![]() Or it could be about how much you hate Valentine’s Day, for the crass commercial holiday it has become. Well, your haiku could be to your crush, telling him or her how you feel (and yet he or she still hasn’t noticed you-but don’t worry, I won’t tell!) That’s right! In order to win one of the above books, you must write a haiku (a poem where the first line is 5 syllables, the second line is seven syllables, and the third is five syllables) somehow relating to Valentine’s Day. You must also include an original (made up by you) haiku relating to Valentine’s Day. This time in order to win, you can’t just send in your name and address. I made it too easy last time, so this time I’m shaking things up a little. The words Valentine Book Giveaway in the subject lineīut wait! There’s one more thing you have to do in order to win: Your first choice, second choice, and third choice of the books above (I’ll try to give your first choice, but no guarantees. Your home address (where the book should be sent) If you’d like any these books, all you have to do is email me: It’s the same as the US version, except “color” is spelled “colour”, etc. This is the UK paperback version of Jinx. This the UK paperback version of Pants On Fire. The books (yes, that says book s, plural) I’m giving away this week are: That’s why I’ll be giving away romances all month! Yes! It’s that time again! February is the month of romance–which can sometimes stink, I know, if you don’t have a Valentine. Phone orders min p&p of £1.Blog Category: Meg’s Diary Valentine’s Day Book Give Away! By meggin, 11th February 2009 Free UK p&p over £10, online orders only. To order a copy for £12.74 (RRP £14.99) go to or call 03. Who Thought This Was a Good Idea? (And Other Questions You Should Have Answers to When You Work in the White House) by Alyssa Mastromonaco with Lauren Oyler is published by Little, Brown. It says it all that, ultimately, I ended up liking Mastromonaco (warm, smart, nice) rather more than her book. ![]() Ultimately, maybe Mastromonaco felt that she had no choice but to self-muzzle, keeping Obama and his administration at (sainted) arm’s length, making what could have been an intriguing memoir something of a disappointment. ![]() Towards the end, Mastromonaco all but admits that she doesn’t feel able to disclose certain details or stories, and that, in the future, she may wish to work again in politics (so presumably she doesn’t wish to be known for talking about Obama). While political memoirs shouldn’t revolve around “dishing dirt”, this is too antiseptic. As it is, Obama, one of the most compelling figures of our era, drifts through the book rather like an amiable ghost – sympathising with Mastromonaco about her dead cat, congratulating her on doing sit-ups, gossiping a little about her love life… and that’s about it. Ultimately, you wonder if all this (and the self-imposed “15-25” reader bracket) is to distract from what’s not being delivered: namely, the lowdown on working closely with President Obama. As does the “advice” element of the book, which basically amounts to: “Work hard. Indeed, while it’s great that Mastromonaco is, say, so open about suffering from professional stress (a welcome counterpoint to macho grandstanding in workplaces everywhere), the endless personal details eventually start to feel like filler. It all gets a bit “Dear Diary”, giving the book a dated “Bridget Jones in the Oval Office” feel. We hear about Mastromonaco getting her period at a state dinner, suffering from diarrhoea at the Vatican (Mastromonaco has IBS), being excited to visit Buckingham Palace, feeling sick on a helicopter, splitting her trousers, getting married, suffering from infertility, moving house, and so on. However, throughout the book (which has been optioned for a TV series by Mastromonaco’s friend, comedian Mindy Kayling) there’s a constant glut of high school-level “oversharing”. Obama, one of the most compelling figures of our era, drifts through the book rather like an amiable ghost Moreover, one can only applaud Mastromonaco for getting the first tampon dispenser installed in the West Wing. Elsewhere there are intriguing details, such as how the West Wing is as brightly lit as a television studio (because television crews needed to film there). Her accounts of disasters (Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy the Haitian earthquake) are riveting, as is the lead-up to Obama’s inauguration (Mastromonaco likens it to being “a bouncer at an exclusive club in New York”). The book is a blizzard of events and troubleshooting, with detailed (sometimes overdetailed) descriptions of her duties. Mastromonaco (who later worked at Vice Media, as did her co-author, Lauren Olyer) joined Obama after stints working with Bernie Sanders and John Kerry, and she certainly comes across as proficient.
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