9 Heart Review: My Boyfriend Barfed in My Handbag by Jolie Kerr + Giveaway! (US/Can)

My Boyfriend Barfed in My Handbag... and Other Things You Can't Ask Martha
Jolie Kerr
Ask a Clean Person | Tumblr | Twitter | Follow the Tour!

Page Count: 238
Release Date: February 25th 2014
Publisher: Plume (Penguin)
Source: Complimentary copy provided by publisher via tour publicist in exchange for an honest and unbiased review (thank you, Penguin and TLC!)
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

The author of the hit column "Ask a Clean Person" offers a hilarious and practical guide to cleaning up life’s little emergencies.

Life is filled with spills, odors, and those oh-so embarrassing stains you just can’t tell your parents about. And let’s be honest: no one is going to ask Martha Stewart what to do when your boyfriend barfs in your handbag.

Thankfully, Jolie Kerr has both staggering cleaning knowledge and a sense of humor. With signature sass and straight talk, Jolie takes on questions ranging from the basic (How do I use a mop?) to the esoteric (What should I do when bottles of homebrewed ginger beer explode in my kitchen?). My Boyfriend Barfed in My Handbag proves that even the most nightmarish cleaning conundrums can be solved with a smile, the right supplies, and a little music.

Buy the book from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository | Books-A-Million | iTunes | Kobo | Publisher

Review

At this point you should be thinking, "So why wouldn't everyone just use [laundry detergent] pods?" Well, I'll tell you! They present a serious hazard to children and pets, in that they're brightly colored and sort of look like fun toys and they're also just about mouth-size, and you see where I'm going with this? Right, of course you do. So it's something to take into consideration if you've got children and/or pets. You could, of course, get rid of the children and/or pets, which would allow you to use pods with impunity and also would mean you'd have a lot less laundry in general. But I understand that some people feel rather attached to those children and/or pets, so if you want to choose a podless, laundry-riddled existence, be my guest.

Cleaning isn't the most thrilling chore I could think of—in fact, I can say with certainty that no one actually looks forward to the dirtiest job around—but Jolie Kerr's devotion and simply outlined tips really make me want to get my butt off the couch and clean the damn house. It's like when you read food blogs and become motivated to start taking the time to cook and eat healthier; I see someone being really productive with their life which motivates me to at least attempt to reach that level.

The trick is that Kerr actually makes cleaning seem fun; her enthusiasm is contagious and her anecdotes uproariously funny. She's kooky, fanatical, and just becomes your weird best friend who loves cleaning—a hyped-up Martha Stewart, you could say. But unlike Martha, Jolie Kerr isn't a domestic ideal; she's been through real world, real girl problems (like boyfriends barfing in handbags) and isn't afraid to get her hands dirty—literally.

My Boyfriend Barfed in My Handbag is conveniently sectioned off into eight different cleaning categories:

1. Kitchen
2. Floors, Ceilings, Walls, and Other Immovable Things
3. Bathroom
4. Personal Hygiene Tools and Appliances (brushes, hair dryers, razors, etc.)
5. Wedding Cleaning
6. Laundry
7. Car
8. Things You Really Can't Ask Martha (or Mom, for that Matter)

I love how each chapter is outlined, making the book all the more useful as a reference tool. Just look up your problem area in the index and you'll find the solution Kerr suggests—super easy!

I was pleasantly surprised by how helpful the guide is. There's lots of cleaning advice that I have never come across (or, let's be honest—have never had the opportunity to need) before, things that aren't just common knowledge. The book is filled with comprehensive tables and charts that streamline specific cleaning methods and materials; it's a nice break from huge chunks of text every once in a while. And to make your life even easier, Kerr provides DIY cleaning solution recipes—made with ingredients that are probably already in your cupboards!—as well as specific brands and products she recommends for targeted problems.

There's definitely a lot of spunk in Kerr's voice, but that's what makes the book so entertaining; the rambling, direct style doesn't hold back. There's absolutely no BS and readers are taken straight to the emergency, no matter how mortifying—and isn't that what we all want in a cleaning guide?

Pros

Extensive, easy-to-follow tips for any spill and situation // Humorous, light // Organized into sections (bathroom, kitchen, car, etc.) // Helpful graphics to compare and contrast different cleaning methods

Cons

A reference book... not exactly something I would sit down and read cover to cover

Love

This isn't a word-for-word excerpt, but just a condensed tip I got from the book and wanted to share with you guys:

Ever pull off a shirt or dress only to see some of your makeup rubbed off onto the garment? Ugh! To get rid of foundation stains from clothes, rub the area gently with a baby wipe or makeup remove wipe. Be sure to be gentle enough not to push the stain even deeper into the fabric. Then, throw it in the wash.

For trickier, oilier stains such as lipstick or mascara stains on clothing, do the same thing except with rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball instead of a baby wipe. The makeup should slide right off. Convenient, right?

Verdict

Highly charged, full of personality, and conscientiously charming, My Boyfriend Barfed in My Handbag is a stylish but frenetic cleaning guide for the everyday woman in everyday situations. With advice that ranges from generic but crucial (how to do laundry in a way that won't wear clothes out, how to clean the toilet, how to get rid of mildew, etc.) to ridiculously specific and quirky (how to deal with a Laffy Taffy that's melted in your pocket, how to get embarrassing fluids out of your bedsheets, how to even wrap your head around poop stains, etc.), this book is a handy reference tool that's simultaneously thoroughly entertaining. Jolie Kerr zealously combines chick-lit with how-to by contributing her and her readers' own experiences, just for kicks—who knew cleaning would be so fun to read? 

9 hearts: Loved it! This book has a spot on my favorites shelf (x)

Giveaway!

Books à la Mode is giving away one finished print copy of My Boyfriend Barfed in My Handbag—yay!! To enter, all you have to do is tell me:

Share one of your favorite cleaning "life-hacks"—any sort of tip or trick you use to clean that may make everyone's life just a little easier!

Don't forget to include your email address or Twitter username in your comment so I know who to contact when I choose a winner. Don't make me track you down!!!! No email = No entry!

Please make your comment MEANINGFUL. Comments solely consisting of stock responses or irrelevant fluff like "Thanks for the giveaway!" will not be considered for entry. Jolie and I really want to hear from you guys! :)

Don't forget the entry eligibility terms and conditions!

Sponsored wholly by the tour publicist and publisher—a huge thank you to TLC and Penguin!
Giveaway ends May 1st at 11.59 PM (your time).

Open to US and Canada residents only—sorry, international readers! Check out my sidebar for a list of currently running giveaways that are open worldwide—there are plenty to choose from!
Void where prohibited.

Winners have 48 hours to claim their prize once they are chosen, or else their winnings will be forfeited.
Although I do randomly select winners, I am in no way responsible for prizes, nor for shipping and handling.

As a reminder, you do not have to follow my blog to enter, though it is always very much appreciated ❤

Good luck!

My Reviewing Process

Sponsorship disclaimer: I used Grammarly to grammar check this post, because everything always sounds perfect until Grammarly shows me it absolutely isn't. Don't let this post fool you; I definitely needed the help to create such a perfect article.

One of the questions I'm most frequently asked is "What's your reviewing process?" so here's a little regimen guide to share the way I read and review books with you guys. I'll try to include all the online and offline tools I use to facilitate my reviewing process, and hopefully these tips will be useful for you.

Mark deadlines in Google Calendar

Google Calendar is a godsend (if you have a Mac, the iCal app is fabulous, too!). A lot of the books I review are for virtual tours, so I'll be given a specific host date and my review needs to be published on that day. Others I work with are pre-releases, meaning I receive ARCs of upcoming titles and am expected to publish the review on or around the official publication date.

I mark all of these dates down in my online calendar so I can always keep track of by when I need to finish a book, and to see what's scheduled for my blog. Here's a screenshot of what September looks like:

All the green boxes labeled "REV" are the reviews I have scheduled. I also use the schedule calendar to keep track of other promotions such as upcoming guest posts or interviews.

The calendar can also help you determine what order you should read books in. With so many deadlines, it's easy to miss a few if you don't prioritize the books that have earlier publication dates, and hang onto the ones that aren't due until later. For instance, here's how I "prioritize:"

I stack the books in chronological order, the book with the nearest deadline at the very top. Above is my actual current stack of ARCs that need reviewing. I seldom stray from this reading order unless there's a book I desperately want to read at the bottom (Jamie Ford!!!!!). It's a good system and is helpful in getting your books read on time!

Read

This one's fairly obvious, but read. Just read. This is the most time-consuming part of the reviewing process because reading takes time, but you have to keep up with it, because it's also the most important aspect! I'm a university student so I know sometimes your eyes get tired, I know your life is crazy, I KNOW you can't afford the time to sit down and read every day. Well, make the time. Read on the bus, on the train, waiting in line at the bank, during your lunch break, fifteen minutes before bed. If you get in the habit of it, reading doesn't take effort at all (even if it's a miserable book). You just need to find a way to incorporate reading time into your daily life.

While reading, take notes

Reading for reviewing purposes is slightly different from reading for pleasure. I always have a pencil in hand when I'm reviewing. The thought of marking up a book may make some of you wince, but I've gotten used to it because I do it so much for school. It's pencil, guys. It'll erase.

Underline, write little notes in the margins, and mark important quotes. If you're like me and your mind runs a mile a minute while engaged in a book, you will need to jot your thoughts down before you forget them. Usually while I'm reading, I'll come up with the perfect opinion or observation to possibly include in my review, but I know I'll never remember it, so I scribble it all down on the title page. By the time I've finished reading, these frantic scrawls accumulate to look like this:

This is what my margin notes look like on a good day.

Some people reread their review titles, but I don't feel the need to do it. (I don't have the time, either). As long as I have my notes, reading once is more than sufficient for me.

For most of my reviews, I also include a favorite quotes section, so if I find a phenomenal quote, rather than writing it down, I just mark it, and write the page number down in the front of the book so I can come back to it later:

These pictures are from my ARC of All Our Yesterdays, by the way. My review goes live tomorrow, but in case you missed my fangirl rants all over Twitter and Goodreads: I. Loved. It. Seriously, don't even wait for my review; just go pre-order it now. You will not regret it.

Prioritize the order in which you need to write

After you've finished reading, you need to get to reviewing, but before you do that, you should have a general idea of what order you will actually write your reviews in. Here's my current pile of finished books that are on queue to be reviewed:

This is pretty mild. When I'm really in a procrastinating mood, my "to review" pile is bigger than my "to read" one! Don't be me! Get your reviews written right after you finish the book!!!

This method is similar to the above one in which the most urgent book to be reviewed is at the top, and the books are in chronological due date order. This is a minor step, but it just helps me be more organized.

Draft

As you can see, my margin notes aren't exactly... legible. They can be a pain in the ass to work off of, so I always perch that title page open and type everything down onto a fresh blog compose page. Nothing is coherent at this point; it's straight from my notes, little phrases here and there and adjectives clumped together.

Then, I have to start using my brain. This is the most difficult part. I have to form sentences—and they have to sound nice, at least to my ears—so that others will be able to actually understand my review. I have Pros, Cons, and Verdict sections just to sum my thoughts up better (as my reviews tend to go terribly off-topic, especially when I'm raving).

Write

Another simple one. If a book has affected you enough, the words—your thoughts, opinions, and personal reactions—should just flow freely. Sometimes, I have a little too much to say and I have to cut everything down so I don't sound like a maniac.

Even if a book hasn't really resonated with you profoundly, there should be a reason why. You don't have to say nice things. Just say reasonable things and always be sure to justify. If you didn't like a certain aspect to a book, don't just punish it with a low-star rating; explain what you didn't like. This will at least help beef up your review if you have nothing else to say.

Edit and revise

This step isn't particularly hard, but it's really annoying. You've already written your review, but now you need to read it again—and again—and hone it down to perfection. I always preview my post because it helps me catch spelling errors better; seeing your words on-screen can be helpful while editing because it looks different from the composition draft page.

Recently, I discovered Grammarly to help me out with this. Grammarly is an computerized "extra pair of eyes" to help catch your writing mistakes. It's not just a spellchecker; it's a proofreader that actually catches grammatical and structural errors, which can really tighten up your review, not to mention make it sound more professional.

It's super user-friendly, and I love how it explains errors, and gives suggestions on correcting them, rather than just slashing through them with a red line:

Check it out when you get the chance!

Include relevant information

Goodreads is my favorite source for collecting book links which I always include in reviews, and it's also great for getting accurate ISBNs, synopses, cover images, series details (if a book is a part of a series), and author information. A one-stop site for all your book specifics!

Publish

I always feel hugely accomplished every time I finally click "Publish." Book reviewing, as fun as it is, is mentally and physically draining—from all the late nights you stay awake finishing just one more chapter to that one sentence you've beaten to a pulp because you just can't get it to sound right—but it's all worth it in the end. The satisfaction of seeing your words published and actually out there is like no other.

Repost

For additional exposure, I like to copy and paste my reviews to various retailer and literary sites. My current ones are Amazon, Barnes & Noble, The Book Depository, Goodreads, BookMooch, PaperBackSwap, LibraryThing, and Books-A-Million, plus any others publishers or authors specifically request.

What about you?

I'd love to hear from fellow blogger babes! Are there any techniques from this post that you use or would like to? What do you do differently? I want to know what works for you!

How To Use a Prayer Box by Lisa Wingate and Giveaway!

It's my pleasure to share Lisa Wingate's newest novel with you guys today...

The Prayer Box, currently on tour with JKS Communications

Page Count: 400
Release Date: September 1st, 2013
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
Genre: Contemporary, Christian, Literary

When Iola Anne Poole, an old-timer on Hatteras Island, passes away in her bed at ninety-one, the struggling young mother in her rental cottage, Tandi Jo Reese, finds herself charged with the task of cleaning out Iola's rambling Victorian house.

Running from a messy, dangerous past, Tandi never expects to find more than a temporary hiding place within Iola's walls, but everything changes with the discovery of eighty-one carefully decorated prayer boxes, one for each year, spanning from Iola's youth to her last days. Hidden in the boxes is the story of a lifetime, written on random bits of paper—the hopes and wishes, fears and thoughts of an unassuming but complex woman passing through the seasons of an extraordinary, unsung life filled with journeys of faith, observations on love, and one final lesson that could change everything for Tandi.

Buy the book from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository | Books-A-Million

Click "Read more" to find out what a prayer box means to the author and to win a finished PRINT copy!