My Fair Lazy - Jen Lancaster (2010)

In Jen Lancaster's fourth memoir, she attempts to gain some culture and expand her horizons beyond reality television. The memoir begins with novelist Candace Bushnell interviewing Jen. Bushnell mentions that she is into Baudelaire. Jen panics because she has no idea who or what Baudelaire even is. This is that catalyst for Jen deciding to throw herself into new cultural experiences. The reader watches Jen as she takes on plays, opera, poetry and a commitment to eating new cuisine. The result is a hysterical laugh-out-loud book that readers will love. There are humorous anecdotes about reality TV shows throughout the book. If you love Ed Hardy, hate Lacoste and find reality TV to be the downfall of society, then this is probably not the book for you. For everyone else, you will love it. (AO)

Fans of Jen Lancaster will be delighted to hear she's back for a fifth instalment in May. She's been through job loss, city living, weight loss attempts and 1980s nostalgia. This time she's having a My Fair Lady transformation. The summary to My Fair Lazy: One Reality Television Addict's Attempt to Discover If Not Being A Dumb Ass Is the New Black, or, a Culture-Up Manifesto says: "Jen chronicles her efforts to achieve cultural enlightenment, with some hilarious missteps and genuine moments of inspiration along the way. And she does so by any means necessary: reading canonical literature, viewing classic films, attending the opera, researching artisan cheeses, and even enrolling in etiquette classes to improve her social graces. In Jen's corner is a crack team of experts, including Page Six socialites, gourmet chefs, an opera aficionado, and a master sommelier. She may discover that well-regarded, high-priced stinky cheese tastes exactly as bad as it smells, and that her love for Kraft American Singles is forever. But one thing's for certain: Eliza Doolittle's got nothing on Jen Lancaster - and failure is an option."

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