Miss Media: A Novel (Paperback)

by Lynn Harris (Author)
Key Phrases: office romance, mmm hmm, Lynn Harris, Miss Media, The Canon (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Just in time for the new millennium, things are falling into place. Online advice columnist Lola Somerville lands the plummest of jobs at Ovum Inc., the hip new TV and web network promising smart programming for women. As Ovum's in-house relationships expert, Lola is now up against the pop-psych big dogs-the authors of the mega-selling The Canon: Your Only Hope For a Husband and of the pharma-memoir Xanax Planet, not to mention E. Ron Wilson, kabillionaire despot of the Men Are Pigs, Women are Nuts empire. She's also rubbing elbows with the most powerful person in the universe: the talk-show host/domestic goddess/pop singer/movie actress/anti-landmine activist Penelope.But Lola soon starts to suspect that something is rotten in Ovum's 24-hour juice bar. Are her sidekicks Kat and Ted the only people who know about her forbidden romance? Whose idea was it to change the women's sports show from "Sweat" to "Glow?" Could she-and her entire demographic-be up against forces more powerful than incompetence? The sinister, surprising truths Lola uncovers will change her, her slice of the world, and the market share of Ben and Jerry's, forever.

About the Author
Writer-comedian-advice columnist Lynn Harris co-created the superhero Breakup Girl (breakupgirl.net) with cartoonist Chris Kalb. Author of Breakup Girl to the Rescue! and humor columnist for Glamour, Lynn also writes for Salon, the New York Observer, and others. Having survived a bad dotcom breakup, she lives in Brooklyn with her husband.

Product Details

• Paperback: 238 pages
• Publisher: IUniverse (November 16, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 059528776X
• ISBN-13: 978-0595287765
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,256,655 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Miss Media Doesn't Miss A Beat, January 13, 2004

By	Wendy Shanker (NYC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Miss Media: A Novel (Hardcover)

In a literary fiction world that seems dominated by either down-on-their-lucky city princesses or anonymous White Man Angst, it's a true pleasure to read a funny, pugnacious, pointed satire about media madness, misbegotten role models, internet etiquette, big business, and the search for true love. Lynn Harris tells the fast and furious insider account of Lola Somerville (a woman you hope will be your best friend and condfidante), and her attempted road to success at a women's media empire that's more Death Star than North Star. The book is part roman a clef, part relationship guide, and part thriller, but most of all a true satire that captures the madness that was the Internet Bubble and the insanity that engulfed everyone who was a part of it -- and lived to tell the tale. Definitely grab this funny and refreshing novel, relish every last page, and share with friends!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars HTMHell Makes For Smart, Sassy Lit, January 22, 2004

By	Sarah Dixie Laite (NEW YORK, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Miss Media: A Novel (Hardcover)

I say shave your legs, throw a log on the fire, wriggle into your best shorty nightie, slip in between clean, crisp sheets, pull up a snuggly cover and savor this delicious novel. Personally, I have no fireplace and seldom launder my sheets but despite any evidence to the contrary I DO shave my legs, and anyone in any circumstace would be plumb loco (that's right, I said it, plumb loco) not to LOVE this book! (If aforementioned nighties and leg shaving references imply men won't like it, wrong inference. I just like inserting the word nightie into all my reviews.)

A modern-day Dawn Powell, Ms. Harris' roman a clef eerily, cheerily captures the hope, hubris, insanity, inanity of the dot.com and women's media milieus. And whether your vantage point on that arcane era is as a weathered insider or unscathed voyeur, there's plenty o' suspense, romance and jaunty insights to keep this thinking (wo)man's pot boiler bubbling.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars loved it!, July 20, 2007

By	sophie1814 (brooklyn, ny) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Miss Media: A Novel (Hardcover)

this was such a treat to read-- the characters are engaging, the writing is clever and terribly funny, and the satire is spot-on. i can't wait to start death by chick lit.