Rating: 
Summary: Ho Hum
Review: I guess you have to be a New Yorker. It's not that funny to me. There's a lot of hype about this book, and I thought it was going to be funny like David Sedaris' books. There are more entertaining books out there, like Hasket's DUNCAN DELANEY'S CADILLAC OF DOOM, OR Sedaris' NAKED, OR Orozco's DELANO.
Rating: 
Summary: Great easy summer read
Review: I'd recommend this book to someone who enjoys the show on HBO "sex and the city". This is a book that'll take you only a few days to read, it won't challenge your mind, but it'll make you laugh and make you want to be this girl. This book is basically a chick flick - but I'd really recommend reading it.
Rating:
Summary: great read
Review: This is a very interesting novel----light reading. I did not noticed the grammatical mistakes and other errors that supposedly repelled other people, and I am an English teacher! This is the perfect book to read at the beach or when waiting for a plane. Written in the same vein as Nanny Diaries and covers much of the same (interesting to me) territory. We can all relate to people at work who are completely horrendous and demanding. The only thing I didn't like was that some characters, like Christian, were not fully developed or well-rounded. I was always waiting for some climactic incident that never came.
Rating:
Summary: Funny!
Review: That is the one word that comes to mind after reading this book. It was plain and simple funny. This is a great read for anyone who has ever worked in an industry which takes itself way to seriously, i.e. fashion, advertising, entertainment. I found myself laughing out loud at some of the situations this poor assistant found herself in. The author does an excellent job of outlining the job and boss from hell. A great summer read!
Rating:
Summary: All promise, no delivery
Review: I couldn't wait to pick it up and then couldn't wait to put it down. There were so many opportunities for humor and clever insight and they were almost all missed. The writing is flat and the characters never really come off the page. I used to think the Nanny Diaries was just okay but if this is this year's version of that book then I'm starting to think Nanny Diaries was fantastic. And finally, the dish just isn't that great.
Rating: 
Summary: What Did Houston Ever Do to Ms. Weisberger?
Review: I was relatively enjoying "The Devil Wears Prada" until page 72 when Ms. Weisberger takes on the city of Houston as if she was being paid by the Southern Stereotypes of America. She refers to my hometown as the following: "city of misery", "Third World", "swamp" - to name a few. Now, I can take a ribbin' - in fact there are plenty of things about Houston to poke fun at. But this was vitriol, not humor. I thought about pointing out that a city with the 4th largest museum system, a world-class ballet, a Grammy winning opera company and a Tony award winning theater probably shouldn't be called Third World...but what's the point? I hope Ms. Weisberger comes to Houston on a book tour. She will find the people very friendly and courteous... even though we have those horrid southern accents she hates (New Yorkers sound like music?) So I'm returning my copy for a full refund.
Rating:
Summary: Not great literature, but not meant to be!
Review: I enjoyed "The Devil Wears Prada" immensely. This is not great, meaningful literature, and the fact Lauren Weisberger is a new writer is abundantly clear. However, if you accept that this book is meant to be entertaining and gossipy, placed in a setting where intellectuals do not abound, you will find it quite fun. The main character, Amanda, accepts a job at a fasion magazine primarily because she is just out of school, she needs a job, and has no ambition beyond wanting to work for The New Yorker some day. Miranda, her boss, is a caricature of all the horrible bosses you have ever had or heard about. Amanda's co-workers live in fear of Miranda, but have also taken on some of Miranda's worst characteristics, yielding what little power they have maliciously. Much of the structure of the book is around boundaries. This is Amanda's first job, and she does not know how to set boundaries between her work and personal life. Her boss has no boundaries between herself and her underlings. Amanda and her college boy friend struggle to redefine themselves as a couple in an adult world, while Amanda's best friend slips over the line of partying into alcoholism. Certainly, some of the characters are shallow and the action is contrived. This is not the worst or best example of "Chick Lit," and is fun read if taken at face value.
Rating: 
Summary: BELIEVE the hype!
Review: This novel was hilarious! It's a light read that shouldn't be taken that seriously. It served it's purpose...to entertain! Buy (or at least borrow) this book!
Rating: 
Summary: IF YOU LIKED THE NANNY DIARIES YOU SHOULD ENJOY
Review: I'd probably give this 3 1/2 stars, not just 3 - If you enjoyed the NANNY DIARIES last year, you'll probably enjoy this book - there's just not a whole lot there - It could have been so much better - Way over the top, boss Miranda drives everyone crazy, especially her assistant, AANN-DREEE-AAHH - her demands are way over the top and her accusations will drive you crazy ("there's just no excuse") - I know there are those out there who say this is based on the author's own experiences as an assistant to the editor of Vogue - Let's hope it's an exaggeration - It would be very sad to believe that there are women bosses like this in our world today - and that their assistants will put up with that behavior!!! If you don't take it seriously, it's a fund read and if you enjoy fashion (like me) you will the best part will be the never-ending references to Chanel, Prada, Jimmy Choo and Minola Blanik - If employees of the magazines get all the perks described here - then I'm in the wrong field of work!!! Please, someone, point me in the right direction for a career at one of the top fashion mags!!! I would have liked to know a little more about Miranda - Why does she behave the way she does? What are her children like and how and when did she meet her current husband and just what is it about Miranda that makes "B-Dad" stick around? Perhaps an event to make her a little more human would have done it - but there's nothing in this book that will make any reader even remotely like her (and if you do, how sad!!) I'd also like to know more about Andrea - besides the promise of a great reference for a job at the New Yorker (why she thinks time spent in a FASHION magazine will impress the editors at THE NEW YORKER is still beyond me!!!) Halfway through the book, most readers will get the jest that most other NY editors despise Miranda - so why Andrea would think a referral from her to the NEW YORKER would be impressive doesn't make much sense - I've read some of the reviews where the readers felt that Andrea was almost as shallow and spoiled as Miranda but I don't think that's the case - I think she's a confused young woman who knows what she ultimately wants to do, but has no idea how to achieve it - She's anxious and eager which is why she takes this job in the first place - She believes one year of service for Miranda is worth more than 4 years of college and a degree and lesser experience will ever be!!! I mean don't forget, we are talking about a 23 year old New Yorker - The fact that she spends company money on coffee for the homeless says something - and I think her flirtation with Christian is harmless fun and exploration on her part (let's not forget, she's been with her boyfriend all through HS - she has no idea what else is out there - When was the last time, you turned down some harmless flirting???) - The ultimate catchall though is when Miranda tells Andrea that she reminds her of herself when she was that age - That's the ultimate spooker - Andrea is never the same after that line - and that's when all hell breaks loose - Overall, a fun, fast read - easy comparisons to the NANNY DIARIES can be made (Nasty mother/Nasty editor)(Naïve Nanny/Clueless Assistant) (Sinful, Cheating Father's Mistress/Faithful, Supportive Sr. Asst to Miranda)(Loving Supportive Family/Loving, Supportive Family)(Devilishly Handsome Young Neighbor/Devilishly Handsome Young Writer) -Should be a light, fun read - Not to be taken too seriously!
Rating:
Summary: Not another one of these books.
Review: I'm so tired of this genre. Bridget Jones has ruined it for us as publishers churn out this kind of garbage just because it sells well and we continue to buy it. I can't bring myself to purchase anymore stories about women that just graduated from college and their day-to-day stories about life, love and living in the big city. This book is like a cheesy Cosmopolitan fiction excerpt only much longer. This story is not shocking, I don't find any of the tales surprising and to top it off, the writing style is horrible. The author just tries too hard to shock and its way too obvious.
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