Workhorse

Why I picked it up? I found it through The New York Times’ book review, snagged by the headline, “The Last Gasp of Magazine Glamour as seen from the Bottom Rung.” I grew up loving magazines: the September issue of Seventeen, Newsweek, Outside, Elle, Rolling Stone to name a few. In some ways magazine were a guide to life that I didn’t always have at home. And the articles fueled my imagination and drive to travel, lean and explore.

Who would I pass it on to? I would love to hear my friend Janine’s take on this book. She worked in the industry for a good many years. Perhaps not with the expense accounts of fashion magazines, but still in the thick of big name monthly and weeklies. Janine holds a wonder and curiosity that magazines evoke — in a way that social media only occasionally achieves. She will identify with the time - early days post 9/11, but as a true New Yorker, she will know where the book goes on just a bit too long. The book is well written but uneven.

About the Author: From 2014 to 2019, Caroline Palmer was the director of editorial, video, and social media at Amazon Fashion. Prior to her tenure at Amazon, she spent seven years as the editor of Vogue.com. Her work has appeared in various publications, including The New York Times, Life, Seventeen magazine, and Vogue. She lives in Montclair, New Jersey, with her husband and three children. Workhorse is her first novel.

Same Shelf:
The Devil Wears Prada by Laura Weisberger (2003)