"Oh, my god, Laurie. You're so funny. Ha ha ha, oh, Laurie. You should write a book."

This author's friends/family/random strangers on the bus need to stop telling her she's funny. It's given her the false idea that she is funny. Maybe if everyone stops lying to her, she'll stop.

There are 3 choices here... either this author is not funny, she had a tight deadline, or my life is WAY funnier than I thought! As others have said, her writing seemed very forced. Comedy is best when expressed in an effortless manner. I always try to push through frustrations with books, but could only reach ~page 120 in this one.

Laurie Notaro cracks me up. Seriously, the girl is just funny and is again in this collection. OK, some of her stories hit home with me better than others, but all are quality. I particularly enjoy her exploits with online medical sites and stories on her relationship with her family. She tends to not have an edit button between her thoughts and her mouth, which gets her into trouble and also makes for some interesting tales.

LOL funny in parts! The first few chapters of this book are seriously funny - I laughed and couldn't stop. Then, unfortunately, I got bored. Could barely get to the end (and I have to finish every book I start).

I know, doesn't seem Like my stereotypical book right? But really when am I ever stereotypical? Other than my collection of cats and Ani DiFranco albums. Then again my mind needs a nice easy read now and then. I have to admit most female humor writers drive me insane. Too whiny & annoying about all the problems that beget us women. (I have no idea why so many hoo-has are crying these days but maybe a case study should be done).

Notaro, however is like the domesticated Chelsea Handler. Which I will say I am a bit jealous that Chelsea and Co. get to say all the crude inappropriate things that I do but get paid millions to do so. Shite. There goes MY crying hoo-ha....

Digressing, Notaro has a natural flair for telling stories that I love. Bc comedy is everywhere in everyday life but only so many people can see that with the ability to point it out for the everyman. That being said sometimes we say such things in offensive ways... fine, fine, fine... I ALWAYS say things in an offensive manner.

Regardless, I love how she writes and how quickly you breeze through her books. And the fact that she writes about my old Tempe/Phoenix stomping grounds doesn't hurt either. Play on Notaro, play on... though now that she's moved to Portland I expect some epic tales of ass expansion from 3 a.m. trips to Voodoo Donuts and singing karaoke with trannies at Suki's... Or maybe those are my tales to tell...

For an author that "may be the funniest writer in this solar system," I was completely disappointed. I found it mildly amusing at best. I really liked one essay; Several others became so tiresome I skipped them altogether. Odd name dropping in the form of insults, super over-exaggerations...maybe she tries too hard; maybe I'm just hard to please. I have her first book here, so I'll give her another chance.

In this collection of humorous (and often downright hysterical) autobiographical essays, Notaro recounts episodes from her life with blunt honesty and hilarious commentary. It's hard to pick a favorite, but I did get a real kick out of her correlation between her diets and the reappearance of popcorn chicken at KFC. I laughed out loud many many times at this book, and now I'm going to be poor because I need to go out and find the rest of her books. If you like David Sedaris, you'll probably like Laurie Notaro. Very funny.

For the reviewer that complained that Laurie always went just a little too far - that's the point! It's not that she wrote this to shock people, she actually lives this way. Her mouth doesn't have a good filter for what is appropriate at the time. This is very entertaining for the rest of us.

I thought it would be funnier...

I was so excited to read this one, which makes the disappointment that much worse. I actually paid (gasp!) retail for it.

Comedy is at its best when it's effortless, and the author here is clearly trying too hard. Every time I found myself on the verge of laughter, she would continue just a step too far.

And sorry, but I did not enjoy all of the hating on skinny girls. Especially when I can't find anything in my size because the clothing lines I can afford label their size 16s size 0s so that fat women will get excited and buy them. Boo hoo, you can't find a $600 blouse in your size. I might not have minded so much if it had at least been well written.

Well, I laughed at this one way more than I remember laughing at The Idiot Girl's Action Adventure Club.
Maybe it was just how I felt while reading, or something, but I was in a state of hysteria over this book.

Very Jen Lancaster-esque. Maybe it was more my mood, but it was a little over-the-top negative for my taste, even to the point of being pretty nasty. Maybe I'm just not into the bitter, mean-girl thing anymore.

Honestly it wasn't that funny and I couldn't even finish the book. This is no Jen Lancaster, Tina Fey or Amy Poehler. Read those instead. She's not endearing, stories are cliche at best and it's just that bad.