I Was a Vacuum Cleaner Salesman [Paperback]

Shelly Rivoli (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 18, 2003

What if you really could make as little or as much money as you wanted to?Seeking her fortune, or at least her funding for next years college tuition, Diana Jensen sets out on an odyssey of sales calls giving in-home demonstrations of the amazing StormBurst home cleaning device.A host of comic characters keeps this quirky salesman on her toes as she vies for the hearts and credit cards of anyone willing to watch her demonstration. As her epic adventure unfolds, Diana discovers that she may have stumbled onto the most lucrative career opportunity shed ever thought possible.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"If you're like me, you'll gobble it up in one night." -- POD-dy Mouth Review

"It is a RIOT." -- Denny Smithson, radio host of Cover to Cover

"One for the book club." -- The Sacramento Bee

"Rivoli's Diana is an appealing reminder that hard work pays off..." -- The Oakland Tribune

From the Publisher

Editor's Choice and Reader's Choice Awards Recipient

From the editors:

"The opening paragraphs, and every paragraph from that point on, are filled with tight, clever writing..."

"These are people and places the reader has seen, too...even though some of these characters come across like escapees from some rogue copy of Alice in Wonderland..."

"The witty tone of the book is set from the very first, and maintained beautifully throughout the manuscript."

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 204 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (June 18, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595279503
• ISBN-13: 978-0595279500
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,070,383 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Shelly Rivoli has changed diapers on four continents and a handful of islands - and she's not done yet. Together, her family has made its way by airplane, elephant, subway, train, cruise ship, taxi, and long tail boat.

After traveling to Thailand, Tunisia, Manhattan, Yosemite, Paris, Chichen Itza, Hawaii, and Pompeii with children under five, Shelly has grown quite familiar with the technical details of traveling--and sightseeing--with babies, toddlers, and young children. She offers practical planning advice and insights in her two guides: the award-winning "Travels with Baby: The Ultimate Guide for Planning Trips with Babies, Toddlers, and Preschool-Age Children" and her new pocket-size companion guide "Take-Along Travels with Baby: Hundreds of Tips to Help During Travel with Your Baby, Toddler, and Preschooler" (December 2010).

Shelly's family travel tips and advice have appeared in American Baby, Nick Jr. Magazine, Parenting, Parents, and Pregnancy magazines, in the Boston Globe and LA Times, and on popular parenting websites and blogs including, BabyCenter.com, Babble.com, Urban Baby Daily, aParentlySpeaking, and TimeOut New York Kids. She has also made radio and TV appearances on the topic of travel with young children.

She travels as often and as far as she can with her husband and three young children. The rest of the time, she hangs her hats as mother and writer in the San Francisco Bay Area. Visit her online at www.travelswithbaby.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A Fun Fast Read, October 9, 2003

By 

"tillinga" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Was a Vacuum Cleaner Salesman (Paperback)

This is the perfect book to read on a flight. The characters are engaging, and once I picked it up, I didn't want to put it down. After reading this book, you will never look at a salesman the same way again!

4.0 out of 5 stars Gulp. Ahhh., October 6, 2003

By 

Melissa White (Charlottesville, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Was a Vacuum Cleaner Salesman (Paperback)

This book was so funny! I agree, I couldn't put it down (and I had a lot of other things I should have been doing!). I think the special strength of this book is how Rivoli makes Diana grow almost imperceptibly through her interactions with all these characters she does her demos for. As zany as this book is, the storytelling is firmly realistic.

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun, fast read, September 16, 2003

By 

Virginia Duplessis (El Cerrito, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Was a Vacuum Cleaner Salesman (Paperback)

Bridget Jones meets the Avon lady!! Diana's adventures selling vacuums are sometimes funny, sometimes heartwarming... always entertaining.
The crazy cast of characters and Diana's many predicaments make this book easy to get through. Though when you're done you'll wonder what Diana is up to next.