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Wednesday, February 27, 2013

The Pioneer Woman

Have you read her blog?  Maybe you've watched her show on Food Network.  Up until a month ago I had no idea who she was.  I was talking with a friend and she said, "Oh I need to go.  Pioneer Woman is coming on."  Who??  I flipped on the TV  (which I rarely do) and found the channel.  It was only a 30 minute program ( I think-it seemed really short anyway), but I enjoyed it.  Ree (Pioneer Woman) seemed very down to earth and made some yummy dishes.  Since then I've tried to watch her show every Saturday.  It's funny how when you don't really know some one you come up with your own idea of what she's like.  From watching Ree (who also home schools) I thought she was probably very conservative, came from an 'old fashion' kind of family, grew up cooking, sewing, etc.  You know the type person I'm describing.  Pretty much the perfect little wife.  Then I read her book.

I was surprised at how transparent she was!  She was actually a 'real' woman just like me.  LOL!  Her life was sprinkled with mistakes, mishaps, etc.  She wasn't at all the woman I had made her out to be in my mind.  She was someone who learned from the things she had done wrong, picked herself up and made herself a better person.  The love story between her and her husband is so sweet.  She does give lots of details of their dating life .  Some made me blush.  She's openly honest.  I found myself unable to put the book down.  I thoroughly enjoyed it!

After reading her blog I found out she has also written children's books-based on their family dog.  I have them on hold at the library.  Next on my list...to try some of her recipes.  :)

By the way...this is not a paid review.  I just read the book on my own, enjoyed it and thought I'd share it with you.

3 comments:

Jazzmin said...

I'm glad you have found the pioneer woman too! I love her and was so excited once I started watching her... I kind of had the same perceptions of her beforehand, but from reading her blog and now watching her show she really is so down to earth and lovely.

It was great to read your thoughts on the book and get more of a feel for what it's about. I have it on my shelf, but have not had time to read it. Your review makes me all the more excited for the day I pick it up and start :)

Jen U. said...

I didn't know she had a book. How interesting. I will have to search it out and read it. I love her recipes on her blog!

lindycindy75 said...

You know, I used to be a Pioneer Woman fan too and read her blog on a regular basis, but something wasn’t ringing true for me. She held herself out as just a “little ol’ ranch wife” but the truth is, she wasn’t even close. When I learned in reality she was married to one of the largest landowners in the US and had built a custom television studio on their property (cleverly disguised as a “lodge remodel” on her blog), I had to stop and ask myself, how many ranch wives have the means to do that? Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing inherently wrong with having money, this is America after all. But when you mislead your readers and misrepresent yourself as something you’re not, intelligent people’s radars go up. Most people don’t like being made to feel like they’re chumps.

I also learned that she has tons of household help, tutors for homeschooling the kids, maids who run errands and tidy up her multiple homes and an entire cadre of people who help her manage her blog. She even has butlers for miscellaneous chores. In reality, there is no Pioneer Woman. All this "little ol' ranch wife" BS is nothing but a fake internet persona manufactured by Ree Drummond and her Madison Avenue publicists. Ask yourself, how many bloggers do you know who have an Agent?

And the fact Ree has lifted most of her recipes from church and community cookbooks without crediting her sources is very bad form. In 2012 alone, Drummond became embroiled in not one, but two plagiarism scandals. Instead of acknowledging the incidents, Drummond simply deleted the offending posts and acted like they never happened. One such incident involved an Etsy artist. Her cowardice and the fact she never apologized made it appear she was trying to cover up the entire incident.

Before blogging about a fake internet persona, you'd be well-advised to research the real Ree:

http://themarlborowoman.com
http://pienearwoman.com