Sad Desk Salad: A Novel [Paperback]

Jessica Grose (Author)

Book Description

Release date: October 2, 2012

As a former editor for popular websites, including Slate and Jezebel, Jessica Grose intimately understands the realities of life in the blogosphere--and she employs this knowledge to hilarious effect in her edgy and timely debut novel, Sad Desk Salad. Grose's story of a savvy blogger who stumbles upon an irresistible scoop--one that could cause irreparable damage to a young woman's life and reputation--and must reconcile her true values with the ruthless demands of a gossip- and reality-obsessed culture is a stinging and wildly funny indictment of America’s obsession with celebrity dirt. This fictional behind-the-scenes look at a booming online industry is smart and sharp contemporary women’s fiction, a The Devil Wears Prada for the twenty-teens.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Dishy, zingy, hilarious.” (Glamour )

“Fun . . . Grose takes what could be a heavy subject--ethical choices and their repercussions--and lightens it. . . An enjoyable debut with a message.” (Publishers Weekly )

“Rollicking . . . A quick-witted insider’s view of the blogosphere, media pandering, Internet privacy and the difficulty of being a good girl in a bad, bad world.” (Kirkus Reviews )

“Sad Desk Salad by Jessica Grose is the Devil Wears Prada for the blogger age. A laser focused snapshot of our time, the novel gives readers an insider’s perspective on the 24/7 grindhouse of celebrity-obsessed new media. Funny and heartfelt, a must-read.”- (Valerie Frankel, author of Four of a Kind )

“Jessica Grose is a smart, engaging, new voice in fiction. She will make you think anew about celebrity culture, modern feminism, and the perils of living online. She is also very funny. So put your work aside, open your sad desk salad, and read this book!” (Amy Sohn, author of Motherland and Prospect Park West )

“A whip-smart, lacerating, laugh-out-loud look at what it’s like to be young, smart and trying to make it in the big city.” (Jennifer Weiner )

“Grose offers an affectionate send-up of the slovenly blogger stereotype, creating a quick-witted heroine who lusts after egg sandwiches and takes comfort in an extravagantly stinky muumuu...delivered with Grose’s appealing good humor...A sense of serendipity lingers over the adventures of new-media chick lit.” (New Republic )

From the Back Cover

As a writer for Chick Habit, an increasingly popular women's website, Alex Lyons gets paid to be a bitch. She's churning out several posts a day, and she saves her juiciest ones for blog prime time, when working women eat their sad desk salads in their offices. Alex tells herself she's fulfilling her dream of being a professional writer; so what if it means being glued to her couch and her laptop from six a.m. to six p.m., scouring the web in search of the next big celebrity scandal? Since Chick Habit's parent company keeps close tabs on page views, Alex knows her job is always at risk.

So when an anonymous tipster sends her the year's most salacious story—a politico's squeaky-clean Ivy League daughter caught in a very R-rated activity—it's a no-brainer. But is Alex really willing to ruin the girl's life by igniting the next Internet feeding frenzy? And what she doesn't yet realize is how this big scoop is about to send her own life spiraling out of control.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; Original edition (October 2, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062188348
• ISBN-13: 978-0062188342
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #113,649 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #91 in Books > Computers & Technology > Internet & Web Culture > Blogging & Blogs

More About the Author

I'm a writer and editor. My essays and reported features have appeared in the New York Times, New York, Bloomberg Businessweek, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Slate and many other publications. I was formerly a senior editor at Slate and an editor at Jezebel. I live in Brooklyn with my husband and daughter and my permanent fascinations include true crime, powerful ladies, and bears.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars It's like having a drink with a funny friend October 2, 2012

By David Plotz

Format:Paperback

Reading Sad Desk Salad is liking spending the afternoon catching up with a very funny, dear friend. I am not a woman, not a New Yorker, not a blogger, not marinated in New York media, but I still loved this very sweet, often wicked, and extremely funny book about a young woman trying to make it. It's hard to write a novel about work that isn't boring and it's hard to write a chick lit novel that isn't stupid. Grose has written an exciting work novel that is also a smart chick-lit novel. No mean feat!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars funny and nostalgic October 2, 2012

By megmeaux

Format:Paperback

Here is why I liked this book: It was funny, embarrassing, mildly tortured, and sweet- just like me at 24 living in Brooklyn! read it on a lazy afternoon or at the beach.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Well, it was just okay for me October 2, 2012

By Luanne Ollivier TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback

Well, if you're reading this, you're connected online in some way - reading blogs, surfing websites, tweeting, posting etc. Now how much time do you spend online?

Alex Lyons, the main character in Jessica Grose's debut novel, Sad Desk Salad, spends a minimum of twelve hours a day online. She's a writer for Chick Habit - a women's website that skewers just about anything and everything. When Alex receives an anonymous email with a link to a blockbuster scoop, she has to decide if her job is worth more than her morals. For, the scoop may ruin another young woman's life. And is the job ruining hers?

It was interesting to see behind the scenes of an online site - the frenetic postings, the pressure to find the next scoop, to have the comments and stats needed to stay on top. Grose herself worked as an editor at Jezebel and Slate. Both publications bear a remarkable similarity to Chick Habit, so it truly seems like Grose has given us a real insider's look behind the curtain.

Grose raises interesting questions about our fascination with celebrity, gossip and the effect modern media has on our lives, using Alex as a vehicle. Sadly though, I just didn't like the main character. I found Alex to be shallow and self centred and very two dimensional. I identified more with her best friend Jane, who was more grounded and saw things with clearer eyes. Although Alex makes some personal revelations as the book progresses, they just came too late for this reader. (And I'm pretty grossed out by the fact that she doesn't bother showering and wears the same mu mu for nearly a week.)

There is a thinly veiled 'mystery' that kept me reading as I wanted answers. And, I wanted to know if Alex would reclaim her life. The final chapters do provide neat tying up of ends.

Fans of the aforementioned online sites will eat this book up, but for this reader it was just okay.Tag lines have declared the book funny and comic. Others may find it humourous, but I didn't. The cover is pretty cute though. Speaking of eating - the title?

"We get the most readers around lunch-time, when girls in offices all over the East Coast eat their sad desk salads and force down bites of desiccated chicken breasts while scrolling through our latest posts. We get another traffic bump around four, when our West Coast counterparts eat their greens with low-fat dressing."

On reading the author's notes at the end, Grose thanks many people - "for encouraging the crazy idea that I could write a novel in five months while holding down a full-time job without having a nervous breakdown. And they were mostly right." Hmm.....