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Summary: Farm Life From a City Perspective
Review: Having recently bought a farm in the country I had to read this memoir in order to prepare for what I had gotten myself into.Laskas writes with humor and reality about uprooting herself and her city man to the country. Many stories are humorous like mule buying, tractor trading, weed wacking, and the concept of a fancy French poodle who gets car sick becomming a country dog. Sadly some stories are tragic like when Laskas loses her loyal pet cat and when her neighbor battles cancer. Good and bad all part of real life and written well. So sit back and enjoy your work has only just begun!
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Summary: An honest story of love & self discovery.
Review: I absolutely loved this story, I'm sending a copy to my mom & best friend!! Such a sweet and funny tale of love & life!
Excellent read!!
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Summary: Just buying, but I am sure that this will be a good one...
Review: I am just ordering this book tonight, but I am sure that I will love it before I even open the first page. I am familiar with Jean Marie Laskas, as I work at the retirement community where her parents reside. I have had the pleasure of reading her Wahsington Post, Esquire and Chicken Soup for the Soul articles. I spoke with her mother the other day and she highly recommended that I read this book (I am sure she is not prejudiced, lol!!). I can't wait to recieve my copy.
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Summary: GREAT BOOK!
Review: I bought this book as a gift for a friend in California. She enjoyed it so much that after she read it she mailed it to me here in England. I loved the book and now my husband is enjoying it. The author has a great style of writing. You feel as if she is your friend and is talking directly to you. Such a fun story. Don't miss it!
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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.
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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: A Dream Come True
Review: I loved this book. Written with warmth and humor, it is the most original and enjoyable material I've read in months. Jeanne Marie Laskas doesn't have to try too hard to be funny. She just is. There are certain repetitions regarding her inner princess, her husband's all pants half-off joke, stupid sheep, etc. and the roo, roo, roo and woof, woof, woof that give voices to her beloved dogs, Betty and Marley, that make the story come alive. She is also not afraid to show her serious side and reveal her vulnerabilities. Mostly Laskas had me laughing, but sadly, there are elements that aren't so funny. Believing at first this would be a "fish out of water story"-city couple tries to make dream of farm living a reality and everything goes wrong-it is quite the contrary. This is a love story-love between a couple, their extended family (family members, city friends, country friends, their fifty acres of farmland, and lots and lots of animals. Bravo!!! I highly, highly recommend. From the Author of "I'm Living Your Dream Life"
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Summary: Seductive Country Dream Come True
Review: I ran across this book in the bookstore where I work and picked it up out of curiosity. I was raised in a small town, and living in Chicago, I miss greatly my garden and the moist smell of the earth in Spring. I found myself skimming much of the first chapter, as I felt it was too affectatious, but after a while, when the story shifts to the historical present, I became truly engrossed. I found myself laughing at Jeanne and Alex's naivete (wearing Eddie Bauer to a truck stop!) but also identifying with their dreams and desiring them for myself. After they land in their dream home, reality runs smack dab into their foreheads as though they drove into a brick wall. But they learn to dig into their inner resources and survive. I highly recommend this book, and I was deeply moved by Jeanne Marie's story and those of the characters surrounding her. I would be interested in reading an update of their story.
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Summary: Laugh Out Loud Funny!
Review: I read half the book the very first night and forced myself to slow down and make the remaining half last. I can't remember the last time I laughed and cried while reading a single page in a book. And not just an internal chuckle, but full-bellied out loud laughter. Other than the first few pages that reminded me of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum (the humor seemed a bit forced), this is a great book. Loved all the animal names, particularly Screech, Walter, Wilma, Marley and Irving. It seems to me a lot of good humor was centered around the animals. Readers who enjoy Peter Mayle (A Year in Provence) and Jim Mullen (It Takes a Village Idiot) will love this. I thought it was even better than It Takes a Village Idiot, which also dealt with a "big-city" couple moving to the country. The focus of Mullen's memoir was the humor in buying a "country home," whereas Laskas' delved deeper and handled several emotional issues, drawing the reader in closer, not glossing over the harsh realities of life, whether on a farm or in a city. I can't wait to read the sequel, The Exact Same Moon: Fifty Acres and A Family.
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Summary: Wonderful, I felt like I was there with them
Review: I really enjoyed this book. Wonderfully written. I don't look at poodles the same, especially large poodles. Not one of those little yappy things. When I see a barn now, I wonder does someone there say "I have a barn" with earnest. Anyone who reads this book I think would truely enjoy it. The best part is that is a true story.
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