Book Review: Sad Desk Salad

by: Jessica Grose

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

Synopsis:
As a writer for Chick Habit, an increasingly popular women's website, Alex Lyons gets paid to be a bitch. She's churning out several posts a day, and she saves her juiciest ones for blog prime time, when working women eat their sad desk salads in their offices. Alex tells herself she's fulfilling her dream of being a professional writer; so what if it means being glued to her couch and her laptop from six a.m. to six p.m., scouring the web in search of the next big celebrity scandal? Since Chick Habit's parent company keeps close tabs on page views, Alex knows her job is always at risk.

So when an anonymous tipster sends her the year's most salacious story—a politico's squeaky-clean Ivy League daughter caught in a very R-rated activity—it's a no-brainer. But is Alex really willing to ruin the girl's life by igniting the next Internet feeding frenzy? And what she doesn't yet realize is how this big scoop is about to send her own life spiraling out of control.

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The synopsis isn't quite right. It's not a no brainer, Alex is tortured by her choice. She's already spirally out of control when the story begins. She doesn't shower much and has been wearing the same muumuu for weeks, it literally smells bad to her. She doesn't like posting about the catty celebrity stuff, but with the pressure for pageviews, she feels the need to go that route more and more just to keep her job.

I think it's a brilliant look at how the internet can turn dangerous and make anyone lose touch with reality. She loses sight that it's not real, it doesn't really impact her life. When Alex finds a hate blog dedicated to her company's blog, but mostly about her, she freaks out. She starts pushing away all her real relationships, trying to protect her online reputation. Her relationship with her mother even ends up strained.

Smooth pacing, and light-witty writing make this a fun read. I stayed up too late last night trying to finish it, and once the boys were dressed I picked it right back up this morning. It's a fun chick-lit that again deals with important issues. Most importantly, privacy in this new digital age. And what morals are bloggers held to, or should they be?