Book Review: Sociable by Rebecca Harrington

My rating: 3 of 5 stars 

Publish Date: March 27th 2018

Books Like This: The Circle by Dave Eggers, The Startup by Doree Shafrir

I am a sucker for books with a Digital Age plot!

I received an advance copy of this book from Doubleday Books through NetGalley.

I’m attracted to novels that reference social media, texting, the Internet… anything online. Why? Because it’s relatable. We are all addicted to Facebook, Twitter, texting, and the Internet. We rely on technology for many aspects of our life. And I love books that are associated with things that I can identify with, but hopefully with a more glamourous perspective.

Elinor Tomlinson moved to New York City with a degree in journalism and big dreams of successful career,  but ends up being a nanny and sleeping on a foam pad in a basement apartment that she shares with her college boyfriend Mike.

She is offered a job at Journalism.ly, a digital media publisher, and discovers her gift of writing catchy sharable content. She becomes an overnight viral sensation.

This is the story of Elinor on her quest for happiness and her inside look at life in the wild world of Internet media.

Lots of local NYC references in the book.

What I liked:

1. The book was based in New York City – my favorite city ever!
2. I felt that the book was poking fun at millennials because they actually act in the way that these characters do! It was very entertaining. Ironically, all of the characters in this book were NOT likeable. They are social media obsessed, hashtag obsessed, self absorbed and feeling entitled. Their personalities reflect a lot of twentysomethings today, and it perpetuates the stereotype. Hilarious!
3. The story gives the reader a sneak peak into contemporary journalism and how writing and creating digital media is SO different from traditional content. You get to see the inner workings of a firm like Journalism.ly. I’m pretty sure that it’s based on a company like Buzzfeed.
4. Elinor’s essay that went viral. It was thoughtful and had a good perspective on her relationship with Mike. There were many points that I could identify with, especially the feelings of heartache and being dumped.
5. The humor sprinkled throughout the book.

What I didn’t like:

1. Elinor is passive, pathetic, a people pleaser, and lacked personality.
2. Elinor’s boyfriend Mike. He never seemed to like Elinor. I don’t see how they ended up together in the first place.
3. There was not enough character development for the time that I spent reading this book. I wanted more transformation in Elinor by the end.
4. The premise had a lot of potential that unfortunately didn’t come through in the end.

Overall, I give this one 3 of 5 stars. It’s a light entertaining read for social media and twentysomething fans.