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Second US Edition
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First US Edition |
Award-Winning Finalist of USA Best Books by US Book News
Award-Winning Finalist of Readers' Favorite
"In her latest novel, Ares (Dream Junkies) offers up chick lit with a twist... The author nails the cold, callous place that New York can be and highlights the always surprising things that can be found on Craigslist."
__Publishers Weekly
"A quirky novel of romance and life very much worth considering."
__Midwest Book Review, Starred Review
"Ares is a budding author who has a knack for highlighting the neurotic, maladaptive and vulnerable people in New York's vast cavern of possible characters. Emily is a lovable character... Many young adults will relate to her needs for freedom which are competing with the need for safety and comfort."
__Readers' Favorite, Starred Review
"Written cleverly and on par with a top Hollywood screenplay, this is a great story about city life, trying to find an identity among the online anonymous... The chaos that evolves from seemingly harmless decisions in Emily's life is very true-to-life, serving as entertainment to the skeptical and a downright cautionary tale to those who take it to heart."
__US Review of Books, Starred Review
“A fun, entertaining read....Emily’s expeditions....on the website are certainly interesting, as they speak truth to the chaos and excitement of Manhattan. "
__Kirkus Indie Review
“My Life on Craigslist reminds me of SEINFELD...It’s funny, smart and filled with tons and tons of crazy drama... An adventure you won’t want to missâ€
__MadisonSays Blog
"Very funny and witty! The author does a great job with the dialog which really moves the story along…I loved it!â€
__A Bookish Affair
“This is the quintessential New York story of a young woman in search of her true self....Emily is bright and funny. The friends she picks up along the way are rakishly entertaining. So much of what occurs is beauty-fully tied up. I adored it. The Apatow films don’t do it better. This book is a d-flawless diamond, small but utterly perfect.â€
__Monique Raphel High, best-selling novelist
“A seamless merging of the latest "blog books" trend (like "sleeping naked is green") and "Bridget Jones' diary." Very funny….many laugh-out-loud memorable lines….Originality: 5-stars….Very clean, clear voice and original writing.â€
__Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Review
"Alexandra Ares has an incredible insight into the human persona and expresses her tantalizing talent with my life on Craigslist."
__Alan Abel, the world’s most famous prankster
"Very cool! I can totally identify with Emily/swan: jobless, looking for a roommate, zero money in the bank, and above all desperately seeking some sort of sexual or intimate connection that would numb the pain of this lonely existence. Bravo!"
__Ismael Corpas, Craigslist user, film director, Los Angeles
“My life on Craigslist will strike a chord with many and is a must-read for anyone who uses Craigslist or wants to learn more about it. Alexandra Ares writes this book for the millions of people who are dependent on Craigslist as a free service that provides an exchange system.â€
__Todd Rutherford, The Publishing Guru
"Sharp and funny! This entire journey from Craigslist to mundane life and back has a cinematic quality that could inspire a cool New York film. Alexandra Ares combines the visuals and witty dialog of a screenwriter with the emotional depths of a skilled novelist."
__Tudor Petrut, actor/director, Star of the Discover campaign.
MORE PRESS & LINKS
INTERVIEW ON THE DRESSER UNDER DARK RADIO SHOW
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Craigslist can be a real sharkfest! But it’s a mirror of who we are.
Alexandra Ares takes these two statements to a darkly witty and thought-provoking place in this addictive satire of today’s wildest mores brazenly unleashed on America’s largest free online dating website.
Meet Emily Thompson, 25, quirky, wholesome, with a keen eye for contemporary art. One year after she moves from Buffalo to the trendy East Village, where she lands a job in an art gallery and an artist boyfriend, her life is turned upside down when she loses everything. Alone, broke and depressed, she turns to Craigslist to find - for free - everything she needs for both fun and survival. She soon discovers a wild, flawed world where everyone is either the con or the conned, and decency has flown both the laptop and the desktop. A roommate who is rarely home, turns out to be an escort, which makes Emily get on her high moral horse, but later, when Emily herself becomes an escort for a day things spiral out of control...
"Why do I troll Craigslist, with so many creeps lurking, and not other leading dating sites? It’s not only the fact that CL is free. It’s mostly because I’ve looked at people’s profiles on other big dating sites and it’s scary. Some folks have been up there since 2003. Others are online since 2001. I can see the gold boiler plate: “In the dating business since the turn of the century. Dating and fucking hundreds and still looking. I’m kinda dating someone right now, but if you write to me I’ll check out your profile and answer back in case you’re an upgrade.†Emily Thompson
Warning
This novel is intended for audiences over 21 years old, and contains depictions of sexual activity, though perhaps not in the way you're expecting.
The books is available at all the leading online retailers in paperback and electronic format.
FAQ
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- Why did you write this book?
“In the spring of 2009 I returned from Europe to a New York deserted by the recession. Restaurants that once needed a month-long wait for a reservation were either closed or empty. Nobody was hiring, everybody was firing. Most of my friends were out of job, out of the city, and back with their families. One day, I went to my local B&N bookstore to look for a novel that would speak about what was going on: the crisis, the social struggle, the mating and social experience that had moved almost entirely from real life to the net. Something written with a mix of humor and depth. Besides the tons of chick lit about the single gal in the big city who is more adept at shopping than relationships, and more literary books with plots sets in Asia and the Middle East, I found no books I could relate to as a New Yorker; or even as an American living in a big city. I thought that a novel about someone living vicariously through Craigslist could be most relevant; like it or not, that free website is a mirror of who we are. There were (and still are) over 50 millions of monthly unique users with a "secret'" life on Craigslist, both female and male, people who are there either for survival or for fun, if not for both, like my character Emily Thompson, and it’s wild!"
- How plausible is it to find a real painting by Basquiat in an old house?
"Regardless how far-fetched it seems, actually, reality trumps fiction. Only this spring a bunch of paintings worth around 15 million dollars were found in the attic of a house in New York. If you think about it, the TV series The Antiques Roadshow won't be such a long lasting success, if happy accidents won't happen fairly often. I see treasure hunting as one of the nation's favorite pastimes."
- My Life on Craigslist is written in the first person and yet it is not your own personal dairy, just a make believe diary. Why not a real one?
"Because I am not an exhibitionist. Every person has a memoir in them, but I like to believe that I have many more books in me. A memoir would be like a final stop. At old age I may write one. For now, I enjoy the breathless immediacy given by a first person account, only as a literary device."
- How is My Life on Craigslist different than the other books and films inspired from Craigslist, such as Craigslist Joe for instance?
"I haven't read or watched all of them. As for Craigslist Joe, it's a documentary film made 2 years after I wrote and published My Life o Craigslist. Practically, they copied the idea of someone living vicariously on Craigslist, and made it as a documentary, seen from the perspective of a guy, called Joe. It's a feel good piece, almost an infomercial on Craigslist, with emphasis on all the politically correct aspects of Craigslist as a mirror of America and its diversity...It's an enjoyable show...My novel is a satire of what the internet has done to our mating habits. I was more interested in the 'politically incorrect' aspects of it."
LIBRARY FAQ
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The MARC records of the novel are available on OCLC (WorldCat) and SkyRiver.
Yiou can order the book from Baker & Taylor. |
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FROM "MY LIFE ON CRAIGSLIST"
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