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303rd out of 1,116 books
—
1,882 voters
Why I'm Like This: True Stories
Cynthia Kaplan takes us on a hilarious and sometimes heartbreaking journey through her unique, uncensored world--her bungled romantic encounters and unsung theatrical experiences; her gadget-obsessed father, her pill-popping therapist, and her eccentric grandmothers; her fearless husband, whom she engages in an ongoing battle over which of them is the most popular person i...more
Paperback, 240 pages
Published
May 1st 2007
by William Morrow Paperbacks
(first published July 4th 2002)
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I'd probably give it 3.5 because much did hit home. Her honest voice, self-effacing sense of humor, poignant recollections of grandparents (especially grandma and her purse), and the telling of many childhood traumas that only years later are funny but weren't at the time. I enjoyed the read a great deal. As others have noted, it did not hit a knee slapping funny bone but I smiled a lot and nodded agreement as if, "Yep, I've been to that concert."
Cynthia's socially mixed teen years (Christian/Je...more
Cynthia's socially mixed teen years (Christian/Je...more
Not to be harsh, but this book sounds like a bunch of random emails that I might have written, then edited, and bound into a book. I'm not a good writer. I'm sure this is someone's style to enjoy, but I actually got mad at myself for taking this book along to read instead of something more enjoyable.
Funny book. The first chapter hooked me......heck, the first paragraph hooked me. Excerpt: "There was always one girld at camp whom everyone hated. It had nothing to do with cliques or teams or personal dislikes, and it was not even that everyone had discussed it an a consensus had been raised based upon certain irrefutable evidence. It was just like everyone hated lima beans and the color brown..." Then, the author introduces us to the girl inparticular that everyone hated and describes her lik...more
The USA Today review on the back cover says, "Knee-slapping hilarious!" I don't think so. While the author is eccentric and sometimes funny, she is not knee-slapping funny. In that sense, the book is overrated.
It's a collection of personal (sometimes painfully so) essays. They are well-written and seem honest. But I am not sucked into the book, dying to find out what happens next. I want to finish the book just to be able to say I've finished it, not because I find it deeply interesting.
It's a collection of personal (sometimes painfully so) essays. They are well-written and seem honest. But I am not sucked into the book, dying to find out what happens next. I want to finish the book just to be able to say I've finished it, not because I find it deeply interesting.
It was going to be a bit of a crazy week; and I knew this going into week 15. So, I took some time to find what I hoped would be a perfect book to serve as a welcome distraction to all the Have-to, Must-do, Can-you-also, and We-really-need-you-to responsibilities of the week. When I saw USA Today's "Knee-slapping hilarious." on the back of WHY I'M LIKE THIS: TRUE STORIES by Cynthia Kaplan, I was sold.
WHY I'M LIKE THIS chronicles milestone moments in Kaplan's life that have shaped her into the wo...more
WHY I'M LIKE THIS chronicles milestone moments in Kaplan's life that have shaped her into the wo...more
This book is terrible. I don't say that about many things, but it's true with this one.
Kaplan is a footnote in her own stories. She floats around in the midst of other people far more interesting than she is, trying to be "funny" by airing the dirty laundry of others. Some of the people she writes about can;t have possibly given her the permission to do so, and I can only imagine how they'll feel if they happen to read this.
The very first story in the book made me lose respect for the author rig...more
Kaplan is a footnote in her own stories. She floats around in the midst of other people far more interesting than she is, trying to be "funny" by airing the dirty laundry of others. Some of the people she writes about can;t have possibly given her the permission to do so, and I can only imagine how they'll feel if they happen to read this.
The very first story in the book made me lose respect for the author rig...more
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Kaplan was recommended to me as the female David Sederis, and this was not a particularly apt description. Her sense of humor is very bland and her sense of the ridiculous lacks. However, there was a touching sense of familial love in some of her chapters, especially when she discusses having to institutionalize her grandmother. But in her hands, these are the stories my girlfriends and I tell without any of the sense of surreality or humor one comes to expect from a Sederis or even an Augustin...more
So this book was at the Gay Library in a bunch of gifts and I searched for any GLBT content and seeing none and seeing the stellar reviews and blurbs ("like David Sedaris... only a woman!") I brought it home to continue the short-humorous-essay kick I'm now suddenly on.
What is *Cynthia Kaplan* on? How is is that she's drilled into my brain?
How is it that me: ur-Catholic, male, gay, practically mid-westerner was speared in the heart by a Jewish, female, straight, mom from the greater New York ar...more
What is *Cynthia Kaplan* on? How is is that she's drilled into my brain?
How is it that me: ur-Catholic, male, gay, practically mid-westerner was speared in the heart by a Jewish, female, straight, mom from the greater New York ar...more
The back cover of the book boasts: "Knee-slapping hilarious." Eh. Not so much. I generally enjoy how some good writers can make even the mundane funny (David Sedaris comes to mind). But just because you think you're funny doesn't mean you should write. To be fair, there are some enjoyable essays here (particularly "The Good Swimmer Or How I Lost Him"), but the bulk are just collections of stuff that would be more suitable on a mildly funny blog, not in a book.
So I really liked the first story/chapter. I could totally relate. There's always that one girl that everyone hates (its been me before but anyway.) But the rest of it... I was in a state of WTF the entire time. Like the last story/chapter. What the hell was that? Where did truffle pigs even come from? I do not know.
Oh. And it was definitely NOT knee slap hilarious. Maybe a little giggle worthy. But that's all.
Oh. And it was definitely NOT knee slap hilarious. Maybe a little giggle worthy. But that's all.
This book was fun, cute, and even a little thought-provoking. The author bravely shares her natural, quirky and humorously realistic voice. The stories are nothing earth-shattering, just small observances of those moments that, on the surface are insignificant but, in truth, stay with us and make us who we are. A quick, fun read that will have you appreciating your own gloriously awkward self.
I loved, loved, loved this book!! It was so freakin' funny! Cynthia Kaplan was able to articulate the internal dialogue you have in your head - that you would never say out loud to anyone else in fear that they would think you are nuts - in such a hysterical way! The whole time I was reading this book I was thinking to myself, "Oh my gosh! She is reading my mind!" I really enjoyed this read! I recommend it highly.
Literally threw this book last night onto the floor . . . can't read it anymore so I'm saying I'm done. Funny . . . NO! Interesting stories . . . so so but really No! The first story is what sucked me in but the rest allowed the book to go downhill. I didn't do any "knee-slapping" so bye bye. This is not at all like me to not finish a book but it became quite painful.
Great read - at times funny and heartbreaking. I love hearing what goes on inside other people's heads, especially when you realize you're not the only crazy one out there. This is a well written glance at Kaplan's life, with quick snapshots from when she's a little girl all the way until she becomes a mom herself. I really enjoyed it.
Let me be clear, this is light reading, not great literature that will live with you forever. But predictably funny and unexpectedly moving. Kaplan writes with great honesty and generosity about her own foibles and those of her nearest and dearest. The chapter about her father the gadget king could hold its own in any anthology.
I first read this book about five years ago and it is the reason I started writing again. Oh, I remember thinking, books can be insightful AND smart AND funny! Why didn't I already know this? Probably because I was a student then and thought that good writing was when old Russians told about war.
Not that it isn't, but this is better because it's so much fun. You'll remember it years after the pop quiz. One essay, about the author's grandmother, still chokes me up when I think of its last line. A...more
Not that it isn't, but this is better because it's so much fun. You'll remember it years after the pop quiz. One essay, about the author's grandmother, still chokes me up when I think of its last line. A...more
I am 0-4, not a great score for my last trip to Barnes and Noble. While I completely understood her fear of moths, I could not wait for the last chapter. P.S. The pattern on the bathing suit reminded me of the Sound of Music. A non-book related comment I know, but for those of you who are true fans of the Sound of Music I know you will understand...
I was at DiBo and Tricia's place for Sunday Dinner and I was looking through Tricia's bookcase to see what she had to read and I came across this book with an interesting title (I always judge a book by it's cover and title) Why I'm Like This and I was immediately interested, especially since it was true stories (I'm sorta a memoir and essay junkie). I can't say that I picked it up right away, but I put it in my work bag, just in case I was inspired to read while on the train or while on lunch (...more
I was excited to read this book at first, but then the disappointment quickly set it. The stories don't go anywhere and are not funny or interesting in the slightest. It's also disturbingly thin with large print plus double-spacing to boot. It's almost like a high school creative writing assignment gone wrong that somehow got published.
More of a 2.75, maybe. I'm a fan of the humorous memoir and have read a lot in that genre, but this book felt more like a collection of random essays than a true memoir. I found the essays funny and well-written, but as a whole, did not take away a very deep sense of the author.
The premise of the book is great and there are some good stories, but it would have been much better had there been some flow between chapters and unfortunately there was more than one grammatical error so it felt a little too raw for me sometimes. I did rate the book a 3, because of her descriptions of her relationship with her grandma and her experiences with Alzheimer's which resonated with my own. However, I don't anticipate recommending this to other readers.
This was funny...
All the thoughts you have in your head but never say out loud...but wish you could. The story seemed lacking to me as I like the inside story I don't like when you just throw a character at me without explaining them..But I did enjoy the book.
All the thoughts you have in your head but never say out loud...but wish you could. The story seemed lacking to me as I like the inside story I don't like when you just throw a character at me without explaining them..But I did enjoy the book.
I only picked this book up because I was bored and it was there. I ended up putting aside everything else I was reading. It was very funny and fun and yet rang true when it needed to. I looked forward to my times with this book every day and am sad that it's done.
I read this in a day. It definitely was scattered in a different way than other books like this. Some of the stories had me laughing out loud, but all in all, not a great book. The last chapter had nothing to do with anything and made no darn sense.
Feb 27, 2009
Kelsey Schlueter
added it
I didn't enjoy this book as a whole even though it was pretty funny. I didn't like it so much because it was just the author talking about herself and even though some stories were unbelievable and funny, it got dull after a while
I should voraciously love this book. Instead I read it, enjoyed it and forgot it so thoroughly that a friend gave me a new copy of it and I could basically read it again like it was totally new. Does that mean there is something wrong with me?
I wanted to like Kaplan, but although her sarcastic, witty stories made me smile, they also made me cringe. Her voice had an edge to it--a little more bitter, hurt, angry, and mean than I could completely enjoy.
Aug 24, 2011
Tina
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
readers who were aghast at Jeannette Walls' The Glass Castle
A collection of touching, ironic, and sometimes funny stories about the life of Cynthia Kaplan. No dysfunctional family here, no crazy stories, no knee-slapping hilarity, just nice stories about a slightly neurotic girl and her loving family.
Feb 09, 2010
Heather Friedman
added it
A great memoir with a voice I could totally identify with - a neurotic jewish girl with Russian grandparents. Could it strike any closer to home? Her stories were endearing and a very funny, quick read.
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