Welcome to Litsy!

💼 The constant baby-sitting and cleaning up unnecessary messes that shouldn't be made if people planned better (I'm in Procurement).
💼💼 Tagged. The author works several different jobs (under cover, technically) to illustrate the living wage gap and how hard it is to get ahead and stay ahead financially. Great read.
@TheSpineView #Two4Tuesday

🍇 Dinnertime with my daughter 💕

🍇 🍇 Nickel and Dimed. A nonfiction book where the author goes under cover working minimum wage jobs (one of which is a server) to highlight the difficulties the poorer class faces in day to day life. Tagged.

@TheSpineView
#Two4Tuesday

I read this #temptingtitles #withmoney a long time ago and the impact has stayed with me!

@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Finished this audiobook while making progress on a Xmas gift for my mom (she‘s into astrology & her sign is Cancer) #audiostitching #litsycrafters

I mainly enjoyed this book; I thought the narrator was excellent. So much privilege & seeming contempt for others, especially overweight people, though. I found many of the stats & facts uncomfortable and, no doubt, things are more dismal now than in the late 90s when Ehrenreich did her experiment ⬇️

RIP https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/sep/02/barbara-ehrenreich-author-dies-nic.... “She was never much for thoughts and prayers, but you can honor her memory by loving one another, and by fighting like hell.”

A meh book on an important subject. Maybe this hadn‘t aged well, despite the fundamental problems remaining unchanged. Maybe I‘ve read other books on similar subjects that worked better for me (Freakonomics and Fast Food Nation, both last year, come to mind). I just wanted more from this and didn‘t get it. Another done for #AwesomeAugust

It was very good and unfortunately still relevant today.

This has been on my Litsy tbr for a long time. Written 20 yrs ago but sadly, still very relevant today. Not much I didn‘t already know, but it was interesting to hear about the author‘s experiences in the low wage jobs. Definitely some white privilege. 3.5/5 ⭐️ 16 pts #mistletoemaniacs #wintergames @Clwojick

“The working poor are the great philanthropists of our society” ~ Barbara Ehrenreich

🌟🌟🌟🌟
Excellent peek inside the world of the working poor surviving on minimum wage and slave labor. Having been in this industry for about 5 years in the early 80s, she was spot on in what she experienced.
‘Cons: The author interjected herself too much into the narrative and I found her self importance, and arrogance very distracting.

Much like Evicted, this book helps tell the story of poor in America. When she writes that the poor are largely invisible, I have to agree. Without these stories to illuminate what housing and low wage work are really like, it is easy to believe that it is a failure of drive and motivation. If you are one of those people who think that, pick this book up.

Angry , illuminating, yet dryly amusing and self-deprecating eye-witness account of life among the working poor. 20 years old now and I suspect conditions have worsened since she carried out her research. An uncomfortable but important read.

#kindledeals #kindledeal #ebooksale

#MaidinJuly #botmbuddyread

In 2001 I read Nickel and Dimed- I love this journalist/author Barbara Ehrenreich, and have read much of her work. She wrote the introduction to Maid, and as fitting, she came in contact with Stephanie Land through a non profit she founded to promote journalism on economic inequality, especially by those who are working class & are struggling.

This book came out in 2001, so the hourly pay of these jobs has hopefully gone up since then. The author took low paying jobs in 3 states to see how it feels to try to live on low hourly pay. This is a sad book to read, but everyone should read it. If you are middle class, it will show you what it means to be a working poor person. We need to change this and have a national hourly wage of at least $15.

I am so conflicted by this book. I think it is eye opening in some parts, but sometimes the way the author words things really just oozes privilege or her jokes aren‘t coming off quite right. I am going to read it with my seniors, most of whom have no idea what it‘s like to live paycheck to paycheck. I think addressing her privilege will be helpful too.

1. Yup
2. It fluctuates. This year, 6 out of 27 have been NF. F to NF ratio is 7:2 (plus 2 in progress, though. So 21:8?) Between 35-40%
3. Memoirs and academic, especially the sciences and language arts
4. Tinkering with Eden by Kim Todd, As You Wish by Cary Elwes
5. ✔
Currently reading Truevine by Beth Macy
Started but set aside The Western Lit Survival Kit by Sandra Newman
#hellothursday @wanderinglynn

First #BookaWeek title finished for @TheReadingMermaid 's #BookaWeekChallenge.

⭐⭐⭐(3)

A good read, though not as enlightened as I had hoped. I'm not the target audience, though, since I've been there. A few passages were somewhat tone deaf, otherwise I would have given it 4 stars. #RtC #economy #workingpoor #livingwage #renttoodamnhigh

I mean, I get what she's saying, but she could have worded that a whole lot better.

Some interesting thoughts about mandatory drug testing in this chapter, though, as well as affordable housing shortages.

Oh hell no. She did not just say that she knows what it's like to be black because of how people treat her when she's wearing a maid uniform at the store. WTF!

We can tell when your books are just for show.

Here's my stack for #BookaWeekChallenge in no particular order. Starting with tagged because it's due back at the library.
#BookaWeek @TheReadingMermaid #September #TBR

4 books in 4 weeks ... That's one more than my average, so I'll have to push myself. Also, I'll have to start with the tagged book I've already started because it's a library book. It's okay though because I'm only a few pages into the first chapter. Anyone else want to join this #readathon? Will post my stack later, once I figure it out. #BookAWeekChallenge #BookAWeek #ReadingChallenge #September @TheReadingMermaid

Had a hell of a Monday, so I'm just getting around to posting this now. My phone battery died before I got a screenshot of my timer before it reset. Didn't make #12intwo, but I was within 15 minutes of #6intwo. That's pretty good for me. I've been too anxious today to do any reading. My husband took our 3 yr old daughter for a sleep study. She doesn't handle them well. Anyway, over the weekend I read the tagged and The Fall of Hyperion.

Book:Elmet (still on TBR)
Author:Barbara Eherenreich
Movie:Elmer Gantry 🤔that was a book too!
Food:egg salad
#manicmonday

Tipping matters in America. A discussion on Twitter about tipping reminded me of this clear & important read. 4.5 stars. (Slow service is often due to under-staffing or the kitchen‘s fault. Waitstaff in US are more likely to be women. Who scrape by on less than minimum wage plus tips. Slow service stinks, especially when your kids are hungry, but I always try to leave something.) Pic via Goggle. #nonfiction #workingwomen #waitingtables

My entry for the #24in48 12-hour challenge: a book that has changed your world view. I read this years and years ago, and I found it very disheartening. The rise of crappy jobs, unaffordable health insurance, and expensive housing. People trapped in places with no public transit so they need a car, and live in a room with limited privacy and thus no place to keep their things (cash, valuables) safe. The cost of bank accounts. Rampant theft.

When I think of #LadyMadonna, I always think of “making ends meet”. So, the cost of living in 1968 (when the song was released) with some of the lyrics. I was still in high school, and worked at a drug store, so I do remember bread was 4 loaves for $1. #HeyJune

#AHardDaysNight #HeyJune @cinfhen @GypsyKat

#BusyEarning #aprella @Cinfhen @Mdargusch @emilyhaldi @Reviewsbylola

Can not believe it took me so long to read this book. Not only is it an eye opener, it will absolutely make you depressed at the state of life that many of us have to have to just not live in a cardboard box. It shows us the impact of having profits put before people and sadly shows that, unless we make a huge cultural shift, it will just get worse. Absolutely is a must read.

#SheWorksHardForTheMoney #FierceFeb @batsy @Cinfhen

There‘s a few problematic things in this book: of course you can‘t just go and choose the working class life for some time just to try it. However, I think there‘s some value to this type of first-person journalism, and Ehrenreich does interview her coworkers who live on a minimum wage forever. And it is well written and interesting, as we usually see these companies from the consumer‘s perspective. #RoryGilmoresReadingChallenge

Definitely depressing. Especially considering how little I think things have changed since this was published. 😔

I had an epiphany recently. I used to think it was the new school year that cut into my reading time every fall. Now I realize it's football (college and pro.) I'm not a great multitasker. Reading and TV don't mix for me. This weekend also included ALL the episodes of Stranger Things 2. Not much reading happened. Maybe I can still manage to polish this off before bedtime though.

Next up. Now you know how long it takes me to get to books on the TBR. Been meaning to read this for a while, but just never got around to it. 😕

I read this due to it being in the curriculum for the kids I'm teaching. Though after having them read it as well what seemed off to me is insulting to them. A rich lady came to play with the poor so she could write a book about their lives. Definitely don't teach this book or force it on kids who live in poverty it's not well received

...and the second half of my Goodwill #bookhaul. You know, because I needed more books. 😁📖📖📚📚📚

#Workaholics But not by choice
#JubilantJuly @RealLifeReading

#PublishedInThe2000s #ReadJanuary

50% off sale at Savers ✅

TRUMPED UP READING LIST - 3 of 4
Yesterday, I asked for some reading suggestions from both sides of the aisle for post-election. Thank you so much for all the recs (and I also combed @BookishFeminist wall and the #overthis hashtag @lemonlime799 ). Along with some other suggestions out there, here's what I have for now. I did cull the list somewhat for my purposes but wanted to share with you. Please forgive the multi-posts.

#TrumpedUpReadingList

I was excited to find this book while browsing through Barnes and Noble. This was a eye opening read about what it means to live while working a job that not only pays little, but respects the individual so little. Loved it and will definitely pass along to my friends and family! #nonfictionnovember

Even if you are disappointed with the presidential choices this year, there is so much more at stake. State and local elections matter; these are the votes that affect you and those much less fortunate than you, and your vote really does count. Exercise the rights that people fought so hard for you to have. I hope all you US littens get out there and vote today if you haven't already.

#imwithher #politicalnonfiction #photoadaynov16

To understand the poor and lower class, means to open your heart wide enough to fully listen and understand the struggles they face. Nickel and Dimed is not only educational, but a source for learning to appreciate what you have and finding inspiration to help and advocate for the less fortunate. #LendAHand ✋🏻#MattChase #HelpInk.org

Necessary.

Such an important read if you want to understand the poor working class. Should be required reading.