Let's Pretend This Never Happened: (A Mostly True Memoir)

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Let's Pretend This Never Happened: (A Mostly True Memoir)

by Jenny Lawson (Goodreads Author)

3.97 of 5 stars 3.97 · rating details · 37,723 ratings · 7,706 reviews

For fans of Tina Fey and David Sedaris-Internet star Jenny Lawson, aka The Bloggess, makes her literary debut.

When Jenny Lawson was little, all she ever wanted was to fit in. That dream was cut short by her fantastically unbalanced father (a professional taxidermist who created dead-animal hand puppets) and a childhood of wearing winter shoes made out of used bread sacks....more

Kindle Edition, 330 pages

Published April 17th 2012 by Putnam Adult

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Sep 26, 2012 Jeanette rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biography-memoir, giggles, nonfiction, five-star-nonfiction

Skull and crossbones on this one if you're easily offended. So no whiners, okay? I mean it. Just....no whining.

This is the most hilarious vagina memoir ever written. Okay, so technically it's not just about vaginas, but she mentions hers more often than anyone I've ever known who actually owns one. And besides, I had to throw that out there right at the start, so if you're going to get all upset you can just get it overwith and stay. away. from. the. book. Should you choose to read it anyway, d...more

145 likes · like · see review

Aug 07, 2012 Trudi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biography-memoir, in-her-own-words, laugh-out-loud, 2012-reads, non-fiction

Jenny Lawson (aka The Bloggess) is seriously effed up, and that doesn't always equate with being seriously bleeping funny but in her case, this book will S-L-A-Y you. I laughed so hard in parts I shed tears (and a little pee I think). Just sayin'. For anyone out there with some incontinence issues already.

Her frantic, stream-of-consciousness delivery (though punctuated with gems of insane hilarity) can get exhausting. Sometimes you just want to scream, "Jenny, will you just shut the *&%@# u...more
Jenny Lawson (aka The Bloggess) is seriously effed up, and that doesn't always equate with being seriously bleeping funny but in her case, this book will S-L-A-Y you. I laughed so hard in parts I shed tears (and a little pee I think). Just sayin'. For anyone out there with some incontinence issues already.

Her frantic, stream-of-consciousness delivery (though punctuated with gems of insane hilarity) can get exhausting. Sometimes you just want to scream, "Jenny, will you just shut the *&%@# up already!" -- imagine being stuck in an elevator with a coked up Robin Williams who just also happens to be sipping on a Red Bull laced with vodka. As horrible as that sounds, Jenny Lawson makes it work. Despite her frantic crazy energy, she will make you laugh your ass off, teach you how to curse like a sailor (that woman loves to let the expletives fly), force you to appreciate all of life's absurdities, face tragedy with (enough) dignity, and be grateful for every single blessing that you have.

She also taught me that the most interesting person in the room is probably the one hiding under the table (or in the bathroom) hyperventilating. Only stupid people aren't locked and loaded for the zombie apocalypse (well d'uh, that one I knew already). That chupacabras are REAL. That people who tell you that acupuncture is painless are "complete fucking liars." And most important of all, Texas may be big and beautiful and have awesome BBQ, but it's also where all the bitey, stinging things live.

Today the exterminator came out to spray for scorpions again, and he left a note saying that he found an enormous snakeskin next to our house. Then I screamed, "EVERYTHING IN THE COUNTRY WANTS TO KILL YOU," and Victor told me to go lie down. But then I went to look at the snakeskin, and I was all, "This is a used paper towel." Then Victor said, "Dude. That's totally a snakeskin that's been shed. Look at the diamond scale pattern," and I was all, "That's a textured diamond weave to absorb more wetness. You can tell it's a paper towel because snakeskins aren't square. Or perforated." And I spread it out on the ground and then he was all, "Huh. That is a fucking paper towel. I think we need a new exterminator." We're probably not going to survive the year.

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58 likes · like · see review

Feb 27, 2013 Kelly Spoer rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: EVERYONE

Shelves: american, apocalyptic, arc, female-author, memoir, zombie

One of the perks at working at a large chain bookstore are the free Advanced Reader's Copies of future books. But I guess one really can't get an Advance Reader's Copy of a book that came out in the past. Although, strangely enough I've seen it happen. But I think it's because the store mail got lost.

So I got this book for free. Which was awesome. Because when it finally comes out for reals, I'll think, HOLY CRAP I KNOW WHAT I'M GETTING! and totally buy it for like $45 minus my other perk of a...more

36 likes · like · see review

May 10, 2012 karen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: for-laughter

**edited...with content!**

watch your fucking back, sloane crosley...this lady is funny-funny, not "boys tell me i am funny at parties because i am pretty" funny.

i am so glad that kelly read this before me and it encouraged me to pick up my ARC and get into it far earlier than i ordinarily would have. BUT NOT EARLIER THAN I WOULD HAVE HAD I ACTUALLY WON THIS THROUGH THE FIRSTREADS PROGRAM, WHICH IS HOW THIS SHOULD HAVE GONE DOWN, GOODREADS!STOP WITH THE SNUBBING ALREADY!

i had never heard of jenny...more

118 likes · like · see review

Jan 15, 2013 Jaime Abbess rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I’m not sure what I enjoyed more about this book. The actual laughing to tears moments while reading or the actual laughing to tears moments while retelling the stories to my boyfriend (who kept mentioning that he and Victor have a lot in common).

It says a great deal about Jenny Lawson (of blogging fame) that at 38, she was able to write a 300+ page memoir that is interesting to read. Interesting, not because she is a celebrity or has boinked a celebrity, but because she has lived a strange lif...more

32 likes · like · see review

Feb 23, 2013 Carol rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: people who love odd humor and can tolerate swearing

Recommended to Carol by: while it was on my to-read, I confess Trudi's description made me bump it up

Shelves: autobiography, female-lead, humor, audio

Oh, Jenny.

There is something so completely...

extravagant [ik-strav-uh-guhnt]
Part of Speech: adjective
Definition: exceeding the bounds of reason, as actions, demands, opinions, or passions.
Synonyms: absurd, bizarre, crazy, exaggerated, excessive, exorbitant, extreme, fanciful, fantastic, flamboyant, flashy, foolish, grandiose, immoderate, implausible, improvident, imprudent, inordinate, lavish, ludicrous, nonsensical, ornate, outrageous, preposterous, pretentious, prodigal, profligate, reckless,...more

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May 12, 2012 Ashley rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: humor, memoir, non-fiction

I pre-ordered this book at Amazon as soon as I heard about it. I've been reading The Bloggess for years, watched her struggle with her rheumatoid arthritis, her social anxiety, and her depression, all the while being one of the most joyful and optimistic presences on the internet. I was happy for her on a personal level that I rarely am when bloggers get book deals, and besides my real affection for her, I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that Let's Pretend This Never Happened isn't rea...more I pre-ordered this book at Amazon as soon as I heard about it. I've been reading The Bloggess for years, watched her struggle with her rheumatoid arthritis, her social anxiety, and her depression, all the while being one of the most joyful and optimistic presences on the internet. I was happy for her on a personal level that I rarely am when bloggers get book deals, and besides my real affection for her, I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that Let's Pretend This Never Happened isn't really a "blog" book, with blog entries stolen and bastardized into chapters*. It's a book that happens to be written by a blogger, and that's a huge difference.

*Except for the post-it chapter. And possibly the zombie Jesus chapter. But really, who gives a shit because those chapters are hilarious.

The Bloggess, aka Jenny Lawson, is not only one of the funniest people on the internet, she also happens to have the biggest and most outrageous imagination I've ever heard of, and her book is just as outrageous and inappropriate as I hoped it would be. Yes, it's laugh out loud funny, but there were parts where what I was reading was so ridiculous (just remember that I warned you about the squirrel hand puppet chapter) that I had to stop reading and share it with someone. I'm sure there are quite a lot of people who will be incredibly offended by Lawson's book, but those people don't deserve to have fun anyway.

Lawson traces her life from her incredibly bizarre and fucked up childhood (a childhood full of love, though -- don't mistake fucked up for FUCKED UP, if you know what I mean) spent in the Texas countryside, dirt-poor and with the weirdest parents any child has ever had, to her adult life with beleaguered husband Victor and their daughter Hailey. The book is funny, but it's also an examination of life viewed from the outside. Lawson writes that she has always felt different from other people, but as she's grown older, it's those differences that have allowed her opportunities that she would never had otherwise.

The one criticism that I have about the book is that after a while the jokes start to wear a little thin. She's writing in some cases about horrific things, and she's a funny person, so of course she's going to use humor as a coping mechanism, but pain and real details are the heart of memoir writing, and she masks them perhaps just a little too well. I found myself wishing that she would give us, her readers, just a little bit more realness in the midst of the insanity. Maybe I did the book a disservice by reading it so quickly. Maybe Lawson's very strong and unique voice is better suited to short bursts of reading than long marathons. Regardless, this is a book worth your time. Just don't read it in public or you might scare people with your convulsions of hysterical laughter.(less)

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Jul 21, 2012 Grace rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If you're looking for a Sedaris alternative, this unfortunately isn't it. Which kills me, because I get the feeling Lawson had the potential (and raw material) to knock it out of the park, but it just doesn't come together.

Jenny Lawson is definitely funny. When she really gets going on a story, it's pretty fantastic - but that's only 10% of the book, and the remaining 90% is just awful. I can't help feeling like this book was all written in a single sitting, with little editing or review. It's u...more If you're looking for a Sedaris alternative, this unfortunately isn't it. Which kills me, because I get the feeling Lawson had the potential (and raw material) to knock it out of the park, but it just doesn't come together.

Jenny Lawson is definitely funny. When she really gets going on a story, it's pretty fantastic - but that's only 10% of the book, and the remaining 90% is just awful. I can't help feeling like this book was all written in a single sitting, with little editing or review. It's uneven, it's all over the place, and some chapters feel like pure filler - I don't need pages of imaginary post-its written to her husband Victor, for instance. There are lots of places where I think we're just supposed to enjoy Lawson's rapid-fire babble, but it's not babble with meaning to it, it's just nonsense. And that's a shame, because it means the only reason I keep reading is because I'm waiting for another story like the turkeys to show up, and instead I get very tiny moments like the bobcat toss. It's like Lawson forced herself into writing a memoir when she really excels at writing moments. Drawback being, crafting an entire book of curated, arranged moments takes a hell of a lot of concentration and effort, while stream-of-consciousness nonsense is relatively easier.*

I could do without the footnotes, which are just irritating - it is hard to explain how badly footnotes work on a Kindle, but between this book and Jasper Fforde I think I could make a compelling case. I could do without the editor's parentheticals (which weirdly are sometimes also footnotes). I could do without the long-winded flourishes that loop back in on themselves when talking about absolute rubbish.

And that all sucks, because Lawson's childhood sounds enjoyably nuts. When she actually stitches a story together, one with multiple events and a timeline, it's HILARIOUS. But all too often, she's just throwing the punchline in there without much else.

In the end, I guess this is where I end up with LPTNH: weird shit happens to everyone, but few people know how to structure the story in a way that legitimately entertains. Lawson knows how to structure a story, she's just not choosing to do it most of the time. Also, people are very capable of acting like crazy insane people quite frequently - if you sound too pleased with how wild and crazy you are and keep thumping on about it, it can get REALLY ANNOYING.

* I do recognize that Lawson also writes about her general anxiety disorder, and she explains that she finds herself almost incoherent in social situations and is much better on email, when she can edit. But given that this is a book, it feels like a lot of the narrative flailing could have been avoided through editing. We definitely get a good grasp of what it's like to be inside Lawson's head, but she finds her condition exhausting and for a whole book, so did I. (less)

175 likes · like · see review

Apr 23, 2012 Katie Mercer rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, non-fiction

Basically the best review I can give this book, is that as a librarian I'm pretty much giddy with excitement waiting for the things people will come tell me after they've read this book. From the (boring) I loved that it was an honest look at mental illness and survival (very true) to the (no seriously I can not wait) YOU LET MY CHILD READ THIS AND NOW THEY WANT A DEAD SQUIRREL PUPPET and THIS BOOK IS BLASPHEMY AND READING IT KILLS PUPPIES AND KITTENS.

I pretty much giggled in excitement when I w...more

98 likes · like · see review

May 29, 2012 Erica rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, biographical, funny, non-fiction, women-and-girls

YOU: "Wait. Erica? You just read this book."
ME: "Yes. I did."
YOU: "No, but I mean you JUST read this book. Like, two weeks ago."
ME: "Wow! You're pretty observant. Why are you watching my Goodreads feed? You know, just out of curiosity...one stalker to another. That kinda thing."
YOU: "What? You are SO weird. I wanted to know why you're listening to the audiobook if you just read the hardcover."
ME: "You probably should have asked me that in the first place instead of stating an obvious fact. Right...more

19 likes · like · see review

May 05, 2012 Christy Compeau rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Christy by: Kelli Jordan

This book is a laugh out loud, get yelled at by your husband because your silent laughter is shaking the bed too much, entertaining book. I've never read the author's blog but really enjoyed the book. The only detractor for me was the over use of the F-bomb. Granted, I was assured that this is just the way that the author talks so I wont complain too much but I could have done without the overuse.

Read it!

25 likes · like · see review

Aug 24, 2012 Bry rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, biography, humor

FUCKING BRILLIANT.

Like seriously...fucking.brilliant.

And hilarious. Like I nearly choked on a sandwich while eating my lunch at work hilarious.

This book is the "mostly true" memoir of Jenny Lawson, aka The Bloggess who was a poor kid raised in West Texas with poisoned drinking water, a father who practices taxidermy in the backyard and collects bobcat urine, a younger sister who swam with her in a cistern that they shared with pigs, a mom that wrangled them all into a family, and a menagerie of...more

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Apr 20, 2012 Laura the Highland Hussy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Review Posted at Got Fiction and also at demon lover's books and more

4.5 stars

Ever since I saw Beyonce the Giant Metal Chicken pop up in my twitter feed, I have been hooked on the Bloggess’ special brand of humor. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard in my life as I did when reading about Beyonce. So you can imagine my joy when I received Let's Pretend This Never Happened: in the mail.

I know that I pretty much only review romance, but this book is so much more than just “A Mostly True Memoir...more

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Apr 13, 2013 Roni rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: gawd-awful, memoir, own-it

No.

An author should write well enough to trust the reader will understand something is funny and not need to constantly remind you how FUNNY! and WILD! and CRAZY! it all is. Enough already.

UPDATE: What the hell? This received a 2012 Goodreads Choice Award? I have now lost all faith in my fellow Goodreaders.

14 likes · like · see review

Feb 22, 2013 Jana rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Let’s Pretend This Never Happened

This was great fun for the most part. I tried to read my favourite bits to my boyfriend but found myself doubled over, tears streaming down my face and choking with suppressed laughter within seconds.

My favourite scene has to be little Gabi’s unconscious revenge on her grandfather for the childhood nightmares he inflicted on her mother and aunt as depicted in “Stanley, the Magical Talking Squirrel.” Every time I read this one I’m uncontrollably giggling like a ma...more

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May 01, 2012 Becky rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: hilarity, my-top-25

This is the perfect book to read if you’re constipated, because the abdominal spasms caused by your hysterical laughter will have to create a bowel movement.

This is also only the second book that has ever made me vomit. The first book was a History of Cannibalism. To be fair I was running on the elliptical, already a task for me, and I was doing fine until I flipped the page and there was a picture of HUMAN ARMS HANGING OVER A FIRE. I this point I gagged, and my gag reflux is such that I keep ga...more This is the perfect book to read if you’re constipated, because the abdominal spasms caused by your hysterical laughter will have to create a bowel movement.

This is also only the second book that has ever made me vomit. The first book was a History of Cannibalism. To be fair I was running on the elliptical, already a task for me, and I was doing fine until I flipped the page and there was a picture of HUMAN ARMS HANGING OVER A FIRE. I this point I gagged, and my gag reflux is such that I keep gagging until I vomit a little.

I gagged reading this book because I think it was my body’s last desperate attempt to get air back into my lung because I don’t think I'd breathed in the last ten minutes. And my eye was twitching like crazy. I had tears rolling down my face. My dogs were staring at me very concerned. Luckily I lived and was able to proceed past the introduction and on to chapter 1. Although, I may have internal bleeding. Worth it.

Yes, it really is that fucking funny.

Alternately it is very honest and touching. We all have our struggles, what makes us strong is our ability to laugh at them. Thankfully I do not suffer from depression like Jenny, but I do have anxiety (inherited from my mother, and her mother before her, and before that it was Vikings, and I doubt they were ever anxious about anything…), and I have very severe IBS. It’s not fun, but I get through it, because later I can laugh about it. It’s good to see other people doing the same.

So cheers to Jenny!

PS: In relation to the existence of water-breathing squirrels. Jenny, squirrels TOTALLY swim. You are right. Lewis and Clark actually documented it. Apparently there used to be giant squirrel migrations, and the squirrels would swim en masse across rivers to get to the other side. This is a fact. I can totally even find it for you in some very authoritative books. I thought you might want to point this out to Victor/friends/family et al.

PPS: Snausages.

PPS: My husband is disturbed by my new found love of crazy taxidermied animals. He blames you. I told him it’s not your fault, it’s totally his, for having grown up on a farm and not introducing me to the fact that THESE THINGS EXIST. I mean, really, who doesn’t want a bandito squirrel. We have all black squirrels where I grew up, they’re pitch black, apparently Iowa and Nebraska is the only place where this happens. I said I wanted a black bandito squirrel. He said that it was racist. I said he was racist for assuming it was racist, and that all black squirrels are alike. Also, wtf spell check, taxidermied is TOTALLY a word. Ok, looked in the dictionary, it’s not. But that’s just stupid.
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May 07, 2012 Natasha rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Utterly hilarious, actually had to stop myself from laughing out loud while reading in public. This will become one of those books I reread throughout my life to bring me joy, happiness, and a bit of ridiculousness. I only wish it was longer, 313 pages was not enough, it was just too good. Easy read, very conversational, with a dose of crazy. Perfect combination.

6 likes · like · see review

Apr 20, 2012 Jennie added it · review of another edition

If Amy Sedaris and David Cross grew up in West Texas, had babies in the 1970s, and one of these children survived the blood and fire of a psychotic childhood, then she would have a voice like Jenny Lawson's. Give someone a dirt floor, exposure to radon, and too many encounters with mean-as-spit animals, and you have Crazy with a capital K. But Lawson is crazy in a "survive and thrive" kind of way. It takes more than garden variety crazy to have learned an important life lesson from an assassin t...more

8 likes · like · see review

Apr 17, 2012 Lucy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook

I enjoy humorous memoirs and something about the description of this audiobook called out to me. Before this listening experience, I was unfamiliar with the Bloggess blog, but the blogger’s funny/bizarre life stories sounded really fascinating. When I first started listening, I was skeptical that the stories were actually true, but as the author actually narrates the book, I became more and more convinced that you couldn’t make this stuff up.

Before Jenny Lawson’s success as the famous “Bloggess”...more I enjoy humorous memoirs and something about the description of this audiobook called out to me. Before this listening experience, I was unfamiliar with the Bloggess blog, but the blogger’s funny/bizarre life stories sounded really fascinating. When I first started listening, I was skeptical that the stories were actually true, but as the author actually narrates the book, I became more and more convinced that you couldn’t make this stuff up.

Before Jenny Lawson’s success as the famous “Bloggess”, she grew up in rural Texas and we learn about how her upbringing made her the person she is today. Stories about animals seem to be a running theme, which may have something to do with the fact that Lawson’s dad is a professional taxidermist. Some of these stories are not for the squeamish, and animal lovers such as myself are warned that they may be offended. Still, the stories are amusing in a dark humor sort of way – think dead squirrels made into hand puppets. Awkward high school years are also covered, and segue to the author’s married life. Victor is Lawson’s husband and is her opposite in many ways, though they have managed to stay married for fifteen years. There are some funny scenes with the two attending his business functions as Lawson worries about saying the wrong thing.

The book hooked me right away, and when I wasn’t listening to it I was thinking about it or telling my family about it. One of the things I was surprised about is how easily I could connect to Jenny’s story. No, I didn’t grow up in rural Texas or play with taxidermy animals. But, I can definitely relate to her health struggles. As someone also diagnosed with arthritis in her twenties, I was interested to read about another young persons experience living with the disease. We also took the same scary drug that is supposed to help you if it doesn’t kill you first. One of the parts of the book that made me laugh out loud is Jenny’s experience at the acupuncturist, something I can also relate to. Jenny’s depictions of living with anxiety also hit close to home and there are some touching yet funny scenes about Jenny’s apprehension about meeting her blogging friends in real life at a retreat.

It lends a personal touch when an author narrates her own audiobook, and I think it’s particularly appropriate with a memoir. Especially with this book, it would seem weird to hear the stories from a voice other than the author. Lawson’s reading is conversational sounding and matter of fact and it feels like she is relating the stories to you personally. Because the stories are hers, she is able to convey the appropriate tone and emotion as she recounts her life tales. She does take you out of the book experience occasionally by pointing out that you are listening to an audiobook, and I was not sure how much if anything was ad-libbed for the audiobook performance. There are sound effects between the chapters, musical clips, cowbell sounds, and Lawson even sings the chapter titles. One thing I missed about listening to the audiobook version is that I couldn’t see the captioned pictures referenced throughout the book. So, I wish there was a way to include a booklet with pictures with the audiobook. Other than that, the audiobook experience was thoroughly entertaining. The audiobook does have a bonus chapter though and behind the scenes outtakes that are a lot of fun.

I recommend this book for fans of the Bloggess blog, and readers who enjoy memoirs or humor books, such as Tina Fey’s Bossypants. The audiobook is a quick listen at just over 8 hours long and will have you laughing throughout. Be advised that due to language this book may not be appropriate for all young adults, and is in fact meant for an adult audience. Lawson promises more stories in future books and I can’t wait to listen in.(less)

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Nov 01, 2012 Ariana rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

i heard an interview with jenny lawson on npr and she was really interesting. i had read some of her blog and it was funny, so i got the book

it's fun, and quite funny, but when someone moves from blog form to a published book, i expect the text to be more polished and streamlined.

instead, this book reads like it comes directly from her blog with no editing, clearly there was an editor since she quotes the editor in the text, but it still doesn't read like there was one.

anyway, it's worth a glanc...more

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Aug 20, 2012 Chris rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: people with no sense of humour, whiny people, folks with too much spare time Americans

Shelves: non-fiction, oh-god-be-merciful-and-kill-me-now

Overall Rating: 1.5

I don’t know if it’s specifically American problem, but let me tell you, this is one of the worst memoirs I’ve read. (Seriously America, do you honestly find this funny? O.o) And I’ll tell you why, I’m not just saying this because of some misplaced sense of spite, ok?

When I first heard about this book, I was very excited – it sounded like a real good reading material and it had an awesome cover to boost with too.

From the very beginning though, I realized it would be far from t...more

48 likes · like · see review

May 07, 2012 Lisa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: memoir, humor

Written by my favorite blogger, this memoir is a glimpse into her bizarre life. The things she's lived through are so weird they can't be true, yet they are. And they're all the more funnier when chronicled by her brilliantly funny mind. There are gaps in the telling (I would have liked more!), but Jenny Lawson's overarching purview of why she is who she is, and how she grew to appreciate it is worth the read. I laughed out loud many times and lost track of how often I wished to live near her so...more

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Mar 21, 2012 Mrs. McGregor rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: humor, memoirs

This is the first book in which I've ever read the WHOLE introduction, epilogue, author bio and even the pull quotes on the back cover. Because as I knew from reading her blog, Jenny Lawson's wicked humor is addictive. You want to devour any morsel she throws at you. I am grateful for Lawson's weird, awkward, hilarious and poignant take on the duality of her country and city lives. I love the arc of Lawson's growth into a person who found the people she can trust to lean on for a laugh, some rea...more

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Apr 19, 2013 Karen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

I hugely enjoyed this book, highly recommend you read it. I can really relate to Jenny Lawson's sense of humor and outlook on life. At times this is laugh out loud funny, tears in your eyes, snorting for breath- the whole shebang, other times she's covering mental illness, social anxiety and health issues. I'm going to check out her blog thebloggess.com next.

2 likes · like · see review

Jan 19, 2013 Linda rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: could-not-finish, biography, humor

So I’m all excited, right, because several people have mentioned how very funny this book is, hilarious, in fact, and I’d probably really like it because I like funny stuff-- doesn’t everyone?-- and so as soon as I finished up the Henning Mankell audio I was listening to (he’s Swedish, you know, and writes about a marginally depressed Swedish policeman who solves really gruesome Swedish murders) I popped in the first disk of this cd and was struck instantly by how the reader sounded like she was...more

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Sep 06, 2012 rhea rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to rhea by: Nick Kives

I have never posted a picture before, nor do I plan to again, but I took this picture to share with my other social media sites to let them know how I knew I was going to like this book before starting it. (P.S. Sorry for the language that I'm not writing, but that I am sharing.):

description

I loved this book, sure it seemed like rambling, but it made me feel like she was talking to me and not so much like I was reading. Which was interesting and couldn't work for all books.

I don't think this is for everyo...more I have never posted a picture before, nor do I plan to again, but I took this picture to share with my other social media sites to let them know how I knew I was going to like this book before starting it. (P.S. Sorry for the language that I'm not writing, but that I am sharing.):

I loved this book, sure it seemed like rambling, but it made me feel like she was talking to me and not so much like I was reading. Which was interesting and couldn't work for all books.

I don't think this is for everyone, there are some graphic descriptions, but she writes most of them humorously. Only once was there a serious chapter where I'm glad she left it at that and didn't try to make it funny. Most of the crying I was doing was because I was laughing so hard, which was awkward because most of the time I was home alone. This also caused a problem because I wanted to read it all to Geoff. He would get home and I would reread sections (even entire chapters) to him out loud, and laugh/cry again. I think in the end it should count that I read this book twice, at the same time. Does that make sense?

In the title it says that it's "mostly true" and she clarifies it most of the time and other times you can tell on your own when she exaggerates (or maybe I can because I love exaggerating.) There are a few stories that she tells where my mouth stayed gaped open because I wasn't sure it was something I could totally believe I was reading. Her life is interesting and she tells it in a fun way, she also seems to have found a way to be herself and appreciate why she is that way, even if it's not easy and that is awesome. Of course, I could be wrong because she kept mentioning book 2, which I would totally read if it happens.

To end this, I will quote her "about the author" because I relate to it oh so much: "Her husband should probably get his priorities straight. And go get her a margarita. Even if it's 3 a.m. Seriously, Victor, go get me a margarita." Except you know for me just replace Victor with Geoff and it sounds about right.
(less)

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Mar 07, 2013 Mandie Mc rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: bloggers, mothers, people with a sense of fucking humor

Recommended to Mandie by: Blog Her Book Club

Shelves: nonfiction, blogher-reviews, read-in-2013, reviewed

When I requested to read this book for review, I didn't realize it was The Bloggess' book. I had heard of The Bloggess and that she had a funny book, and I'd even read one of her more popular posts (about Beyonce the metal chicken), but I didn't know what the book was called or that this was it. I just read the description of a funny, witty, gritty memoir and thought getting paid by BlogHer to read and review it would be cool.

Let me tell you, if the only post of Jenny/The Bloggess that you've ev...more When I requested to read this book for review, I didn't realize it was The Bloggess' book. I had heard of The Bloggess and that she had a funny book, and I'd even read one of her more popular posts (about Beyonce the metal chicken), but I didn't know what the book was called or that this was it. I just read the description of a funny, witty, gritty memoir and thought getting paid by BlogHer to read and review it would be cool.

Let me tell you, if the only post of Jenny/The Bloggess that you've ever read is the one about Beyonce (or, I'm guessing, any one post independent of any context), you're missing out, because that shit makes SO much more sense now that I've read Let's Pretend This Never Happened. And if you're offended by my use of the word shit, you can leave now, because this book is NOT for you.

I'm going to admit, I don't tend to follow the über popular bloggers (or even most of my friends who blog, because I suck at remembering to read blogs), and when I started reading Let's Pretend This Never Happened, I kind of expected it to be over-hyped. The dedication page seemed to have some depth to it, but then as I began to read, I thought, "great, the most meaningful part of this book is going to be the dedication page, and the rest is going to be contrived vulgar humor that isn't even that funny." And that was true for maybe five pages.

Reading about Jenny's childhood was a little traumatizing. I can't imagine how, having lived through it, she manages to be sane enough to blog, parent, and go on a book tour. SHE WALKED INSIDE A GUTTED DEER, Y'ALL.

Trauma aside, I can't even count how many times I laughed out loud reading this memoir. Jenny's humor is often crass, her language often vulgar, and her text often SHOUTY, but all of that just adds to her charm. Most importantly, you can hear the real person inside it all, the one who has lived through pain and love and grief and loss and friendship, and whom you suspect may have been saved only by that laughter.

At the very end of this memoir is a "reader's guide." When I got to that page, it turned out to be one that made me laugh out loud, because here was this very serious, academic set of "book club" questions about this book that was full of dead animals and hard drugs and the word fuck. Jenny doesn't seem to take herself too seriously, but by god, the book clubs will! Take themselves seriously, I mean. I think it's impossible to read this book and then take Jenny Lawson too seriously.

It's also impossible to read it and not love and adore her and wish that she were your BFF. Now excuse me while I go stalk her blog.(less)

1 like · like · see review

May 19, 2012 Traci rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I love her blog, I love taxidermy jokes, and I adore how brave Jenny is for being honest about mental illness. She is truly brave, and I could cry, except that stories about zombies and wearing deer sweaters are too damned uplifting. Please read this book.

3 likes · like · see review

Jan 07, 2013 oriana rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2012

I don't like David Sedaris. And I'm wary of "funny" books the same way I'm wary of sitcoms with laugh-tracks, because it's condescending and discourages thinking for yourself. I don't need to be told when to laugh, okay? If I think something is funny, then I will laugh. I will not be coaxed into mindlessly laughing because there is a recorded track of a bunch of people (computers? robots?) mindlessly laughing. Good grief.

So why did I buy this book? Well, because the Strand sells proofs for $2, a...more I don't like David Sedaris. And I'm wary of "funny" books the same way I'm wary of sitcoms with laugh-tracks, because it's condescending and discourages thinking for yourself. I don't need to be told when to laugh, okay? If I think something is funny, then I will laugh. I will not be coaxed into mindlessly laughing because there is a recorded track of a bunch of people (computers? robots?) mindlessly laughing. Good grief.

So why did I buy this book? Well, because the Strand sells proofs for $2, and it has a cool title, and on the front cover, under the subtitle—(A Mostly True Memoir)—someone has written:

About ~~love~~ Murder
by Robert Verger

and then the actual author's name is scribbled out, and that is absurd and hilariously great and totally worth $2.

As for the book itself, well, I may as well tell you, Jenny Lawson is fucking funny. Seriously funny. Like no-laugh-track-needed-goddammit funny. This is a terrific rundown of a crazy life—her dad is a taxidermist, her husband sort of voodooed her into marrying him, they live in rural rural rural Texas. There's a lot of "normal," too—she works in HR, she is often lonely, she struggles with depression and weird pains, she is a misanthropist mostly and socially awkward to a spectacular degree, she is a mother who is terrified of being a mother.

But there are episodes like her dog turning into a zombie, going to her husband's company party with no underwear on, a hunt for a hidden burial ground in her neighborhood, childhood anecdotes of her father surprising her with a puppet made of a dead squirrel, wild geese following her to school, and having to artificially inseminate a cow, and a million preposterously hilarious conversations between her & her husband, who make up the most lunatic and outrageously perfect pair.

This is actually the only time I have ever been sad to be reading a proof, because the actual book is full of actual photographs of most of the above, and in the proof there are only image callouts in brackets. I had to google her to find out what she even looked like, which was when I found out that Jenny isn't some random discovery I made—she is a pretty massively famous blogger.

And that brings me to my final point. I was sort of planning to do an editorial analysis of this book, as I often do. I was going to mention that the editing could have been a lot better, that she wavers in tone from super-casual to trying too hard to be kind of formal, that there are many cases of the particular kind of repetitiveness that comes from lining up a bunch of short pieces that were originally written to be read far apart from one another or as standalones. But then I read that this book is already (or already was) on the New York Times bestseller list, and like I said, Jenny is hugely popular among a certain set, and anyway like I also said, this book is really really funny and fun and totally enjoyable.

So maybe what the fuck do I know? Maybe I should take my editorial snobbery and just fucking shove it up my own ass, because this book is great and people will love it and who cares if I think it could have been better? Who am I, anyway? I don't even know. Is this me giving up on literature? Or just accepting things as they are?

I didn't mean to get so woefully existential there. I don't have any answer either. But Jenny is super and you should stop reading this review and start reading this book instead.(less)

15 likes · like · see review

Jul 28, 2012 Tessa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was a book club pick (so, not something I would have gravitated toward), but I'm glad I read it. It was very funny; I guffawed out loud many times while reading.

2 likes · like · see review

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About Jenny Lawson

Known for her sardonic wit and her hysterically skewed outlook on life, Jenny Lawson has made millions of people question their own sanity, as they found themselves admitting that they, too, often wondered why Jesus wasn't classified as a zombie, or laughed to the point of bladder failure when she accidentally forgot that she mailed herself a cobra. Her blog (www.thebloggess.com) is award-winning...more

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“Because you are defined not by life's imperfect moments, but by your reaction to them. And because there is joy in embracing - rather than running from - the utter absurdity of life.” — 96 people liked it

“You should just accept who you are, flaws and all, because if you try to be someone you aren't, then eventually some turkey is going to shit all over your well-crafted facade, so you might as well save yourself the effort and enjoy your zombie books.” — 77 people liked it

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Let's Pretend This Never Happened: (A Mostly True Memoir)

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