false <![CDATA[I Was Told There'd Be Cake]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255587590m/2195289.jpg 2195289 4 Wry, hilarious, and profoundly genuine, this debut collection of literary essays is a celebration of fallibility and haplessness in all their glory. From despoiling an exhibit at the Natural History Museum to provoking the ire of her first boss to siccing the cops on her mysterious neighbor, Crosley can do no right despite the best of intentions-or perhaps because of them. Together, these essays create a startlingly funny and revealing portrait of a complex and utterly recognizable character that's aiming for the stars but hits the ceiling, and the inimitable city that has helped shape who she is. <i>I Was Told There'd Be Cake</i> introduces a strikingly original voice, chronicling the struggles and unexpected beauty of modern urban life. 2201026 1 4 2008 I Was Told There'd Be Cake total:5947|5:754|4:1936|3:2059|2:880|1:249| 5947 19933 10374 1643 3 46 false false Mon Oct 13 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Oct 10 19:28:11 -0700 2008 Mon Oct 13 09:15:49 -0700 2008
So you want to be a successful memoirist/personal essayist? Follow these ten steps and wait for the book deals to roll into your mailbox!

1. Write about your...more...]]> 3 25 false false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 09 20:33:09 -0700 2008 Mon Apr 28 08:27:11 -0700 2008
I never intended to read this book. I probably never would have, had I not received it in a publicity mailing at work. The day it arrived, I was between books and just wanted something to read on the subway. So I did. And then I kept reading.

I ten...more...]]> 2 21 true false Tue Jul 15 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 16 09:17:33 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 24 09:59:49 -0700 2008 *****

I’m more then 1/2 way through “I Was Told There’d Be Cake”, a book of essays by Sloane Crosl...more...]]> 3 17 false false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Apr 20 13:09:22 -0700 2008 Sun Apr 20 14:08:39 -0700 2008 more...]]> 1 11 false false Tue Jul 08 20:04:55 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 09 10:18:08 -0700 2008
I found it rambling, uninspired, boring and not very funny. It sounded like the stories you tell your friends-your friends think the stories are funny because th...more...]]> 5 12 false false Sun Jan 18 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 17 04:38:54 -0800 2009 Sat Aug 15 10:05:57 -0700 2009
This book may be, on the surface, a collection of humorous essays; but a ghost, called Lost Opportunities, hov...more...]]> 1 10 false false Thu May 22 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue May 20 17:24:50 -0700 2008 Thu May 22 21:33:06 -0700 2008
Turned out that was all an un...more...]]> 3 9 false false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Apr 15 15:42:53 -0700 2008 Tue Apr 15 15:44:15 -0700 2008 Essays for Twenty-Somethings
Always on the lookout for a new, fresh voice, and one touted as a "mercurial wit" on a par with David Sedaris and Dorothy Parker, had to be good, right? Well . . . I'm sorry to report these front and back cover comparisons are just good copywriting. I'm no...more...]]> 2 9 false false Thu Jul 03 07:17:31 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 03 07:32:25 -0700 2008
As a seasoned slut myself, I thought the essay was offensive. Typical ivy-educated, ...more...]]> 1 5 false false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 30 06:24:19 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 09 10:18:08 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 5 false false Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Apr 21 14:04:48 -0700 2008 Wed Jun 04 20:25:29 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 4 false false Fri May 09 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 30 20:53:17 -0700 2008 Sat May 10 07:42:45 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 4 true false Wed Jun 04 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 02 15:33:56 -0700 2008 Wed Jun 04 12:38:14 -0700 2008
Sloane Crosley writes essays about herself. She has a smooth, polished writing style. Her titles are great – standouts include “The Pony Problem,” “Bring-Your-Machete-to-Work-Day” and of course “I Was Told There’d Be ...more...]]> 2 3 false false Sat May 31 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat May 31 22:31:30 -0700 2008 Sat May 31 22:36:41 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 3 false false Sat May 17 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue May 13 20:50:07 -0700 2008 Fri May 23 13:57:43 -0700 2008
Even if I hadn't been stuck on a plane for 6 hours, I probably would have read most of Sloan Crosley's essays in one ...more...]]> 3 2 false false Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Aug 17 18:15:03 -0700 2008 Sun Feb 01 12:15:22 -0800 2009 "As most New Yorkers...more...]]> 1 3 true false Fri Jul 25 11:21:45 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 08 10:15:30 -0700 2008 Fri Jul 25 11:21:45 -0700 2008
Sloane would be the spokeswoman of my generation if she had anything moderately interesting to say about us. Howe...more...]]> 4 2 false false Sun Sep 07 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Jun 26 05:27:13 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 08 06:34:24 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 2 false false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 09 13:44:21 -0700 2008 Sun Apr 13 11:23:18 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 2 false false Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Apr 03 13:59:31 -0700 2008 Thu Jun 12 19:01:30 -0700 2008 The Devil Wears Prada (and all the other...more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=2195289