Where'd You Go Bernadette - does this get better?

[ufcasey]

I'm 40% into this book and EVERYONE annoys me. Does this get better? So far all they do is complain, complain, complain. I just listened to 30 minutes of the audiobook where Bernadette writes a letter to Dave just complaining nonstop.

[snshne322]

I didn't get very into the audio version, but it was kind of annoying so I never got back to it.

IIRC milliep listened to it.

[snshne322]

I remember the beginning feeling very Stepford Wives, right?

I'd like to give it another try sometime.

[ufcasey]

It's very judgy-rich-mommy-wars. Only, with a lot of complaining. A LOT.

[ufcasey]

Alright, I'll keep on listening. She hasn't gone anywhere yet, so there has to be more to the story, which hopefully I will enjoy.

[charlatti]

I loved that book. Definitely a lot of complaining, but Bernadette takes it to a whole new level.

[kelliebeans104]

I listened to the audiobook too and for me it didn't get better. I finished listening but only b/c I'm pretty ocd about finishing books. It wasn't for me at all and I agree that everyone was really annoying.

[sassypants]

It was ok but I didn't really get what all the fuss was about, TBH.

[Nonny]

Ah man, this is next up in my queue for my book club next month. I was hoping for something fun and light hearted after some of the heavy books I've been reading, and I'm going to be getting a bunch of whiners? Damn it!

[abs]

I never finished it. I got through half of it and then stopped to read something else and never went back to it.

[charlatti]

Jul 11, 2016 12:37:14 GMT -5 Nonny said:

Ah man, this is next up in my queue for my book club next month. I was hoping for something fun and light hearted after some of the heavy books I've been reading, and I'm going to be getting a bunch of whiners? Damn it!

Noooo, it's good! It's snarky, not whiny.

[spedrunner]

Jul 11, 2016 9:13:55 GMT -5 ufcasey said:

I'm 40% into this book and EVERYONE annoys me. Does this get better? So far all they do is complain, complain, complain. I just listened to 30 minutes of the audiobook where Bernadette writes a letter to Dave just complaining nonstop.

I really hated this book. Lol. So imo no

[ufcasey]

Ok I finished it. Overall, I basically hated it.

[snshne322]

Jul 11, 2016 23:48:04 GMT -5 ufcasey said:

Ok I finished it. Overall, I basically hated it.

I admire your determination. lol.

[charlatti]

Jul 11, 2016 23:48:04 GMT -5 ufcasey said:

Ok I finished it. Overall, I basically hated it.

Despite my love of this book, I also love your GR review of it. All the Antarctica details were among my favorite things about the book -- you should probably make a mental note to ignore all my recommendations! 😛

[ufcasey]

Jul 12, 2016 7:46:02 GMT -5 charlatti said:

Jul 11, 2016 23:48:04 GMT -5 ufcasey said:

Ok I finished it. Overall, I basically hated it.

Despite my love of this book, I also love your GR review of it. All the Antarctica details were among my favorite things about the book -- you should probably make a mental note to ignore all my recommendations! 😛

Haha nah! I looked, we're still 81% similar in our book tastes when you look at just the ones we have read in common (per Goodreads). So I'll forgive you your lapse in judgement for this book. Kidding!!

[Nonny]

OK, I just started this last night, and I'm not very far in yet (~10%).  I'm not finding it whiny/complaining (not yet at least), but it is annoying me for several reasons.

We don't use pigs to uproot blackberries in Seattle, we use goats.  This author is in Seattle, so she should know this.  Goats are just as funny as pigs in this context (at least thus far).

The portrayal of Microsoft is weird. No admin would be surprised that a VP would be busy working on the Connector and not wanting to make small talk.  Those shuttles have WiFi specifically for the purpose of employees being able to work during the commutes.  And he's probably not taking it because he's a cheap bastard trying to save money, he's taking it because commuting from Queen Anne into Redmond sucks balls, and being able to work on the shuttle for an hour in the morning and evening means he's getting in some meeting free work time (a VP would have a lot of meetings) and since the shuttles run on a schedule he's got an excuse to leave at a set time each day.

[Nonny]

Also, sending your SSN to some random company in India, unsolicited, "just in case" for trip planning seems stupidly unwise. Are there going to be more stupidly unwise decisions to come?

[ufcasey]

Oh yes, you have barely started the stupidity lol she shares all kinds of information to India internet guy. The assistant also has further lack of good judgement. And come back after you have read the letter Bernadette writes to Paul (there's only one and it's really long so you can't miss it) in regards to the complaining. That's the point that made me want to throw away the book and so i wrote this post instead LOL

But you never know, you might like this more if you are from the Seattle area. I know nothing of it here in Florida. And you might like it more generally. For your sake I hope you do haha

[Nonny]

Jul 13, 2016 12:24:19 GMT -5 ufcasey said:

But you never know, you might like this more if you are from the Seattle area.

Well, I'm an Eastsider, so my knowledge of Seattle is somewhat limited (I did work in Queen Anne for a short time, but it was over a decade ago).  It's the way she's presenting Microsoft that is really annoying the absolute shit out of me, and what is currently making me not like the book. 

It's got just enough accurate information to seem real to an outsider, and just enough bullshit to piss me off as someone who was there. Literally, I was there at the time this book is taking place -- it hasn't triggered stress dreams for me yet like The Circle did, probably because there is enough other nonsense going on with the neighbor/mother feuds, so hopefully those don't start up.

Fun fact - MS has their own library.  It's pretty small, and mostly filled with technical books, but they also had a decent selection of non-fiction

[susiebw]

I listened to the audiobook and I gave it 4 stars. 
I remember it being sort of tongue-in-cheek funny.
I'm liberal with my GR ratings . . .

[juliej]

Jul 11, 2016 14:53:48 GMT -5 abs said:

I never finished it. I got through half of it and then stopped to read something else and never went back to it.

Samesies.

[Nonny]

OK, I finished this yesterday, and I'm thoroughly unimpressed.

Satire should be funny, and this just wasn't (except for the stuff about Cliff Mass - that was amusing; he's a total weather nut, and there was such a huge blow up when he ended up getting fired from KUOW). There is also a gaping plot hole in the end.

SPOILER: Click to show

They find the notepad on the cruise ship after Bernadette disappears so they know there is a "lost letter." But then when they finally find the letter, she has written it from the station on Antarctica AFTER she has left the ship. Everything about her disappearance was stupid.

[ufcasey]

Nonny - how did I miss that?!?! So that just lowered my opinion of it a little more. Haha

[Nonny]

Jul 18, 2016 12:41:12 GMT -5 ufcasey said:

Nonny - how did I miss that?!?! So that just lowered my opinion of it a little more. Haha

I missed it at first too, and I wrote my (2*) review on Goodreads and was getting ready to go to bed when a friend commented on my review about how dumb the Antarctica part was, and it got me thinking a little more, and I was like, hey... wait a minute... this doesn't add up.

[eddy]

I read it on the beach and loved it. It was such a quick read.