Pretty in Plaid Audiobook By Jen Lancaster cover art

Pretty in Plaid

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Pretty in Plaid

By: Jen Lancaster
Narrated by: Jamie Heinlein
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In Pretty in Plaid, Jen Lancaster reveals how she developed the hubris that perpetually gets her into trouble. Using fashion icons of her youth to tell her hilarious and insightful stories, listeners will meet the girl she used to be.

Think Jen Lancaster was always "like David Sedaris with pearls and a super-cute handbag" (Jennifer Coburn)? Think again. She was a badge-hungry Junior Girl Scout with a knack for extortion, an aspiring sorority girl who didn't know her Coach from her Louis Vuitton, and a budding executive who found herself bewildered by her first encounter with a fax machine. In this humorous and touching memoir, Jen Lancaster looks back on her life - and wardrobe - before bitter was the new black and shows us a young woman not so very different than the rest of us.

The author who showed us what it was like to wait in line at the unemployment office with a Prada bag, how living in the city can actually suck, and that losing weight can be fun with a trainer named Barbie and enough Ambien is ready to take you on a hilarious and heartwarming trip down memory lane in her shoes (and very pretty ones at that).

©2009 Jen Lancaster (P)2009 Penguin Audio Funny Witty Heartfelt

Critic reviews

“Scathingly witty.” (The Boston Herald)

“Laugh and cry at this hilarious collection of essays that chronicle Jen’s fearless fashion faux pas through the ages, her 11 (yup) years of undergrad, and her not-so-glamorous entry-level jobs. You’ll revel in the lessons she gleans from her travails: primary among them, that the ability to laugh at your mistakes is the best skill you'll ever learn.” (Redbook)

“She pegs her memories to outfits - a green dotted swiss dress, some stylin’ Jordache jeans, crocodile skin pumps - in a way that will win the hearts of all of us who still remember the dusty green of our 1980s-variety Girl Scout uniform (with its fetching beret and knee socks!).” (San Antonio Express-News)
All stars
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I've listened to four of Lancaster's nonfiction books and they've all made me laugh. She's bitchy and snotty, which she compensates for with a good measure of self-deprecation. The important thing is that she's very funny.

She Always Makes Me Laugh

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Jen Lancaster books always make me laugh so hard that I risk incontinance. This was no different, except that I listened to it, in my car, on my commute.

Peeing my Pants during my commute.

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Reading should include all of the footnotes and not just some of them. Other than that it’s great!

Reading should include “ALL” footnotes

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What would have made Pretty in Plaid better?

Better narration.

Has Pretty in Plaid turned you off from other books in this genre?

No, but I will definitely be more choosy when it comes to narration.

What didn’t you like about Jamie Heinlein’s performance?

Too over the top.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Jen Lancaster is funny so I expected more from this book. It's not her best.

Just Read the Book Yourself

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