Up For Renewal: What Magazines Taught Me About Love, Sex, and Starting Over (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Realizing she needed to do serious work on her junk food/junk sex–littered lifestyle, Alter, a recently divorced thirty-seven-year old freelance writer, decided to spend each month of the coming year following the advice of a major women's magazine without question. She picked nine titles focusing on a how-to ethos more or less aligned with her own demographic: Elle, Marie Claire, O, Allure, Self, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, InStyle and Real Simple. Each month she'd work on a particular damage zone—diet, social fears, clothes, relationship snafus, cooking, sex, etc.—and follow the advice of her chosen magazine as earnestly as possible. Meanwhile, she'd also begun dating a new guy, which brought up relationship challenges her magazine mentors loved to address—spicing up the sex, learning to cook instead of eating out and deciding if his birthday present meant a marriage proposal was imminent. While she ends up feeling positive about the self-improvement her magazine experiment has brought, she knows if she hadn't been ready and willing to change, all the advice in the world wouldn't have helped. In the end, fans of Bridget Jones will also enjoy Alter—she's funny and endearing. (July)
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Review

"You know that warm, relaxed, pleasurable feeling you get when cracking open the latest issue of your favorite magazine? That's what reading Cathy Alter's Up for Renewal is like. Prepare to not only have a great time but also to get truly inspired."-- Mandy Stadtmiller, "About Last Night" New York Post columnist --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Atria (July 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743288408
• ISBN-13: 978-0743288408
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (186 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #703,245 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I thoroughly enjoyed this book, September 2, 2008

By	K. Corn "reviewer" (Indianapolis,, IN United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

(What's this?)

I absolutely enjoyed this book - but will you? Key facts about this one that might help you decide:

First off, you need to know that it is written by a woman who details how she coped with a period of time when she was trying to get past a divorce and felt unhappy, deeply so. By her own admission, she was making some poor choices and she is open about the details of her mistakes. Dating the wrong people. Eating poorly. Just generally...bumbling along.

Then she has a moment of inspiration and decides (however crazy it sounds) to use magazines as a path to self-improvement. She chooses to follow the advice she finds in those magazines, focusing on various aspects of her life, one part at a time - from choosing jeans to learning how to be happier.

Although I was skeptical and expected this book to be a rather superficial and light read, similar to many glossy magazines out there (all surface but no substance) I was surprised to find Up for Renewal to be far more charming and engaging than I expected. There were genuine nuggets of wisdom in the book - as well as plenty of humor and insight.

At the same time, I do feel obligated to note that Up for Renewal will probably appeal primarily to female readers, particularly those going through a crisis...and perhaps those drawn to rather gossipy, self-help books. Would it have been my first pick of a book to read? Probably not. But it was well worth the time spent reading it.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Anxiety in the Big City, September 7, 2008

By	Nancy Grisso "Stepfordmomto2" (Tehachapi, CA USA) - See all my reviews

(What's this?)

What is more annoying than a twenty-five year old who is trying to find her self? That would a forty year old who thinks and acts like she's twenty-five and wonders why her life is spinning out of control.

What seems like a semi-autobiographical peek into the insecurities of a big city girl, Alter shares her life. A divorce, bad relationships and overall bad choices lead her to wonder if the large display of shinny flashy women's magazines know something that she doesn't. So she plans to live the life that the magazines tell her to for one year and see what happens. Each month she picks a new topic and decides to work on it. And coincidentally, that month the magazines address her specific issues. Funny how that worked out.

I don't know if I got used to her antics and anxieties, but by the end of the book I was actually laughing along with her. I wouldn't recommend this to everyone, or even most, but if you have any tolerance for women that are slow to grow up and overly anxious about the world in general give it a try. Other wise, just know that magazines are designed to entertain and make you insecure and if you're wise enough you don't live your life according to what other anxiety ridden writers tell you is important.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful fun read!!! , August 27, 2008

By	Edward Walker "ednpatty" (Grand Rapids, MI USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

(What's this?)

Up For Renewal is a wonderful, hilarious book that asks the question is it possible to change your life in just one year? Using the improbable guide of women's magazines, Cathy Alter transforms her relationship, her job, her body, even the color of her living room. I was on the edge of my seat, laughing. I could not put this book down. I even read it in just one day. I hardly noticed my kids screaming and the milk on the floor. It was a great escape. I will soon start changing my life one day at a time. Thanks for the inspiration.