From One Book Lover

I wasn't sure what to expect from comedienne Tina Fey 's memoir, Bossypants . She is so young, yet iconic and very successful. I wasn't completely disappointed with the memoir, but I also wasn't completely satisfied. I thought she wrote some funny stuff in her book and I laughed out loud quite often. I like funny. But I've read consistently funnier memoirs by people who aren't "professionally" funny. ( Caitlin Moran , anyone? Jenny Lawson ?) I know, the curse of the comedienne is that she's always expected to be hilarious, which isn't fair — but only when you bump into her at the grocery store. May I also ads: I have read more honest and revealing memoirs. At times she skated across the top, rather safely. That was disappointing. I was a little surprised by what she chose to include in her memoir: some of it was a little out of left field (climbing a mountain at night) and some of it was unexpectedly personal and rather un-fu...

Sometimes I meet the most interesting people in the pages of a book. Often, they are well-written characters. Lately, however, they're the authors themselves. I first "met" Cheryl Strayed in the first chapters of her memoir, Wild . When she began howling in the hospital, I had to stop: her loss was too, too real. It was with great delight I let Brain Pickings guide me to her book tiny beautiful things: Advice on love and life from Dear Sugar . I enjoy reading advice columns, usually because I pretend my advice would be that erudite, witty and accurate. I could guide and cure legions of people. No, really, I could. Then I met someone who really could. Strayed's advice was loving, kind and direct. She really cared about the people whose lives she entered by invitation. She had experiences that would fell a normal human being, and yet she managed to not only survive, but thrive — and retain her humanity and sympathy. She chose a wide variety of letters for t...

So yourself a favor and go buy Let's Pretend This Never Happened . Stop what you're reading, even if it's The Bible or Shades of Grey , and read this memoir instead. Got it? Start reading, then I challenge you to put it down. I put mine down — when I needed to catch my breath from laughing too hard! Okay, there was the time when Jenny Lawson talked about her father shoving his hand up a squirrel's — er, never mind. I did have to take a break there. I am so not into taxidermy. Then there was the chapter about her reproduction that, even though she told us how it would end, still made me tense, so I read it with one eye open while clutching my kitten to my bosom. (I was in bed, so I could use only one hand to hold the book.) And yet I didn't pause when reading about her dog. Or her first girls' weekend ever. Or — Okay, that's enough about what's in the book. Now, let's talk about how The Bloggess can write about something that i...

Why did no one tell me this video existed? It proves , once and for all, that Let's Pretend This Never Happened is one of the funniest memoirs on the market today. For the love of the Bible, just read it. I did, and I'll never be the same. Once I'm recovered, I may be able to write a quick review. I might have to re-read it first... Anyway, read the book. Just read it. Do it for the mouse.

I miss My Borders. The cultural blog/aggregator Flavorwire was kind enough this week to tell me about " 10 of the Most Hilarious Memoirs You’ll Ever Read ." Intrigued, I checked it out — and found a memoir that sounded really, really good:  Let's Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir) by The Bloggess Jenny Lawson. Two words: must have . In the olden days, I'd have stopped by My Borders on the way home from the gym that night and picked up my copy, maybe even started reading it in the store (with a cookie and a latte from the café).  Alas, that is no longer my life.  Instead, I checked a couple of resources to see what this book would set me back. (For those of you keeping score at home, the publisher has set the manufacturer's suggested retail price, or MSRP, at $27.99.)   Amazon featured it for $12.99, which was a fine price, but add in shipping and the fact I'd have to wait, and the price became less attractive. Plus, after seeing th...