• Bitter Is the New Black

  • Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smartass, Or, Why You Should Never Carry A Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office
  • By: Jen Lancaster
  • Narrated by: Jamie Heinlein
  • Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
  • 3.9 out of 5 stars (629 ratings)

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Bitter Is the New Black  By  cover art

Bitter Is the New Black

By: Jen Lancaster
Narrated by: Jamie Heinlein
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Publisher's summary

Jen Lancaster was living the sweet life - until real life kicked her to the curb. She had the perfect man, the perfect job-hell, she had the perfect life - and there was no reason to think it wouldn't last. Or maybe there was, but Jen Lancaster was too busy being manicured, pedicured, highlighted, and generally adored to notice.

This is the smart-mouthed, soul-searching story of a woman trying to figure out what happens next when she's gone from six figures to unemployment checks and she stops to reconsider some of the less-than-rosy attitudes and values she thought she'd never have to answer for when times were good. Filled with caustic wit and unusual insight, it's a rollicking listen as speedy and unpredictable as the trajectory of a burst balloon.

©2006 Jen Lancaster (P)2009 Penguin

Critic reviews

“Hilarious.” (InStyle)

“A humorous and inspiring approach to navigating middle age.” (Booklist)

What listeners say about Bitter Is the New Black

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    265
  • 4 Stars
    166
  • 3 Stars
    107
  • 2 Stars
    43
  • 1 Stars
    48
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    239
  • 4 Stars
    101
  • 3 Stars
    61
  • 2 Stars
    13
  • 1 Stars
    18
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    202
  • 4 Stars
    104
  • 3 Stars
    72
  • 2 Stars
    23
  • 1 Stars
    36

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Intolerable

I keep reading about Lancasters "Sharp wit"
I didn't hear it, she sounds like the teen queens on every rich kid high school series since 2000
She laughs about stealing a bag from a "smelly" homeless man.
After that I wanted her to fall, and hard. She really didn't suffer much, and seemed temporarily chastened but when things looked up became almost as obnoxious as she was before. Revolting on all levels.

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15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • S
  • 02-24-11

Oh but for the love of pit bulls...

Overall, I found Jen Lancaster the character to be pretty unlikeable. Mean rather than funny and not as clever as she thinks herself. I did get through the entire book, and it looks up. There is some redemption and humility nestled in there somewhere, and post 9/11 job market was pretty much just as she describes. There's a lot in this book to like, the main character just doesn't happen to be one of them.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Better than I'd hoped.

After reading the other reviews I was a bit skeptical, but I really enjoyed this book. It was fun, irreverent and sarcastic - all the things I love in a book!

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Not So Bitter

I'm not sure why I bought this book or why I even wanted to read it but I was pleasantly surprised. It was a pretty good listen - funny, light, and real. Jen Lancaster is so relatable. I'd say she's the new age girl next door (if there's such a thing).

I would recommend that if anybody was interested in this book, that they should listen to the audio version versus reading the print version. The narrator helped bring Lancasters story to life! I'm confident that I wouldn't have liked this story half as much if I read the print version rather than listened to it - it's an experience!

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Terrible.

What was most disappointing about Jen Lancaster’s story?

Her attitude, her tone, ugh. So irritating! I really wanted to like this book.

What aspect of Jamie Heinlein’s performance would you have changed?

She was fine. Maybe too fine because she voiced this terrible person to a tee.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Some of the humor wasn't insulting.

Any additional comments?

Let's just say I wouldn't want to be friends with Jen. I will be requesting a refund. Waste of a credit.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Loved it!

Jen Lancaster is very funny and the book is written really well - Great Job! I also loved the narrator who can make or break a book. I had to not listen to this at night, because it was so good I didn't want to go to sleep. There are other books that I only listen to at night, because they are so boring that they put me to sleep ;-)

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Mixed Review

I was conflicted between 3 and 4 stars. I liked it, and thought Jen Lancaster put together a great autobiographical story, but I often asked myself, "What is the point of this?" Or, "Why do I care?" On the other hand, I couldn't stop listening, and want to hear more from her. Because of that, I gave in with the 4 stars.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • SL
  • 12-06-12

Paper book is better- but this is entertaining

I've read "Bitter" 3x with the paper book. It is by far one of my favorite books of all time! Listening to it- the only drawback is the narrator gets a little..."Charlie Brown teacher." Listening to Jen's newest book, which she narrated herself, was better due to the fact that Jen emphasized things differently- the way she intended. The footnotes peppered through the book are also hard to understand with an audio book...unless the reader is ready for them.

Overall- still an entertaining, laugh out loud book.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars
  • AB
  • 04-23-12

Awful.

This book me to tears. I had a 24 hour drive and thought I couldn't be bored listening to a book, but this was terrible. She is not an intersting character, her life is less than intersting and the guy was a humdrum.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

I chuckled a bit

At first when I started it, I thought, I hate this lady! But it got better. Yes she is kind of a pill but as time goes by, she starts to change. I enjoyed it.

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2 people found this helpful