Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America

Not much has change in the decade since I re-read this book. ( )

I made the mistake of looking over some of the reviews when I was adding it here to my list. The opinions are pretty divided: the conservatives pretty much attack her credentials (or attack her ad hominem; point is sympathy is usually lacking in these folks), and those who agree seem to do uncritically (i.e. they don't question the author as much). I will try to put those opinions aside as I read it myself. I have been meaning to read it because some of the freshman composition classes where I used to work as a librarian read it for their classes. I finished the introduction, so I am already clear on the conditions of her experiment. We'll see how the rest of the book goes.

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See my blog post on it:

http://itinerantlibrarian.blogspot.com/2007/12/booknote-nickel-and-dimed.html

In the GoodReads scheme, I gave it 3 stars for a book I liked. It is not a book I really like since I wish things were better, thus not needing to write books like these. That is the idealist part of me. She does get a bit preachy at time,s which I think can detract, so that also made me not give it a higher rating. However, I do highly recommend it to others out there. ( )

This book is a good expose on the myth that the United States is a classless society, an assertion so blind that it would be comical if it were not one of the major myths perpetrated by corporate media. In fact, the newspaper series in the New York Times a couple of years ago which purported to be about class spent a good three quarters of the time trying to maintain this myth.

Barbara Ehrenreich does her best to try to survive on entry-level jobs, and finds herself struggling severely. Eye opening on the level of Fast Food Nation. I read it for university. It surprised me only because I didn't grow up in a household that actually lived like Ms. Ehrenreich, which a good majority of the country does. If you didn't, you might catch some insight, but nothing more than you would working at a similar job and trying to pay rent. ( )

-- At almost 60 y.o. this female reviewer has spent all yrs. after college graduation doing entry-level work at entry-level wages so was glad to finally read Ehreneich's NICKEL AND DIMED in a bookstore's "free" box. -- ( )

I wanted to start out by giving this book a harsh review. I spent the first quarter being annoyed by Ehrenreich's tone: especially her consistent attitude of amazement that this is what people live like. Nearly every paragraph was met with a "well, duh" from me or a "oh poor little you". The strange mixture of awe and contempt that suffused the book never stopped making me wince.

And then, I came to a startling (if obvious) revelation. This book was not for me.

If you're someone who already recognizes the deplorable conditions and near-impossible odds poverty-level Americans face, then this book will make you roll you want to punch the author a little bit.

If you're not, then this book is for you. Ehrenreich does an excellent job of confronting the most rampant of poor stereotypes and, more often than not, finds them completely false. I imagine that it'd be an eye-opening book. ( )