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106th out of 1,915 books
—
3,775 voters
The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club: True Tales from a Magnificent and Clumsy Life
by
Laurie Notaro (Goodreads Author)
“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
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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 laugh with quick bursts of air. Then b...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 laugh with quick bursts of air. Then b...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!", with no...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 did have it'...more
It did have 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 about the ef...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 about the ef...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 first s...more
3 likes · like · see review
“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 misadventures of hersel...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 misadventures of hersel...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 idiosyncrasies of min...more
1 like · like · see review
I am as much of a fan of the humorous self-effacing essay as the next person. I enjoy Sarah Vowell, David Sedaris, and Sloane Crosley. But the main trick to that genre is that the stories have to be actually funny for it to work, otherwise it's just boring and/or you look like an asshole.
Laurie Notaro's essays are about being drunk and broke, and having low self esteem; almost none of them are funny. I say "almost" because I did laugh out loud all the way through "All Smuts and Perverts," which...more
Laurie Notaro's essays are about being drunk and broke, and having low self esteem; almost none of them are funny. I say "almost" because I did laugh out loud all the way through "All Smuts and Perverts," which...more
Though I read this book a while ago, I felt compelled to write a review - sort of like a public service to you, dear readers, to prevent you from wasting precious time and money on this crap. I HAD to give this book 1 star because Goodreads wouldn't let me give this book ZERO stars. I received it as a gift and read the reviews AFTER I attempted to read it. I feel so bad that my cousin spent good money on this. First of all, baring the fact that it is utterly boring, Ms. Notaro claims to be proud...more
I normally don't read nonfiction books, but after reading Apron Anxiety by Alyssa Shelasky (a food blogger) over the summer, I've been dying to pick up another nonfiction book with that same kind of fun, witty voice. I saw the cover of this one at the library and just new this was the perfect book to satisfy that need!
I have no idea who Laurie Notaro is, but her bio says that she's a columnist who has written quite a few books filled with her essays. This one was definitely an awesome place to s...more
I have no idea who Laurie Notaro is, but her bio says that she's a columnist who has written quite a few books filled with her essays. This one was definitely an awesome place to s...more
Sep 30, 2012
Nicole
added it
Many funny stories don't equal a particularly funny book.
This is a collection of newspaper columns that Laurie wrote as the humor columnist for Arizona Republic. Each 3-5 page story in itself was pretty entertaining in a whiskey tango kinda way - lots of chain smoking, excessive drinking, and lack of personal hygiene but with a humorous spin. However, the collection of all of the stories in one place, back-to-back, with not even a loose storyline to hold them together ended up being a redundant...more
This is a collection of newspaper columns that Laurie wrote as the humor columnist for Arizona Republic. Each 3-5 page story in itself was pretty entertaining in a whiskey tango kinda way - lots of chain smoking, excessive drinking, and lack of personal hygiene but with a humorous spin. However, the collection of all of the stories in one place, back-to-back, with not even a loose storyline to hold them together ended up being a redundant...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 stu...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 yelling at...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 yelling at...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
Jun 29, 2010
Ciara
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
autobio-memoir,
read-in-2010
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 a tight de...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.
Oct 15, 2008
Nicole
rated it
5 of 5 stars
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 little... in...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 little... in...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 just 'becaus...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 just 'becaus...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
Feb 06, 2012
Allison Levine
rated it
5 of 5 stars
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 will be a book I won...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 will be a book I won...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
A friend of mine gave this to me to read, and I brought it with me to my daughter's gymnastics class. I started it while in the waiting area with a room full of other parents and literally could not control myself. I burst out laughing multiple times (with tears) and had some explaining to do from the inquiring minds around me. Suffice it to say, I enjoyed the book! I have another friend who had to put the book down. To each her own! I couldn't necessarily relate to her personally (which some re...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 while drunk or sleeping with someone she doe...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 while drunk or sleeping with someone she doe...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 the reader.
* Literally Laughing Out Loud
** Why that might be is left as an exercise to the reader.
Apr 14, 2009
Claudia
rated it
3 of 5 stars
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 really enjoyed reading this. The issue I've had with a lot of "funny" autobiographical or first-person fiction written in the same style is that they are so superficial it's hard to go anywhere. Notaro's book is different. Yes, it does explore superficial topics, but along the way you learn so much more about her and why she is how she is that the antics get funnier. Over the course of the book she teaches you her slang and personal terminology for different situations. You gradually get in on...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 meets in the ladies' res...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 meets in the ladies' res...more
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“I want a man as nice as my retarded dog, but one that doesn't crap on the floor.”
—
36 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.”
—
22 people liked it
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