30 Before 30 by Marina Shifrin

A charming, relatable and hilarious collection of essays documenting a young woman's attempt to accomplish thirty life goals before turning thirty. Something was nagging Marina Shifrin. As a freshly minted adult with student loan payments, a barely hospitable New York apartment, a "real" job she hated that paid her enough to get by if she also worked two other jobs, something needed to change. Over a few bottles of Two Buck Chuck, Marina and her friend each made lists of thirty things they'd do before the age of thirty. The first thing on Marina's list was, "Quit My Shitty Job." So she did, and just like that the List powered her through her twenties. In 30 Before 30, Marina takes readers through her list and shares personal stories about achieving those goals. Ranging in scope from the simple (Ride A Bike Over the Brooklyn Bridge, Donate Hair) to the life-changing (Move to A Different Country, Become internet Famous), each story shows readers that we don't all have it figured out, and that's okay. But for Marina, she did become internet famous (a viral video of her quitting her job after moving to Asia has nearly 19 million views on You Tube) and now writes for Comedy Central's hit show @Midnight, is also an in-demand stand up, and had a very popular Modern Love column published in the New York Times. None of that would have happened if she didn't start her list that night. Thank you, Two Buck Chuck. Told with humor and heart, 30 Before 30 will entertain, motivate, and challenge readers to get out of their comfort zones and live their best lives.

30 Before 30 How I Made a Mess of My 20s, and You Can Too: Essays by Marina Shifrin. I would like to thank Netgalley and all parties involved for giving me an arc of this book. It was a diamond in the rough for sure! I will be the first to admit that this is usually not my cup of tea. This is not your bucket list kind of book the author does not list 30 things that you have to do before you turn 30. But more a combination of 30 adventures the author has had in her life before she turned 30. I don't want you to be scared of the idea of the fact that this is essays but It really does read like a charming memoir that makes you want to have your own adventure at any age.

I received this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
DNF @ 20%

So I'm not going to be giving this book a rating. Mostly, because I think I totally misunderstood what this book was going to be about and since I don't know who the author is, I'm not interested in her life story.

I thought this would be a book about lessons she learned from her list or how she went about doing the things on her list– which, granted half the chapters I've read have be purposeful, but some have been lucky. The chapters those are packed full of her past, which doesn't really deal with the list, so I don't care about it too much. I also had a harder time figuring out when she was talking about way back in the past or when she was in her twenties, so I couldn't always follow her writing.
People who like reading biographies and memoirs or are interested in the author may really like this look at her early life.

Another reason I'm not continuing this is because pretty much in every chapter she mentions drinking or being drunk. This is totally a personal thing, so it won't bother most people. I don't like drinking– I don't mind people drinking though– it just feels like a given that we should be drinking and getting drunk all the time and it irks me to see that in books as well. I've honestly given up on friends who only seemed interested in hanging out if it involved drinking. So, when it seems like people are saying that those in their 20s can't improve their life or do crazy outrageous things without drinking... I get frustrated.
I understand this book isn't saying it, may even say the opposite later in the book since in the intro she even mentions having a minor drinking problem, but it is still frustrating to read.

Her life seems outrageous, her stories are told in a down to Earth, easy to read style, and her circumstances are relateable at times, so I definitely see how people will enjoy reading this book, it just wasn't for me.