I can read!
Book review for Confessions of a Counterfeit Farm Girl by Susan McCorkindale:
I have to admit, I have completely mixed feelings about this book – I didn’t like it, but I DO like it all at once. Weird, I know.
I initially picked it up because I have secretly been contemplating becoming a Farmgirl myself. I’ll post more about that later, but briefly state that Jim and I have been thinking over the idea of trying to grow as much of our own food as possible (mainly vegetables, though, I’m not overly opposed to chickens and pigs). Possibly an experiment in seeing whether or not we could live without a grocery store… as I said, we’re just thinking.
Then I saw this book and realized that the title describes me completely. I am NOT a farmgirl. Not by a long shot. I’m barely even a “slightly rural” girl. I’m a full-fledge city girl and have been my entire life. Plucking me out of the city and trying out a life of self-sufficiency is not something I’ve ever really been trained to do. I’d be a bumbling fool till I got my farm-legs, no doubt. So, naturally, I assumed that this book would be about someone in a similar situation – someone who is thoroughly citified, but setting off on the adventure of trying out a “simpler” farm life.
Instead, this book is more like a more grown-up version of Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie’s “The Simple Life.” Granted, Ms. McCorkindale seems less shallow, but doesn’t seem to make any attempt to actually be a farmgirl at all – not even a counterfeit one. When she’s not jumping from one topic to the next, she’s telling stories from the perspective that since you were there with her, you just KNOW what she’s talking about.
Basically, I did not enjoy reading the book… and based on what I’ve written so far, you may be wondering how I could possibly have mixed feelings when I just said I didn’t like reading the book. The book is based on a blog – one that I never read (and never heard of) before I bought the book. And after peeking at the blog, I find myself enjoying her stories. Had I read them in reverse, I probably would have liked the book just fine because, in a sense, I WAS there with her, so I DO know what she’s talking about. Or, the way the chapters jump from topic to topic? Very “blog-being-stuffed-into-a-book”-esque (and, therefore, understandable). Basically, all of the things that make me dislike reading the book are the very things that make me like reading her blog.
I can’t shake my first impression of the book – unfortunately, you never really can get another first impression – but it has endeared itself to me. I don’t look at the cover (by the way, it’s a GENIUS cover) and cringe anymore. Instead, I look at the cover and think “oh, if only…”
Would I recommend it? Depends on what I’m recommending it for… If you’re like me and you’re contemplating a move from grocery store living to self-sustainability, then, no – this book is probably not for you. If, however, you like memoirs/bloggy-type books, then do yourself a favor: check out the blog and if you like it, you will probably like the book.
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