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Living Single
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A tour of the world of singlehood, sex, and dating follows the lives of four thirty-something women.
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Paperback, 352 pages
Published
March 1st 2004
by Kensington
(first published September 1st 2002)
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Showing 1-30
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Oh, I hated this book. I forced myself to read it because my mom insisted, but it was predictable and unimaginative, with shallow characters falling into every cliche possible. Don't waste your time.
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I'm only putting this in here because someone left it in my mailbox, with a note for me to read it. I THINK they meant well, but I was horrifically offended by the implication.
Regardless, this book is terrible. Save yourselves from the pain of this read and pour acid in your eyes instead. ...more
Regardless, this book is terrible. Save yourselves from the pain of this read and pour acid in your eyes instead. ...more
Total hack job rip off of Sex and the City. The characters were almost the exact same right down to the slutty Samantha and a cancer scare. Why did I finish it? Because I started it.
This was full of bumbles and love. Although it wasn't exactly what I was expecting, I enjoyed it.
When I read the premise, I wasn't expecting Erin to end up spending a lot of the book with a married man. This was hard for me to really get into since it made me feel uncomfortable, and I couldn't buy into the love between them as to really buy into it, I'd have needed his involvement in this book.
Other than that, however, this was a really strong book.
I loved the characterization in particular. Fro ...more
When I read the premise, I wasn't expecting Erin to end up spending a lot of the book with a married man. This was hard for me to really get into since it made me feel uncomfortable, and I couldn't buy into the love between them as to really buy into it, I'd have needed his involvement in this book.
Other than that, however, this was a really strong book.
I loved the characterization in particular. Fro ...more
Sometimes, for me, a book meets me exactly where I am. That was the case for this book. It's light, easy reading, "chick lit" fare but it was exactly what I needed to read this past weekend. I have a lot of angst in my life right now and I needed a book that was entertaining and insightful but in a easy way. The story focuses on Erin and her three best friends in their quest for finding true love. They are all reaching their mid-thirties, single and starting to feel a little panic about whether
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Ugh, my friend gave me this book, but I didn't realize she was simply 'getting rid of it'. This book is AWFUL. The dialogue sounds like a first draft. There's no subtext or subtlety and half the book is clothing and food descriptions.
Annoyingly, I can't stop reading it. What is WITH that? Ugh.
Fluff fiction. Avoid at all costs, lest you get sucked into the suckage that is this terrible book.
At least I did learn how not to write a novel! ...more
Annoyingly, I can't stop reading it. What is WITH that? Ugh.
Fluff fiction. Avoid at all costs, lest you get sucked into the suckage that is this terrible book.
At least I did learn how not to write a novel! ...more
Gah. just lost my review. so....a summary. It was not like Sex in the City other then the formula of four women friends. The archetypes are completely different. Erin is no Carrie Bradshaw. She actually pissed me off when she turned down Barnes and Noble guy.
The ending attempted to wrap up everything neatly but was too abrupt and failed. I don't believe I will read this author again. ...more
The ending attempted to wrap up everything neatly but was too abrupt and failed. I don't believe I will read this author again. ...more
2.5 stars
This was an interesting book that took a look at a year in the lives of four friends and their love lives. It reminded me a bit of the tv series Sex and the City but with more depth in the relationships. All the friends were entirely different but compatible. The only real criticism that I would have would be the ending which felt a bit rushed and inconclusive.
This was an interesting book that took a look at a year in the lives of four friends and their love lives. It reminded me a bit of the tv series Sex and the City but with more depth in the relationships. All the friends were entirely different but compatible. The only real criticism that I would have would be the ending which felt a bit rushed and inconclusive.
Could not finish. Characters were so incredibly shallow and plot was just boring. Couldn't connect with main character at all. Pretty awful.
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Oct 14, 2014
Meghan
rated it
did not like it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
twenty14-challenge-50-books
Ugh.
This is not a book about being single in your early 30s! Ok, maybe bits and pieces of the book are. However, the main focus is the main character's affair with a married man. For a year. ...more
This is not a book about being single in your early 30s! Ok, maybe bits and pieces of the book are. However, the main focus is the main character's affair with a married man. For a year. ...more
That's about a 2.5 stars. I really spent most of the book disgusted with the main character. Most of the time I felt like smacking her in the back of the head and telling her to wake up and take charge. But I kept reading. Enjoyed what little story we got on the rest of the characters, and really feel like I wouldn't mind a couple more developed stories about them! The writing style was fast and easy, and I would be willing to read something else by this author if the main character didn't make
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Depressing story of four thirty-something women who, while successful in their careers, seem to not really do anything but get together to eat and talk about men. As a more mature reader, I find it sad and quite perturbing that these young women seem to be concerned only with the awful men they are dating, men they can't have, or giving up on men altogether.
I liked the characters otherwise, and the way they supported each other. The writing is also good, just didn't care much for the story. ...more
I liked the characters otherwise, and the way they supported each other. The writing is also good, just didn't care much for the story. ...more
Picked this up from my library as a free "Blind Date a Book" Valentine promotion. Chamberlin is not a bad writer but this took FOREVER to get to the point: don't go after married men. And I even skimmed to get to that point. Trite and flat.
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The friendships were good, but the story lines was not something Im crazy about. Friendships are important and they were good for each other. It just wasn’t women supporting women that don’t know each other. Loved the ending
One of the worst books I have ever read. Poorly written and the main character has an affair. I detested this book.
I didn't hate it, but it really wasn't great. I hated the main character but I was curious to see what happened. That turned out to be not much. Two and a half stars for being mildly entertaining.
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Dark comedy about a thirty-something who has an affair with a married guy.
good beach read.
Couldn't finish. After 2 chapters I knew I could not read.
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Comedy. Chick dating married dude. Nope.
This book was pretty terrible. I started reading it in the airport; couldn't deal with the whiny, self-absorbed, boring narrator; read a different book; finished it; and was left with this or nothing. Well, or business books. *sigh*
Also, I was curious about how the author was going to resolve the problem of the guy being married without the whole thing being a completely pointless book. (view spoiler) ...more
Also, I was curious about how the author was going to resolve the problem of the guy being married without the whole thing being a completely pointless book. (view spoiler) ...more
OK, now that I've had time to cool off a bit after reading this I wanted to update my review.
I picked up this book and liked the summary on the back cover: single woman in her 30s is reexamining whether she wants to go the marriage/kids route after all. Being in a similar place in life, I was intrigued.
In no way shape or form did I think this story was going to chronicle a year in the life of this single woman's affair with a married man! I had zero sympathy for the main character and found myse ...more
I picked up this book and liked the summary on the back cover: single woman in her 30s is reexamining whether she wants to go the marriage/kids route after all. Being in a similar place in life, I was intrigued.
In no way shape or form did I think this story was going to chronicle a year in the life of this single woman's affair with a married man! I had zero sympathy for the main character and found myse ...more
Overall, this wasn't a terrible book. It was a fairly quick read so that was nice. Erin's relationship with Doug annoyed me first of all because he was a married man. She was never going to get what she wanted out of the relationship because he was already married. And also because he obviously wasn't good for her and didn't treat her right. However, I enjoyed reading about Erin's friends and their relationships.
The main thing that annoyed me throughout the book was "Romance" and Reason." In eve ...more
The main thing that annoyed me throughout the book was "Romance" and Reason." In eve ...more
I thought this would be a fun summer read. Single girl about town in Boston, it sounded amazing but the first 200 pages are about the main character's affair with a married man and her best friend dating her father. Yuck, not interested. The affair is such a large part of this book that it should be in the summary. The book should also be half as long as it is. Cut the slow/uninteresting parts. Cut all the "Reason" and "Romance" inner dialogue. I get it, the angel and devil on your shoulder but
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An incredibly emotional book. Yes, it was cute in places and funny, even, but the overarching plotline was absolutely heartbreaking. The pain caused by an affair was felt in the author's words. The heart wants what it wants, but at what point do you let your mind, or "Reason" in this book, win out over "Romance?" I loved the book because it gave us a look into the other side of an affair, from the POV of the mistress. They're not all out to destroy a happy marriage. A lot of the responsibility f
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vapid chick-lit i picked up at goodwill. basically "sex in the city" set in boston with early 30-somethings instead of early 40-somethings. i do like recognizing restaurants and landmarks and intersections; fun!
it was not as horribly predictable as expected, and i did enjoy the characters, especially the mum (whom we glimpse only in her hurried postcards from "somewhere in south america.")
a shame about the numerous typos, and this is certainly not high literature, but i'd go so far as to say if ...more
it was not as horribly predictable as expected, and i did enjoy the characters, especially the mum (whom we glimpse only in her hurried postcards from "somewhere in south america.")
a shame about the numerous typos, and this is certainly not high literature, but i'd go so far as to say if ...more
I enjoyed this book, as a light interlude from some heavier stuff, but didn't love it and will probably promptly forget it. It was very sex & the city, just in Boston. I'm not really into reading about the main character as 'the other woman'... Overall I feel like there's not a whole lot to say about this. The other characters were pretty much cardboard cutouts- with the possible exception of JoAnne who had only slightly more depth than the others. Abby especially was incredibly annoying as a cl
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My book had a totally different cover which was much more interesting. If I saw this cover, I would have judged the book by its cover and not read it.
Recommended by a friend who had just started reading it and prefaced by saying a beach read. Wow the first 20 pages or so were fun!!! Brought me back to days after college living in Boston with good friends. However, the book soon gets quite tedious.
Must say that it was refreshing at the end the main character made the right decision to put her li ...more
Recommended by a friend who had just started reading it and prefaced by saying a beach read. Wow the first 20 pages or so were fun!!! Brought me back to days after college living in Boston with good friends. However, the book soon gets quite tedious.
Must say that it was refreshing at the end the main character made the right decision to put her li ...more
Holly Chamberlain’s Living Single was a fanciful fluff read. For this avid foodie, the places they visited and the drinks and cuisine they consumed were as delicious as the story. At times I felt the characters were contrived but overall I liked the close-knit girlfriend group and how they always had each other’s’ backs during the difficult times. I cared about their successes and often yelled at the screen when I saw them sliding back into their previous mistakes. I came away from the read feel
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I enjoyed reading this book. At times, I felt like I was reading Sex in the City meets Boston. The book focuses on four single ladies in their thirties who are exploring what it means to be single and can happiness exist outside of a loving relationship. As each character comes to her own conclusions and inevitably makes peace with her singleness, the reader is able to empathize with each character along their journey. While I wouldn't re-read this book, I would recommend it as a great book to t
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Holly Chamberlin is a native New Yorker, but she now lives in Portland, Maine - the aftermath of stumbling across Mr. Right at the one moment she wasn't watching the terrain. She's been writing and editing - poetry, children's fantasies, a romance novel or two, among many other genres and projects - her entire life. She has two cats, Betty and Cyrus, and when she's not writing her hobbies include
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