Fifty Acres and a Poodle

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Summary: A Wonderful Warm Story
Review: Having read Jeanne Marie's column in the Washington post for years, I felt like I already knew her. Now after the book I feel even closer to this wonderful talented and witty woman. She has such a clever style that really clicks with most people. I highly recommend this book. I went to meet Jeanne Marie at a local bookstore and she is just as delightful in person...

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Summary: Fifty Acres And A Poodle
Review: Our book club was totally tired of reading depressing books. We needed to lighten up over the dark days of winter. Trust me, this book will do it. Laughing outloud is good for the soul, right?

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Summary: If you liked Under the Tuscan Sun, you'll love this
Review: If you have a dream or fantasy about starting a new life or living somewhere else, this memoir will dare and inspire you -- or, at the very least, allow you to live vicariously for the few hours it takes to breeze through the book. It's funny. It's poignant. It's true to life. A great gift for yourself and a friend.

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Summary: Heaven On Earth In Fifty Acres
Review: Jeanne Marie Laskas has written a jewel with heart in Fifty Acres. A revealing look into the author's life and her pursuance of a childhood dream evolves into a charming and beautifully written narrative that has universal appeal. Everyone imagines doing great things with their lives, few have the tenacity to see them through. Fifty Acres is a testament to living your dream. Laskas has it all: humor, insight and wisdom as she guides you through her journey toward the place she now calls home. This is a must read for anyone who desires country living, even if only in the form of an armchair fantasy. I took this book everywhere with me until I was done, and bought copies for friends and relatives. Let's hope that Laskas has more literary gems to offer her fans in the future.

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Summary: go buy a farm!
Review: I loved this book! I got lost in it on a crisp fall day and had trouble putting it down. Jeanne Marie writes from the heart and reminds me of talking with one of my girlfriends! Her hopes and dreams and doubts come forth in a brillant, well-written story that gets the reader lost in the ups and downs of owning a farm. I recommend it to anyone.

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Summary: This book stinks
Review: This memoir was self-indulgent and annoying, the tale of an urban woman and her boyfriend buying what was essentially a very large yard and calling it a farm, apparently in their mind becoming "farmers." It is so stupid, and so insulting to people who actually do farm for a living that I felt compelled for the first time to share my views on a book to urge people to avoid it

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Summary: Great book
Review: What a great book. Funny, emotional, full of great insights. Laskas writes so well about friends and family--human and otherwise--and the pursuit of dreams, that her book gives the reader a world to fall into. It's a very eventful world, full of great characters and surprises. By the end of the book, I felt as if I really knew these people. One thing's for sure, if I ever do visit Sweetwater farm, during hunting season or not, I'll be covered in international orange from head to toe.

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Summary: I laughed, I cried...
Review: Fifty Acres and a Poodle is a charmer. Just as farm living seduces the author, this book seduces the reader with its sly yet empathatic looks at the local gentry -- the livestock, pickup trucks, and hunting culture -- all so foreign to two city slickers. The book avoids being maudlin even though it unavoidably treads into some more serious issues of life and love and health. Highly recommended.

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Summary: What a wonderful book!
Review: Jeanne Marie Laskas will make you laugh one minute and cry the next as you take this journey with her. This is a book not just about a farm, but about a woman taking major steps to make changes in her life. You'll meet and come to know an eclectic group of friends and characters along the way. Laskas shows her amazing strength and determination mixed with a childlike wonder that will endear you. This is a book that you will want to share with your friends for years to come.

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Summary: I"M BUYING THIS BOOK FOR ALL OF MY GIRLFRIENDS!
Review: I have always liked Jeanne Marie Laskas' magazine writing but her memoir, Fifty Acres and a Poodle, is even more wonderful. Laskas has a unique worldview and her observations of her own life and times in this women-in-late-thirties-redefinition-of-self tale are fantastic. She's fun and funny and thoughtful and you wish she were your girlfriend so you'd know how the story continues. My girlfriends' gift for the season is now solved and they're all gonna love me for it.