Sad Desk Salad

After obsessively reading tons of thriller and crime novels over the past few months, I wanted a break to read something a little less intense and more lighthearted, and I came across Sad Desk Salad by Jessica Grose. I was initially intrigued by the cover because it looks so fun and modern - just what I was looking for. And the book itself didn't disappoint.

Main character Alex Lyons is a young girl who writes for a women's website called Chick Habit - it is her job to ruthlessly blog about all the latest gossip. I liked Alex as a character - her personality really balanced the tone of the book. She is a very laid back, casual person. Even though her job is extremely demanding, she works from home, and she generally works while lounging around in her beloved "work muumuu" and, on more than one occassion in the book, went a few days without showering. Alex has her routine down, frequenting the deli near her apartment to get her daily "sad desk salad", before rushing back to make sure she hasn't missed any breaking news she can blog about.

My favorite part of this book is that it deals with topics that can be more serious (people's private lives being exposed), but Grose turned it into a hilarious piece of fiction that brings a different perspective to light. At a mid point in the novel, Alex is tasked with making the decision to post a piece that would earn her big points and recognition at work, but would also potentially destroy the subject of the piece. Alex has to decide if her career is more important to her than this other person's reputation. Everyone can imagine how horrifying it would be to have something private about them released to the public, but we may not all always think about the person on the other side and the stress and pressure being put on them to do this.

This was a very fun book to read, it was relatable, modern, and laugh out loud funny. It was the perfect book to bring to the beach or to just unwind with after a long day at work. I loved Grose's witty writing style and I would love to see her write another novel!

If you like Sad Desk Salad, check out Someday, Someday Maybe by Lauren Graham!