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The Best of Everything
The Best of Everything | Rona Jaffe
30 posts | 26 read | 48 to read
When Rona Jaffes superb page-turner was first published in 1958, it changed contemporary fiction forever. Some readers were shocked, but millions more were electrified when they saw themselves reflected in its story of five young employees of a New York publishing company. Almost sixty years later, The Best of Everything remains touchinglyand sometimes hilariouslytrue to the personal and professional struggles women face in the city. Theres Ivy League Caroline, who dreams of graduating from the typing pool to an editors office; nave country girl April, who within months of hitting town reinvents herself as the woman every man wants on his arm; and Gregg, the free-spirited actress with a secret yearning for domesticity. Jaffe follows their adventures with intelligence, sympathy, and prose as sharp as a paper cut.
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Leftcoastzen
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#StorySettings #Office 5 young women who want to live & work in New York working in a publishing house typing pool. Published in 1958 , filled with office politics & sexist men doing what they do in such a setting. One young woman has set her standards high, she wants to become an editor. A novel I really enjoyed when I read it awhile back. Made me think of The TV series Mad Men at times.

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Sounds good! 6mo
Eggs Love love love 💕 🩷💕 I‘m all about the 1950s - fave decade @dabbe did you see this? I‘m stacking it (because I don‘t have enough on the list)… 6mo
dabbe Just did, and I stacked it, too! Thanks! 💙🩵💙 6mo
47 likes4 stack adds3 comments
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ManyWordsLater
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Pickpick

This book is so good. All I want to do is sit and bed and read it. I‘m so tired. But…must…carry…on…

I will be buying the next used copy I find.

53 likes2 stack adds
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ManyWordsLater
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Playground reading season has begun!

43 likes1 stack add
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ManyWordsLater
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Really excited to be starting this book.

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BekaReid

"The people who are part of our past and help to make our present what it is always stay in our minds, if only because we always wonder what would have happened if things had been different so long ago."

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kbuggle
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Pickpick

A new penguin classic edition coming out in a couple months prompted me to finally read this. Like MadMen if it had focused on the women instead. Yes there‘s a movie, but read this first! Then see it🍿

9 likes1 stack add
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mcipher
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@Avanders Thank you!! I absolutely LOVE my #staycationintimeswap - none of these books were on my radar but as soon as I read the blurbs I was like YES PLEASE!! The candle smells amazing and I‘m super excited for a bath and a cup of coffee (dark roast is my jam). ♥️♥️
#Staycationswap

EvieBee Nice treasure trove! I‘ve been meaning to read THE BEST OF EVERYTHING for awhile now. 2y
mcipher @EvieBee it sounds amazing, I can‘t wait to start it! 2y
Chrissyreadit 😍😍😍❤️😍❤️😍❤️ 2y
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Avanders Yay I‘m so glad you like everything!! ♥️♥️ I don‘t know why I had such a hard time finding New York things that felt right for the swap… so I focused on self-care vacation for the goodies instead 😉 I hope you didn‘t mind! I actually did find one really cool thing that I really wanted to send, but it wasn‘t going to make it in time… if you don‘t mind, I‘d still like to have it sent directly from Etsy to you… cool? ☺️ 2y
mcipher @Avanders Self care is my fave so I‘m not mad about it! You totally don‘t have to send anything else, it was perfect! 2y
DinoMom Lovely package 2y
44 likes6 comments
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monalyisha
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Wow, @Amandajoy …what a generous, gigantic gift you‘ve given me! I‘ve got one more load of laundry to do today; the Out of Print t-shirt‘s going straight in it & then right on my body! The tumbler is a feast for the eyes: such magical, pastel goodness! I love that we gave each other pencils; the snacks are right up my alley; & in a New England winter, the lotion & lip balms are both a necessity & a luxury. As for the books…👇🏻

monalyisha 1/1: The Conductors was one of the new-to-me books on #NYWD lists that I was most excited about; I‘m so pleased to have my own copy! It seems like *exactly* the type of magic I like. Buttermilk Graffiti sounds delightful - & I‘m looking forward to learning which Massachusetts town the author hails from, as that‘s my home state! As for Fingersmith, there might be some delayed gratification. I want my Book Club to read it together…in 2023. 😅🙈 3y
monalyisha Thanks again, @Amandajoy! It was a pleasure to be matched with you! 💓 3y
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MeganAnn Great package! Dot‘s Pretzels are so good and they originally started in my state! (North Dakota) 🎉👏🏻😍✨ 3y
Amandajoy It was fun! I laughed when I opened up the pencil. I‘m looking forward to using it. 3y
monalyisha @AmandaJoy You mentioned doodling in your letter & I think it‘d be great for that! It slides so smoothly across the paper. My one critique is that is does need to be sharpened fairly regularly, so writing with it can be tricky. 3y
Johanna414 Those are *the best* pretzels!!! 3y
candority Wow! What a great package 😍 3y
71 likes8 comments
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monalyisha
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@Amandajoy Would it be weird to say that perhaps my favorite thing in my #BestOf2021Swap box is your list? How can you go wrong with a match who includes “pink skies” on her list of favorite things, & ends with a message as wholesome as “not everything beautiful in life can be bought”?

You‘re a treasure. Thank you so much for your thoughtful, curated gift!

Final photo incoming…

Kappadeemom I am fortunate to live in a place with beautiful sunsets and I agree with her ❤️ It‘s one of my most favorite “free” things to do! 3y
Amandajoy I‘m so happy you liked it! I had fun putting it together! 3y
squirrelbrain Oh, how lovely! I really like the Calm app too @Amandajoy - both the 10 minute dailies and the Sleep Stories; my favourites are the train ones! 3y
Avanders Ooooh I love this! 🥰 3y
candority This is just so lovely! 3y
80 likes5 comments
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monalyisha
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Me, staring at my hands while opening gifts : “I wish I had some lotion. Look how dry my skin is!”

@Amandajoy , hearing me in the past, from approximately 1,500 miles away: GRANTED. 🧞✨

#BestOf2021Swap @candority

Amandajoy Glad I could help! I have bottles of this everywhere. 3y
Clare-Dragonfly Amazing 😂 3y
Chrissyreadit I love Kiehls. It was one of my favorite shops IRL in NYC. 3y
Cathythoughts I love Kiehls ❤️ 3y
67 likes4 comments
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monalyisha
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I‘ve never been gifted a cigar before…but there‘s a first time for everything. What is it Freud says? 🧐

With any luck, there‘ll be some lotion in this package (really, I have plenty) but WOW, my skin is dry! Look away! 🙈❌👀

#BestOf2021Swap @Amandajoy @candority

Amandajoy My husband wishes I gifted him some cigars this year 😂 3y
67 likes1 comment
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monalyisha
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Exclaiming/drooling over this exciting, monstrous pile! 😍 @Amandajoy @candority #BestOf2021Swap

Amiable Watching others unpack their boxes is just as much fun as unwrapping my own! 3y
Amandajoy Enjoy! 3y
melissajayne Thinking I might have to join in the fun for 2023 3y
candority Great card! 🦥 3y
70 likes4 comments
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monalyisha
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Will I be posting copious photos of my #BestOf2021Swap gift from @Amandajoy ? You bet your booty…🍑

@candority

candority That note made me smile! 3y
62 likes1 comment
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monalyisha
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I‘m so excited to open my #BestOf2021Swap gift…but even more excited to sleep. This is New Years in your 30‘s. 😉😅😴

@Amandajoy (& @candority ), I‘m looking forward to tomorrow!

Amandajoy Ha ha ha! I‘ve made it almost an hour into the new year, though I‘m fading fast! This is New Years in your 40s with a teen and tween 😂 3y
Chrissyreadit Ha! I was in bed asleep at 10. New Years in your 50‘s (edited) 3y
monalyisha @Chrissyreadit Tbh, the only thing really keeping me awake was that I had a load of laundry in that I wanted to get out of the dryer. 😅 3y
monalyisha @AmandaJoy I was hoping we‘d get a hint of sunshine today for better photo lighting (& my general mood 😅); alas…I don‘t think it‘s going to happen. Planning to open your gift when we‘re done with brunch! 😍 3y
60 likes4 comments
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JenlovesJT47
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1. Gone With the Wind
2. The Help
3. Daisy Jones & The Six

Honorable mentions go to The Midwife of Hope River and The Best of Everything.

Thanks for the tag!! @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 🤗
#Favs

ReadingIsMyHobby Way too many to choose from. So I'm going to go with 3 books that stay really close to my thoughts, often. 1. All The Bright Places. 2. The Fault In Our Stars. 3. Me Before You 5y
Texreader Gone with the Wind!! My mom told me for years to read it, since I was reading chunksters in high school. But no!!!! When I finally read it I was “blown away!” (Get it? A little Litsy humor there. I couldn‘t resist.) 5y
Texreader @ReadingIsMyHobby Oh my goodness, The Fault in Our Stars made me cry like a baby. 5y
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ReadingIsMyHobby @Texreader same. Definitely not a book that ever left my thoughts
5y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks #2 & #3 yay!!! I‘ve never read Gone With The Wind 🤦🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️ 5y
JenlovesJT47 @Texreader I read it in high school and it changed my life! I fell in love with the book, then had to track down the movie. That started my love affair with classic Hollywood that‘s still going strong 🥰 you need to read it @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks ! 5y
JenlovesJT47 @ReadingIsMyHobby those are great choices! I especially loved Me Before You. They actually did a good job with the movie, too. I bawl like a baby every time I watch it! 😭 5y
58 likes7 comments
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Leftcoastzen
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Pickpick

Re watching MadMen (Don flips thru it in bed)I realized I never read this book about single girls in the city.Written in 1958 ,Ms.Jaffe ,in some ways,writes a cautionary tale of wolves in the office & grungy first apartments yet describes the city so beautifully it makes you long to try your luck in New York.If you enjoy books like Valley of the Dolls & Peyton Place you will like this.Lots of bad behavior all around ,but like candy,irresistible.

RaimeyGallant Will have to read eventually! 5y
callielafleur At some point I'm going to find a list of all the books referenced in Mad Men and add them to my TBR. It's my favorite show. 5y
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Leftcoastzen @callielafleur oh yeah ,forgot that one! 5y
JohannaRose Very cute picture! 5y
Leftcoastzen @callielafleur 😃I can picture them giggling and passing it around! 5y
batsy Cute pic! And I think I remember this episode. Is that when he tells Betty that the book is racier/dirtier than he expected? 😆 5y
Leftcoastzen @batsy There it is! Thx!Yes, Don says something to that effect.My mom joined the work force in the 50s , she used to complain that many women treated their college or business school education like a finishing school to be where the men are , pissed my mom off as she was a dedicated career woman .Something Plath mentioned as well.Yet there are moments of fun and it feels ahead of its time.Of course 🙄moments too. (edited) 5y
batsy @Leftcoastzen Yes, Plath did it so well! And I think another one that maybe addresses a similar situation is Mary McCarthy's The Group? (on my TBR for like, forever 😆) I can totally understand your mum's frustration; I would have felt the same. 5y
Leftcoastzen @batsy I read The Group a long while ago , really liked it .If memory serves it‘s a little more intellectual, if you will. There is a kind of maybe naive quality in The Best of Everything that gives it a sweetness at times.Frank in its way,but of course of its time. 5y
callielafleur @batsy This is a great list! Thanks for posting it! 5y
55 likes2 stack adds16 comments
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kspenmoll
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#bookmail #surprise #sisterlove
Lovely unexpected surprise mail from my Nebraskan sister-all my sibs share a love of books. ❤️❤️❤️ 📚📚📚

LeahBergen Lucky you! 😍 6y
Mdargusch Fun! 6y
84 likes2 comments
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DebinHawaii
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#QuotsyJune18 #father
#ReadingResolutions #bookishfathers 📚

My 'bookish father' read to me almost every night until I could read on my own, then he let me read to him. He shared his favorite books with me and was instrumental in giving me my love of reading and books. I don't know if the quote I picked is true in every case, but I know my dad thought I was special and that we had a special relationship.
I miss him every day. 💜

LeahBergen ❤️❤️ 6y
Silvia.Baltazar ❤️ 6y
78 likes1 stack add3 comments
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LornaDH
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I recently re-shuffled my bookcases. Meet my new/old TBR. 🙄

ReadingEnvy Wow some great books in those piles! 7y
Sue Nice stacks! 7y
34 likes2 comments
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JenlovesJT47
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Day 21 - #workplacesetting - I immediately thought of one of my favorite books, The Best Of Everything. This book has a very Mad Men feel to it (and incidentally here we have Don Draper reading it), and even though it came out in the late 1950s, it could just as easily come out today. It was very racy for its time period. Consider it Mad Men completely from a woman's point of view. Excellent book! #feistyfeb #madmen

Liatrek Have you ever seen the movie? It's amazing! I've been meaning to read the book. 8y
JenlovesJT47 @Liatrek I have the movie but I didn't really like it, probably because I had just read the book when I watched it and they changed too much stuff 8y
Liatrek @JenlovesJT47 oh no ☹️ I'll definitely have to find the book. The life of book lovers movies rarely get it right. 8y
JenlovesJT47 @Liatrek so true! Maybe I'll watch it again soon, I might like it better since it's been awhile lol I read the book 8y
31 likes3 stack adds4 comments
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Oftencantdecide
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#readJanuary- Just a few of the many books #SetInMyCity

29 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Cinfhen
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I can't believe it's the last day of #photoadaynov16 🙃Thanks for organizing @RealLifeReading 🙂My November stats were actually better than I expected...and I read some good books 💙My #favoritereads #bestofnovember
were Mischling, We Need to Talk About Kevin & An Untamed State📚As always, I credit this wonderful community for inspiring and encouraging my reading 🙌🏻

Books_Wine_Repeat Congrats! 🎉 Mischling was also one of my favorite reads for November. 😁👍❤️ 8y
Gissy Congrats!!! 👏👏👏👏 That was a great accomplishment! I'm a slow reader I can't read so many books in one month. 8y
KarenUK Great month! I thought "We need to talk about Kevin" was amazing... 8y
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PurpleyPumpkin Wow, you did really well. Great job!👍🏼 8y
britt_brooke Very nice! 👏🏻 8y
Cinfhen Thanks so much @Books_Wine_Repeat @Gissy @KarenUK @PurpleyPumpkin & @britt_brooke Definitely #serialreader and #audiobooks increased my overall stats but I was happy with my other reading amounts🤓I think liking what you read, makes a big difference and I enjoyed most of my books this month❣️ 8y
shawnmooney You, too, had a great month! Good job! 👏👏👏 8y
68 likes7 comments
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JenlovesJT47
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Something that might not be as well known, I absolutely LOVE this book! The movie was unfortunately very disappointing. Pictured below are Don and Betty from Mad Men (greatest show in the history of ever) discussing the book as Don reads it in bed, then Betty talking about the movie version with Joan Crawford and her hideous eyebrows. 😂 What's not to love? #septphotochallenge #bookintomovie #madmen

OSChamberlain Hahahaha that's awesome! 8y
7 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Hestapleton
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Pickpick

Written in the late 50s, Jaffe tells the story of 3 girls who move to New York and all work at the same publishing company. The book was revolutionary for its portrayal of working women and the struggles they faced. Despite sexist and racist tones (given its time) I loved the book because I saw so much of myself in the characters. I just moved out on my own last week and I drew some courage from women that were just as scared as I am. 3/5.

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BookishKateNYC
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"Summer is the worst time of year in New York. The hot breeze blows soot and sticky blackness in through opened windows, offices are running on half staff for staggered summer vacations, sidewalks grow soft and tempers short..."

6 likes2 stack adds
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theotherhilary
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Pickpick

I rated this a pick, but with caveats: it's a product of its time and is best read as being wildly progressive and transgressive for the 50s, not present day. That being said it was engaging and compelling, a lovely quasi trashy summer read. I didn't know it was on Mad Men till after I finished.

BookishKateNYC @theotherhilary how great was this book?! Totally provocative, right? What are you reading now? 8y
3 likes1 comment
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johnnie_cakes
Mehso-so

I appreciated this book because it's clear that it had an influence on so many things that came after it. It was like reading an archetype for the "inexperienced young woman moves to NYC" story. It was worth it for that alone.

BookishKateNYC I really loved this book... Totally blew me away at times that it was written during the 50s. 8y
1 like1 comment