Born the child of a homo and a hypochondriac (Okay, okay. Her dad’s not really a homosexual. He just acts like it. Her mom, however, really i...
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Dec 10, 2010
karen
rated it: 
now we are cooking with gas... this is what i thought that sloane crosley book would be like. and that's a fine book, i just felt that there was a tendency she had to hold back a little - to be cautious and careful and remain dignified. and no one wants to read that. don't pretend to splatter your embarrassing secrets in a humor-memoir and still try to look pretty. it ends up being like a wb version of david sedaris. this book however, is a very funny, unselfconscious book. i don't know that if
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Jul 12, 2010
Jasmine
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This book is not intelligent, it isn't horribly witty, and it doesn't make me rethink the social situation of the world.
It is base, in your face humor, and I like that in a book. I actually think I like it more in a self aware book about how the writer is basically a complete failure as a human being and isn't even particularly funny, at least not in a way that anyone who is horribly drunk at a bachelor party would recognize.
Sara Barron congratulations you have succeede More...
It is base, in your face humor, and I like that in a book. I actually think I like it more in a self aware book about how the writer is basically a complete failure as a human being and isn't even particularly funny, at least not in a way that anyone who is horribly drunk at a bachelor party would recognize.
Sara Barron congratulations you have succeede More...
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Jan 22, 2012
Kristen
rated it: 
Stumbled across this book on Amazon. It was recommended to me because I read Mindy Kaling's book. Sometimes I found it overly self-deprecating and painfully awkward, but overall the book was very funny. Sara Barron is an extremely entertaining writer, although I have to wonder if any of her stories or characterizations are a bit exaggerated. I also thought the ending of the book was a little off - I wasn't expecting it to end on such a down note. It felt unfinished to me. Sara doesn't paint a ve
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Dec 01, 2009
Jennifer
rated it:
I needed a pick-me-up book and I found it in this. Barron has a great style, although the self-deprecating becomes obviously exaggerated. I wouldn't call it a memoir, but a collection of situations in her life that are just too damn weird to have been invented.
She is pretty high and mighty in parts, but I agree with most of what she says. And it was laugh out loud funny. HIghlights were her trip to a Jerry Springer taping, anything about her family, and her college experience.
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She is pretty high and mighty in parts, but I agree with most of what she says. And it was laugh out loud funny. HIghlights were her trip to a Jerry Springer taping, anything about her family, and her college experience.
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Sep 10, 2011
Dylan
rated it:
I found this book in a thrift store and after reading lines on the back cover like, "Born the child of a homo and a hypochondriac . . ." and "At age eleven, she starts writing porn . . ." I knew this did not belong next to children's coloring books that were already colored in and romance novels that featured Fabio on the front.
People Are Unappealing: Even Me is a book by Sara Barron which is 222 pages long. The book shows a price of $13.95 though I got it for $0.50 More...
People Are Unappealing: Even Me is a book by Sara Barron which is 222 pages long. The book shows a price of $13.95 though I got it for $0.50 More...
Jun 22, 2009
Lilly
rated it:
Sara Barron is hilarious. Which makes me sorry that I didn't know her better when we grew up in the same town; she would have made it much more bearable.
I had to take off a half point for making me relive our junior high production of Guys and Dolls, and a half point for making me relive online dating.
The voice of this collection reminded me of two authors I really loved- Chelsea Handler (because she, too, doesn't edit her stories for the squeamish and tells it like it is More...
I had to take off a half point for making me relive our junior high production of Guys and Dolls, and a half point for making me relive online dating.
The voice of this collection reminded me of two authors I really loved- Chelsea Handler (because she, too, doesn't edit her stories for the squeamish and tells it like it is More...
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Feb 13, 2011
Sarah Jane
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This was a nice, short read. Barron is nothing if not honest - and ruthless at that. The book is actually a collection of essays that loosely spans Barron's life. There's no plot to speak of, just a series of painfully amusing observations and experiences. She covers everything from growing up as the child of a show-tune-loving father and a hypochondriac/psychotherapist mother to being mistaken for a pre-op transsexual to waiting tables in a restaurant frequented by celebrities to constantly str
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Jan 20, 2010
Michael
rated it:
A great deal of fun, sometimes crass, but just as often sharply insightful and with a nicely wicked turn-of-phrase.
Barron often hosts the Moth, and while the stories she tells while hosting are frequently very funny, I was not prepared for how much I really loved her first collection of essays. It has moments of true hilarity. Unlike the overrated and frankly dull Sloane Crossley, Barron actually delivers the goods—laugh-out-loud stories and ruminations about life and how horrible pe More...
Barron often hosts the Moth, and while the stories she tells while hosting are frequently very funny, I was not prepared for how much I really loved her first collection of essays. It has moments of true hilarity. Unlike the overrated and frankly dull Sloane Crossley, Barron actually delivers the goods—laugh-out-loud stories and ruminations about life and how horrible pe More...
Sep 10, 2010
Malbadeen
rated it:
I enjoyed every essay in this book, laughed at many moments but kind of felt a little "oh brother-ish" when she was, once again, being self deprecating. I'm not sure why it got to me. Usually I'm all in favor of deprecation, possibly it was sour grapes (someone that can deprecate better than me?!) but I found it a bit tiresome. at points and I had to question her negative assertions of herself when she would in the next paragraph take on the suggestion that she should sleep with her fr
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Jun 16, 2009
Susie
rated it: 
So this is the second really awesome book i've read written by someone i went to high school with, and i'm kind of stunned that any talent emerged from my wasteland of a hometown in the first place, but there you have it: Sara is hilarious AND a good writer!
my two favorite excerpts:
1. on girls who say they're "guy's girls" (ie not friends with any girls)
"This common rumination disgusts me everytime I hear it. Disguised as some pathetic attempt a More...
my two favorite excerpts:
1. on girls who say they're "guy's girls" (ie not friends with any girls)
"This common rumination disgusts me everytime I hear it. Disguised as some pathetic attempt a More...
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Nov 20, 2011
Marc
rated it:
This book is NOT boring, but it wasn't the barrel full of laughs that I thought it would be. I scrolled through the ratings and it appears that it is generally rated higher by women, and I think that is because perhaps the author's humor is more appealing to women.
The book also is a little crass, so don't read it if you are not comfortable with things like sex-related humor. None of it bothered me much, but it's not the kind of book that I can discuss with my Mom, that's for sure More...
The book also is a little crass, so don't read it if you are not comfortable with things like sex-related humor. None of it bothered me much, but it's not the kind of book that I can discuss with my Mom, that's for sure More...
Apr 17, 2010
The funniest was People Are Unappealing by Sara Barron, the type of laugh-out-loud book that would have me stifling giggles on the bus to and from New York City. In one story, she writes about being a waitress at a Mario Batali restaurant, and describes "Twat Waffle", a particularly arrogant celebrity guest - - this was the anecdote that had prompted me to add this book to my wishlist, and I was psyched that the whole book was really good. Dec 26, 2009
May 13, 2009
doreen
rated it:
This book was good fun, and I enjoyed reading it in the Denver Airport and on the plane. I was so into it, I nearly left my carry-on luggage under a table in the airport!
Barron's funny life anecdotes should find fans among those who like Sloane Crosley and David Sedaris, among other memoir-based humourists. Although not as outrageous as Chelsea Handler, some of Barron's tales are definitely cringe-worthy.
I now have to look up who Twat Waffle is.
Barron's funny life anecdotes should find fans among those who like Sloane Crosley and David Sedaris, among other memoir-based humourists. Although not as outrageous as Chelsea Handler, some of Barron's tales are definitely cringe-worthy.
I now have to look up who Twat Waffle is.
Apr 12, 2009
Nette
rated it:
I see that the other reviewers have already mentioned the essay about how she rediscovered the totally clueless porn she wrote at 12. That chapter may be the single funniest thing I've read in...forever. It made me laugh in a really unattractive way -- you know, where you're spitting and crying and sort of barking? The whole book was hilarious. Yay for the recent outbreak of dorky/snarky women publishing these occasionally gross but wonderful books!
May 23, 2009
Lauren
rated it:
i am so honored that the author of this hilaaaaaaaarious book is my writing teacher, SARA BARRON. its so enjoyable, and you'll want to hang out with sara immediately when you read it. although, i must warn you: she is hotter and less retarded sounding than the self-deprecating narrator would lead you to believe. please buy the book, and if you spill something on it, buy another one because i have been told sara does not have health insurance so we gotta help a sister out.
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Jul 28, 2011
Michelle
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Consumed this at the airport yesterday. There is some funny stuff in this book - at one point, I was laughing so hard, the woman next to me in the airport wanted to know what I was reading. She is not quite as good as David Sedaris, but close. I especially enjoyed the essays about her relationship with her grandmother, and her online dating experiences. Very fun read.
Sep 27, 2010
Jackie
rated it:
The FUPA references have cracked my sh*t up for a few days now. I look down at my own FUPA, a part of my body that's never occurred to me to name but now am pleased as punch to refer to, and laugh and laugh. At the beach buffering me from the waves, at work bloated as a 24-week pregnant woman, it doesn't matter because it makes me laugh. Thanks, Sara Barron, for calling it.
Jun 10, 2010
Becky
rated it:
A well written and hilarious collection of stories of Sara Barron's growing up. It's a little raunchy in places, but that is part of what makes it endearing and fun to read. Her forthright style, and honesty about her faults, and what she finds annoying in herself and others is at times laugh out loud funny. I recommend it solely for the lightness of it and the notion that we're all a little annoying and we just have to accept it about ourselves and others, and be content with who we are.
Jul 17, 2011
Shannon
rated it: 
I was looking for a light read by a funny woman and this fit the description but didn't fulfill me like a new Sloane Crosley book would. It was interesting enough to keep me reading and I did laugh a few times but it isn't something that you must go and read now. Wonderful for a summer day's by the pool with nothing else around.
Dec 06, 2009
Matt
rated it:
I couldn't agree more with the title. Some good, some less so in this book. I can see some traits of my own in Barron, as she comes through in her writing. She'd be fun to have a few drinks with, no doubt. I look forward to her second book, as I think her writing style and storytelling will improve as she does it more.
Jul 24, 2009
Rebecca
rated it:
This book is freaking hilarious! I recommend it to anyone who needs a good laugh. The best parts for me were discussions about FUPA, The Porn, BFA (big fucking actor), and working at the Olive Garden.
It was the discussions about FUPA and The Porn that had me laughing so hard I almost peed my pants though. Great stuff!!!
Excellent book! Thank you, Sara Barron!
It was the discussions about FUPA and The Porn that had me laughing so hard I almost peed my pants though. Great stuff!!!
Excellent book! Thank you, Sara Barron!
May 08, 2009
John
rated it:
My favorites were her opening stories about the porn she wrote as a tween and the banalities of suburban life. The latter vignettes tended to be less hilarious and more kind of what you'd expect from a 20- or 30-something in New York (celebrity interactions, waiting tables stories) but also more honest and sculpted. She is stronger than Sloane Crosley. Also wiener hooking.
Dec 24, 2011
Jennifer
rated it:
I had no expectations of this going in, since I'd read some pretty bad reviews. However, it made me laugh out loud, a lot. And it spares the reader the "and then everything worked out and now I'm in love/rich/successful" ending, which I appreciated. I'd love to read more by her in the future.
May 17, 2011
Shannon
rated it:
This book was hilarious. It was easy to read, yet insightful, the author's words were flowing and it was hard to put down. The humor is a bit dry and the word vagina and descriptions of sexual encounters occur frequently. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting a good laugh.
Jun 23, 2011
Debbie
rated it:
Read this one after hearing the hilarious author host The Moth NPR storytelling hour recently. Though I did enjoy the collection of essays, I found her humor a bit more appealing in person -- some of the chapters come off as too reliant on raunchiness.
Feb 06, 2011
Jon
rated it:
Wow, Michael stype is an asshole!
Reminded me a lot of David Sedaris, if you like his books, give this one a read. Not quite as pee-your-pants funny as David, but pretty good. Didn't make me do any snort laughs, so only a 3 star instead of 4 from me.
Reminded me a lot of David Sedaris, if you like his books, give this one a read. Not quite as pee-your-pants funny as David, but pretty good. Didn't make me do any snort laughs, so only a 3 star instead of 4 from me.
Jan 08, 2011
Autumn
rated it:
Barron's stories are kind of in the vein of Sloane Crosley but a lot more shameless, and thus, somehow, a lot more funny. She holds back little in sharing how unappealing people truly are, including her. I appreciate her shameless honestly.
Jun 07, 2010
Wils
rated it:
This is a bookclub pick and really the only reason I finished it. It was okay, but Barron just seemed to be trying too hard throughout. A couple of times I did chuckle, but the voice was never really her own. It just seemed to be a Frankenstein book - writing styles captured from other authors and stitched together into this one book.
May 01, 2009
Jodie
rated it:
I randomly picked up this book at Borders the other day, b/c it looked amusing and i wanted a light read. it's all this girl's bizarre true stories.. i think i read it in 2 days, it's hysterical if you feel like laughing. good train book for me.
Jul 30, 2009
Patsy
rated it:
wish it was more laugh out loud. was an enjoyable airport read, tho i felt uncomfortable that someone might read over my shoulder and think that i was reading porn. she was VERY open about things and honest with it all... quite refreshing compared to some who do not look at themselves in perspective.
