as being educated and overqualified for the jobs she takes. She makes racist comments, stereotyping and labeling every person she comes across. She's like a kid playing make-believe, its hard to take her serious when we know she doesn't really have to live this way, she's doing it for fun. And money. I could go on and on, but I won't. I'll simply end by telling you what, in my eyes, is the worst of all her offenses: she says 'I could care less.' As far as I'm concerned, punishable by death... I'm moving on to the book about rats. They're smarter and more pleasant.
The funny thing is that I was reading it at O'Naturals when it was still open. I went there for lunch and would read. After a week or so someone stole the book. No more reading.
I think the book premise was interesting and could have been an eye opener. Then again I thought that about freakenomics and that was equally as egotistical and bad.
This woman comes across as a total spoiled brat whose never had the fear of being one pay check away from being homeless.
The premise of the book would be fantastic if it actually were true.
which is more of a sociological portrait of dozens of "disadvantaged" folks trying to make do in the low-wage economy. It doesn't read like a memoir, but it reads well enough.