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119th out of 1,393 books
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I Love Everybody (and Other Atrocious Lies)
Here are more scathingly funny tales from the wild side! Laurie Notaro survived the debauched ride of her twenties and the bumpy road to matrimony. Now she’s ready to take on the thirtysomething years . . . and almost middle age has never been more hilarious.
Laurie is married, mortgaged, and now—miraculously—employed in the corporate world, discovering that bosses come in ...more
Laurie is married, mortgaged, and now—miraculously—employed in the corporate world, discovering that bosses come in ...more
Paperback, 240 pages
Published
June 8th 2004
by Villard
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This book probably deserves five stars, because I can't remember when I've laughed so hard at anything. I guess what's keeping it from being five stars is depth. It's just a funny, kind of superficial read. There were several moments where I thought, all right already with the neurotic Italian girl schtick, but I just kept reading because no sooner had I thought that than Notaro made me laugh again, and laugh hard, out loud, on the subway, with people staring at me, like, belly laughs, grabbing ...more
I'm usually not interested in the "chick books" that have become so popular recently (maybe they were always popular, but I've only taken notice of them in the past couple of years). You know, the witty, funny, celebrations of the modern women in all her success and tragedy. I think the appeal is that so many women can relate to these voices, these women, fictional or real, who live lives we recognize and are heartbreakingly and humorously honest about some of our most private thoughts...more
thefourthvine
rated it
I bought this one on the strength of The Idiot Girl and the Flaming Tantrum of Death. Sadly, it's not as good as that one - and Flaming Tantrum I got for free.
Previously, my rule has been that if a book makes me laugh out loud, it gets four stars, period. I value laughter, and comedy is hard. This book made me change that rule, because it was such a weird blend of laughing and, well, cringing. While reading these essays, I found myself really, really hoping this was all an exaggerati...more
Previously, my rule has been that if a book makes me laugh out loud, it gets four stars, period. I value laughter, and comedy is hard. This book made me change that rule, because it was such a weird blend of laughing and, well, cringing. While reading these essays, I found myself really, really hoping this was all an exaggerati...more
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Update: Still thinking about this book incessantly! The incorrect grammar doesn't matter, if that is your "voice" when you're writing. I just finished The Old Man and the Sea, and Hemingway does his own thing too, and I wouldn't say he was a "bad" writer. Of course. However! Sometimes Notaro's writing doesn't sound like how I imagine her voice would sound, and it isn't correct grammar, so its a little jarring. If it had a flow to it, because thats how she thinks, I pro...more
I was very disappointed, especially after hearing how funny she is from my co-workers. You just can't trust people.
You know those books that can be dissected, analyzed and viewed in multiple perspectives? This isn't one of them.
This is the kind of book that can be read in between chores, at lunch or on the ride to work. Short essays that are so funny you'll cry and then call your mom and tell her you aren't the only one who's ever went to class with their underwear hanging out of the bottom of their jeans because you were too tired to dress and just put on what you wearing the night before and w...more
This is the kind of book that can be read in between chores, at lunch or on the ride to work. Short essays that are so funny you'll cry and then call your mom and tell her you aren't the only one who's ever went to class with their underwear hanging out of the bottom of their jeans because you were too tired to dress and just put on what you wearing the night before and w...more
I was kind of disappointed in this - there were a couple of scenes and lines that were amusing, but it was not as good as the other books I've read by this author. I never really got the gist of what was going on. Were these once newspaper columns that were collected into a book? It really bugged me that each short story was SUMMARIZED in the one after it, as though readers could not be expected to remember events that took place two or three pages previously.
And while I general...more
And while I general...more
I placed this in my comedy shelf, although really, doesn't something have to be funny to be considered comedic? I thought that was the rationale ;o)
I think this book's blurbs did it a disservice. Front cover claims:
"[Notaro] may be the funniest writer in this solar system." - The Miami Herald
Ahem.
Really?
Look, funny is subjective and all that, but 'funniest writer'? You're just setting yourself up for a downfall in having this splashed ac...more
I think this book's blurbs did it a disservice. Front cover claims:
"[Notaro] may be the funniest writer in this solar system." - The Miami Herald
Ahem.
Really?
Look, funny is subjective and all that, but 'funniest writer'? You're just setting yourself up for a downfall in having this splashed ac...more
this would have been a two-star review if not for the story about the author visiting the japanese tea gardens with her best friend, jamie, & jamie getting all dressed up in a wool skirt & cable-knit cardigan, & then walking right off one of the little bridges over the koi pond. i was rolling around on the couch, laughing hysterically, & i NEVER laugh at stuff when i am just reading/watching something by myself. in my world, laughter is something to be shared with another person. it takes A LOT ...more
The first chapter, the one on the frequent thefts, the one on the meth-head tree trimmer, and "Babyless" (read that one just last night) made me laugh till I cried, and reduced me to a blubbering mess as I tried (and failed) to read segments of them to other people. But other chapters simply did not resonate with me (everyone has made the observation that Pooh and Donald Duck wear shirts but no pants; sorry Ms. Notaro, but it's just not a new perspective and it fell flat with me). This...more
+1 Star: I appreciate these stories actually happened to Notaro, and she's willing to share them with us, shame free.
+1 Star: Yes, Notaro is funny.
-1 Star: While sentences like "This is your one chance to encounter a fireman and here you are, just a hag with a hose" (p.104) are great, stringing one million of them together gets exhausting and ends up leaving you wondering what you just read and if you even cared.
-1/2 Star: When I finished this book...more
+1 Star: Yes, Notaro is funny.
-1 Star: While sentences like "This is your one chance to encounter a fireman and here you are, just a hag with a hose" (p.104) are great, stringing one million of them together gets exhausting and ends up leaving you wondering what you just read and if you even cared.
-1/2 Star: When I finished this book...more
If it is possible to outdo herself from her last book, she did. What I love about her the most, is she's cut from a mold that many REAL women can identify with.
She's like the Carrie Bradhaw of female writers, ONLY, she's the REALISTIC version, a size 12, and sometimes bigger, midwest-flavored, cussing, dirty-joke telling, snack-loving, zit-cursing, had-too-much-to-drink at happy hour, thrift store shopping, Gen-X'er woman.
And I LOVE her.
All her memoirs are th...more
She's like the Carrie Bradhaw of female writers, ONLY, she's the REALISTIC version, a size 12, and sometimes bigger, midwest-flavored, cussing, dirty-joke telling, snack-loving, zit-cursing, had-too-much-to-drink at happy hour, thrift store shopping, Gen-X'er woman.
And I LOVE her.
All her memoirs are th...more
I was looking for a quick and funny read and picked up this book. It was definitely a really quick read! Based on the reviews I was really anticipating something of a higher caliber. Most of the stories in the book are just sorta blah for me personally and brought me little or no amusement at all. Some did make me laugh, but overall I didn't think the collection was as funny as I was hoping it to be.
It's been awhile since I've read it, but it's still just as funny as I remember. The stories with Laurie's Nana and her best friend Jamie are the best by far, I wish there had been more of that. Some favorite passages;
The last time I had held a steady job it was as an editor for a small magazine several years before. I worked for a man who commonly came back from business lunches with a big purple wine mustache and had the habit of uttering phrases such as "make that more bette...more
The last time I had held a steady job it was as an editor for a small magazine several years before. I worked for a man who commonly came back from business lunches with a big purple wine mustache and had the habit of uttering phrases such as "make that more bette...more
Laurie is one of my favorite authors and people.
The fact I am an idiot girl through and through makes no difference, even if I were one of those perfect girls (or boys!) I'd still love her and her books. It would be impossible not to. She and David Sedaris have to arm wrestle for the top spot for Noelle's out-loud-stuff-gushing-from-nose-guffaws.
The fact I am an idiot girl through and through makes no difference, even if I were one of those perfect girls (or boys!) I'd still love her and her books. It would be impossible not to. She and David Sedaris have to arm wrestle for the top spot for Noelle's out-loud-stuff-gushing-from-nose-guffaws.
I've got to give this book five brilliant stars! This is Laurie Notaro at her funniest, for sure. Ever since Idiot Girls' made me convulse with laughter in public, I've been a fan. But I like this book better than the first two combined. I'd give it six stars if I could. I was a retired Idiot Girl when I found the first book, so there was a lot I could relate to from my `previous life.' I was married for 7 years before the second. But with the exception of having children, this is a book that I ...more
so dumb. life is funny, but not worth this many pages. i guess maybe i'd rather talk to funny people than read their stories. every thing seems really exaggerated. boogers, bad interviews, bad dates. i dunno. not into it at all. too forced.
this was just the book to read when the chill of winter forces one to attach to the sofa with a heavy blanket... i laughed, i winced, i became more thankful for my mom, and i found the words to explain my sporadic disposition of annoyance and frustration towards my darling children and husband:
"In all honesty, I really wouldn't even identify myself as a mean person; rather, I would classify myself as a Pointer-Outer of Extraordinary Acts of Incredible Foolishness and, on Occasion, Ru...more
"In all honesty, I really wouldn't even identify myself as a mean person; rather, I would classify myself as a Pointer-Outer of Extraordinary Acts of Incredible Foolishness and, on Occasion, Ru...more
Once again, Laurie Notaro has me laughing so hard I’m keeping my husband awake at night. This collection includes stories from all facets of her life – from marriage, her not so cool job, from family life, and even vacation and friends and babies. And despite the fact that this book is one I couldn’t relate to most of the time (I’m not employed, have no kids, don’t really ever go on vacation and am not an author), I really enjoyed it. There isn’t much more to say about this one in praise that I ...more
I was actually a bit surprised by this book. A quick read which provided me with more than a few laughs, Notaro's frequently self-deprecating wit and cynical self-assessments made me smile. Occasionally, I found I couldn't relate with what she was talking about and some of the stories were a bit over the top, but there were a few gems in there.
While the style isn't always polished and the topics and perspective weren't always easy to relate with, I appreciate her honesty with the rea...more
While the style isn't always polished and the topics and perspective weren't always easy to relate with, I appreciate her honesty with the rea...more
I'd love to be able to laugh at my life the way this author does, and then describe it that way to you. Laurie Notaro's stuff is occasionally hilarious to the point of snorting with mirth (admit it, you've done it, too), but mostly is milder humor of the look-at-how-absurd-life-is variety. It's fun! She reminds me of a friend of mine from graduate school who has a regular life like the rest of us, but who when she describes said life sounds like she is in the midst of a major comedy. I think...more
Laurie has now gotten married I think I need to go back and find Autobiography of a Fat Bride: True Tales of a Pretend Adulthood I’m guessing this is the one I missed but I will definitely rectify that!
I loved the chapter about her mother’s trip to Italy that one made me laugh so hard! This book is fun because Laurie is married now but is still not interested in having kids and the chapters that deal with that are very funny! The Disneyland chapter will give you a good guffaw! And th...more
I loved the chapter about her mother’s trip to Italy that one made me laugh so hard! This book is fun because Laurie is married now but is still not interested in having kids and the chapters that deal with that are very funny! The Disneyland chapter will give you a good guffaw! And th...more
i'd heard some really interesting things about laurie notaro, namely that she was, presumably, the female david sedaris. she's not. david sedaris' stories are funny and irreverent and perhaps a little too honest, but ultimately they touch on some deeper issue in life--he'll lift you up in reverence, almost, and then promptly break you over his knee with something hilarious or crushing or just ridiculous. he has comedic timing and interesting stories.
laurie notaro is funny enough, bu...more
laurie notaro is funny enough, bu...more
This is the first book I have read by author Laurie Notaro. It was funny, but felt very forced. There is a particular story about her car being egged where she draws out her joke's punchline way to far until it was tired. IE: "What's next? Bacon? A Sausage patty? Pancakes?"...but it went on for a full page.
It's a fun and quick read, but lacks the depth of essays by other authors in this genre, like David Sedaris, who manage to make essays very funny, but also reflective of...more
It's a fun and quick read, but lacks the depth of essays by other authors in this genre, like David Sedaris, who manage to make essays very funny, but also reflective of...more
Very fun book. Memoir. Connections made: Pressure from others to have kids...like it is their business. The knowing how wrong it would be. Also having mean thoughts...but she actually says them out loud. (The lady who was walking slow at Costco and she asked her if she could please crawl because it just might be faster than the pace she was going. The lady was pushing an oxygen tank. Nice. Go idiot girls, go! Looking forward to reading her other books. Must confess to liking Sloane's boo...more
I love this book. I love this book for a variety of reasons - the most obvious of which is because Notaro is so damn funny (duh!) but there are other reasons, as well.
In this book, Notaro illustrates the frustration of corporate journalism. She worked for a newspaper owned by a large corporation as a humor columnist. I worked for a newspaper owned by the same company as a reporter and editor.
While I would never want anyone to have to go through what she did - the insanity...more
In this book, Notaro illustrates the frustration of corporate journalism. She worked for a newspaper owned by a large corporation as a humor columnist. I worked for a newspaper owned by the same company as a reporter and editor.
While I would never want anyone to have to go through what she did - the insanity...more
Laurie Notaro may not love everybody, but I certainly love her. This book was funny. Really funny. Laugh out loud funny. The kind of book you should have on your shelf to read when you need to cheer yourself up funny. I Love Everbody (and Other Atrocious Lies) is a collection of funny essays written by Laurie about her take on life. Whether she's talking about her sister's SPAM addiction (as in the crappy emails), a trip to Disneyland, or her QVC addicted, Catholic mother or career day, Laurie h...more
Jamie
rated it
Recommends it for:
everyone who has a sense of humor
Recommended to Jamie by:
Justine
This is the funniest book I have ever read! I am not the type of person who laughs out loud too often while reading a book or ever when I am alone..however..this book had me laughing out loud several times!
Why did Laurie Notaro resonate so well with me?
Well..I think this is basically due to the fact that I felt like everything she was saying was all the things that I think on a daily basis and all the commentary that goes on my head in regards to people and situations..ex...more
Why did Laurie Notaro resonate so well with me?
Well..I think this is basically due to the fact that I felt like everything she was saying was all the things that I think on a daily basis and all the commentary that goes on my head in regards to people and situations..ex...more
[review may not be suitable for all readers:]
this is a book review.. seriously…
this is a topic i never thought i would write about. i have never been one for reading on the toilet. i am an in and out man. run in, drop a deuce, flush, wash hands, run away before the smell melts your face off. there is a reason that people i am friends with have always referred to trips to the gas chamber as “fighting a brown demon” or a “holy war”. who ever comes out alive, is obviously in the...more
this is a book review.. seriously…
this is a topic i never thought i would write about. i have never been one for reading on the toilet. i am an in and out man. run in, drop a deuce, flush, wash hands, run away before the smell melts your face off. there is a reason that people i am friends with have always referred to trips to the gas chamber as “fighting a brown demon” or a “holy war”. who ever comes out alive, is obviously in the...more
This is the third collection of Laurie Notaro books that I've read - I'm a fan. I like self-deprecating humor and confessions of adult stupidity. There's not nearly enough of that in everyday life. Like all collections of essays, there are some that are stronger than others but that's to be expected. This is not a book with an overarching theme or lesson learned. You will not be moved to the point of tears when Laurie learns something new about herself - you will just laugh out loud and annoy yo...more
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