So I can never resist getting a book when I'm out, hee hee. I picked this one up at Big W today, I had heard about the woman who got fired because she blogged about her sex life so I thought it would be interesting to find out the full story.

From back cover:

The sexy real life online diary that scandalised Washington is now a steamy, utterly unrepentant novel - with unbeatable fashion tips.

'Just between us girls, Washington is an easy place to get laid. It's a simple matter of economics: supply and demand. It lacks those industries that attract the Beautiful People, such as entertainment and fashion. Instead it has the government, also known as 'Holloywood for the Ugly'. Without the model-actress population to compete with, my stock shot up when I moved to DC...'

Capitol Hill staffer Jessica Cutler created a sensation last year when, in an online weblog meant just for friends, she began chronicling her late-night affairs with Washington power brokers. But word about her hilariously shameless accounts of her liaisons with six different men on Capitol Hill inevitably spread around town and became such a hot topic that it got her fired from her entry-level government job for 'unacceptable use of Senate computers'.

Now, in The Washingtonienne, Cutler has parlayed her experiences into a sexy, semi-autobiographical novel. Deliciously gossipy and impossible to put down, this is every bit as outrageous, scandalous and thoroughly entertaining as the real-life exploits that inspired it.

This book was awful. I don't get the drugs, the partying, the meaningless sex. And it's not because I'm a prude, I had fun watching Sex and the City; it was funny, clever and occasionally rude, but it was never trashy. At least Carrie had some kind of morals. Heck, even Samantha was reformed at the end of it. This book though, was crass and crude and I don't even know why I finished it as I was cringing all the way through. For once, I was glad that there was no happy ending as I don't think the main character deserved it. The blog may have been hilarious and witty, but it sure as hell didn't appear that way in this semi-fictional novel. Blech. An absolute disgrace to chick-lit, it may have been better to just publish the blog itself! Time to move on to something good...

I'm peddling this book off to unsuspecting victims so that they can form their own opinions about this book, hee hee. This bookring is now closed.



BookRing Instructions:
1. When you receive the book, please make a journal entry so everyone knows it has safely arrived.
2. When you finish the book, please make another journal entry to share some of your thoughts - enjoyed the book, or absolutely hated it?
3. Continue the BookRing by checking this journal entry for the latest list, and sending a PM to the person after you on the list requesting their postal address.
4. Please try to send on the book as soon as you can, preferably within a month. If you need more time, that's not a problem at all. Either send me a PM or write a journal entry to let me know that the book is safe with you. Thanks! :)
5. Please provide the date when you have sent on the book, either through updating an existing journal entry or making a "controlled releases" release note.
6. Most importantly, ENJOY!

Participants:
1. hunnyb
2. caldron
3. Melanie2474
4. Viola7

Book is now home with me, thanks everyone! :)

RELEASE NOTES:

Sending this to hunnyb, who is the only participant so far! Enjoy :)

Received this today - thanks! Oh dear, leeny37 - it's not very good? I've read some other negative reviews too... but this book has sparked my curiousity! The cover is certainly an eye-catcher!!

Well, I enjoyed it in a "I can't believe I'm reading this trash" kind of way. Consciously shocking, it seems to be the tale of a very confused young lady hungry for publicity of any kind. The ending was defiant in a "Gone with the Wind" style way - but of course not as well executed! It was interesting to see how the other half live...

Sending this onto caldron. Thanks for sharing this, leeny37!

Thanks leeny37 & to hunnyb . . . I returned to work after a short break today & receiving this package put a smile on my face when I finally cleared my mail-slot after 5pm today!

Will ignore Mt.TBR and begin reading tonight :)
(Should finish it this week and therefore avoid reading on the train next week with its interesting cover art!)

One word summation?
Vacuous.

I signed up for this one because I'm a real political junkie and had heard about the stir caused in Washington circles over this woman's blog & (s)exploits.

Sadly, the book didn't offer up any of the 'behind the scenes' intrigue or political 'colour' that I had hoped for ~ but, that was always going to be a 'long shot'.

Nevertheless, I cannot help but admire(?) in some (very) small way the Washingtonienne's parlaying of her experiences into the minor cultural bit-player's 15mins of fame that we are now examining.

I whole-heartedly agree with the comments of the previous reader's, in particular leeny37's "An absolute disgrace to chick-lit, it may have been better to just publish the blog itself!" and hunnyb's observation that "I can't believe I'm reading this trash".

Reading of the young lady's life I'm reminded of that adage that "some people know the price of everything, but the value of nothing" (or some such).

with thanks again to leeny37 for sharing, I have mailed this book today onto Melanie2474, enjoy!

Another bookring - I'd better get cracking!

Edited for comments 30 January 2006: Well I started this yesterday and ending up finishing it because I had nothing better to do in the heat!

I was expecting more intrigue, more political gossip, more anything... Jessica is self-obsessed, self-absorbed and self-destructive. While I think she's trying to buck the double standard by saying that she's a slut and that's ok, there is nothing strong or redeeming in the way she conducts her 'relationships'.

Lying, scheming, lazy... while I got to the end of the book (it was a fluffy and quick read) I was largely disappointed. In its favour, it describes Washington DC as a lovely city to look at and live in so maybe it's worth a visit when I get to the USofA but I know I'll be looking suspiciously at any staffers I may come across - I'm glad that's not MY tax dollars at work!!

Edited 1 February: Sent to viola7 in today's mail - enjoy :)

Received the other day! I've started reading this and it's enjoyable in a very sleazy way. Written by a very selfish, incredibly vain, fur-wearing young woman who seems proud of sleeping with practically every man she meets, it reads like a bad chick-lit novel. It's meant to be an expose of Washington intern's lives and the way that the senators treat them but they seem to go along with it and it takes two to tango...

This was a very silly book but interesting in a trashy way. I liked the author a bit better when she reformed somewhat (how long did that last?) and I admired the way that she picked herself up and brushed herself off when she was at her lowest ebb. It was an enjoyable, very light read.

And the pink book has returned! Thank you all for being a part of this bookring; strangely enough, this is probably one of the crappiest books that I've sent out but yet it has the best journal entries! LOL. And yes, that is a compliment to all of you, I wasn't trying to be sarcastic! I really enjoy reading well-written journal entries and all of you have been fabulous. Thanks to everyone for making this bookring a success, I'm sorry the book wasn't very good, but at least you had a chance to read it and can now officially say it sucked. *grin*

RELEASE NOTES:

I thought this would be a perfect wild release at the gym (imagine finding this in the locker, better still, in the men's lockers, LOL) but I decided that there may be possible interest from other bookcrossers. So, I will be bringing this with me to meet-up tomorrow, but I will be sure to warn everyone that it really isn't very good!

Picked up at bc meetup 21/02/06 after being duly warned about the content. Thought I'd give it a go, just to see what all the fuss is about.