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Tiny Ladies in Shiny Pants: Based on a True Story
by
Jill Soloway
This hilarious, whip-smart collection of essays from a top writer and producer of Six Feet Under crisscrosses from the highly personal (conflating her own loss of virginity and the Kobe Bryant accusations), to the political (what she has in common with Monica and Chandra), to the outrageously Los Angelean (why women wear huge diamonds and what they must do to get them). Ti...more
Paperback, 272 pages
Published
October 17th 2006
by Free Press
(first published August 30th 2005)
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Very funny in parts. She does best when she sticks to personal anecdotes, some of which are hilarious. She's a lot weaker in the parts that are intended to be, as she claims, her post-feminist manifesto - intellectually sloppy and very derivative. Reminds me of the half-baked ideas I would come up with when hungover in Sociology of Gender class as an undergrad. But I didn't put them in a book.
Written by one of the writers of “Six Feet Under,” (my favourite show) I wanted to like this book. I didn’t. Jill Solloway makes many attempts to be funny and according to the back cover, a lot of people think she is, but not me.
I don’t know, maybe it’s because I’m not Jewish, so I don’t fully appreciate the Jewish jokes that grace every second sentence. Or, maybe it’s because I’m not a mother, so I don’t understand all the motherhood references. I don’t think it’s either though. I think the aut...more
I don’t know, maybe it’s because I’m not Jewish, so I don’t fully appreciate the Jewish jokes that grace every second sentence. Or, maybe it’s because I’m not a mother, so I don’t understand all the motherhood references. I don’t think it’s either though. I think the aut...more
I have three other books to review that I finished before this one but Jill must come first. I've talked about her before. Ms. Soloway is smart and challenging and crazy funny and this collection of essays -- a kind of autobiography -- was my best friend throughout my trip to New York. Tiny Ladies in Shiny Pants is more amusing to me than similar books in the genre like David Sidaris's Me Talk Pretty One Day (which I do really enjoy) or Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim (which I didn't fin...more
I didn't have any expectations going in to this book (I bought it for 50 cents from a thrift store), so I may have enjoyed it more than some of the other reviewers here. The writing is funny, if a little loopy. But I am loopy too, so that didn't bother me at all. The one thing that I wasn't expecting from this book, based on the title and the cover jacket is how much Jill Soloway is into the post-feminist movement. Her 3-part introduction pretty much lays it all out and I'll admit that by part 2...more
Funny and a quick read...I read it over two days of plane travel. I knodded alot and laughed out loud. About 60 pages from the end, she did start to grate on my nerves, a little bit. I felt like she was driving the same few messages down my throat a little. But at the same time, I still enjoyed it. The appendices didn't quite fit in with the rest of the book (but I guess that's why they're appendices, huh!). But yes, very funny, and a must-read for the ladies!!
I really enjoyed this book of essays by Jill Soloway. I loved the glimpses into her life and how it has turned her into the feminist that she is today. I love that it's filled with humor and quirkiness and an ability to take feminist theory and make it simple. The idea that all women shouldn't be afraid to be feminist and to care about sex and themselves without horrible labels and fears.
And okay, it's amusing. Written by someone who has a dark sense of humor that I tend to enjoy.
And okay, it's amusing. Written by someone who has a dark sense of humor that I tend to enjoy.
Jill Soloway, who wrote for Six Feet Under, is obviously very compelling when creating characters for HBO shows. Although at times she's VERY funny in her memoir, at other times her humor falls flat. Let me compare: I would have read a David Sedaris book of this length in an afternoon. "Tiny Ladies" took me a week. There wasn't anything that grabbed me enough to keep me hooked beyond my general feelings of "gotta finish a book once you start." The reason this book is worth reading is that I have...more
The author comes off as whiny and defensive, rather than profound and confident. Parts of it were funny, but most of it left a bad taste in my mouth. I don't want to waste my time reading about someone desperately trying to defend her own poor choices.
Went to college with her. Went to her parent's ultra-cool condo in chicago within weeks of meeting her. Funny and SMART girl. Out in LA now. Writer for every funny line that you hear on tv ( and cable ). Good read!
I'm putting this here just to prove to myself and the world that I occasionally read adult books! This was pretty funny, I enjoyed it, it took me a while to read though. I kept reading other books in between.
Pretty funny, like a female Sedaris...but not quite. Some classic parts though.
Thought this was very uneven--parts were funny but a lot of it was just annoying. In a way, this is really two books and it would have been much better if it was split.
One half is a mix of witty autobiographical essays, heavily influenced by her Jewishness.
The other half is heavy-handed feminism. This is the part that really irritated me (which seems odd, since I'm usually so pro-feminism). The two just didn't quite mesh.
Expected to giggle much more and usually just managed a faint smile. Will p...more
One half is a mix of witty autobiographical essays, heavily influenced by her Jewishness.
The other half is heavy-handed feminism. This is the part that really irritated me (which seems odd, since I'm usually so pro-feminism). The two just didn't quite mesh.
Expected to giggle much more and usually just managed a faint smile. Will p...more
Hilarious, authentic and heartfelt. I want to buy this for all my girlfriends, just so we can all laugh about the Lotion Bag story.
This book made me choke with laughter.
Possibly the worst book I have ever read. This woman should not be allowed near a pen and paper. Her humor is not funny but crass, insensitive, and completely offensive; racially, religiously, etc. She is a self-declared feminist who paints women as victims which is the opposite of what a true feminist would do. Found not only the book to be terrible but found the writer to be a horrible individual. WORST BOOK EVER and most pathetic excuse for feminist essays I've ever had the misfortune to read...more
This book was great. One of the last parts of the book was like desert after dinner - it was her point-by-point personal advice in "getting into" the hollywood writer business. It was my favorite part, and I plan on reading it again and again as I slowly make my way into the world of writing. My favorite point: "STOP SMOKING POT!" ...I laughed and laughed. There were some points in the book that got a bit ostentatious, but over all - snarky lady, good memoir, funny book, smart ideas.
I may be putting this one down soon. It's hilarious, but there's too much going on with the multiple introductions, the funny ha ha ha footnotes and the short stories with all their tangents and digressions. I'd love to be Jill Soloway's friend, I'd probably be laughing all the time. But while her observations are biting and spot-on, I'd rather read a book that takes me somewhere else. Maybe I just need fiction, not non. Or some excitement, a pageturner. Y'know?
If there is one thing I could say about this book is that it is honest. Soloway doesn't seem to hide much from the reader, unapologetically revealing her addiction to celebrity gossip (for instance). She tells some funny stories from her own life but often digresses. The digressions are sometimes refreshing perspectives on feminism, victimization, the TV/movie industry, etc. ... but are also sometimes just annoying rants or half-baked social theories.
I read this for book club; I never would have chosen it on my own. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, even though the author is supposed to be funny. Maybe people who are fans of her show would like it ...
This one was on my "to read" list forever, and I was so happy to come across a copy of it, especially after my friend Erin Clark spontaneously told me how much she enjoyed it. I want Jill Soloway to be my new best friend. She's so witty, and she's the perfect age, in that we share the same cultural experiences (I loved that she gets so tongue-tied when a neighbor of hers was on "The Real World"). I hope she writes more books....soon!
When I first started reading this book I was annoyed with the author's cocky tone, and the fact that she had written 3 introductions. But as I got further into the book, I began to learn more about the author's personality and, essentially, her life, and ended up really enjoying this book. My favorite parts were the Appendices at the end. Good advice. Very intelligent and witty gal.
Hysterical. If you ever have a chance to see Jill Soloway in person, go. She is one funny person. And so is this book. You'll not only have a good laugh, but Lotion Bag will become part of your vocabulary.
One of my favorite Six Feet Under episodes was written by Jill (Season 5: The Rainbow of Her Reasons). The same wit and poignancy present in her scripts come through in these essays.
One of my favorite Six Feet Under episodes was written by Jill (Season 5: The Rainbow of Her Reasons). The same wit and poignancy present in her scripts come through in these essays.
I'm currently reading this book and it's a fun, funny, fast read. There's a lot of witty feminine insight, but a little too much content about sexual violence for me. It's auto-biographical and very honest and candid about her life experiences, but it makes me squirm sometimes. Often I'm reading the book a I'm falling asleep and it doesn't leave me with sweet dreams.
Cleverly written and tons of laughs. Good pick Bianca!
Jill Soloway is a funny bitch. She can be overly vulgar at times, which doesn't necessarily bother me but it's probably the most I've even seen the work C U iN Toledo written in a book in all my life...She gets a little "preachy" in the start and back sides of the book but otherwise a funny, light read. Finally, no one dies in a book club selection...
Man, I was and am conflicted about this book. She did a hilarious reading at the store, and I loved her. It's one of the books at which I have laughed the hardest, ever. But there's some stuff about race that made me crazy. Ugh. Still, it's a book that I will always own, and I hope she writes more. So so so so so funny.
Ever read David Sedaris or Augusten Burroughs and thought, "This is funny, but imagnie how much funneir it would be if a woman wrote it?" Well, Jill Soloway, who used to write for Six Feet Under, is freaking hilarious, and girly, and awesome. his book is cute and funny and biting and sarcastic and makes me want to date her.
Made me feel not so alone. and funny!
Jill Soloway, I fucking aspire to be you when I grow up. You're funky and funny. You write hysterically smutty stories like Courtney Cox's Asshole and then you write books like Tiny Ladies about writing stories like Courtney Cox's A-hole and it's all delightfully meta and brimming with the awesome!
Feb 20, 2008
Christen
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
third-wavers or SFU fans with a few hours to kill
A goofy, funny, uneven but at times insightful read. I would have sold it or given it away already if it weren't for Solloway's appendix about how to make it in the entertainment industry -- relevant and motivating even though I don't really aspire to write for HBO series (no, really, HBO, stop calling me).
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Oct 31, 2007 11:42pm