recipient:
The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington/ PO Box 96140/ Washington DC 20090-6140
sent:
Philadelphia Weekly review and excerpt of I Was Told There’d Be Cake, Essays by Sloane Crosley
reasoning:
this title definitely caught my eye while skimming through the stacks and mounds of books at the bookstore. how many times have i been lulled to an event b/c there’s free food? how many times have i 
eaten crap food that’s totally bad for me, but tastes so good, just because it’s free? too many times. the hoarding behavior i developed in college has transferred over to my real life now that i’m even more poor as an intern living in the city who has to pay rent and buy groceries, and sometimes lives in the dark b/c lightbulbs are an extra expense.
any collection of witty, real-life short stories, and the david sedaris comparisons start. i love Mr. DS. along with eddie izzard, there is no one who understands the frustration of learning french better. when i first began reading I was Told There’d Be Cake, i thought about David Sedaris and Me Speak Pretty One Day. but crosley has a way of being insecure and curious about life events and scenarios that is easily relatable, and totally charming.
on suddenly being asked, out of nowhere, to be part of the bridal party of a high school best friend she hadn’t seen or spoken to since high school,
So I agreed because, barring exorbitant plane fare or typhus, you can’t not agree. Not only is it a social slap in the face and a personal kick in the feelings, it also puts a silent price tag on the friendship, no matter how faded that friendship is. If the average bridesmaid’s dress costs $250 and the average bridesmaid’s shoes cost $125, and you refuse to participate, that’s like saying you wouldn’t pay $375 to maintain that friendship. It’s like saying if deranged pirate terrorists kidnapped the bride and demanded $375 and a few hours of your time in exchange for her life, you’d hand them the musket yourself. (more…)
