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We Thought You Would Be Prettier: True Tales of the Dorkiest Girl Alive
She thought she’d have more time. Laurie Notaro figured she had at least a few good years left. But no–it’s happened. She has officially lost her marbles. From the kid at the pet-food store checkout line whose coif is so bizarre it makes her seethe “I’m going to kick his hair’s ass!” to the hapless Sears customer-service rep on the receiving end of her Campaign of Terror, ...more
Paperback, 223 pages
Published
April 19th 2005
by Villard
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I thought it would be funnier...
I was so excited to read this one, which makes the disappointment that much worse. I actually paid (gasp!) retail for it.
Comedy is at its best when it's effortless, and the author here is clearly trying too hard. Every time I found myself on the verge of laughter, she would continue just a step too far.
And sorry, but I did not enjoy all of the hating on skinny girls. Especially when I can't find anything in my size because ...more
I was so excited to read this one, which makes the disappointment that much worse. I actually paid (gasp!) retail for it.
Comedy is at its best when it's effortless, and the author here is clearly trying too hard. Every time I found myself on the verge of laughter, she would continue just a step too far.
And sorry, but I did not enjoy all of the hating on skinny girls. Especially when I can't find anything in my size because ...more
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Non-Fiction, Short Stories. I wouldn't call Notaro the dorkiest girl alive, but she has her moments. These are just short little snapshots: the giant rat haunting her kitchen, a few minutes spent searching for her drunken husband in a mass of St. Patrick's Day partyers, her strange obsession with the guy who works at the pet food store. Notaro herself is sort of spastic -- aren't we all, even if it's just in the privacy of our own heads? -- but she's also more or less equally sarcastic and sympa...more
A self-proclaimed cranky lady, Notaro takes on Stupid Hair, book tours, and more in this collection of essays. I enjoyed many of her rants (who can't identify with those "idiot" moments, like leaving your wallet in a taxi or locking yourself outside?). But after 100 pages, I got tired. Very, very tired. While she has an acerbic wit she doesn't hesitate to turn on anyone (including herself), Notaro has no finesse. Everything is a baseball bat, even when a fly swatter would do. By the en...more
The most important thing I learned from this book was that when you order a book from the library it's important to remember the title of the book you requested. That way when they call and you go to pick up your book you won't be insulted when the librarian says to you.."we thought you would be prettier" he was afterall merely reading off the title of the book and not expressing his disappointment.
This was my favorite book of hers that I've read. Just funny stories written...more
This was my favorite book of hers that I've read. Just funny stories written...more
Barky
rated it
I enjoyed this collection of Laurie Notaro’s essays of insanity much more than the last one (The Idiot Girls’ Action-Adventure Club) There were things that just amused me to no end, and her particular brand of humor reminds me of friends. She definitely seems like someone I already know (or I ought to get to know). It starts off with tales from her book tour, where she manages to lose her wallet, cut up her tongue during a reading, and fart in the restroom where her one (and only) fan shows up...more
I thought the title of this book was highly inaccurate. To call herself 'Dorky' implies that the author is endearing in her own awkward way. I believe it should have been called "We Thought You Would Be Mildly Amusing: True Tales of the Most Irritating Female Archetype Alive." From the first page this book made me grit my teeth. Whether complaining about being a size 14 and fat (really?) or whining about how little room there is on an airplane (among numerous other comedy cliches), eve...more
Comdy about an every day woman and all her hang ups in her life . She make bad judgements sometimes but who doesn't . This book had me laughing out loud a great read.
As usual Laurie Notaro’s look at life is hilarious her books are just so much fun. The story of the flippy hair guy or otherwise known as the day you realize you are no longer cool and have your mother’s voice living in your head! I loved this chapter!!
There was some funny stories about her book tour where only one person showed up and what happened before she went up on stage (in the bathroom) or losing your wallet or locking yourself out are all something that would happen to me o...more
There was some funny stories about her book tour where only one person showed up and what happened before she went up on stage (in the bathroom) or losing your wallet or locking yourself out are all something that would happen to me o...more
george
rated it
Liked it and didn't like it. Some parts were quite funny and I found myself laughing at loud quite a few times near the beginning of the book. But then that ended and it lost something. The numerous pop culture references were amusing, but would have been much funnier if I had read them closer to the publication date. Which means the more time that goes by, the more the book loses a big part of it. There were definitely parts that I, or any woman, could relate to; but there's nothing really memo...more
This book is closer to a 2.5. Truthfully, the sense of humor in this book was a bit baffling at times. I question how being "dorky" equates to being crabby, and I found the book to be far more cynical at times than funny. There were a few stories that I quite enjoyed, such as the one being married to a "book man" and or the one about the giant rat, but overall I was expecting dorkiness, and I didn't really find it here. However, I still plan on reading more of Notaro's work a...more
Notaro lived and had a weekly column in the local paper here in Phoenix before moving up to writing books. Good for her, because her writing was often the best to be found in the newspaper, but her work was buried in supplement pages. She's very funny and often moves into the outlandish in her essays. In this book she recounts events that might have occurred on his first book tour across America, taking an art class that employed a past-prime nude model and the problems with living across the st...more
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It goes without saying that I love Laurie Notaro. She and I are kindred spirits who I'm sure would talk a mile a minute and try and outdo each other with ridiculous stories. We'd be in the Dork Olympics... who could "out dork" whom?
We Thought You'd Be Prettier: True Tales of the Dorkiest Girl Alive is another collection of short, humorous essays about days in the Life of the writer, Ms. Notoro. Whether she is impatiently waiting for slow people who seem to have no res...more
This book is an absolute scream. My roommates got so sick of me laughing out loud every time I was reading this that we just had to read it together. As a bunch of 20-somethings, we could totally relate to Notaro's stories and even told a few of our own. We all want to "grow-up" to be just like Laurie.
As a follow-up to her first book, Autobiography of a Fat Bride, this book stands alone and stands even funnier. From half-cocked adventures with her husband to a totally out-...more
As a follow-up to her first book, Autobiography of a Fat Bride, this book stands alone and stands even funnier. From half-cocked adventures with her husband to a totally out-...more
Ms. Notaro is fun to read because she is openly mean and selfish, traits within all of us no matter how we try to disguise them. Reading her book is like watching a car wreck; it isn't GOOD, but you think, "Thank goodness that isn't me!" That being said, I didn't find the book to be interesting or memorable. Sure, I can identify with fat ankles and calves, and having too many books in the house (we fight over my books and his stereo equipment), and even finding a mouse (although ours w...more
One of THE funniest books I have ever read. Laurie makes fun of herself at length in this "memoir" and describes what about 85% of us women endure as well. I found myself often nodding and agreeing with her... saying "that happened to me!" or "uh huh, I know exactly what you mean". Her short chapters get increasingly funny and leave you with tears in your eyes from laughing so hard.
If I want a light-hearted read I go for Laurie Notaro every time, (or...more
If I want a light-hearted read I go for Laurie Notaro every time, (or...more
Let me just say this: Notaro has nothing on Jen Lancaster. The book started out ok, with some semi-funny stories, but the disjointed way the chapters read ultimately made me lose interest. The tales started to sound WAY out in left field (as in "too unbelievable to even make me laugh") and some of them I couldn't even keep up with - someone would say something completely random and since I'm not the author, I had no idea what this person was talking about. I didn't even finish the tale...more
Laurie Notaro cracks me up. Seriously, the girl is just funny and is again in this collection. OK, some of her stories hit home with me better than others, but all are quality. I particularly enjoy her exploits with online medical sites and stories on her relationship with her family. She tends to not have an edit button between her thoughts and her mouth, which gets her into trouble and also makes for some interesting tales.
Susanna
added it
For an author that "may be the funniest writer in this solar system," I was completely disappointed. I found it mildly amusing at best. I really liked one essay; Several others became so tiresome I skipped them altogether. Odd name dropping in the form of insults, super over-exaggerations...maybe she tries too hard; maybe I'm just hard to please. I have her first book here, so I'll give her another chance.
I absolutely adored Laurie Notaro's first book, but this one was a little too mundane for me. I think my problem was that Idiot Girls' Action Adventure Club was about a 20 something with glimmers of maturing, while this book is an adult with glimmers of immaturity. I'm prefer to put myself in the former still and don't want to be reminded that it's time to grow up. Bring on the drinking stories!
I'm not generally a reader of the "modern sassy-girl telling various stories in an episodic format" genre. I bought this book about 4 years ago, and then lost it to the black hole that is my parents' storage when they moved while I was away at college.
I just found it and decided to restart it.
First of all, it seems a main problem with this genre seems to be how quickly the references and jokes become dated. That certainly is true with this book. There are sev...more
I just found it and decided to restart it.
First of all, it seems a main problem with this genre seems to be how quickly the references and jokes become dated. That certainly is true with this book. There are sev...more
God Bless Laurie Notaro. This book literally made me laugh until I cried (it didnt help that I was riding public transportation at the time). Notaro is my kind of girl, funny, brash, slightly bitter and direct. While I am not a huge fan of her novels, I could read her short stories over and over again. It's a book I pull off my shelf whenever I need a giggle.
I loved this book for the first half. I found it to be a funny, quick read, reminding me somewhat of the Bridget Jones books. While I wasn't a huge fan of Notaro's writing style, the stories were told in such a way that I could visualize everything that she said and get at least a chuckle.
But then the book took a more serious turn. When that happened, I found myself not wanting to sit and read a bunch at once. And some of the later stories, well, I just wasn't positive why they were ...more
But then the book took a more serious turn. When that happened, I found myself not wanting to sit and read a bunch at once. And some of the later stories, well, I just wasn't positive why they were ...more
There are 3 choices here... either this author is not funny, she had a tight deadline, or my life is WAY funnier than I thought! As others have said, her writing seemed very forced. Comedy is best when expressed in an effortless manner. I always try to push through frustrations with books, but could only reach ~page 120 in this one.
Went camping and found it in a washroom, Kind of ironic because it was a piece of crap. Can Laurie Notaro please say "i find myself way more amusing than anyone else does". I did suck it up until 27 pages remained and then decided i would rather stab myself in the eyes then finish what little was left! Whine, whine, whine!
really bad editing. you know when you are watching "american pie" and you're like they took it way too far, to the point of just being a dick and fart joke rather than something clever? that's kind of what this book can be compared to. only i don't think there were any dick and fart jokes, just overly neurotic behaviour.
The first of these I finished. I like that she lives in this area, and I enjoy that the style of this book is in chapters. Sometimes I get lost when there are individual chapters though and can't remember where I am or if I finished or what. But now I am done! yea! So mostly I am glad that I am done.
I hope I like this book as much as I like its cover.
Closer to a 2.5 - Well, I liked the cover better than the contents; however, this book was better than her other two that I read. Some of her essays were funny. Others were trying too hard to be funny. Then there were some which I couldn't understand why they were even in the book.
Closer to a 2.5 - Well, I liked the cover better than the contents; however, this book was better than her other two that I read. Some of her essays were funny. Others were trying too hard to be funny. Then there were some which I couldn't understand why they were even in the book.
3 1/2 stars. Very funny autobiographic stories of what the author calls "True Tales of the Dorkiest Girl Alive"--and she is. Some of her actions are so bizarre (if not pitiful), it sometimes makes one feel sad. Overall, though, it is just humorous. A short, quick read that puts one in a good mood.
This book was a bit of a disappointment after reading The Idiot Girls' Action Adventure Club. That book was so hilarious that I had high hopes that all of Notaro's books would be side-splitters. Well, maybe the success of Idiot Girls' gave her a feeling that she had to top it or something, because We Thought You Would Be Prettier seems forced. I can see her sitting for days at the computer trying to insert even more witty, sarcastic and snarky comments into her short stories. The effect is t...more
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