PJ

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PJ’s Bookshelves

to-read‎ (214)
currently-reading‎ (4)

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PJ is Currently Reading

PJ is currently reading

Meet Me at the Lake

by Carley Fortune (Goodreads Author)

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Aug 24, 2026 09:02PM

PJ is currently reading

A Vindication of the Rights of Woman

by Mary Wollstonecraft

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Aug 17, 2026 07:22PM

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Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America

by Barbara Ehrenreich

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PJ said:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

" Ok, I'm not done reading this book, but I have SO many thoughts about it that I have to start recording them. I read some reviews, and people are criticizing Ehrenreich's shock about 1) people not recognizing that she is actually educated when she's Ok, I'm not done reading this book, but I have SO many thoughts about it that I have to start recording them. I read some reviews, and people are criticizing Ehrenreich's shock about 1) people not recognizing that she is actually educated when she's undercover and 2) her coworkers apathy when she "uncovers" herself and their focus on her not showing up for the next shift. I think there is MUCH to be criticized about this book, BUT Ehrenreich, I think, reflects that her shock is more of her privilege showing.

Also, she is receiving criticism for having start-up money and a working car, both of which she explains that she understands the average worker may not have, AND she goes in depth explaining how not having both of these would dramatically limit her circumstances. She literally says that if she didn't have a car, she felt that a story about her being on public transportation would be boring. Anyone who has rode on public transportation KNOWS that's not true, and I honestly think Ehrenreich was just 1) scared of being on public transit in new places, 2) knew it would limit the things she could do in new cities, and 3) just plain didn't want to deal with it (since her book is focused more on the money/job aspect rather than the "little" parts of life like riding a bus--even though it's not little to people who have to do it). I do think it was a cop out, and I think she really should have had to ride the bus until she could save up money for a car.

Another reviewer, Carolyn, wrote, "I don't see this book as even trying to be any kind of an exhaustive look at all the difficulties facing those truly living in poverty and attempting to get by. What I do see it as is an attempt to prove to middle-income Americans that even with all the benefits she has, even she cannot make it work under the current system, and thus neither would they."

I find myself at times annoyed at Ehrenreich because of her privilege, but, at the same time, I don't want to be annoyed at her because she is experiencing all of this for the first time. I think she tries her best to check her privilege, and I think, as Carolyn explains, Ehrenreich is trying to show that other middle-class people that minimum wage is unlivable, even for someone with major advantages. ...more "

Aug 17, 2026 07:10PM · see review

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