Book 45 of my 2015 Reading Challenge
read from July 24 - 27
I Regret Nothing by Jen Lancaster
Summary (via Goodreads)
Sure Jen has made mistakes. She spent all her money from a high-paying job on shoes, clothes, and spa treatments. She then carried a Prada bag to the unemployment office. She wrote a whole memoir about dieting…but didn’t lose weight. She embarked on a quest for cultural enlightenment that only cemented her love for John Hughes movies and Kraft American Singles. She tried to embrace everything Martha Stewart, while living with a menagerie of rescue cats and dogs. (Glitter…everywhere.)
Mistakes are one thing; regrets are another.
After a girls’ weekend in Savannah makes her realize that she is—yikes!—middle-aged (binge watching is so the new binge drinking), Jen decides to make a bucket list and seize the day, even if that means having her tattoo removed at one hundred times the cost of putting it on.
From attempting a juice cleanse to studying Italian, from learning to ride a bike to starting a new business, and from sampling pasta in Rome to training for a 5K, Jen is turning a mid-life crisis into a mid-life opportunity, sharing her sometimes bumpy—but always hilarious—attempts to better her life…again.
Mistakes are one thing; regrets are another.
After a girls’ weekend in Savannah makes her realize that she is—yikes!—middle-aged (binge watching is so the new binge drinking), Jen decides to make a bucket list and seize the day, even if that means having her tattoo removed at one hundred times the cost of putting it on.
From attempting a juice cleanse to studying Italian, from learning to ride a bike to starting a new business, and from sampling pasta in Rome to training for a 5K, Jen is turning a mid-life crisis into a mid-life opportunity, sharing her sometimes bumpy—but always hilarious—attempts to better her life…again.
My Opinion
I have an uneven relationship with the author; sometimes I really enjoy her books, sometimes I don't. This one probably ranks in the middle somewhere.
I don't like her overuse of sidebars. Maybe it's not as noticeable when reading a column or blog but I have different expections for a full length book. The information in the sidebars is fine but if she could use a few more words to segue or find another way to say it to avoid the disruption, I think it would be worth it for the reading flow.
I love her concept of "time burglars" - the person in a meeting or group setting that asks multiple questions that only apply to his/her specific situation, causing everyone else to sit by and listen to information that doesn't pertain to them at all. I have an exact person in mind as an example; whenever I go to my second child's class orientations, there's a certain parent that will make everyone else uncomfortable with their TMI questions (I just look down and pretend I'm not there).
A Few Quotes from the Book
"Seems like the youth of America believes that having the sum total of all human existence at their fingertips equates to knowing everything. Truth is, they're no more or less clueless than we were at that age, only they'll have the pictures to prove it."
"In my life, I have a tendency to pursue only that which I might have a talent for doing. So, sometimes it may look like I'm unfairly successful (aka the Facebook effect) but it's only because I've already eliminated ninety-nine percent of the activities at which I'd fail. I feel deep-seated terror over being embarrassed by poor performance, which is why there are so many things I've never even tried. Couple that with the Things I Don't Want to Do Until I'm Thinner (come on, you know you have them too) like taking horseback riding lessons or learning to tap-dance, and suddenly the options that are open to me in my universe can feel limited."
"Overreactions to what should be completely inoffensive make me so crazy. And at what point did "clicktavisim" take over for actually trying to do good? I mean, people can retweet about hunger awareness until their thumbnails fall off, but if they really wanted to do something that would help feed people right this damn minute, they'd go to the grocery store and load up their cart with shelf staples like peanut butter and pasta, dropping everything off at their local food bank."
" "Hey...do you really have nothing to add here?"
He replies, "I find when you lose your mind, it's best not to get in your way. What's my rule?"
Grudgingly, I parrot his oft-repeated adage. "'Don't engage The Crazy.' Fair enough." "
" "Is this the worst idea I ever had?" I ask.
"No, that was the day you tried to cut your own hair," Fletch replies."
"Vaguebooking, in which a poster alludes to something being amiss, but won't actually spill said beans. For example, posting a hospital selfie, and when everyone responds with, "OMG, are you okay?" replying, "I'd rather not talk about it."
THEN WHY START THE CONVERSATION?"
"When I look back at the end of my life, I will least regret the day I ate cake with breakfast in Rome."
"Overreactions to what should be completely inoffensive make me so crazy. And at what point did "clicktavisim" take over for actually trying to do good? I mean, people can retweet about hunger awareness until their thumbnails fall off, but if they really wanted to do something that would help feed people right this damn minute, they'd go to the grocery store and load up their cart with shelf staples like peanut butter and pasta, dropping everything off at their local food bank."
" "Hey...do you really have nothing to add here?"
He replies, "I find when you lose your mind, it's best not to get in your way. What's my rule?"
Grudgingly, I parrot his oft-repeated adage. "'Don't engage The Crazy.' Fair enough." "
" "Is this the worst idea I ever had?" I ask.
"No, that was the day you tried to cut your own hair," Fletch replies."
"Vaguebooking, in which a poster alludes to something being amiss, but won't actually spill said beans. For example, posting a hospital selfie, and when everyone responds with, "OMG, are you okay?" replying, "I'd rather not talk about it."
THEN WHY START THE CONVERSATION?"
"When I look back at the end of my life, I will least regret the day I ate cake with breakfast in Rome."
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