My Life on Craigslist: A Fictitious Diary

FINALIST OF USA BEST BOOK AWARDS. Craigslist can be a real sharkfest! But it’s a mirror of who we are. Alexandra Ares takes these two statements to their darkest and funniest place in this page turner satire of today’s wildest mores brazenly unleashed on America’s largest free online dating website. A zany New York girl trolls it for fun, love, sex, relationships and everything else, doomed to run from trouble to trouble. But she has a special talent...

Meet Emily Thompson, 25, quirky, wholesome, with a keen eye for contemporary art. One year after she moves from Buffalo to the trendy East Village, where she lands a job in an art gallery and an artist boyfriend, her life is turned upside down when she loses everything. Alone, broke and depressed, she turns to Craigslist to find - for free - everything she needs for both fun and survival. She soon discovers a wild, flawed world where everyone is either the con or the conned, and decency has flown both the laptop and the desktop. A roommate who is rarely home, turns out to be an escort, which makes Emily get on her high moral horse, but later, when Emily herself becomes an escort for a day things spiral out of control...

With her deadpan wit and trademark unconventional insight, Alexandra Ares delivers a fast-paced, rakishly entertaining and ingeniously plotted soulful novel that confirms her status as one of the hottest new writers around.

AWARD WINNING FINALIST OF THE USA BOOK AWARDS 2011
MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW TOP REVIEWERS' CHOICE

“A seamless merging of the latest “blog book” trend and “Bridget Jones Diary.Very funny….Many laugh-out-loud memorable lines….Originality: 5-stars….Very clean, clear voice and original writing."
--Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Review

“Rakishly entertaining! So much of what occurs is beautifully tied up. I adored it. The Apatow films don’t do it better. This book is a d-flawless diamond, small but utterly perfect.”
--Monique Raphel High, best-selling novelist

"My Life on Craigslist" is a quirky novel of romance and life, a read very much worth considering."
--Midwest Book Review, Top Reviewers’ Pick

“I loved this book….Very witty. Why do you want to read this book? Because you are looking for something funny. You like interesting characters. You like sparkling dialog.”
--A Bookish Affair

"Alexandra Ares has an incredible insight into the human persona and expresses her tantalizing talent with My Life On Craigslist."
--Alan Abel, humorist writer, the world’s most famous prankster

"Very cool! I can totally identify with Emily/Swan: jobless, looking for a roommate, zero money in the bank, and above all desperately seeking some sort of sexual or intimate connection that would numb the pain of this lonely existence. Bravo!"
--Ismael Corpas, CL User, Film Director LA

“Sharp and funny! This entire journey from Craigslist to mundane life and back has a cinematic quality that could inspire a cool New York film. Alexandra Ares combines the visuals and witty dialog of a screenwriter with the emotional depths of a skilled novelist."
--Tudor Petrut, Actor/Director LA

"Why do I troll Craigslist, with so many creeps lurking, and not other leading dating sites? It’s not only the fact that CL is free. It’s mostly because I’ve looked at people’s profiles on other big dating sites and it’s scary. Some folks have been up there since 2003. Others are online since 2001. I can see the gold boiler plate: “In the dating business since the turn of the century. Dating and fucking hundreds and still looking. I’m kinda dating someone right now, but if you write to me I’ll check out your profile and answer back in case you’re an upgrade.”
Emily Thompson