Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful, heartwarming, fun book to read
Review: I came across this book yesterday at a bookstore. I am trying to curb my shopaholic book buying habits, so I did not intend to buy the book, but simply flip through it. A few excerpts and I was hooked. I spent the night reading it rather than sleeping! Karyn kept me laughing out loud and really identifying with her. You wouldn't expect to be inspired by this book at first sight, but I was inspired by Karyn's journey learning about herself and following her heart. A very enjoyable book!
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: This has got to be one of the best books ever. I'm serious. I finished it in 2 days and it was so much fun. It's fact that reads like fiction, which makes it so enjoyable. This is the first book I ever bought for myself, seriously, and it was worth every (inexpensive) penny. I've never enjoyed a book so much. It was funny and it made you realize how people can let one bad thing can change their whole outlook on life. This book is about so much more than buying too many shoes and fancy hair apointments, it's about discovering who you really are. And the best thing is that it happened to a real person, which means that dreams can come true, even if it's not the way you expect them to go. Buy this book, it is so worth it!!!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: The answer to Debt Reduction is Begging. How Utterly Noble.
Review: "One Shopaholic's Journey to Debt and Back" is an attempt at capturing the attention of millions that wish to rid themselves of their own credit card debt. While some passages may be worth a glance or two purely for vapid entertainment, it won't solve any of your debt issues if you have any pride in yourself.In the end, the book does offer one helpful lesson: You need to strive to be the exact OPPOSITE of Karyn. She transformed herself into the worst type of mooching panhandler this world has ever seen. I fully understand why a homeless vagrant or a scrounging bag lady is forced to swallow their pride and beg for spare change. They are looking for their next meal or enough for a quiet place to sleep. I don't understand why a pampered, spoiled, dimwitted girl needed people to pay for her $$$$ Gucci bag. She became the lowest of the low with the help of random people who thought it better to offer their hard earned cash to a fool instead of a true desperate soul. For Shame. If you are truly looking to get yourself out of credit card debt, purchase "The Total Money Makeover" by Dave Ramsey from Amazon.
Rating: 
Summary: Autobiography of a Beggar
Review: When I first saw this book on the shelf it reminded me of a little gem called The Nanny Diaries. I thought the story would be roughly the same, a young women gets trapped in the city and through her adventures has some pretty keen insights into the personalities of the people that she comes across. Upon reading it I was taken aback by the "ME, ME, ME" attitude of the Ms. Bosnack. A simple summary: girl comes to the big city, buys all the fancy designer names, gets in loads of debt, becomes a beggar using an online website, repays debt from people's donations, feels entitled and encourages people to beg instead of solving their own problems, writes a book... The stories that she tells are fabricated, as they don't match the diary she had kept online (which has conveniently disappeared). To sum it all up, this is a book that tries to sensationalize begging. No matter whether panhandling occurs on the subway or online with a fancy website, begging will always be begging. Shortly after reading this book I took a trip to the Bronx Zoo and realized I had more respect for the Otters that were on display than Ms. Bosnack (at least they did tricks for the fish scraps that they got)
Rating:
Summary: I loved it.
Review: I thought this would just be a regular chick-lit book and was really looking forward to reading it. I had never heard of Karyn before the book. It felt completely real to me. I really liked Karyn and her friends and family. The whole getting into debt and realizing what you've done also felt too real. I wish I had thought of her idea first.
Since reading the book I have checked out the website and she sounds happy with her life now. Good for her.
Rating: 
Summary: Good for Others Recovering from Credit Card Debt
Review: "Save Karyn" is based on the popular website of the same. The story follows Karyn Bosnak who moves to New York and acrues a large amount of credit card debt. This story is great for young people in their late teens, early twenties and thirties who usually have problems with credit cards. It is very easy for this group to using credit cards, and having the usage get out of control. It also is easy to relate to when the author describes her depression and despair of letting the credit cards take over life. Debt makes you feel worthless, and Ms. Bosnak definately makes you have hope that you can get out of the situation. This book is a good read, especially for people who don't know what to do about overwhelming credit card debt.
Rating:
Summary: Hilarious AND true!
Review: Though I have never attained the amount of credit card debt that Karyn did, I found her book to be very realistic in describing just how a person "suddenly" winds up in debt. Living in the "Pacific"---as if there is an "Atlantic"---Northwest, those lattes really DO add up! Someone compared Karyn's writing to that of long-ago notes passed in 6th grade...but that is why it is so much fun to read. I do not believe that she set out to write a financial self-help book; she merely wrote about her own experiences. So, lighten up, literary dorks! I love a well-written book as much as the next person, but this one is just for fun. I also believe it is "well-written" in the sense that Karyn feels like a friend. Maybe not an always grammatically correct friend, but then those friends are never fun anyway....Also, those of you that are lambasting people that helped Karyn get out of debt---did you READ the book? She merely asked for help, did not insist on it and definitely did not expect what she ended up with. Who isn't envious for not thinking of it first?
Rating:
Summary: A quick and mildly entertaining read
Review: I read this book to gain insight into why Karyn Bosnak became such a phenomenon. It's difficult to understand why her "cyber begging" gathered so much international attention. What she did was unusual at the time, but certainly not unique. Her website was honest and marginally interesting, but hardly worth more than a casual perusal (to me, at least). She had no paid advertising, and by her account, even the free advertising she did (on Craigslist) was very brief, and only at the beginning. Yet *something* caused her to reach the "tipping point," after which the publicity became self-feeding. My conclusion: She experienced a series of fortuitous events (chatty people saw her initial ads, and the right people read what the chatty people said). To be fair, it was not entirely a matter of luck. She came up with an unusual idea and actually DID something about it. Then (and most critically) she had good follow-through (she immediately consented to radio interviews - lots of them, she answered her mail, etc.).
However, I was somewhat surprised to find that despite the enormous amount of international media coverage and millions of hits to her website, in the 20 weeks it took her to pay off her debt, she actually only received $13,328 in donations from 2,718 people. (After that she claims to have quit accepting donations.) A windfall of $13K is nothing to sneeze at, but it seems out of proportion to the enormous amount of attention she got. No doubt she has financially benefited far more from the *story* of her website (through this book, movie deal, and future deals) than she did from the website itself.
The book is actually not as bad as I expected. What it is:
* An interesting tale of "life in the big city" from the perspective of a professional, yet naïve Midwestern girl.
* Relatable for anyone who's ever been overworked in a job they weren't enthusiastic about.
* An honest account of foolish - yet common - overspending habits.
* Conversational and confessional.
* A mildly humorous look at urban single life.
* Inspirational to take charge and fix your life if it's not going the way you want.
What it's not:
* Great literature. Bosnak tells a good story, but she's not a great writer. And some of her naïveté, which I'm sure she thought would come across as charming, actually came across as rather ignorant and uneducated.
* A "how-to" book for people who want to duplicate her success. While she does tell how she made her website and her thought process behind it, this will not do you any good. She experienced a very unlikely turn of events any imitators would almost certainly not come across.
* A guide on how to get out of debt. There are much better books on the subject, and that is WAY beyond the scope of this book. Beyond a few simple recommendations (available on her website), most of her strategies for saving money (making a cup of coffee serve as both breakfast and lunch, for example) are ill-advised (and also available on her website as the "Daily Buck").
* A tale of redemption. Despite her claims to the contrary, I don't think Bosnak really grew much from the experience. She was scared for awhile and lived humbly for a few months, but then her experience was over. She did perhaps get her priorities a little straighter, but her observations about life remain shallow. She had a life-changing experience, but it doesn't seem to have actually changed *her* very much.
Overall, there is not much to recommend this book, but it is not totally without merit, and as long as your expectations are in line with what it actually contains, you won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Hillarious Book !!
Review: I could totally identify with Karyn's book. I read it in 3 days and looked forward to reading it. I'm sad I'm finished with it ! Can't wait for the movie. True the book is a little self absorbed, but hey, it's about her life. And she makes it so funny how she justifies spending money on what she deems as an emergency, clothes, make-up, etc. Great book !!!
Rating:
Summary: A Bright and Bold Move!
Review: A friend of mine wanted me to read this book because with college I have racked up a bill myself. Although nothing close to Karyn's it is a bill that is overpowering my life. I was not going to read this book at first and just give it back after attempting it, but once I started reading I was hooked. Each purchase she made was like wow she really has some balls to spend that much. I thought spending $25 on a hair cut was crazy but $300+ was worse. It was insane. I am honestly suprised by how many people actually helped her out. I think the world is better than I pictured it. I envied her for going on to a place where she knew no one and starting a life an expensive one but at least she had the guts to do it. I was actually jealous of her in some parts expecially when she was shopping and getting great brands because there is no way I could afford Gucci but that doesn't mean I don't dream about owning a piece one day. One thing I didn't envy is the bill she got after her shopping sprees. Sometiems I honestly wondered if she had a head on her I would want to be "perfet" too but I think I would also rather have a bed and necessities before I got friviouls.
All in all I thought the book was good a little dry towards the end but extremely hilarious in the parts before that. I would recommend that everyone read this book you might come out learning some or a lot about a shopper and their addictions.
(p.s. I think she should write a follow up. I am curious if she went back to her old ways with all the money from this book or if she really did change her ways her website is vague when it comes to that.)
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