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matthewabush's review against another edition
2.0
The New York times described this book as C-SPAN meets Sex In The City. It was too much of the latter for my liking. While I found the the descriptions of what it is like to travel with the president interesting, they were bogged down by too many stories of the author's miserable love life. I felt like I was watching someone repeatedly touching a hot stove. You keep getting burned, so why don't you just stop. Anyway, there was some value here, just not very much.
kristina4967's review against another edition
3.0
Meh. This book was just fine, an easy read that I flew through on a lazy Saturday. It wasn't anything too exciting but had it's moments. There are some fun cameos by President Obama and other names you might recognize if you follow politics but at times I found the author hard to root for. In my opinion there are better written and more interesting books by Obama staff out there.
kimmeyer's review against another edition
2.0
I liked this, but I could have used MUCH less of her situationship. I'm not necessarily judging her for the decisions she makes or moralizing about them, but the on and off and on again just isn't interesting to me as a person not personally embroiled in the emotional rollercoaster.
jessiereads315's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this and found it to be the right combination of a peek inside the Obama White House and the story of a bright, young woman growing up. I am left, though, with a acute ache for our brilliant and decent 44th President. God, I miss him!
michellekmartin's review against another edition
4.0
I began listening to this memoir as soon as I finished Beck Dorey-Stein's debut novel. This is a wildly entertaining and emotional memoir of Dorey-Stein's time as a White House stenographer under the Obama administration from 2012-2017. It's full of lots of juicy stories; how else would you expect it to be when you're in your 20's? And includes insights into what it was like to work for Obama through several critical political moments.
notesonbookmarks's review against another edition
3.0
Gracious. I could have cut this down by half. I wanted a story about the oval office and what it was like to work with Obama. But I could have done without the bedroom hopping, the cheating and adultery. I get that's what was happening in her life, but in didn't need to know about it.
thisistheway's review against another edition
3.0
I would give this 3-1/2 stars if I could. I went in thinking this would be an inside look at the oval during the Obama administration. However, one look at the book cover clues you in to the truth. This is a coming of age chick lit book. Now with this in mind, it is a very entertaining chick lit book. I read 3/4 of the book in one session. As someone in my early 30s I can relate to many of the situations and the pop culture references.
However, by the last quarter of the book, the repeated antics get a little tired. I suppose if each of us had to look at our own lives in print and were forced to read them in short order, we would all cringe at repeated mistakes and bad choices too.
I felt the beginning half of the book was much stronger. I enjoyed the story of how she got the job in the white house and how it was transitioning her life from the outside to being enveloped in white house culture.
I would recommend this with reservation. If you're looking for an inside scoop or to read in-depth info about what it was like to work with President Obama- look elsewhere. If you are a female millennial in search of an entertaining read that happens to have some information about life in the white house- by all means, read on. I could see it as a cute light-hearted movie.
I will say though, that this book left me depressed. It reminds you of the character of President Obama and left me counting down the days to the next election.
However, by the last quarter of the book, the repeated antics get a little tired. I suppose if each of us had to look at our own lives in print and were forced to read them in short order, we would all cringe at repeated mistakes and bad choices too.
I felt the beginning half of the book was much stronger. I enjoyed the story of how she got the job in the white house and how it was transitioning her life from the outside to being enveloped in white house culture.
I would recommend this with reservation. If you're looking for an inside scoop or to read in-depth info about what it was like to work with President Obama- look elsewhere. If you are a female millennial in search of an entertaining read that happens to have some information about life in the white house- by all means, read on. I could see it as a cute light-hearted movie.
I will say though, that this book left me depressed. It reminds you of the character of President Obama and left me counting down the days to the next election.
bookapotamus's review against another edition
4.0
From the Corner of the Oval is the EXACT book you want to read for all the revealing scoop inside the Obama Administration White House and what it would be like to work inside. We see what it's like to work alongside the president, travel the world and hang out with other staffers. MINUS the boring political swill and old school players in Washington, DC. OK, well there ARE technically players, but of a "sleep me with and then don't talk to me for months" kinda way.
It's not so much about the inner workings of Obama's administration - you aren't going to learn any federal secrets or inside Obama family scoop - but follows one young woman's journey working in the depths of the white house on a super-low rung of the totem pole, as she builds some pretty fun relationships and interactions between the staffers.
Beck Dorey-Stein is living in Washington D.C. at an all-time career low (out of work teacher) when through of all things - a vague Craigslist ad - is hired as a stenographer in the Obama White House. She is totally out of her element and finds herself navigating the DC elite, finding out who she is and what she wants from life and making WAY TOO MANY HORRIBLE mistakes in love.
I LOVED getting all the inside looks to what a day could be like in the White House from a 20-somethings' perspective. She zooms all over the world in Air Force One following POTUS to just about every speaking engagement he had throughout almost his entire administration. She has several fun interactions with him, and sees and experiences high and lows of our country and our world that she will never forget. All the while, she is navigating falling in love and trying to find where in this world she fits in.
She has a really fun group of friends and I thought every character in the memoir deserved some more attention. I do wish there was a bit more development or backstory of some of the people she is closest to, but we mostly learn about Beck's life here. At some points you can feel how hard she truly tries to make relationships work, but it gets really intense and a bit annoying, and you're like "Get your Sh*t together already woman!" But that's the story - Beck is trying to get her Sh*t together and it's a fun journey to follow!
There's some super colorful language - so if calling Congress a 'Bag of D*cks' is not your thing... be forewarned! I personally enjoy a good F-bomb every now and again, so it only made the story more light and fun. I TORE through this. It's fun, and fascinating, and I wanted so much more!!
It's not so much about the inner workings of Obama's administration - you aren't going to learn any federal secrets or inside Obama family scoop - but follows one young woman's journey working in the depths of the white house on a super-low rung of the totem pole, as she builds some pretty fun relationships and interactions between the staffers.
Beck Dorey-Stein is living in Washington D.C. at an all-time career low (out of work teacher) when through of all things - a vague Craigslist ad - is hired as a stenographer in the Obama White House. She is totally out of her element and finds herself navigating the DC elite, finding out who she is and what she wants from life and making WAY TOO MANY HORRIBLE mistakes in love.
I LOVED getting all the inside looks to what a day could be like in the White House from a 20-somethings' perspective. She zooms all over the world in Air Force One following POTUS to just about every speaking engagement he had throughout almost his entire administration. She has several fun interactions with him, and sees and experiences high and lows of our country and our world that she will never forget. All the while, she is navigating falling in love and trying to find where in this world she fits in.
She has a really fun group of friends and I thought every character in the memoir deserved some more attention. I do wish there was a bit more development or backstory of some of the people she is closest to, but we mostly learn about Beck's life here. At some points you can feel how hard she truly tries to make relationships work, but it gets really intense and a bit annoying, and you're like "Get your Sh*t together already woman!" But that's the story - Beck is trying to get her Sh*t together and it's a fun journey to follow!
There's some super colorful language - so if calling Congress a 'Bag of D*cks' is not your thing... be forewarned! I personally enjoy a good F-bomb every now and again, so it only made the story more light and fun. I TORE through this. It's fun, and fascinating, and I wanted so much more!!
pjdas1012's review against another edition
2.0
If you're interested in what it's like to work in the White House (particularly for Obama), you should skim this book. If you are interested in that plus you like romance, you should read this book. If you don't like either, this may not be the book for you.
Since I am intrigued by the Obama White House but I don't care much for reading about someone's romantic mishaps, I skimmed this book and found it moderately interesting. The author was a stenographer for Obama's White House and also for a part of Trump's, which offers an interesting perspective since it's not as high-level a position as other White House memoirs you may read. The author is an excellent writer and has a poetically profound way of describing situations and ideas at times. However, she is also very human, and this book is very much about her human struggles with other humans she's attracted to. In fact, it's mostly about that. Though the constant drama didn't interest me, I can certainly see how it may appeal to some.
Since I am intrigued by the Obama White House but I don't care much for reading about someone's romantic mishaps, I skimmed this book and found it moderately interesting. The author was a stenographer for Obama's White House and also for a part of Trump's, which offers an interesting perspective since it's not as high-level a position as other White House memoirs you may read. The author is an excellent writer and has a poetically profound way of describing situations and ideas at times. However, she is also very human, and this book is very much about her human struggles with other humans she's attracted to. In fact, it's mostly about that. Though the constant drama didn't interest me, I can certainly see how it may appeal to some.