NEW RELEASE
The Tao of Martha - Jen Lancaster (2013)
In her latest memoir, Jen Lancaster is taking on the queen of all domesticity, Martha Stewart. Well, she's not so much "taking on" Martha as she is "incorporating" Martha's principles into her daily life. Jen spent a year following Martha's advice on organising, decorating and entertaining. Some of it worked (Happy Easter!) and some of it didn't (no organic zucchini this year), but all of it was hilarious. Whether she is carefully introducing two new cats into her menagerie, begrudgingly carving pumpkins with husband Fletch, or crafting home-made gifts for her friends (which, by the way, really aren't any cheaper than buying gifts when you do the math), the laugh-out-loud factor is once again huge. This time around, we also get a glimpse of "serious Jen" as she deals with a couple of difficult issues in a most touching and heartfelt way, which was a nice balance to her sarcastic humour we are so fond of. The Tao of Martha is the perfect book to add to the top of your summer reading list. And if you are looking for a take away from Jen's search for the Tao of Martha, there are two. 1) If you can't live the Tao of Martha, then live the Tao of Maisy by being awesome, giving awesome, and getting awesome, and 2) There is no such thing as too much glitter! (LEK)
Jen Lancaster's latest memoir, The Tao of Martha, sees the writer trying to live her life following domestic diva Martha Stewart's teachings. Subtitled My Year of LIVING; Or, Why I'm Never Getting All That Glitter Off of the Dog, the summary says: "One would think that with Jen Lancaster's impressive list of bestselling self-improvement memoirs - Bitter Is the New Black; Bright Lights, Big Ass; Such a Pretty Fat; Pretty in Plaid; My Fair Lazy; and Jeneration X - that she would have it all together by now. One would be wrong. Jen's still a little rough around the edges. Suffice it to say, she's no Martha Stewart. And that is exactly why Jen is going to Martha up and live her life according to the advice of America's overachieving older sister - the woman who turns lemons into lavender-infused lemonade. By immersing herself in Martha's media empire, Jen will embark on a yearlong quest to take herself, her house, her husband (and maybe even her pets) to the next level - from closet organization to craft making, from party planning to kitchen prep. Maybe Jen can go four days without giving herself food poisoning if she follows Martha's dictates on proper storage. Maybe she can grow closer to her girlfriends by taking up their boring-ass hobbies like knitting and sewing. Maybe she can finally rid her workout clothes of meatball stains by using Martha's laundry tips. Maybe she can create a more meaningful anniversary celebration than just getting drunk in the pool with her husband ... again. And maybe, just maybe, she'll discover that the key to happiness does, in fact, lie in Martha's perfectly arranged cupboards and artfully displayed charcuterie platters. Or maybe not." The Tao of Martha is out in June. Read on below for news about the TV project.
Domestic diva Martha Stewart is executive producer of a new TV comedy based on Jen Lancaster's upcoming book The Tao of Martha. Deadline.com reports that the project, from Imagine TV and 20th TV, is based on the book, which is in the vein of Julie And Julia, with Stewart as a role model instead of cooking icon Julia Child. The Tao Of Martha centres on a highly disorganised former party girl who decides she needs to grow up after her husband leaves her because he can't handle her chaotic lifestyle anymore. She decides to become a better role model for her daughter and write a new book about changing her life according to the teachings of Stewart, who is expected to make voiceover appearances. Lancaster's book is out in June 2013.