Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
432nd out of 820 books
—
1,015 voters
Why Is My Mother Getting a Tattoo?: And Other Questions I Wish I Never Had to Ask
by
Jancee Dunn
Despite her forty years and a successful career as a rock journalist, Jancee Dunn still feels like a teenager, especially around her parents and sisters. Looking around, Dunn realizes that she’s not alone in this regression: Her friends, all with successful jobs, marriages, and families of their own, still feel like kids around their moms and dads, too. That gets Dunn to t...more
Paperback, 224 pages
Published
June 23rd 2009
by Villard
(first published June 7th 2009)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
921)
i have almost nothing to say about this book. it's another goofy funny essays ripped from the headlines of the authors personal life. the conceit here is that the author's family is constantly getting up to wacky & hilarious shenanigans. which...sure. let's go with it. they do crazy things like argue for five hours on the phone over which dessert to make for xmas dinner. or there was the time when the author's mom decided to get a raven tattooed on her wrist even though she's old. are you la...more
I like personal essay collections a great deal, and while I enjoy tales of fucked-up childhoods and weird parents, as I get older I find that even more I like hearing stories about slightly wacky families who, above everything else, love one another a whole helluva lot. They're funny, they're strange, but they're not MEAN. I'm into it. My friend Erica's review of this book here on goodreads made me ask to borrow it, and now that I've finished I'll be picking up the Jancee Dunn title that's been...more
Jan 07, 2011
Erica
added it
There's a genre I have in my head that I call "women who should be famous instead of Sloane Crosley." I have nothing against Sloane Crosley personally, and I've heard from people who've worked with her that she's nothing but lovely, but I think her writing is boring and not funny. And women like Rachel Shukert, Julie Klausner, and Jancee Dunn are funny. I loved Jancee Dunn's But Enough About Me, which was a collection of essays about her years as a celebrity interviewer, and this book, which foc...more
view all 5 comments
I went to the library to check out Jancee Dunn's novel Don't You Forget About Me. It wasn't there, but they had this and I liked the title (my mom, incidently, has a tattoo), thought I would enjoy/relate to it, and therefore decided to check it out.
I've been drawn to memoirs a lot more recently (I used to be completely opposed to non-fiction) and the problem I usually find is they're nothing like what I thought they would be. This one was: it was a quick read about a family you'll probably recog...more
I've been drawn to memoirs a lot more recently (I used to be completely opposed to non-fiction) and the problem I usually find is they're nothing like what I thought they would be. This one was: it was a quick read about a family you'll probably recog...more
Jancee Dunn is a writer in her early forties, she’s close to her family, loves her husband, Tom, likes to be a hermit when she’s at home, likes to travel to faraway places, once fell in love with a high-end toilet in Japan, and she’s written this hilarious collection of essays about herself, her friends, and family. After reading this you’ll have learned that:
1.)You know nothing about really planning Thanksgiving dinner, until you’ve done it with Jancee and her sisters.
2.)JC Penney retirees are...more
1.)You know nothing about really planning Thanksgiving dinner, until you’ve done it with Jancee and her sisters.
2.)JC Penney retirees are...more
I genuinely enjoy reading Jancee Dunn. She's worked for Rolling Stone and O: The Oprah Magazine, she's been an MTV veejay and a Good Morning, America correspondent, and she's written one novel and two books of nonfiction - and yet her voice throughout remains down-to-earth and conversational.
Her most recent book is a collection of memoir/essays concerning recent events in the lives of her family, who we first got to know in But Enough About Me. The Dunns have their quirks, but they're ordinary q...more
Her most recent book is a collection of memoir/essays concerning recent events in the lives of her family, who we first got to know in But Enough About Me. The Dunns have their quirks, but they're ordinary q...more
Dunn is a strange phenom in the world of 40-something memoirists. She's practically ordinary. She's someone you recognize. She doesn't shoot heroin, she doesn't fess up to being sexually abused at the hands of her kindergarten teacher, she doesn't have 13 cats. She's got a soft heart, an incisive wit that isn't wounding, and a family so dotty they could be English. I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would at the outset, once I settled into the sheer comfort of stories about a family who.....more
I loved, loved, loved Dunn's debut memoir But Enough About Me: A Jersey Girl's Unlikely Adventures Among the Absurdly Famous. I initially picked up that book because I was interested in the Rolling Stone aspect of her life, but I hadn't anticipated falling in love with the side stories of her family life. So, upon picking up Why is My Mother Getting a Tattoo? I was all set to meet Dunn's family again. Some of the stories are charming, some get a touch tedious, but overall it just didn't live up...more
Creepy as it may be, to feel about someone who is well known or talented enough to publish personal memoirs, .that "I could be friends with them! They're so much like me!" feeling...This is exactly the way I view Jancee Dunn. Recently, I was looking for a lighter read. Always a sucker for my favorite New Pastel tinted era -- the 1980s -- I latched onto Dunn's first work of fiction, a fun little book called "Don't You Forget About Me." I was surprised by the way this light read resonated with me....more
I can't remember where I heard about this book? Real Simple maybe? I think I was reading an article she wrote and thought what a great title for a book. This book made me want to be a part of Jancee's family. It did kind of bug me how she proudly states that her family is not dysfunctional. I thought it was kind of odd to alienate probably 75% of her readers that were from dysfunctional families - though I'm probably overstating. This book got me excited to read her fiction and her other memoir(...more
I put this on my Christmas list because it was a runner up for the 2010 Thurber Humor Prize, and Amy chose to give it to me because she liked the title. While I liked the winner, this had me laughing so hard I kept Jack awake as he tried to sleep next to me while I read on our vacation last week. I truly hated for it to end. Oh, and for the haters on goodreads who say this is only for Dunn's demographic (40-something), I am 60 years old.
I had two problems with this book...it wasn't long enough and it should have been a hardcover.
Charming collection of essays. I think of all the writers I enjoy, I'd want Jancee Dunn to be my best friend. I had no idea someone else on this planet mooned over the Swiss Colony catalogs like I did! :)
I'd say this is a fun read for gals in their mid 30s to early 40s. Not sure if the subject matter would transcend to all ages, but if I'm wrong, I'll gladly stand corrected!
Charming collection of essays. I think of all the writers I enjoy, I'd want Jancee Dunn to be my best friend. I had no idea someone else on this planet mooned over the Swiss Colony catalogs like I did! :)
I'd say this is a fun read for gals in their mid 30s to early 40s. Not sure if the subject matter would transcend to all ages, but if I'm wrong, I'll gladly stand corrected!
I love Jancee Dunn's books - they're like talking to a friend (granted, it's a one-sided conversation). I anticipate her essays like long letters or emails from my favorite people - there's a spark of joy as you dig in, knowing you're going to laugh, smile knowingly at parallels in your own life, and feel pleased that someone has chosen you as their confidante. Good stuff.
Dunn was an MTV VJ and a writer for Rolling Stone, and I quite like her books about growing up in Jersey. Her first "But Enough About Me..." was interspersed with interviews she did for Rolling Stone (the stuff she could not necessarily print), and this one is a little more about being a grown-up and the stuff that her parents do now that is really quite funny.
this is a great little book which was fun and quick to read. the collection of little stories of the author's life made me laugh out loud. Even though we have nothing in common, i was able to connect with the quirkiness of her family and experiences. i particularly loved the author's sense of humour.
thanks kiki for lending it to me.
thanks kiki for lending it to me.
A finalist for 2010 Thurber Prize for American Humor. Love Jancee Dunn. She the literary equivalent of Tina Fey. Was a fan of hers way back when she wrote for Rolling Stone magazine. Liked her previous memoir "But Enough About Me" as well. An easy, entertaining read, if you're looking for something easy and entertaining.
Pretty funny in parts, although slow going in others. I could really relate to many bits centered on 40-something Jancee's relationship with her parents. All these years I thought my mother's passive, aggressive approach to giving advice by mailing newspaper clippings to me was uncommon!
Overall I enjoyed this memoirist's picture of quirky individuals who form what appears to be a genuinely functional family. A nice change from the more common memoir relaying details of a tortured upbringing.
Overall I enjoyed this memoirist's picture of quirky individuals who form what appears to be a genuinely functional family. A nice change from the more common memoir relaying details of a tortured upbringing.
I feel like Jancee Dunn and I are good friends, only she doesn't know it yet. I think this book was aiming for some Major Idea about growing older and how this changes one's relationship/perception about one's parents, but mostly it was just an enjoyable read about a normal family in all its quirkiness.
I so loved this book , it is well worth the 1.00 I paid at half price books I truly enjoyed it , it is very humorus and real I love Jancee she is a awesome writter and cant wait to read her other books , so wish i could meet her she is a awesome story teller , love this book and you will too.
Any book of essays like this that I read has a very hard standard to live up to. I measure everything by Jen Lancaster, and this didn't quite stack up to that. It was fine. Nothing revolutionary. She's actually so normal that it was sort of dull at times.
The 80s and Jersey references are heaven for a nostaligia nut like me, but Dunn is really, really funny. She talks about her relationship with her parets without *talking* about it; and I want to meet her friend Julie and have coffee (but only before 3!)
I would like to hang out with Jancee Dunn. Some essays I liked better than others; some weren't quite as strong--but that kind of enhanced my feelings that Dunn would be a good pal. Even your most interesting friend sometimes has an off day.
A sweet, fun book. First thing by her that I've read. We're basically the same age and have a fair amount in common (including a recently-tattooed mother) so quite a bit was relatable. The humor is more Sandra Tsing Loh than Laurie Notaro -- very little in the way of bodily fluids.
This book is filled with insightful stories, reflecting on her family dynamics, love, life, etc...each one an extremely thoughtful gem. Jancee is hilarious! She has always made me laugh out loud.
Very very funny, I did A LOT of laughing out loud! And perhaps in part because I can relate to the author's stories about getting older and watching your parents get older. I really really enjoyed this memoir.
Sep 09, 2010
Jenny
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Recommended to Jenny by:
http://www.thurberhouse.org/program/adlt_prize.html
Shelves:
read2010
Ugh, not great. Not every journalist should write a memoir.
It would have been funnier if she had been a voice isolated from the antics of her family, instead she demonstrates how well she fits inside of them. Her husband must be a saint to put up with a wife who has to have her entire family weigh in on every decision, minor or major.
It would have been funnier if she had been a voice isolated from the antics of her family, instead she demonstrates how well she fits inside of them. Her husband must be a saint to put up with a wife who has to have her entire family weigh in on every decision, minor or major.
I wasn't sure I liked this book after the first chapter or two, but as I kept reading it really grew on me. It is a fun, light read and has no pretense to be anything else.
Jul 25, 2011
Tori
added it
2009- I didn't find this nearly as funny as her past books. I almost felt like she was running out of material. ""But Enough About Me"" was my favorite of her books thus far.
Maybe I'll pick this up again some day, but I had to put it down after an overwhelming feeling of what my fandom friends would perhaps call, "embarrassment squick."
Jancee Dunn is a hoot! What a funny, sweet book about a very intertwined family. I'd recommend it to any female reader -- don't think guys would really get it.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
A writer for Rolling Stone since 1989, Jancee Dunn was a correspondent for Good Morning America and an MTV veejay. She has written for GQ, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Harper's Bazaar, the New York Times, and other publications. (from the publisher's website)"
More about Jancee Dunn...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
