She can turn a good phrase now and then, enough to garner spot laughs through out. The problem is a lack of material worth writing about. A whole chapter on the old computer game The Oregon Trail seems excessive.
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This book feels like the author is just too young, lacks the meaningful life experiences needed to flesh out a book, and is stretching the hell out of what little has happened to her. Perhaps the book's title is the author's way of saying she's aware of this book's "let them eat cake" laissez faire attitude.
And to be fair and honest, I did get some laughs out of Crosley's essays. I'm sure there is an audience for them. I'm clearly not it. Apr 09, kira rated it liked it. What can I say? I never intended to read this book. I probably never would have, had I not received it in a publicity mailing at work. The day it arrived, I was between books and just wanted something to read on the subway.
And then I kept reading. I tend to not like to read books by "successful" people around my age. If the books suck, I'm angry for wasting my time.
I Was Told There'd Be Cake by Sloane Crosley
Worse, if they're actually good, I'm angry that this person, who might as well be me, actually had the motivation and ene What can I say? Worse, if they're actually good, I'm angry that this person, who might as well be me, actually had the motivation and energy to write enough material for a book, get a book deal, and as a result be critically praised and read by thousands.
It completely invalidates my excuses of being too busy, too lazy, too scared, etc. Anyway, Crosley's writing is not the most elegant I've ever read, but it's far, far from the worst see my review of Smashed by Koren Zailckas. In the end, all that really needs to be said is yes, this book had me laughing out loud several times. And yes, I finished it in two days. I wanted to hate this book and this author. But how can I hate someone who is so much like me? I am Sloane Crosley's ideal audience. We are about the same age and have similar backgrounds. I too moved to "the city" after college to work in book publishing.
I get what she's saying. Hang out in the lobby of a publishing company building for ten minutes or sign up for one volunteer project through any city organization. I try not to think about it, because it makes me feel entirely unoriginal. It's almost enough to make me want to pack up my things and move to rural Montana. But really, what would that solve? The line that really sold me is at the very end of the very last essay.
She writes, "I was just like everyone else I knew: Either way, I bought it. And that's ME too, as well as just about every single one of my friends. So, in conclusion, make me laugh, through in a few little nuggets of truth like the above, and I won't regret the time I spent reading your book. And really, that says a lot these days. Apr 20, christa rated it liked it. View all 3 comments. May 20, A rated it did not like it Shelves: Sloane Crosley is similar to me and my friends in education, background, life experience, career trajectory, and the like. The big difference is she has a book deal, and we do not.
As such, I tried to read this with an open mind and not hate her off the bat.
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Turned out that was all an unnecessary gesture on my part, as even someone completely remote from her experience would realize she is one of the most talentless hacks to come along in ages. This book was unbearable! These "essays" more accu Sloane Crosley is similar to me and my friends in education, background, life experience, career trajectory, and the like. These "essays" more accurate definition: Every minute I wasted reading them read: Truly one of the worst debuts of the year--which is saying a lot considering this is the same year that has already seen the premiere of Keith Gessen's execrable first novel.
Instagram Twitter Facebook Amazon Pinterest We're all in the midst of our own existential dilemmas and hearing someone write quirky little diatribes about their Devil Wears Prada -esque boss or the friend who left poop on their carpet can sometimes make us feel as though we aren't alone. Some of her analogies are creativ Instagram Twitter Facebook Amazon Pinterest We're all in the midst of our own existential dilemmas and hearing someone write quirky little diatribes about their Devil Wears Prada -esque boss or the friend who left poop on their carpet can sometimes make us feel as though we aren't alone.
Some of her analogies are creative and on-point. Not rip-roaringly hilarious, mind, but clever and unusual and amusing. Sometimes she reminded me of me. Other times she reminded me of the me I wish I was. The me who says that clever punchline when it's needed, and not five minutes later, after I've already walked away. As pithy as Ms. Crosley is, the problem with collections like these is that there are always going to be some stories that just aren't as good as others, and bring down the collective quality of the book as a result.
Apart from a few choice stories that really stood out to me, I found them blurring in my head almost as soon as I had read them, and it was difficult to suss out which story was which. That's really the keystone of this problem: Her stories lack that extra panache that makes them stand out. Jenny Lawson, with her funny sadness, sad funnyness, and taxidermied raccoons, is what Sloane Crosley dreams of being, but she just isn't quite there yet.
It accompanied me to work and various other appointments, and since the essays are only a few pages long, it made it easy to read them in quick, short bursts without having to stop in the middle of a segment I hate that! Jun 30, Felicity rated it did not like it Recommends it for: No one not even my worst enemy! This book is so awful, so awful I couldn't bring myself to finish it. Maybe I just missed the punch lines I think these essays were meant to be humorous , but my overwhelming response to these essays was "So what?
Crosley's life--I hate to break it to her, but I just don't think her life has been that interesting. The final affront was an apparent joke in her less-than-humorous essay about a possible move to Australia thank goodness for us Australians she n This book is so awful, so awful I couldn't bring myself to finish it.
The final affront was an apparent joke in her less-than-humorous essay about a possible move to Australia thank goodness for us Australians she never made it there Crosley's plans for moving to Australia are dashed, she observes that "My Australian dreams had disappeared into the night like a baby in a dingo's jaw She can make offensive comments about Australians all she likes--we probably deserve it. But offensive comments about Lindy Chamberlain and her daughter Azaria is another thing--hasn't Lindy Chamberlain already suffered enough?
Just give it a rest people. Give the woman the peace she deserves. Wasn't it enough that the Australian media, the Australian public, and the so-called justice system destroyed her life? No, apparently some dim-witted twenty-something year-old in New York City still thinks it's funny to make jokes about the case. Jan 17, R. I found that each essay had, hovering in the background, an exquisite sadness. To belong, to have belonged.
I Was Told There'd Be Cake
A desire to not fuck up despite a penchant for fucking up. This book may be, on the surface, a collection of humorous essays; but a ghost, called Lost Opportunities, hovers beneath that glassy surface, knocking. Longing to breathe the air of a wider, gentler world and to drop the burden of the "Lost". Jul 03, Frannie Fretnot rated it liked it. I gave this book a snarky review a few years ago that several GoodReads readers liked, but since reading the whole book and maturing maybe just a tiny bit , I feel much more generous toward Crosley and her brand of innocently naughty humor. Apr 21, Nikki rated it did not like it Shelves: The blurb on the cover compares her to David Sedaris.
The blurb on the back compares her to Dorothy Parker. These people are out of their fucking minds. Sloane Crosley has a lot of interesting anecdotes in her arsenal, but she doesn't know how to tell them without boring the shit out of you. May 31, Aaron rated it it was ok Recommends it for: Those wanting to learn to become more effectively self-referential. It's hard not to blame David Sedaris for Sloane Crosley. I mean to use "blame" lightly - I don't think Sloane Crosley is a thing anyone should necessary be sorry for, but by popularizing the whole "my family is weird in a way that is eccentric but essentially without serious conflict" genre of self-data mining, he's opened the door for people like Crosley to tell very similar stories about their OWN harmless strangeness.
I suppose this is essentially livejournal lit - as a blog, Crosley would be It's hard not to blame David Sedaris for Sloane Crosley. I suppose this is essentially livejournal lit - as a blog, Crosley would be pretty great. She's funny, occasionally hits the lucky longball, and doesn't take herself so seriously that the whole affair starts to feel more than occasionally like a bloodless exercise in self-promotion or a neurotic call for attention. As a book getting national attention, it's much harder to parse why out of all the perfectly viable memoirs on mild neurosis floating around in cyberspace, this would be the one to be chosen for national attention.
Easy to read, funny in patches, not at all special. Aug 05, Scott S. I was eager for a helping of Crosley's Cake after quickly burning through her very latest essay collection - Look Alive Out There , released in spring - earlier in the week while away on a brief vacation. I also really enjoyed the pleasant and similarly-styled Cake , which chronologically is her first book from back in Crosley again discusses various and unrelated topics - summer camp experiences, her first job after college, being a member of a wedding party, a health concern - with sp I was eager for a helping of Crosley's Cake after quickly burning through her very latest essay collection - Look Alive Out There , released in spring - earlier in the week while away on a brief vacation.
Crosley again discusses various and unrelated topics - summer camp experiences, her first job after college, being a member of a wedding party, a health concern - with spot-on humor and occasional insight in fifteen distinct compositions. Jun 16, Jason Brown Toastx2 rated it did not like it Shelves: Apr 15, Michele rated it liked it Recommends it for: Essays for Twenty-Somethings Always on the lookout for a new, fresh voice, and one touted as a "mercurial wit" on a par with David Sedaris and Dorothy Parker, had to be good, right? I'm sorry to report these front and back cover comparisons are just good copywriting.
I'm not saying this author isn't talented. She's funny, smart, quirky, writes well, and has a few something stories to relate to, perhaps, essay-readers of her generation and fellow Manhattan-ites who may never Essays for Twenty-Somethings Always on the lookout for a new, fresh voice, and one touted as a "mercurial wit" on a par with David Sedaris and Dorothy Parker, had to be good, right?
She's funny, smart, quirky, writes well, and has a few something stories to relate to, perhaps, essay-readers of her generation and fellow Manhattan-ites who may never tire of telling or hearing the same stories again and again and again.
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Boss from hell, moving, etc. I'm afraid there's nothing new here--a few chuckles and clever witticisms, but mostly I found this to be a monotonous collection of tales from a young woman shaking off the selfishness of youth and coming of age. Further, I knew there was a generation gap when she started waxing nostalgic about video games in the excerpt entitled "Bring Your Machete To Work Day.
Nevertheless, I can't blame the author for these particular criticisms--which means this book had more of an audience problem for me, rather than a talent problem. I'd love to read more of Crosley's work, say in another decade or two. My guess is that she's going to get better and better. Good writing, mildly humorous, nothing new for baby-boomers, but probably great for Gen X'ers and those who follow.
No doubt, Crosley knows. Mar 08, Oriana rated it really liked it Recommended to Oriana by: Oh man, this book was so much fun. These essays are light without being inconsequential, funny without trying too hard, snarky without being cruel mostly , and smart without being pedantic. Great, great little rants on the hell of being a bridesmaid, the shame of locking yourself out of your apartment in your pajamas! She talks about friends drifting apart, volunteering at the Museum of Natural History, Channukah bushes, whether eating sushi is really cheating on your vegetarianism, and what to do when someone takes a shit on your floor.
Did I mention these essays are deliciously fun? I know I like this especially because Sloane is, more or less, just like me. Her friends are just like my friends, her sense of humor is just like mine, her upbringing and career aspirations and ways of amusing herself -- mine, mine, mine. I have no idea if this would be fun for someone with totally different life experiences. This is my review of my experience, and it was terrif. The other thing I discovered while reading this rediscovered, honestly, as I do every time I read essays is that I am soooo much easier on essays than I am on short stories.
I'm not really sure. I mean, when I read short stories, they just always make me mad, for being too short, too flittery, not developed enough, and ultimately an unsatisfying waste of time. Even the shortest ones, even the most flippantly anecdotal if they're well done, obvs , are enough for me. I feel like I should be drawing some kind of conclusion from this, but nah. I just really like essays, and I really like Sloane, and I really liked this book.
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Aug 07, Jenny rated it did not like it Shelves: Sloane Crosley might make an interesting blogger and you'd read her stuff every once in a while when you're super bored at work but essay after essay in a book was too much. None of the stories were particularly funny or interesting. Reading the book was very much like meeting someone that all of your friends like and you've heard about this person non-stop and then you meet them and they're not particularly funny or interesting.
At first you try to like them as much as everyoen else does but th Sloane Crosley might make an interesting blogger and you'd read her stuff every once in a while when you're super bored at work but essay after essay in a book was too much. At first you try to like them as much as everyoen else does but then you just say "Sorry, I don't see what everyone else sees. I don't have much sympathy for someone who agrees to be in a wedding and then trashes the bride the whole time.
>Review: I Was Told There’d Be Cake by Sloane Crosley
No one held a gun to your head. If everything is true, I feel really badly for her friend who had to read that and know that it was all written about her. So by the time I got to the "turd on my floor" essay and had to read her endless thoughts about "Who on earth pooped on my floor?
Apr 21, Katie rated it it was ok Shelves: This was our May book club read The point was often missing from many of the essays, and while I laughed and happily flipped through the pages, the content seemed better suited for a blog than a book. Crosley has a good voice, but I just didn't see the magic that other essayists - like the ubiquitous but amazing David Sedaris - bring to their books. You won't be bored reading this, but it's more like you're listening to your friend tell you some funny thi This was our May book club read You won't be bored reading this, but it's more like you're listening to your friend tell you some funny thing that happened to a friend of hers than you're reading a published collection of essays I could write a book like this.
If you're the sort of person who likes easy breezy books for the beach, and you have this on hand as you're venturing out for a weekend in the Hamptons, you won't be disappointed with this one Get Me Talk Pretty One Day by Sedaris instead if you want a book of sharp, hysterical essays that are more than just storytelling. Oct 01, Tim Lepczyk rated it did not like it Recommends it for: Sloane Crosley isn't the reason I dislike most creative nonfiction, but she writes from the same sense of smallness that leaves me as a reader thinking, so what?
So, you collect plastic ponies, so you've lost your wallet and had it returned a bunch of times, so you were a maid of honor and a jerk to your friend, so you almost were sick but just ate too much spinach instead, who cares? Look at me, this is ironic and obscure, did you ever notice. On the other hand, I've read essays from this book because I don't want to think.
It's like when you catch yourself watching bad TV. Throw in Ross and Rachael and you've got yourself an episode of Friends. This book is great for teens and those who are just in their 20's and have no world-view beyond them self, their suburb and their friends. Jan 06, Cyndi rated it liked it Shelves: A series of essays that are sometimes entertaining. Some are funny, some But, it's short, so Sep 19, Camille rated it it was amazing. May 13, Whitney rated it really liked it. The nice thing about a collection of essays is that you can read one, put the book down, and come back to it later, and not really have to remember what you read before.
Even if I hadn't been stuck on a plane for 6 hours, I probably would have read most of Sloan Crosley's essays in one sitting. They're funny and a little sad, and easy to relate to. I couldn't put the book down, and frankly, I didn't want to. Thanks Sloan Crosley, for making my six hour flight to Boston in the middle seat, no le The nice thing about a collection of essays is that you can read one, put the book down, and come back to it later, and not really have to remember what you read before.
Thanks Sloan Crosley, for making my six hour flight to Boston in the middle seat, no less that much more enjoyable. Jun 26, Jaclyn rated it really liked it. It's true that to enjoy "I Was Told There'd Be Cake," you have to be in Sloane Crosley's target audience, and it's true that her target audience is a fairly small group. Sloane writes for people just like herself Sloane is a young publishing professional trying to make it in New York City. Replace "publishing professional" with "lawyer" and replace "New York City" with "Wash It's true that to enjoy "I Was Told There'd Be Cake," you have to be in Sloane Crosley's target audience, and it's true that her target audience is a fairly small group.
I know Sloane Crosley's experiences because I basically lived them. The freakishly compelling summer camp with platform tents, decorated dining halls and promise-to-be-friends-forever-then-forget-about-you-on-September-1st camp friends? Suburban middle school dances in clashing patterns? A My Little Pony collection? Sadly, check, although fortunately I didn't move mine with me to DC and they don't all represent failed relationships. Oh, and Oregon Trail? Oh, my goodness, check. So, yes, I found Sloane to be absolutely hysterical.
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