The Tao of Martha: My Year of LIVING; Or, Why I'm Never Getting All That Glitter Off of the Dog

I chose this rating because I like Jen - a lot. When she is writing memoirs. I am not crazy about the fiction because I am not a fan of the chick lit genre and was not surprised to read that she is doing it to generate additional income. But I fly through her non-fiction. To me this book was ha ha and touching rather than LOL and touching, like some of her earlier ones, but I enjoyed Jen's spin on her life nevertheless. I could so relate to the awesome treats and no goblins knocking on the door - I was there myself last Halloween. My problem with this book was the whole Martha Stewart thing. Not a big fan of "homekeeping." I understand now that Jen has achieved bliss in the burbs it is getting more difficult to find an organizing theme for her books about her own life, but I am not fond of Martha, as a person, which includes her being a convicted felon, a mean boss, and a questionable parent. I am not saying that someone I don't like (Martha, not Jen) can't have good ideas about how to organize your household - give credit where credit is due. I still think being an honest, kind, and loving person trumps knowing how to fold the linens. I don't like reading about Martha.

Man, that was a long dry spell. Oh sure, Jen has written books on a consistent schedule (and more than many authors.) But there have been a lot of misses lately. Don't get me wrong - even her misses are still better than the Twilight series. But I missed the Jen Lancaster with whom I fell in love.The last few books rehashed much of what had been written before. The tone was off and it felt more like the books were forced instead of flowing easily.The REAL Jen Lancaster is finally back in The Tao of Martha. I have missed the witticisms that only she can create, such as:*I would rather receive a Pap smear from Captain Hook than venture out on New Year's Eve.*My chief tormentor now gives pedicures in a salon next to the county jail in my old hometown. Sometimes karma looks a lot like OPI's Lincoln Park after Dark.*Um no, for seven thousand dollars over five years, that tree would have to drive me to work.*Although I'm prone to favor smaller government, I would GLADLY support a National Bureau of Ensuring **** Fits Properly.*Sometimes marriage isn't about love and companionship as much as it is a fine balancing act involving mutually assured destruction.However, there is more than just funny asides. Jen takes us on a year where she had some personal setbacks and shares what she learned from them:*I feels like I wasted three years of my life worrying about this moment. Despite all of my anxiety, the worst happened anyway. I thought somehow I was bracing myself against the sadness by preemptively fretting, yet all I did was wast the time I could have had being happy.You'll laugh, you'll cry, it will become a part of you. (I can't remember what that's from - maybe SNL?)In other words, highly recommend.

**Spoilers** When I first stumbled upon  Bitter is the New Black: Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smartass, Or, Why You Should Never Carry A Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office  it was once of those moments when a new favorite author enters the arena & a new game begins. It was like she was in my head & that's a twisted thought! I was laughing at loud & telling anyone that would listen that they HAD to read this book. I've loaned my copy of Bitter so many times that I bought another copy to have as a backup. I just discovered that The Tao of Martha was available on audiobook & was narrated by Jen -- I can't wait to check out if Bitter is now available & also narrated by Jen. But, back to the Tao of Martha...To have another book live up to Bitter is a tall order, but I will always give any Jen Lancaster book a read. I'm not saying this book is a huge disappointment but it wasn't quite what I have come to expect from Jen. After reading the book description, I figured that the adventure in taking on Martha's ways was going to time & time again end in a disaster, but Jen finding her own way to make it her own (like she did when she went nuts ordering on Amazon for her July 4th party) - for me, that is the Jen I've come to laugh with & love. I've never been a huge Martha Stewart fan. I'm not an anti Martha person either, but I admitted a LONG time ago that I was never going to produce or even have the desire to produce anything that Martha Stewart would brand with her stamp of approval. I'm a bit of a perfectionist but when I think of terms of Martha Stewart perfection - my eyes start to cross & I already know that anything I do would never be Martha Stewart quality. I felt like the Jen Lancaster I have come to love through her books would be on the same page with this thought process. I know that seems SO crazy to assume & that's why I wanted to give this book a try even when it became clear that she was not only succeeding on her journey with Martha but was learning life lessons from her. This was a very hard pill for me to choke down.I think there's something about the Jen in Bitter (and her other books) that can really relate with always having drama & crazy things happening. I can relate with being so poor that my electricity is always on the verge of being "suspended". I was quoting parts from Bitter on facebook & calling friends to read exerts. To this day, I remember parts of Bitter that make me laugh just thinking of them. I just finished Tao today & I have a few things that have stuck in my mind: she loves Jo Malone just like myself, she's an animal lover & experienced a profound loss in losing Maisy (I also just lost a beloved fur family member) & her cancer scare at the end.This book touched on some very heavy subjects & Jen did it in her way which I loved, but I wasn't prepared for a read that took me into these types of directions. This sort of thing doesn't make the book bad by any stretch, but it seemed like something was a little off.In Bitter, she would go off in what seemed 5 different directions & somehow it would not only be hilarious but make sense in the end. But, writing about how Martha would do this or that just didn't spike my interest. It seemed a bit stiff (like Martha Stewart has always seemed to me). I suppose my not liking Martha Stewart ranks right up there with her quirk about not liking Abraham Lincoln or Halloween. I also have to add that picking on crafty people shopping at Michael's Craft store didn't really sit too well with me either. I suppose the fact that I tend to roam the isles of a craft store quite regularly (being an art student, quilter, altered journal artist, hand embroidery stitcher & many more -- not to mention I own a few cats...so I seem to fall into the cat lady she's laughing about.But, in the end everyone should read Jen Lancaster books. She is a hilarious author & extremely talented. I love her style of writing but feel that this book was skimming the surface in most areas besides parts about her animals, especially parts about poor Maisy, & about her Cancer scare at the end. I was left wanting more & that's a weird thing to experience when I come to the end of a book written by Jen Lancaster.

I'm a fan of Jen Lancaster and have read all of her books. I like the books best that are about herself and Fletch and the four-legged kiddos. She is sassy and screaming out loud what many people just think. While this new book did have good moments, Overall it felt rushed and some story lines were missing an ending. But I'm still looking out for the next book of Jen.

As usual, Jen Lancaster has written a very funny book. Very difficult to put down. I have read all of her books and this is one of the best.

Funny as always and was very impressed with how she dealt with Maisy's issues.