This book was a Christmas gift from my coworker. That is relevant here because before this coworker and I met for the first time, we were prophetically assured by someone who'd worked with both of us that we would like each other, but I still wasn't prepared for how instantly that would be true. We have the exact same sense of humor and life philosophy of not taking things too seriously. Now, after three years of working together, she has pictures of my father saved in her camera roll for laughs, and when she's out for more than one consecutive day, I send her the cover of Michael Bolton's "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" album.

We also have talked about the fact that we both felt extremely butch in high school compared to our feminine best friends - the "husband" of the pair, if you will - and so it cracked me up reading this that Laurie Notaro feels the same way about her Pretty Friends.

The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club is pretty good at conveying that human feeling of being a walking disaster, which I'm convinced is just part of the experience of being a person. The thing that Laurie and my coworker Laura and I share is a "what is life if you can't amplify that awkwardness for laughs at your own or others' expense?" philosophy, and I understand why she gifted it to me.

Like many humor collections, it's uneven. Some essays are really funny, like the jury duty one where Laurie is mistaken for homeless, reluctant to go into the courtroom when called because she's watching Jenny Jones, and disappoints her mother by not meeting a "balding, sexually repressed twenty-seven-year old attorney strangled into a Perry Ellis necktie." (I work with lawyers and am the daughter of one. I definitely laughed.) I also loved that Laurie could not eat Lunchable meat after paying $15 to see a roadside attraction mummy, and the way she articulated the humiliations of being a woman on display to the entire staff at the gynecologist. (I've had multiple internal exams where more than one person was in the room for science, at different offices. Also, one time my doctor opened the door without knocking while I was trying to change into the inadequate robe and she and the whole hallway got a full frontal view. That was a good day.)

Any time her friend Jamie shows up, it's a good sign that what follows will be funny.

Other essays were like things I'd read before. I'm thinking of the one about the fear of clowns, mostly, but also yeah, the drinking ones. I also think that some of them suffer from being too scattered, or going in too hard for a cheap laugh. But, humor is subjective, so your mileage may vary.

There are a lot of female humor essayists out there now - Chelsea Handler, Jenny Lawson, Sloane Crosley, Samantha Irby - but I don't think the genre was as popular back in 2002 when this came out. I can only think of Nora Ephron and Erma Bombeck pre-2002. Am I wrong or is Laurie Notaro kind of a pioneer of sorts? That might also be part of my problem of feeling that I had read this type of story from female comedy essayists before.

There are some funny parts, but Notaro's life stories and observations aren't really big enough for a full length book.  I'm also a little conflicted about the young-woman-idiot/basketcase culture that's become a fad lately...but I bet that would bother me less if it was a better book.

Many funny stories don't equal a particularly funny book.

This is a collection of newspaper columns that Laurie wrote as the humor columnist for Arizona Republic. Each 3-5 page story in itself was pretty entertaining in a whiskey tango kinda way - lots of chain smoking, excessive drinking, and lack of personal hygiene but with a humorous spin. However, the collection of all of the stories in one place, back-to-back, with not even a loose storyline to hold them together ended up being a redundant and quickly lost it's luster. I would have enjoyed them much more reading them in their original, once-a-week format.

This was the first book Notaro wrote, I know that she has written many others, and I'm not above giving something else by her a whirl. In the short term though, I will most likely stick to Jen Lancaster and Chelsea Handler. I do have to give these conservative and slightly prudish women some credit though, they tell hysterical stories about trips to the gynecologist!

so funny!!! of the three of hers i've read, this is by far THE BEST.

This book is so much fun and it reminds me of one my best friends. I read it in a day and couldnt stop laughing.

It seemed to me to be "humor" of the lowest class.

I CAN see why Laurie Notaro is an admired serial newspaper columnist. Her wit is tailor made for quick, snappy visits into her own past Sex In The City-type lifestyle. (Thankfully, minus anything overly explicit in this one.) Each chapter reads as such: extended, random, personal articles. I, too, am quite well-versed (even fluent) in sarcasm, though I prefer mine sprinkled with a tad less angst. I believe Laurie uses this as a device to intrigue, but the humor feels forced at times. Frankly, the title is one of the most intriguing and charming parts of the entire book. Don't get me wrong, I am not trashing her effort, in fact, there were many parts to which I found myself relating to her and coming away with a good chuckle!

One such chapter was really quite funny, entitled: How Much It Costs for a Room of One's Own. It begins ... Martha Stewart told me that I needed my own space. She insisted that in a single afternoon, I could create a private and productive environment for myself by picking a spot somewhere in my house and tailoring it to fit my needs. She showed me how by transforming a mud room off her kitchen into a spectacular office, and, in a single afternoon, she painted the office, stenciled it with gold leaf, refinished the floor, and built a wooden wall unit from trees she had planted that morning. Laurie may have gone a little too far with her Martha envy, as the rest goes on to tell us she takes profound comfort (even delight) in the fact that Martha, at least, is divorced.

I just can't bring myself to recommend this book to anyone looking for more than a mildly humorous diversion while having their morning cup of coffee. If you still feel compelled, perhaps read it over a few weeks, one chapter, one morning at a time.

Didn't finish...

I had to look up when the heck this was from, and now that I see it's 2002, it makes a bit more sense. It does read like redneck Jen Lancaster - not my favorite book, but amusing enough to listen to the whole thing.

this is one of the funniest writers i have ever read, and there is just not much more i can say than that. you simply have to read this.

A funny, quick read. Very light anecdotes for the author's early twenties. I found myself unable to put it down and get to bed.

The shopkeeper at the local bookstore picked this book out for me describing the author as the female equivalent of David Sedaris. I'd say that was a fair assessment. It got me to read it, and I'm glad I did. I thought it was hilarious. There were several parts that made me laugh out loud, and a couple that made me squirm. The cast of colorful characters made these misadventures come to life. The author's tales and writing style got me to relate to her. At times, I pitied her, and at other times, I envied her. But throughout the whole book I adored her.