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Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Up Next: Nonfiction


Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America


by Barbara Ehrenreich




Millions of Americans work full-time, year-round, for poverty-level wages. In 1998, Barbara Ehrenreich decided to join them. She was inspired in part by the rhetoric surrounding welfare reform, which promised that any job equals a better life. But how can anyone survive, let alone prosper, on $6-$7 an hour? To find out Ehrenreich moved from Florida to Maine to Minnesota, taking the cheapest lodgings available and accepting work as a waitress, hotel maid, house cleaner, nursing home aide, and Walmart salesperson. She soon discovered that even the "lowliest" occupations require exhausting mental and physical efforts. And one job is not enough; you need at least two if you intend to live indoors.


Nickel and Dimed reveals low wage America in all its tenacity, anxiety, and surprising generosity--a land of Big Boxes, fast food and a thousand desperate strategems for survival. Instantly acclaimed for its insight, humor, and passion, this book is changing the way America perceives its working poor.

5 comments:

  1. I am really excited! I would have never thought about this on my own. I just ordered it, hopefully it gets here asap!

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  2. Bre I was just going to text you & tell you the library has it. I'm going to pick it up at the Bookmobile next Tuesday.

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  3. No worries, I paid like 2$ for it brand new

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  4. I really like this book! This is why I love our club!

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  5. Breana - so glad you're enjoying it! I just finished a book last night so I can really start reading this one now.

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