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cathybruce208's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this book, even though I found the author's attitudes sometimes appalling, sometimes a little too close to home. Meghan Daum, a columnist for the LA Times and a commentator on NPR, writes in exhaustive detail about her many moves and her real estate obsession. I heard her interviewed around the time the book came out, so I knew the gist of the story. As a fellow Gen Xer and cross-country mover, I can relate to the idea that for this generation, where you live says a lot about who you are.
The book runs a little long, even though it is focused exclusively on real estate and moving matters. Although the book contains a wonderful character study of the author's mother, it would've been nice to hear a few more personal details about the author, her friends and other family members. Still, there are lots of gems of insight sprinkled throughout the book as the author begins to come to grips with her obsessions and insecurities and eventually her life.
The book runs a little long, even though it is focused exclusively on real estate and moving matters. Although the book contains a wonderful character study of the author's mother, it would've been nice to hear a few more personal details about the author, her friends and other family members. Still, there are lots of gems of insight sprinkled throughout the book as the author begins to come to grips with her obsessions and insecurities and eventually her life.
niniane's review
3.0
Well-written but the author can be mean. She mocks a landlord Bill as awkward because he eats alone, even though she ate alone for months. She mocks another landlord Dani for being desperate.
lisawhelpley's review against another edition
3.0
Spotty writing. Sloooowww at times, then seemed rushed at the end. I felt like I really cared about the author by the end, but in the first 2/3 of the book, the author seemed to be a spoiled brat. Some heavy editing could have made the whole book more consistent, better timed, and heartwarming.
pattydsf's review against another edition
2.0
This book crossed my desk at work because it was no longer in our catalog. Never mind the fact that it is non-fiction and none of my concern. It appeared, and once again a book cover caught my attention. So I put it in my pile for the beach.
The cover was still of interest when I started my marathon beach reading and it went in my beach bag. Meghan Daum is a funny, captivating writer, so sitting on the beach with her company was no hardship. I found her story amusing, but also disconcerting. I just could not relate.
It is not that I have trouble with her need for a home. I have no argument with being caught up with finding your place in the world either. I found the tale of her family fascinating and would have loved to have met her mother.
I just could not grasp why a particular house could be so important. Don't get me wrong, I love the house where we make our home and my husband and I looked at a lot of houses until we found the right one. I just don't feel about houses the way Daum does. Of course, since I did not go through the housing boom as she did, that might play a big part.
I have often said that I read to learn more, find new worlds. From that perspective, Daum met my every desire. Unfortunately, her story did not resonate for me as I expected. The lack of connection is all on my part. Sometimes a book and reader are not quite compatible and this was one of those times.
I don't hesitate to recommend this book to others since it is a good book though not aimed at me. Folks who regularly have house lust, people who can laugh about the housing boom and bust and those who might relate to Daum in other ways will like this book. I hope they find it.
The cover was still of interest when I started my marathon beach reading and it went in my beach bag. Meghan Daum is a funny, captivating writer, so sitting on the beach with her company was no hardship. I found her story amusing, but also disconcerting. I just could not relate.
It is not that I have trouble with her need for a home. I have no argument with being caught up with finding your place in the world either. I found the tale of her family fascinating and would have loved to have met her mother.
I just could not grasp why a particular house could be so important. Don't get me wrong, I love the house where we make our home and my husband and I looked at a lot of houses until we found the right one. I just don't feel about houses the way Daum does. Of course, since I did not go through the housing boom as she did, that might play a big part.
I have often said that I read to learn more, find new worlds. From that perspective, Daum met my every desire. Unfortunately, her story did not resonate for me as I expected. The lack of connection is all on my part. Sometimes a book and reader are not quite compatible and this was one of those times.
I don't hesitate to recommend this book to others since it is a good book though not aimed at me. Folks who regularly have house lust, people who can laugh about the housing boom and bust and those who might relate to Daum in other ways will like this book. I hope they find it.
glowbird's review
4.0
An excellent meditation on the desire for a perfect personal environment. The social and emotional consequences of real estate have not changed much since the author bought her first house. In some cases they've amplified even beyond what they were in the early aughts. It made the bubbling cauldron of crazy I'm feeling during my current housing search feel a lot less embarrassing.
karnaconverse's review
3.0
A thoughtful, and, sometimes, laugh-out-loud read about the search for contentment. Daum's attention to detail makes for good writing but at times, the chapters seem to drag because of the detail.
jjordankc's review against another edition
5.0
I simply loved this book. I had a smile on my face from page 1 until the end and I only wish that I could find photos posted of the various places she has lived in and describes in the book. To read this was a thoroughly enjoyable journey.
moomin333's review against another edition
2.0
Needlessly verbose. Started off strong and ends up a ramble. To be fair, couldn't finish and stopped a third of the way through.
sambooklove's review against another edition
2.0
I tried to get through this book, but could not. I felt exhausted with her constant moving habit. Also, the first chapter where she talks about her family's obsession with living in New York City and mean-spirited attitude about living in New Jersey made me sad.
liralen's review against another edition
3.0
I saw this at the bookstore and was sure it would be my kind of book -- although I don't quite share the author's wanderlust (for lack of a better term), I'm definitely familiar with the thought (delusion) that, if I lived in that house over there (or that one there, or that apartment, or in that city), life would be perfect. It's not so much about the house itself -- it's about the life that the house implies.
But Daum doesn't really go into the meaning behind this need for the 'perfect' house, nor does she describe the places she lives in great detail. I expected -- I'll admit -- a great deal more about the houses, the architecture... I wanted to know how she imagines her own perfect house, and how she'd furnish it, and perhaps read about research she'd done on houses. I expected to find out when these houses were built, and what renovations had been done on them, and what she wanted to do with them...
I was disappointed, then, not so much by the book itself, but by my expectations -- this is much more about her life, and how it wasn't lining up as she'd expected, than it is about houses. I'm simultaneously in awe of just how many times she managed to pick up and move and a little put off by her easy assumption that she could, well, just pick up and move at any point. Beyond that...well, it was fine. It just wasn't what I was looking for.
But Daum doesn't really go into the meaning behind this need for the 'perfect' house, nor does she describe the places she lives in great detail. I expected -- I'll admit -- a great deal more about the houses, the architecture... I wanted to know how she imagines her own perfect house, and how she'd furnish it, and perhaps read about research she'd done on houses. I expected to find out when these houses were built, and what renovations had been done on them, and what she wanted to do with them...
I was disappointed, then, not so much by the book itself, but by my expectations -- this is much more about her life, and how it wasn't lining up as she'd expected, than it is about houses. I'm simultaneously in awe of just how many times she managed to pick up and move and a little put off by her easy assumption that she could, well, just pick up and move at any point. Beyond that...well, it was fine. It just wasn't what I was looking for.