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The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club: True Tales from a Magnificent and Clumsy Life
“I’ve changed a bit since high school. Back then I said no to using and selling drugs. I washed on a normal basis and still had good credit.”
Introducing Laurie Notaro, the leader of the Idiot Girls’ Action-Adventure Club. Every day she fearlessly rises from bed to defeat the evil machinations of dolts, dimwits, and creepy boyfriends—and that’s before she even puts on a bra...more
Introducing Laurie Notaro, the leader of the Idiot Girls’ Action-Adventure Club. Every day she fearlessly rises from bed to defeat the evil machinations of dolts, dimwits, and creepy boyfriends—and that’s before she even puts on a bra...more
Paperback, 225 pages
Published
July 2nd 2002
by Villard
(first published January 1st 2002)
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Frigging hilarious.
I, in the five short years since initially discovering this gift to reading, have purchased no less than five copies of this book. Five, because every time I give it to a friend to read, it doesn't come back to me. It will be six shortly, when my mother fails to return the copy I gave her last week.
In fact, this book is so funny it caused me to disown her.
I gave her a copy to glance through, but she actually started to read, and began to la...more
I, in the five short years since initially discovering this gift to reading, have purchased no less than five copies of this book. Five, because every time I give it to a friend to read, it doesn't come back to me. It will be six shortly, when my mother fails to return the copy I gave her last week.
In fact, this book is so funny it caused me to disown her.
I gave her a copy to glance through, but she actually started to read, and began to la...more
Maybe I need to give this one a re-read, but I was pretty disappointed. It tried a little *too* hard for my taste...(take a look at the titles of all of her books--you'll see what I mean about trying too hard)...didn't ring quite true...too self-congratulatory without being truly funny or anything I could really relate to--which was sad, because with a title like *that*, I thought I'd struck gold. It just struck me as too over the top--very "look at how goofy and silly and clumsy I am!"...more
So, I don't know why, but I was underwhelmed. I guess it didn't really make me laugh as much as I'd hoped. I feel like Notaro is that absolutely hilarious friend in your life that you totally think should capture all of your group hijinks in a way only she can. You know the ones. Only your friends never do that, because as it turns out, you kind of had to be there. I felt like most of this stuff would be funny if you knew the people involved, or if you were drunk when it happened.
It ...more
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Laurie Notaro is one of those self printing success stories. After failing to find a publisher for a collection of her humor columns she turned to print on demand. The success of her book caught the eye Random House who offered her a two book deal. She now has seven books.
The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club is Laurie Notaro's first book with Random House. It contains a series of short stories from her life. They can be divided up for the most part into tales about drinking, tales ...more
The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club is Laurie Notaro's first book with Random House. It contains a series of short stories from her life. They can be divided up for the most part into tales about drinking, tales ...more
If this woman can write a book and get published...I can write a book and get published. There's something very awkward about reading a book about such a mess of a woman. The only interesting or funny story within this composition of short stories based on real life events is the one where she runs over her grandfather at 5mph while he jumps out of the car to grab day old bread out of the dumpster. I'm sure there are plenty of people who thought this was a very clever book. I stand by my fir...more
“I’ve changed a bit since high school. Back then I said no to using and selling drugs. I washed on a normal basis and still had good credit.”
Laurie Notaro offers a collection of the same humor she uses in her Phoenix newspaper column to describe life as it really is. From crashing high school reunions to describing the eight stages of drunk, from arriving at jury duty only to be mistaken for homeless to wearing ex-boyfriend un-washed boxers to the gym, Notaro recounts the misadven...more
Laurie Notaro offers a collection of the same humor she uses in her Phoenix newspaper column to describe life as it really is. From crashing high school reunions to describing the eight stages of drunk, from arriving at jury duty only to be mistaken for homeless to wearing ex-boyfriend un-washed boxers to the gym, Notaro recounts the misadven...more
I read this one because kristiinthedark made me. (Okay, she made me by saying, "Well, I liked it." But she said it in a very coercive way, trust me.) And I did like this better than the last two books I read by Notaro. This one was truly funny in places, and not nearly so cringe-inducing in the places where it wasn't funny, and if I didn't exactly love it, I'm still giving it four stars because a) hey, it was funny, what more can I want? and b) my problems with it were more idiosyncras...more
I can’t honestly remember how I found this book. But a few weeks ago I saw it sitting on the bookshelf that I devote to books I intend on reading. So, I picked it up and read a few pages and busted out laughing! I then proceeded to voraciously read this collection of essays by Laurie Notaro about her effed up life and what it means to be a member of the Idiot Girls’ Action-Adventure Club. Laurie Notaro is my new idol, actually idol is probably not the best word because she’s made some pretty...more
Laurie Notaro was billed to me as the new, female David Sedaris, or Augusten Burroughs (sp?) because of her autobiographical vignettes and smart wit. Some parts of this books (which I think was her first) made me laugh out loud, but lots of parts just made me cringe. I hope she has dealt with her drinking issues in ways besides just writing about them! Not necessary to read cover-to-cover, although some stories build on previous info.
This book was given to me by one of my son's friends. She figured I would enjoy it because the woman is close to my age and some of the things she talks about I would understand. I did enjoy the book. Yet I wasn't as bad as her with some of her behaviors.
Laurie is writing about her own personal experiences. Some are funny and some are just unbelievable. She talks about her drinking binges and her escapades that follow. The one time she gets pulled over because a woman is in her window ...more
Laurie is writing about her own personal experiences. Some are funny and some are just unbelievable. She talks about her drinking binges and her escapades that follow. The one time she gets pulled over because a woman is in her window ...more
I really wanted to like this book because the title has so much promise. But I had a hard time identifying with the author. She lives a self-proclaimed mess of a life, and doesn't seem to care since it enables her to poke fun at herself. This book would probably be very funny to someone more free-spirited than myself, but it left me quite appalled that I had bothered at all.
This book was disappointing for some reason, although it should have occurred to me that a book filled with essays about drunken escapades doesn't make for the best reading; one is advised, rather, to participate in drunken escapades of their own. Mostly I can't believe that this is a book. I mean, really? If I wrote stories about all the times I got drunk and dragged grocery carts up to rooftops and hurled them off, or got drunk and shot bottle rockets at crack dealers, or got drunk and peed my...more
i wish laurie notaro's books were funnier. this one elicited some chuckles from "the caramel apple incident" essay, but i had to slog through about one hundred pages of stories that are unfit to read while eating in order to get there. my other big complaint with all of notaro's books is that she over-reaches for the punchline or a conclusion to each tiny essay. i assume her books are collections of the weekly humor column she writes for her city newspaper, so they're being written on ...more
Loved it loved it loved it. This was one of the best short story books I have ever picked up. All of her works are equally as brilliant. I can't sing her praises enough. She will have you laughing out loud when you read through her stories. Because you too have gone through these things in your life.
Nicole
rated it
Recommends it for:
Females looking for a quick and funny read
Recommended to Nicole by:
My best friend Laura
Hilarious short stories!! Great for reading before bed so you can fall asleep with a smile on your face! This book is a collection of wacky, random and hillarious true stories experienced by the author. This book is a quick and light-hearted read that will crack you up!
I chose this book entirely based on the title. I figured it was another semi-sappy chick lit book with some injected humor and a happy ending. I had read Spooky Little Girl a few months back and enjoyed it enough to try something else from Laurie Notaro. I’m am so damn happy I did.
The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club is a HILARIOUS collection of short articles Notaro wrote for a weekly humor column. There were parts of this book that made me laugh so hard I shook, cried and peed a...more
The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club is a HILARIOUS collection of short articles Notaro wrote for a weekly humor column. There were parts of this book that made me laugh so hard I shook, cried and peed a...more
This book made me laugh so hard while I was reading it and having lunch at a local diner, I am SURE people thought I was crazy! I was trying so hard to stifle my laughter, but I think I just ended up looking as though I was having some sort of convulsions.
This is the kind of book you read and want to tell all of your friends about. It's the kind of book that, if your friends don't go out and buy it for themselves, you make SURE you give it to them for their birthday or Christmas or ju...more
This is the kind of book you read and want to tell all of your friends about. It's the kind of book that, if your friends don't go out and buy it for themselves, you make SURE you give it to them for their birthday or Christmas or ju...more
This book is incredibly, impossibly laugh-out-loud funny. Nearly every story had me looking at my husband and saying “you HAVE to hear this one!” Notaro takes things which nearly every woman deals with (even if you don’t smoke or drink excessively) and talks about them in a self-deprecating manner and leaves you nodding your head in agreement as tears stream down your face from the laughter. Her sarcasm is incredible and attains heights I could only dream of. Every aspect of her life provides so...more
Allison Levine
rated it
Recommends it for:
Anyone that likdes to laugh
Recommended to Allison by:
My best friend
What can I say about Laurie Notaro? Um she's effing awesome. This was the first book in the series that my best friend of double decades told me I HAD TO read. So I breezed through it in a day mostly on the toilet from peeing my pants.
The misadentures of Laurie and boyfriend now husband were epic hilarity. I love her writing style, I love her voice and I love her seemless humor it just rolls off her tongue like sugar.
Love the five books I've read from her I don't think there...more
The misadentures of Laurie and boyfriend now husband were epic hilarity. I love her writing style, I love her voice and I love her seemless humor it just rolls off her tongue like sugar.
Love the five books I've read from her I don't think there...more
I CAN see why Laurie Notaro is an admired serial newspaper columnist. Her wit is tailor made for quick, snappy visits into her own past Sex In The City-type lifestyle. (Thankfully, minus anything overly explicit in this one.) Each chapter reads as such: extended, random, personal articles. I, too, am quite well-versed (even fluent) in sarcasm, though I prefer mine sprinkled with a tad less angst. I believe Laurie uses this as a device to intrigue, but the humor feels forced at times. Frankly, th...more
This was one of the worst books I've ever read.
I'm not sure how this ended up in my TBR pile. I assume someone recommended it to me and I'm certainly hoping that whoever it is never brings it up because this book was truly awful.
It's touted as a novel but it's really basically a series of Ms. Notaro's really dull newspaper columns. Each story goes basically like this :
1 - Laurie gets drunk
2 - Laurie does something stupid like peeing her pants, driving wh...more
I'm not sure how this ended up in my TBR pile. I assume someone recommended it to me and I'm certainly hoping that whoever it is never brings it up because this book was truly awful.
It's touted as a novel but it's really basically a series of Ms. Notaro's really dull newspaper columns. Each story goes basically like this :
1 - Laurie gets drunk
2 - Laurie does something stupid like peeing her pants, driving wh...more
Erica has been reading all of Laurie Notaro's collections of humorous essays and cackling like a madwoman all the way through (LLOLing*, in fact) so I figured I should check one of them out. Notaro's first collection, The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club, was a fast read. Her misadventures while drinking and smoking far too much didn't resonate quite as much with me as with Erica** it was pretty funny.
* Literally Laughing Out Loud
** Why that might be is left as an exercise to...more
* Literally Laughing Out Loud
** Why that might be is left as an exercise to...more
Claudia
rated it
Recommends it for:
girls who need to laugh
Recommended to Claudia by:
Mary!
Shelves:
chick-lit
Laurie Notaro has put together a funny collection of what seems to be columns from her newspaper work. Some are laugh-out-loud (the candy apple incident, and Laurie explaining Monica Lewinsky's escapades to her grandmother!); some are mildly uncomfortable. Some I related to immediately (ashes of the old lady left in her house by an ex-boyfriend -- you'll have to ask me for specifics!); some I got tired of -- all the drinking stories. But she created some memorable characters, especially the litt...more
I remember a friend of mine mentioning this book on her blog and the title intrigued me to give it a try.
I can honestly say that I wasn't disappointed. Notaro's personal vignettes that she wrote for a newspaper in Arizona sparkled with humor, wit, and angst.
My favorite was probably the one that explored her inability to know what was wrong with her car, despite her friend Kate's good-faith effort to teach her. I also appreciated her description of various characters one ...more
I can honestly say that I wasn't disappointed. Notaro's personal vignettes that she wrote for a newspaper in Arizona sparkled with humor, wit, and angst.
My favorite was probably the one that explored her inability to know what was wrong with her car, despite her friend Kate's good-faith effort to teach her. I also appreciated her description of various characters one ...more
Ms. Notaro is a columnist in Phoenix, AZ, writing about life from her skewed point of view. This is a humor book, on the line of something by Dave Barry, though involving a lot more bad dates, concern about bad hair, getting stood up and mother nagging. I believe my favorite column is when Ms. Notaro goes to work in an actual office, at a sit down job, and realizes how much she and her jelly bean pooping moose don't fit into the regular scene, though her complaints about her beautiful, blond,...more
The mere title of this book put me in an uproar—Notaro is an absolute hoot! It’s a collection of biographical essays, stories about funny episodes of her life. Unlike other girls, who fit into society, she doesn’t really care about her appearances, embarrasses her family on occasion, gets fired from several jobs, is dumped by her fair share of boyfriends—in essence, this might be Notaro’s attempt to humor others, but it is also a way to make fun of herself—something we all need to do a little bi...more
Callie
rated it
Recommends it for:
fans of Beth Lisick
Recommended to Callie by:
I was drawn to the cover
More like 4 1/2 stars.
This was a laugh out loud quick read that after the last snoozer I crawled through, I heartily ate up in just a couple hours. A collection of humourous personal experiences written when Laurie Notarao was 29 (my age!), I could relate on way too many levels I would rather not care to discuss.
My 2 favorites:
This is a Public Service Announcement- Public bathroom etiquette summarized better than I could have ever said it myself!
Nothing...more
This was a laugh out loud quick read that after the last snoozer I crawled through, I heartily ate up in just a couple hours. A collection of humourous personal experiences written when Laurie Notarao was 29 (my age!), I could relate on way too many levels I would rather not care to discuss.
My 2 favorites:
This is a Public Service Announcement- Public bathroom etiquette summarized better than I could have ever said it myself!
Nothing...more
This is a must read for any woman that isn't super model skinny, that may drink to much, smoke to many cigs. and has a sense of humor. I laughed so hard at a few of the stories that I was crying and my husband was telling me to stop because he was trying to read too. I had to stop reading in mid story just because I knew I wasn't going to get through it without starting a fight. Plus my dogs thought I was hurt or something and had descended on me from every part of the house. I finally finished ...more
This book had me laughing so hard, I actually woke up my roommate thinking I was sobbing! The author does a great job of telling a hysterical story about life on the edge of counter-culture- joking about the substance-abuse problems of close friends, hiding cigarettes from the trainers at the gym and loser pot-head ex-boyfriends. She also has a way of making real-life situations (getting a flat tire on the highway, stretching out too-tight jeans) seem humorous. While it may not be for everyone...more
This woman deserves a medal for this book. There were moemnts on the subway that I was trying to surpress my laughter, snorting, crying, while still trying to breathe that everyone in the train car was watching me like i'm having an epilieptic fit. It was worth every embarrasing thing they must have been thinking about me, to have read this book. While the chapters in the middle were much funnier than the ones at the end- I still didn't feel like the book went out with a whimper. Worth every ...more
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“I want a man as nice as my retarded dog, but one that doesn't crap on the floor.”
—
22 people liked it
“Goddamnit I've never been the "pretty friend..." She's the one who wears the perfect eyeliner, it never gathers like a crowd in her tear ducts to create a grapefruit-size ebony eye booger. The one who can wear a bodysuit, sit down in it, and not have rolls of fat cascading over her belt. The one who can eat a sandwich or hamburger and not wind up with lipstick on the bun or on her chin. The one who can actually eat in front of other people and not have food, like coleslaw, hanging from her lip or shooting out of her mouth, landing on the plates of other diners. She never spits when she talks. She sleeps with her mouth shut and never drools. She doesn't pick at her face. And she never, ever has to take a shit.”
—
15 people liked it
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