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Confessions of a Counterfeit Farm Girl
by
Susan McCorkindale (Goodreads Author)
A laugh-out-loud memoir about a city slicker who discovers that Manolos and manure just don?t mix.
At her husband?s prompting, suburban mom and New York career woman Susan McCorkindale agreed to give up her stressful six-figure job. Together, they headed down south to a 500-acre beef farm, and never looked back. Well, he didn?t look back. She did. A lot.
From playing ?spot...more
At her husband?s prompting, suburban mom and New York career woman Susan McCorkindale agreed to give up her stressful six-figure job. Together, they headed down south to a 500-acre beef farm, and never looked back. Well, he didn?t look back. She did. A lot.
From playing ?spot...more
Paperback, 368 pages
Published
October 7th 2008
by NAL Trade
(first published 2008)
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The city mouse moves to the country in this REALLY, REALLY funny book. Susan put her hyper-personality in the pages with her signature tangents that are even funnier as footnotes, lists, indexes and much more that pop up throughout for a truly enjoyable read. The best part (and the most important part, I think) of the book is its ability to speak to you personally, whatever hat you are wearing at the moment - working mom, stay-at-home-mom, wife, daughter, sister, friend, PTA president - about to...more
McCorkindale is not a gifted story teller. She's far too self-conscious and the would-be funny parts are so belabored, overworked--that they just aren't funny. It was like spending six hours with a girlfriend who finds herself hilarious.
I really think it deserves only about 1 1/2 stars at most. Her sarcasm was just wearing. A little goes a long way and she uses sarcasm a LOT. Her footnotes were frankly annoying. I would have preferred to read them as part of the book itself, as they were really parenthetical comments. This book was highly recommended and I had high hopes for it, but I just couldn't like it / her. Too self absorbed.
I tried really really hard to like this book but the stupid footnotes (multiple sarcastic notes on EACH page - so distracting) just ruined the book for me each time I had to pause to read them. They really ruined the flow of the book.
As far as her writing goes, yes she was overly sarcastic, but that's fine. Yes, she gloated a lot about her plush job and spoiled life style, but that's just goes to show that there really are people out there that are THAT self absorbed. If I hadn't had to pause e...more
As far as her writing goes, yes she was overly sarcastic, but that's fine. Yes, she gloated a lot about her plush job and spoiled life style, but that's just goes to show that there really are people out there that are THAT self absorbed. If I hadn't had to pause e...more
I picked this book up because I'm a city mouse faced with the very real possibility that my work and life may take me to the country. I was hoping for a memoir that would ready me for the transition. This was not it because this may be one of the worst books ever written. While I won't go so far as to call the author names, I will go so far as to say that she has written herself as a summarily unlikable hag with a penchant to believe the world somehow owes her something. Reading this book was pa...more
In my defense, I only read this book because I was desperate and didn't have anything else. I had hoped that the author would provide me with a few hours of light entertainment and laughs about the ups and downs of farm life-- but instead she provided me with a few hours of rage and disgust. McCorkindale comes across as condescending, shallow, and downright mean throughout the course of her deeply unfunny narrative. Her complaints about the lack of Starbucks and designer clothing stores in the r...more
I must admit that I have a dream to live on a farm. Nothing like the farm she describes in this book. I would like 5-10 acres to have sheep... for my dogs. The thing is I am born and breed in the suburbs and while my husband is from a farm state (Nebraska) he is not only against living on a farm but he is not handy around the house. Worse he does not want to learn. So when I read the cover of this book I thought I could get some insight.
Susan was the marketing director for the publishing company...more
Susan was the marketing director for the publishing company...more
Jul 29, 2009
Laura
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
NY fashion lovers
Recommended to Laura by:
amazon clearance
I realized why I didn't like this book much on p. 232 when the author explained, "I'm pretty sure he (her husband) thought that once the girl left the city, the city would leave the girl, but I'm simply incapable of making that kind of metamorphosis. In fact the reverse is true; I'm doing my best to Park Avenue this place up. You might say I'm on a mission to cosmopolitanize the country."
Rather than learning or growing from her rural experiences, the writer remains adamant that Starbucks is a n...more
Rather than learning or growing from her rural experiences, the writer remains adamant that Starbucks is a n...more
I couldn't resist picking up this book when I found it on a sale table. Sounded like an fun concept (I have my own dreams of living on a farm one day), plus it's set in Virginia. However, so far I'm not enjoying it much. One reason being that the author is far to much of a whiny princess to be likable.
Ok, I managed to finish and, frankly, I hated it. The only reason I slogged through was because of the location of their farm, which is about an hour from where we live. We actually just visited th...more
Ok, I managed to finish and, frankly, I hated it. The only reason I slogged through was because of the location of their farm, which is about an hour from where we live. We actually just visited th...more
I really liked this book! It had quite a few bad reviews so I was a little hesitant to read it but I'm so glad I did! The author, Susan McCorkindale, is hilarious! She writes about her experiences of quitting her high-paying job in NYC and relocating with her husband and two boys to a farm...where they actually farm. ;) Each chapter is a mini story of something that happened so you almost feel like you're reading her journal. I could relate with her on so many levels, which is always a great thi...more
I can't even finish this book, and that's very unlike me. It's just too painful. I vacillate between being extremely annoyed with the author to feeling pity for someone who is so miserable in every aspect of her life regardless of what she is doing or where she is.
Materialistic and shallow, I don't think this woman can ever be happy with anything she has or any circumstance she finds herself in. It's too bad she can't just appreciate all that she has or at least something she has. I am pretty s...more
Materialistic and shallow, I don't think this woman can ever be happy with anything she has or any circumstance she finds herself in. It's too bad she can't just appreciate all that she has or at least something she has. I am pretty s...more
Dec 22, 2011
Molly
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Recommended to Molly by:
book club (Rachel K.)
Shelves:
bookclub,
read-nonfiction
Somewhat funny but unexceptional fish-out-of-water memoir.
The humor is the second biggest problem; the writer tries to be funny with every sentence and it’s just very tiring to read.
The biggest problem, especially for the first half of the book, is the writer complaining about moving to the sticks (Virginia) after life in New York/New Jersey. It’s not like she’s surrounded by coal miners – her social set/neighbors are rich, too. Mostly it really got to me because it reminds me of people who m...more
The humor is the second biggest problem; the writer tries to be funny with every sentence and it’s just very tiring to read.
The biggest problem, especially for the first half of the book, is the writer complaining about moving to the sticks (Virginia) after life in New York/New Jersey. It’s not like she’s surrounded by coal miners – her social set/neighbors are rich, too. Mostly it really got to me because it reminds me of people who m...more
My hats off to all the magazine editors who turned Susan McCorkindale down, editors about whom the author bitches in some of the last chapters. Those editors were right--this is not funny or well-written. Too bad the editors at Penguin didn't think so. Whiny, annoying, and downright poorly written. I just plain didn't like it. All the parentheticals and footnotes are a poor attempt to be funny and/or conversational with the reader, but end up simply as evidence of a lack of thought given to comp...more
A friend said she thought of me while she was in Border's and saw this book, so I picked up the first copy I could find. Let me just say, I would rate this book "Hated It" if that were an option. Susan McCorkindale is the meanest, most self-centered person I have encountered in a long time. I pushed myself through a few chapters thinking it would have to get better, but I threw the book down in disgust. Before I took the book back, I skimmed a bit, thinking I hadn't perhaps given her a fair shak...more
Who came first, Jen Lancaster or Susan McCorkindale? Kind of like the old joke, what came first, the chicken or the egg. Unfortunately the laughter ends there for me. I was hopeful when I picked up Confessions of a Counterfeit Farm Girl as the author moves to an area in VA that I am familiar with. In the writing style that I have come to love in Jen Lancaster's books, I found McCorkindale's take on the same style of writing lacking in flow and humor. Yes, I chuckled here and there, but I found s...more
She may be new to the country, but she's certainly not new to funny! Susan McCorkindale's first book had me laughing out loud. Her light-hearted, cheerful charm is a joy to read and I'm eagerly awaiting book #2!
I guess someone who is a bigger fan of chick lit might like this a lot better than me. I was raised in the South on a (non-working) farm, so maybe that put me too close to the topic she's poking fun at, but McCorkindale's attitude almost immediately put me on the defensive. Also, I was sick of her designer-name-dropping and obsessive need to include the price of every item she talked about, as though she couldn't bear to let us forget that she used to earn an upper-six-figure salary for delegati...more
What a hilarious read! Confessions of A Counterfeit Farm Girl was definatly entertaining as well as a learning experiance of random farm terms. A city girls change of lifestle sends her and her family reeling for trouble. It would have been a site to see the main character Susan endure the life of a farmer. From designer shoewear to being chased by cattle, I would highly recommend this book to highschool students and adults that need a good laugh! Although this book was definatly a comedy, it wa...more
I have to admit, I laughed a lot. I would not say this book was amazingly good, but I would say for sure that it was an entertaining read. One of the things I appreciated the most about this book is I am quite familiar with the setting, which made some of her stories even funnier as I knew just what she meant about Northern Virginia and horse country. Another entertaining element of this book was the constant discussions of sustainable farming, etc., a topic I always find fascinating. While I on...more
I really wanted to like this book, but by Chapter 7 I was so frustrated by the author's completely self-absorbed whining and sarcasm, I just had to give up. Ugh. Truly awful. The final straw was her complaint that Southerners speak too slowly, causing her to proclaim, "I'm not retarded, I'm from New Jersey!". Really? For someone who thinks so highly of herself, her education, and her high-powered career, she has not a clue. This one's going straight to the recycle bin, since I can't stand the th...more
For some reason, her stories are funnier when I retell them, than when I read them. I bet they're really funny when she tells them to her friends, but in book form, they're wearying. Mildly amusing, somewhat condescending view of Virginia horse country, extremely condescending, facile impression of D.C. I am sure someone else will take the time to write to her to explain that shopping does exist in D.C., and not just at malls. It's a little annoying when someone forms an opinion of a city by dri...more
The narrator is completely out of touch with the average reader. She spends a significant amount of time woe-is-me-ing about how her life is so difficult living in a millionaire's house and about how she can't get manicures and shop at designer stores anymore. Her condescension about "the sticks" is infuriating for anyone who ever lived anywhere with a farm field in site (including metro DC, I'd wager).
In addition, she comes off as a nagging wife and a whiny woman--very stereotypical. The narra...more
In addition, she comes off as a nagging wife and a whiny woman--very stereotypical. The narra...more
I want my time back! There are plenty of other places in my life that I could go to hear someone whine/ brag/ complain. The author/ main character is just plain unlikable. She tries SO hard to be sarcastic and witty, but just comes off as self-absorbed and unappreciative. This woman is rich with healthy children and a closet full of designers (which we know because a name is dropped on every page). She has nothing to complain about- but finds plenty anyway. I gave up on this book (very unlike m...more
This is really a two star book, but I gave it 3 because she moves from New Jersey to Upperville, Va and she talks about Winchester, Paris, Va and Middleberg, which makes it marginally more interesting if you are familiar with those places. This is supposed to be a collection of funny stories written by a magazine editor who quits her job and moves with her husband out to the country (David Sedaris type of book), but it actually just isn't particularly funny. It is a good read for the pool becaus...more
Only got partway through this one. While I enjoyed what I read up through Chapter 9, the author's constant over-exaggerations and when it came to describing her experiences got a little old. I think I was expecting something more along the lines of "50 Acres and a Poodle," which was humorous, but in a much more subtle way. Of course, the book does begin with a disclaimer that includes "Never let the facts get in the way of a good story," so I guess the writing style shouldn't have surprised me....more
This one is getting 2 stars because I actually finished it (although I can't quite decide why...) I expected a memoir of big-city-girl becomes country-farm-girl, as in she actually participates in the farming, not merely tolerates it while whining about EVERYTHING (not having Starbucks, mud, horse-country attire, etc). In addition, there was entirely TMI regarding her sons. Those poor kids are in for a rough time if ever their classmates read this thing! Her similes are corny and way too numerou...more
CONFESSIONS OF A COUNTERFEIT FARM GIRL, Susan McCorkindale
Susan McCorkindale's memoir sheds light on her dream to be the next Norma Ephron....and if she keeps it up, she will be! Funny book on a corporate Jersey Girl who leaves Bergen County to become....."a counterfeit farm girl" in the boonies of Virginia. She does it with an amazing sense of humor and had me laughing out loud. Her family--great sports; however, I'm not sure at whose expense. ;-)
Funny and a nice little break.
(Great local color...more
Susan McCorkindale's memoir sheds light on her dream to be the next Norma Ephron....and if she keeps it up, she will be! Funny book on a corporate Jersey Girl who leaves Bergen County to become....."a counterfeit farm girl" in the boonies of Virginia. She does it with an amazing sense of humor and had me laughing out loud. Her family--great sports; however, I'm not sure at whose expense. ;-)
Funny and a nice little break.
(Great local color...more
Obviously, this isn't a life-altering book (I like to call them "bathtub novels") but it was moderately enjoyable. I had a lot of trouble liking the author (sorry!!! I know part of the humor is that fact that she's a high rolling New York executive, but it's just common sense to not wear designer shoes in cow poop) so parts of book I found to be nothing short of ridiculous. However, the humor involving the "ag people" of middle class America was dead on and hysterical to read. All in all, I was...more
Yeah, I could live really well (and did) in a rural setting if money really wasn't an issue. It isn't very believable and I would have preferred to read a book about a REAL extreme. If you had a lot of money and power in NYC and move to the country still with a ton of money and privilege, then you aren't really 'roughing it' as she attempts to show. The only thing I really liked about this book was the cute cover picture and the fact that the author makes piano playing and practicing for herself...more
I was really hoping this book would be a humorous look at farm life, full of silly anecdotes and hilarity, and yet it wasn't. It just didn't quite get to where it needed to do be.
I was annoyed by the copious amounts of footnotes found on almost every page in the book and found that, rather than injecting side notes of humor into the story, they distracted me and made it difficult for me to get back into the story. It was like someone was constantly interrupting my reading to tell me something t...more
I was annoyed by the copious amounts of footnotes found on almost every page in the book and found that, rather than injecting side notes of humor into the story, they distracted me and made it difficult for me to get back into the story. It was like someone was constantly interrupting my reading to tell me something t...more
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Susan McCorkindale is the mother of two sons, a new widow, and a fledgling farm manager. She is also the author of two memoirs. The first, Confessions of a Counterfeit Farm Girl, is the laugh out loud true tale of her move from the suburbs to the sticks. The second, 500 Acres and No Place to Hide: More Confessions of a Counterfeit Farm Girl, is her charming, poignant, and uproarious follow-up.
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Oct 24, 2008 03:28pm