Remember how psyched I was to take on the 30 Day Shred? Well, I still am…but there’s been a bit of a snag. I suppose it’s more of a tear, actually. Picture this: Sunday night, I’m sitting on the floor, going through a few stacks of paper a la spring cleaning. I get up to get a drink, and hear a gross ripping sound that is most definitely not my pants. Point of the story? My right knee is in bad shape, so I’m easing back into the Shred very slowly. A minor setback, I think… I’m definitely not ready to throw in the towel. After all, if I quit, the terrorists Jillian Michaels wins. And to that I say, no dice.

On the plus side, there is a no-fail way to distract yourself from an injured knee—read a great book. And thankfully, I just happen to have one. In fact, today is a day that my inner book nerd has been eagerly anticipating for the past couple of months, because the new Jen Lancaster memoir, Pretty in Plaid, is finally available… And I’ve got a copy!

If you’re not familiar with the awesomeness of Jen Lancaster, let me sum it up for you: the woman is made of win. I’ve been hooked on her memoirs since a shiny dress called out to me one day from the cover of Bitter is the New Black while I was strolling through Chapters (What can I say? Like a goldfish, shiny things amuse me). An associate VP for a tech company during the Dot Com boom in the US, Jen found herself suddenly unemployed following 9/11 and her subsequent (mis)adventures in job hunting and frugality became fodder for her blog, which eventually became her first book. Snarky, smart, and full of hilarious footnotes, Bitter is the New Black definitely cemented my girl crush on the Governor of Jennsylvania. Her next two memoirs, Bright Lights, Big Ass (which helped me make a new friend) and Such a Pretty Fat (an excellent weight loss memoir) feature the same brand of wicked humour that makes Jen so endearing.

Pretty in Plaid is a different kind of memoir, though. Instead of focusing on the hilarity that is Jen’s life as an adult, this time she’s taking readers back to her childhood, or “the Wonder Years Before the Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smart-Ass Phase.” I was already laughing to myself while reading the first page, so I have a feeling I’m really going to enjoy this. (Who am I kidding? There was never any question.)

I’m just going to go ahead and say it… Recession be damned. If you haven’t read any of these books, go ahead and pick up the entire set. You’ll be glad you did.