Book 3: Orange Is The New Black by Piper Kerman

Title: Orange Is The New Black
Author: Piper Kerman
Length: 327 pages
Year Written: 2011
Why I chose this book: This was a Christmas gift from my sister, and since I loved the television series, I figured it would be interesting to read the book on which it was based.

I finished this book, like, three days ago. I haven't read much since then. This challenge is so hard because it can so easily go ignored. Thankfully, my book club had a meeting tonight and it really got me in the mood to stop slacking. Technically, I'm ahead of schedule for these 50 books, but as I know so very well, that can all change with a few lazy days of choosing Netflix over paperbacks.

Speaking of Netflix, chugging through season one of Orange Is The New Black is a great activity if you have a few days off. Reading the book, however, is not so entertaining.

OITNB was my first stab in a while at reading non-fiction for pleasure. Piper Kerman (who TV's Piper Chapman is modeled after) does a great job at exposing how little incarceration does to prepare petty criminals (or even seasoned murderers) for functional, productive life in the real world. The conditions of jail time can cause irreversible psychological damage—but luckily for Piper, she had a great network of family and friends to provide resources like money, a job, and moral support. Piper describes the women imprisoned alongside her who were not so lucky—those that had no home to return to, no job skills to tout, no formal education to rely on. The truth is that although this was an easy, almost conversational read, it was pretty boring. I was actually pretty disappointed when I learned just how much of the show was fabricated or very, very exaggerated. Piper does not cheat on Larry with Laura from That 70's Show. Laura wasn't even in the same jail! Well, there's more to it, but I guess you could read it if you really want to know.

At best, Kerman makes a solid argument for prison reform, but at worst, she wrote a book that was entirely eclipsed by a subsequent television rendition.

Rating: 6/10