Goodreads Mobile | see what your friends are reading

Nov 24, 2009

Sabiel rated it:

Jen,

Please allow me to reprint for your edification a maxim from Little House on the Prairie, which perchance you shall abide by since you regard the Ingalls girls as fashion icons in high esteem:

First time is funny.
Second time is naughty;
Third time is a spanking.**

This is your fourth memoir***, and you're 42. And a decade or two younger emotionally. Not that that's a bad thing; we love you for it, and it entertains us. But I think the Veronica Mar More...

2 comments like (11 people liked it)

Jul 09, 2009

Robyn rated it:

I have been a huge fan of Jen Lancaster since I read her first book, and I loved the two that followed as much as the first. I have waited for this fourth book for over a year now and anxiously ordered it as soon as it was available. Sadly, this one just didn’t do it for me the way her other ones did. The others were hilarious, laugh-out-loud reads that had me wanting to snap my fingers in a Z and say, “Oh no she di-in’t!” to some of the outrageous things she says and does in her memoirs. I More...

2 comments like (9 people liked it)

Mar 11, 2009

Kalisa rated it:

How cool is it that I got an advanced copy of this book from my secret publishing connection? So cool that it could only be surpassed by getting an advanced copy from Jen herself when I hung out with her at BlisDom!!! Which I did not. But apparently several people did. Only not me. OK, I didn't really "hang out" with her so much as blather incessantly in her presence a couple times. She's my author-idol.

Anywhore, the queen of memoir has done it again. I especially loved thi More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Apr 07, 2010

Ciara rated it:

a memoir told through clothes. kind of a cute idea, but it really blows my mind how many books (& they are LONG books) this author has been able to spin out of a not-terribly-eventful life. i OD'ed a little bit on all the crap in here about being in a sorority & how awesome & fun it is to hang out with frat guys & how sometimes when your friend wakes up naked in a frat house after passing out drunk & has no recollection of taking her off her own clothes, it's best to just laugh it off. BUT most More...

0 comments like

Mar 17, 2010

Curtis rated it:

I read her blog and watched her book trailers. Jen Lancaster is witty, funny and cute; some have even called her the female David Sedaris. Yet as I made my way through the beginning of Pretty in Plaid I was afraid that it might not be to my liking.

In this, her fourth memoir, Lancaster takes us from the pre-teen years as a smart-ass fashionista through the college years as a smarter, smart-ass fashionista.

At first I was slightly put off by her bratty, materialistic, egoman More...

0 comments like

Feb 04, 2010

Jessica rated it:

This is the fourth Jen Lancaster memoir that I've read and I enjoyed this one as much as the previous books. The book starts with memories of her 8th birthday, moving to Indiana a few years later, college/sorority years, and beginning her post-college work life, all linked with a running theme of what clothing she wore at the time. She is very in tune with the pop culture of the time and clothing name brands. I must be about the same age as the author, because I could completely identify with More...

1 comment like

Dec 15, 2009

Limberlylou rated it:

May is like my second Christmas. Each year I wait with bated breath for Jen Lancaster's new memoir to come out. Expectations are raised, and each year they're exceeded. Which is perhaps the problem.

This book is broken up into anecdotes from Lancaster's childhood and young adult life, and the tie that binds (at some time by a tattered thread) is clothing...a Girl Scout uniform, a prom dress, a Chicago Cubs hat.

The main issue with this book is the voice/narration. I More...

0 comments like

Oct 05, 2009

Jeni rated it:

Jen Lancaster is one of my favorite writers. Everything she writes is just a delicious treat. From her twitter to her blog to her books-I love it.

Which is why my dislike for her 4th book, Pretty in Plaid, is very disappointing.

As a side note: this was the first book I ever read on my Kindle. Don't read Jen Lancaster on a Kindle. She is famously known for her awesome sub-scripts. On a Kindle, you have to scroll to and select each number. Once there, you select, each number, go More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Aug 18, 2009

Jennifer rated it:

Thoughts before reading:
I've seen this book recommended by others, and after reading through her blog, it intrigued me all the more and I wanted to read the book. The next stop I made was to my library web site. Unfortunately, it was not there! So, I sent in a request to the library system to purchase the book. Imagine my delight when less than a month later, it's in their collection! Yeah, baby. Immediately, I clicked within to request a check-out, only to be put in line. I figured after More...

0 comments like

Jun 27, 2009

Judy rated it:

I floored by the fact that I only gave two stars to a Jen Lancaster book, but, frankly, this one was disappointing. Such a Pretty Fat was my introduction to Jen Lancaster and I LOVED it. I quickly bought and read her other two books and liked them. This book seems to be a rehash of all of the same smart comments (which, I have to admit are still funny, but predictable). The two parts of the book that I enjoyed the most were Lancaster forging Girl Scout badges while in elementary school and a More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 01, 2009

Jenny rated it:

In her fourth memoir, Pretty in Plaid, Jen Lancaster takes us back to her life as a child and teen all the way up to where we start off in Bitter is the New Black. She breaks the book up into three parts -- the seventies, the eighties, and the nineties. The seventies are filled mainly with stories about moving to Indiana, trying to fit in at school, and being part of the brownies and girl scouts. The eighties fast forward through high school and college, while the nineties take a look at her lif More...

0 comments like

Jun 30, 2010

Maile rated it:

Jen Lancaster delivers again.

Don't get me wrong, this was not my favorite of her works (that is reserved for either her original or Such a Pretty Fat) and at times I found myself rolling my eyes at the silly little teenager but her writing style remains the same. Fun, funny and surprisingly touching. Reading one of her books is like having a glass of wine with an old friend and laughing over embarrassing moments from her life. But unlike the glass of wine you don't wake up with More...

0 comments like

May 24, 2010

Stephanie rated it:

This was my first introduction to Jen Lancaster, even though she has three previous books. I think it was a fine place to start, especially with it focusing on her childhood, so it almost felt like this could've been the first in the 'series' about her life.

When I picked up this book, I expected it to be really focused on the clothing and trendy, expensive 'labels' she would wear through her life, like so many 'chick' books are so focused on, but I was pleasantly corrected to see sh More...

0 comments like

Apr 02, 2010

Heather rated it:

Anyone coming of age in the 80s probably has fond memories of big hair, parachute pants, and popped collars. In Jen Lancaster's last book, Pretty in Plaid, she recounts her metamorphosis from small-town Midwestern girl to fashion-forward, Prada-loving businesswoman.

The book begins when Jen is still Jenni, and she is living with her family in New Jersey. It is the late 70s, and she is rockin' a retro-60's vibe in her hand-me-down fringe vests. Before long, her father moves th More...

0 comments like

Nov 07, 2010

Clementine rated it:

Jen Lancaster's memoir of her youth is told through particular items of clothing that she owned. It's a cute concept, and the fashion items usually play a role in the stories she tells. The essays themselves are for the most part entertaining, but after a while, the reader starts to realize that Lancaster is using a lot of words to not say much at all.

The problem inherent in the writing career Lancaster has built for herself is that this is her fourth memoir (she's since released a F More...

0 comments like

Jun 26, 2009

Jen rated it:

** I downloaded this onto my Kindle & then read it on the Kindle app on my iPhone. There were two mistakes a noted in the electronic version. In one case, there was no link for footnote 126. The other problem was that it appeared to be missing an electronic page. I'm not sure if it was a few words, a paragraph or an entire page. I'm not sure how much I missed or if it was only in the Kindle for iPhone version or if it was for the Kindle version as well. **

I just finished More...

3 comments like

Oct 21, 2010

Jennifer rated it:

I have a serious heart on for Jen Lancaster right now. Having just listened to my first "Jen" book I am full of Jen-ness. In a total state of Jen. Yeah. I am Jen-ed to the max!

This being my only Jen book under my belt I can give my opinion of this as a Lancaster virgin. Sure I had spotted her books in the Target book aisles - chuckled at the pithy titles. Thought - Maybe. Well Maybe is today bitches!

I laughed out loud several times. I actually got teary once whi More...

6 comments like (2 people liked it)

May 31, 2009

Rachel rated it:

I liked this book more than her other books. While her other books are funny, I always felt like I was reading about a persona more than a regular person. Sort of how in real life stand up comedians aren't exactly how they are on stage. Her other books seemed like a technicolor version of her life. Close to the truth but more colorful. This book seemed more genuine and while time really started to fly by at the end there, a more complete look at her as a person.

I had hoped to learn More...

2 comments like

May 10, 2009

Kathryn rated it:

Well, the book released on May 5th, I got it on May 6th (only because I couldn't get to the book store the day before) and finished it May 9th. This is not great literature, but Jen Lancaster's books are funny and fun to read, and her 4th, Pretty in Plaid does not disappoint. She's as self-centered and ego-maniacal as ever.

This book is a memoir of her days from grade school through college and into her first few jobs. Some of the memoir moments are her super-competitiveness in the G More...

0 comments like

Jun 19, 2011

Kathy rated it:

In Pretty in Plaid, Jen Lancaster reveals some flashes, from growing up in Cow Town, Indiana, to her time as a sorority girl during her eleven years of college, to her first profession post-college. Like her previous books, Pretty in Plaid is written as a series of essays, all of which are connected by the theme of clothing. From her Girl Scout uniform, covered in (I wish I thought of this when I was a girl scout) illegally earned patches, to her first job interview ensemble, Jen explains how cl More...

0 comments like

Sep 17, 2011

Shoshanah rated it:

It's been a while (a little over a year) since I read the last Jen Lancaster book. But in a way it doesn't really matter because you could read this one even if you haven't read her other books. In some ways this book is a prequel, at least as much as a memoir can be considered a prequel. It's start when Jen, or Jeni as she goes by then, is 8 and ends a few years before the start of bitter. Each story or chapter i centered around an item of clothing. Except since I'm not really a clothing person More...

0 comments like

Dec 01, 2009

Karen rated it:

I really like Jen Lancaster. She has fantastic stories, is very funny (I often feel the need to stop and read sections of her books aloud to anyone who is willing to listen) and she just seems like someone that you would want to have as your best friend. This being said, her latest book, “Pretty in Plaid” was a stretch. It seems like she might be running out of funny stories. It just didn’t seem as fresh or as hilarious as some of her earlier books. I still like Lancaster and will give her next More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 25, 2010

Tudor-Lee rated it:

I was supremely disappointed in this book. I ADORE Jen Lancaster- I think she is just brilliant. This, however, felt that it was entirely cobbled together from bits and pieces. It lacks her trademark "spark" that makes you adore her in spite of her general evil. (Love the evil...) I'm hoping that her latest tome, My Fair Lazy, is an improvement. This pieces together a series of "short stories" that take place at various points of her life. Having read her other books, More...

0 comments like

Sep 26, 2010

Jennifer rated it:

I found this book delightful and HILARIOUS! Now, that could be because I think Jen and I are about the same age, with a very practical, middle class up-bringing, therefore have we have many of the same experiences and perspectives. And we both have similar names - she's Jen. I'm Jennifer. If you are a child of the 70's & 80s and remember Kristy McNichol, Jordache Jeans, Polo shirts and Michael Jackson, you may relate too, all of which my friends and I loved!! She walks readers through her real f More...

0 comments like

Jun 07, 2010

MamaKitty rated it:

Initially, when I signed up to review this book for a friend's book review blog, I was excited. The blurb looked funny and I thought that I could use a good dose of laughter after a hectic semester.

And I was right, it was funny. Jen opens with letters she wrote to Mattel in an attempt to extort more Barbies from them (which I feel should’ve worked on the basis that a child was able to write such a letter, but I digress), a letter that she wrote to her brother’s teacher, to Brooke Sh More...

0 comments like

Jan 31, 2011

Marnie rated it:

This book had me laughing from page 1 and was easy to fly through. However, at the same time, it is kind of long for the type of book it is, if that makes any sense. This is the first Jen Lancaster book I have read, and have heard this one is her worst. So my savvy logic would lead me to believe that I will enjoy her other books more than this one.

This girl is funny. The way she writes is how I imagine she thinks and talks, which makes it fun. She looks back at various amusing points More...

0 comments like

Jun 19, 2010

Mackenzie rated it:

I really don't have much to say about this book. I forgot to review it shortly after I read it, so I don't remember what I had wanted to say about it. It was quite an amusing novel. Definitely glad I had the opportunity to read this. It was really funny in parts, one of my favorite quotes from this book was:

p.185-186 (Jen is working in a clothing store during her college years, some time during the 80's:I'm busy sorting through our new collection of rhinestone jewelry. Should anyone More...

0 comments like

May 20, 2009

Margie rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jun 05, 2009

Michelle (labbie) rated it:

I was looking forward to this book for months, and Jen didn't disappoint. I read the book in one day. While it didn't have as many laugh out loud parts for me as some of her other books, I definitely related to this book more than her others, almost 100%. Jen and I are close to the same age, so her remembrances of the 70's 80's and 90's are very close to my own. I was laughing out loud at her craving for Jordache jeans, perfectly feathered hair, and Dawn dolls (I had totally forgotten about thos More...

0 comments like

Nov 08, 2011

Lindsay rated it:

I didn't really dig this one to much. She takes the reader back to important times in her life, starting from when she's 8 up to her current situation. There were a few funny parts, but really it just kind of seemed like any other person's life. We've all wanted to be the 'cool' person in school. Some of us stopped going to college and than later went back. We've had to deal with crappy restaurant jobs and hoping to find our dream job. And now days, most of us have been let go from jobs. Kind of More...

0 comments like

reviews