Just finished reading Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America by Barbara Ehrenreich. (I finally got my books from the State Library.)
The book in itself was interesting; the author went undercover, worked low-wage jobs and tried to make ends meet. She reminds me of the lady (I don't remember who or when) who "became" homeless for a period of time and wrote a book about her experiences.
I didn't learn anything; not really, at least. Hell; I was a low-wage worker when I started out at the library with a $7/hour wage. If I had been trying to support myself on that, I would have failed. I can't imagine what lengths people have to go to support themselves on so little money per hour. If I had no debts, and no car payment, then I could manage, but with them, I couldn't (on that wage, that is.) And I know it's worse if you have children.
It was an interesting book.
Also in my pile-to-read are Fast Food Nation, which my sister assures me will make me want to become a vegetarian, and four writing books of varying ages from 1930s-1980s. These are for research purposes; I'm reading them to see how the advice of the ages holds up to the twenty-first century. I've never heard of the authors, fwiw.
And I cashed in my three-year-old credit to the Science Fiction Book Club to buy the two latest Terry Pratchett books, Night Watch and The Last Hero. Yes, I'm behind. And I have a rant coming on about the price of books these days, so watch for it...
The book in itself was interesting; the author went undercover, worked low-wage jobs and tried to make ends meet. She reminds me of the lady (I don't remember who or when) who "became" homeless for a period of time and wrote a book about her experiences.
I didn't learn anything; not really, at least. Hell; I was a low-wage worker when I started out at the library with a $7/hour wage. If I had been trying to support myself on that, I would have failed. I can't imagine what lengths people have to go to support themselves on so little money per hour. If I had no debts, and no car payment, then I could manage, but with them, I couldn't (on that wage, that is.) And I know it's worse if you have children.
It was an interesting book.
Also in my pile-to-read are Fast Food Nation, which my sister assures me will make me want to become a vegetarian, and four writing books of varying ages from 1930s-1980s. These are for research purposes; I'm reading them to see how the advice of the ages holds up to the twenty-first century. I've never heard of the authors, fwiw.
And I cashed in my three-year-old credit to the Science Fiction Book Club to buy the two latest Terry Pratchett books, Night Watch and The Last Hero. Yes, I'm behind. And I have a rant coming on about the price of books these days, so watch for it...
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