Jen was a powerful, no-nonsense dot com executive who had a fetish for fine dining, hair highlights, and anything Prada. However, after the September 11 attacks, she finds herself out of a job, and more frightening, out of the lifestyle she has grown to love.
"Bitter is the New Black: Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smartass, Or, Why You Should Never Carry a Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office" is the first memoir by Chicagoan Jen Lancaster. This was a great read -- in the beginning, you love to hate Jen and her self-absorbent lifestyle. But when Jen hits dirt bottom, you can't help but admire her perseverance, individuality, and courage to start fresh.
If you've ever been unemployed, a shopaholic, sorority girl, whatever, you will identify with this book. Check out her other memoirs too!
If you have never ventured the hour south to visit Starved Rock State Park, you are missing out. The park is 2,630 acres in size, boasts miles of walking and horseback trails, and is home to gorgeous waterfalls. It's a great day trip to plan this summer, so pack a picnic lunch, put on some sensible walking shoes, and explore the deep canyons and nature trails.
Jimmy Tock comes into the world on the very night his grandfather leaves it, as a violent storm rages outside of the hospital. At the very height of the storm's fury, Josef Tock suddenly sits up and speaks for the first and last time since his stroke. What he says turns out to be a prediction of Jimmy's years to come - that there will be five dark days in his grandson's life - five dates whose horrible events Jimmy will have to prepare himself to face. Jimmy's father, Rudy, is all too ready to discount his father's last words, until he finds out that Josef also predicted other facts about his grandson: Jimmy's birth down to the minute, as well as his exact height and weight, and the fact that he was born with a physical deformity on his foot. Suddenly, the dying man's prediction takes on a chilling significance. What terrifying events await Jimmy on those five days? As the novel unfolds, picking up Jimmy's story at each of these crisis points, the path he must follow will leave you wondering how it will all end.
