JELL-O Girls: A Family History | 
pickLove this cover! 🎶j-e-l-l-o🎶
A memoir that braids the evolution of one of America's most iconic branding campaigns with the stirring tales of the women who lived behind its facade - told by the inheritor of their stories.
#bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks
Oh no! Just realized that I only have 3 days to read Jell-O Girls! Worth it to plough through???
pickI thought this would be a dry family memoir, but it‘s so richly written that it reads like a novel. I love the bits about the history of Jell-O itself in its larger cultural context and the idea of its role in enforcing a patriarchal structure (even if it‘s a bit of a stretch, I loved it nonetheless). Be forewarned: there is medically/anatomically graphic sections that made my skin crawl. Pro-tip: skip the audio, read the book.
bailedI very much disliked how the author invented conversations, experiences, and inner thoughts for other people that she couldn't have possibly known, unless the person kept a detailed journal, but there was no mention of such sources. This is fairly common in memoirs and creative nonfiction and is one of the reasons I stay away from most memoirs. I want "Just the facts, ma'am" in the nonfiction that I read.
I‘m off work but no one else is in my family so they keep asking me to do things. I left and I‘m hiding out in the library 😂😂
so-soWell there are chapters about the family that financially benefited from the Jell-O patent and their troubles. And then there are chapters about the history of Jell-O and how it has been marketed over the decades. Would it be horrible for me to say that Jell-O was more interesting?🤔 And then, the author blends in an episode of Mass Psychogenic Illness that she tries to relate to her and her mother‘s experiences. 2⭐️s (Jell-O saved it from a pan)
pickI was expecting the long history of a family for multiple generations, but instead it was the memoir of one woman‘s battle with mental health and cancer. it was a much sadder story than I was expecting. Oh, and there‘s some history of Jell-O too.
pickI was very engrossed by this story. Since I live 30 minutes from Leroy, it held extra interest for me.
I'm traveling for a conference. I have ZERO room in my bag. But I could not resist stopping into the bookstore this afternoon. #supportlocal #independentbookstore #littlebiglove #themasterpiece #jellogirls
1/2 way through and has me disliking JELL-O even more then I did before. Alwsys found Jell-O creepily disturbing now I know why?
Jell-O's early misogynistic racist ads are cringy. 🤦♀️
Halfway through the @24in48 #readathon! “WHOAAAAAAAA WE‘RE HALFWAY THERE. WHOA-OH, READIN‘ ON A CHAIR. Take my hand, we‘ll make it, I swear.” 🎶📚
Halfway through Hour 22 of the @24in48 #readathon! Going to read more of this and then nap. ☺️♥️📚
The opening paragraph of the NYT review makes me want to read this book! And, I hate jello.
