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A Field Guide to Awkward Silences
Washington Post columnist Alexandra Petri turns her satirical eye on her own life in this hilarious new memoir...
Most twentysomethings spend a lot of time avoiding awkwardness.
Not Alexandra Petri.
Afraid of rejection? Alexandra Petri has auditioned for America’s Next Top Model. Afraid of looking like an idiot? Alexandra Petri lost Jeopardy! by answering “Who is that dude?” on national TV. Afraid of bad jokes? Alexandra Petri won an international pun championship.
Petri has been a debutante, reenacted the Civil War, and fended off suitors at a Star Wars convention while wearing a Jabba the Hutt suit. One time, she let some cult members she met on the street baptize her, just to be polite. She’s a connoisseur of the kind of awkwardness that most people spend whole lifetimes trying to avoid. If John Hodgman and Amy Sedaris had a baby…they would never let Petri babysit it.
But Petri is here to tell you: Everything you fear is not so bad. Trust her. She’s tried it. And in the course of her misadventures, she’s learned that there are worse things out there than awkwardness—and that interesting things start to happen when you stop caring what people think.
Most twentysomethings spend a lot of time avoiding awkwardness.
Not Alexandra Petri.
Afraid of rejection? Alexandra Petri has auditioned for America’s Next Top Model. Afraid of looking like an idiot? Alexandra Petri lost Jeopardy! by answering “Who is that dude?” on national TV. Afraid of bad jokes? Alexandra Petri won an international pun championship.
Petri has been a debutante, reenacted the Civil War, and fended off suitors at a Star Wars convention while wearing a Jabba the Hutt suit. One time, she let some cult members she met on the street baptize her, just to be polite. She’s a connoisseur of the kind of awkwardness that most people spend whole lifetimes trying to avoid. If John Hodgman and Amy Sedaris had a baby…they would never let Petri babysit it.
But Petri is here to tell you: Everything you fear is not so bad. Trust her. She’s tried it. And in the course of her misadventures, she’s learned that there are worse things out there than awkwardness—and that interesting things start to happen when you stop caring what people think.
309 pages, Hardcover
First published June 2, 2015
135 people are currently reading
4392 people want to read
About the author
Alexandra Petri
8 books413 followersMy new book is AP's US HISTORY: Important American Documents (I Made Up) and it comes out April 11, just in time for someone to make a horrible mistake in studying for the AP exam! This is my best wild spin on the book of documents -- sermons, poems, Federalist Papers -- that you were handed in high school and asked to write essays about, and I hope that it will make you laugh and be unable to see the Cross Of Gold speech the same way. If you like Raymond Chandler, spiders, the Muppets, horrifying 1950s gelatin dishes, or wonder what Little Women would have been like if the March sisters were 60 feet tall, this is the book for you!
I also wrote NOTHING IS WRONG AND HERE IS WHY, A FIELD GUIDE TO AWKWARD SILENCES, an issue of She-Hulk (Annual #1) and some other things! I write plays regularly, and am very slowly working on a new one.
I live in DC, without a cat, which surprises me too!
I also wrote NOTHING IS WRONG AND HERE IS WHY, A FIELD GUIDE TO AWKWARD SILENCES, an issue of She-Hulk (Annual #1) and some other things! I write plays regularly, and am very slowly working on a new one.
I live in DC, without a cat, which surprises me too!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 272 reviews
January 5, 2017
Okay so let's get this straight right up top: Alexandra Petri is funny AF. I discovered her during the halcyon days of the presidential debates (remember when all this was merely some CATASTROPHIC JOKE that would never actually come true????), doing these recaps which were just bonkersly hilarious. Here, please read them! First debate, second debate, third debate. She's also done funny riffs on Steve Bannon ("a dead lizard wrapped in a Confederate flag" lolol), Pizzagate, and Tr*mp's cabinet casting call, PLUS this uproariously fantastic essay called "Every state flag is wrong, and here is why" (protip: for once please read the comments). So, you see what I mean? She is SO GOOD.
But this book, an overly long collection of personalish, memoirish essays, is, unfortunately, not that good.
Look, some of them are good. Like the one about how she was obsessed with Robert E. Lee as a tween, or her treatise on competitive punning, or her saga of speed-dating at a Star Wars convention, or her weird and fun illumination of growing up a senator's daughter. But there is also sooooo much filler. And humor is really hard to sustain over the long haul; the jokes become more and more predictable and boring with constant near-repetition. So many of the essays have basically the same pattern, or are bloated with unnecessary asides, or meander and meander or just fall apart, or have these tacked-on endings or trumped-up beginnings that seem like an attempt to broaden the scope or add a meaning or moral but really just feel -- well, tacked on or trumped up.
Ugh, I hate writing negative reviews. I am such a fan of hers, and I intend to keep reading her column, and I'd love for her to sell lots of books so that she makes money and has more time to hone her craft and land bigger platforms from which to broadcast it.
So idfk, maybe here is my advice: Buy this book and put it in the bathroom or your beach bag and read the essays one at a time, spaced out and interspersed with lots of other stuff, and when you come to one that seems really bad, just skip it. Or else don't look back at the time she stretched a whole essay out of hearing a bell ring at David's Bridal, and instead march forward with her into the future, this terrifying future hurtling toward us all, one in which we will need the fuck out of sharp political satire to prop us up in our dark dark moments.
But this book, an overly long collection of personalish, memoirish essays, is, unfortunately, not that good.
Look, some of them are good. Like the one about how she was obsessed with Robert E. Lee as a tween, or her treatise on competitive punning, or her saga of speed-dating at a Star Wars convention, or her weird and fun illumination of growing up a senator's daughter. But there is also sooooo much filler. And humor is really hard to sustain over the long haul; the jokes become more and more predictable and boring with constant near-repetition. So many of the essays have basically the same pattern, or are bloated with unnecessary asides, or meander and meander or just fall apart, or have these tacked-on endings or trumped-up beginnings that seem like an attempt to broaden the scope or add a meaning or moral but really just feel -- well, tacked on or trumped up.
Ugh, I hate writing negative reviews. I am such a fan of hers, and I intend to keep reading her column, and I'd love for her to sell lots of books so that she makes money and has more time to hone her craft and land bigger platforms from which to broadcast it.
So idfk, maybe here is my advice: Buy this book and put it in the bathroom or your beach bag and read the essays one at a time, spaced out and interspersed with lots of other stuff, and when you come to one that seems really bad, just skip it. Or else don't look back at the time she stretched a whole essay out of hearing a bell ring at David's Bridal, and instead march forward with her into the future, this terrifying future hurtling toward us all, one in which we will need the fuck out of sharp political satire to prop us up in our dark dark moments.
May 6, 2017
When I wonder if I've become too cynical, if I'll never get as "into" a book as I remember I was as a kid, I'm always relieved to find a book that can make me laugh. It's very rare that a book makes me cry. It's almost as rare to find one that makes me snort, giggle, or chuckle out loud. Let alone more than once.
This one did.
Petri has a great balance in her essays between hilarious absurdity and insights that range from deep to soothing. She digs at my (our) generation in ways that I think I would have self-consciously resented as a teen, but in my old age I appreciate it now. Like our need to announce our every thought to the internet:
"Like anyone growing up after 1980, I always had the dim, nagging sense that I was supposed to be famous for something. ... Food, shelter, WiFi, and the sense that someone's watching; these are modern requirements for survival. The only thing more terrifying than the feeling that you're being watched is the feeling that you're not. Privacy is just an uncomfortable reminder that you're not a celebrity."
She talks about her time on Jeopardy and how she got there, about her friendship with an elderly man, her first crush (on a Civil War general), and her sibling rivalry with her parents' dog.
In one of the more somber passages, Petri talks about what it's like to have Rush Limbaugh call you a "B-I-ITCHY" person and what it's like to have his fans attack you and strangers defend you, none of them having any idea who you are. She talks about the power of words and what it might be like when the word "slut" carries the same weight as "zounds".
"Of course bitch is fine on television. Shit's a no-go, but bitch? Who's that going to bother? Not even dogs. Just, you know, ladies."
Like just about every other woman on earth, I've been called a bitch (among many other things). Personally I enjoy being called that, because it has always, always come at me when I was standing up for myself. To me, being called 'bitch' was the same as if the man had said, "You won't let me manipulate you and now my brain has frozen in impotent fury!"
But reading Petri's essay gave me a new perspective on it. I still have my opinion, of course, but I would recommend you pick up this book for Internet Bitch, if for no other reason.
But if you do buy this book for her thoughts on the need for feminism and how language affects us, you'll definitely want to stay for her story about wearing the Jabba the Hutt costume to a convention that featured speed dating.
This one did.
Petri has a great balance in her essays between hilarious absurdity and insights that range from deep to soothing. She digs at my (our) generation in ways that I think I would have self-consciously resented as a teen, but in my old age I appreciate it now. Like our need to announce our every thought to the internet:
"Like anyone growing up after 1980, I always had the dim, nagging sense that I was supposed to be famous for something. ... Food, shelter, WiFi, and the sense that someone's watching; these are modern requirements for survival. The only thing more terrifying than the feeling that you're being watched is the feeling that you're not. Privacy is just an uncomfortable reminder that you're not a celebrity."
She talks about her time on Jeopardy and how she got there, about her friendship with an elderly man, her first crush (on a Civil War general), and her sibling rivalry with her parents' dog.
In one of the more somber passages, Petri talks about what it's like to have Rush Limbaugh call you a "B-I-ITCHY" person and what it's like to have his fans attack you and strangers defend you, none of them having any idea who you are. She talks about the power of words and what it might be like when the word "slut" carries the same weight as "zounds".
"Of course bitch is fine on television. Shit's a no-go, but bitch? Who's that going to bother? Not even dogs. Just, you know, ladies."
Like just about every other woman on earth, I've been called a bitch (among many other things). Personally I enjoy being called that, because it has always, always come at me when I was standing up for myself. To me, being called 'bitch' was the same as if the man had said, "You won't let me manipulate you and now my brain has frozen in impotent fury!"
But reading Petri's essay gave me a new perspective on it. I still have my opinion, of course, but I would recommend you pick up this book for Internet Bitch, if for no other reason.
But if you do buy this book for her thoughts on the need for feminism and how language affects us, you'll definitely want to stay for her story about wearing the Jabba the Hutt costume to a convention that featured speed dating.
May 3, 2015
I frequently describe myself as an awkward turtle. It's a great way to convey my general uncomfortableness with social interactions while hopefully making people laugh, and thus make them like me despite my awkwardness. I've found it usually works in dispelling tension, making people snicker a little, and spurs people to offer me the reassurance that I'm not really that awkward.
Alexandra Petri gets me, I think. This book made me laugh like a maniac on public transportation. It's one of the funniest things I've read since I discovered David Sedaris in college. What a great palate cleanser after a string of dark, dark books.
Alexandra Petri gets me, I think. This book made me laugh like a maniac on public transportation. It's one of the funniest things I've read since I discovered David Sedaris in college. What a great palate cleanser after a string of dark, dark books.
July 31, 2015
This book is wonderful. I laughed (OUT LOUD) so many times I lost count. Each new chapter is more fun than the last, although the one about her misguided childhood obsession with Robert E. Lee and going into AOL chatrooms in character (”RELee”) was particularly delightful. (As a young middle schooler, I, too, had a misguided Civil War obsession and attended reenactments with friends. As I read that chapter, I thought, “Oh! I’ve found my people. At long last.”) Anyway, if you’re feeling a little drained and need to relax this weekend, give this book a try. I guarantee you’ll smile. (And maybe even laugh out loud.)
May 28, 2017
I really enjoy her columns in the Washington Post, so I thought this would be a fun read. It was... fine. I feel like I need to stop rewarding funny white women who write these slapdash books of autobiographical essays that I buy just because I like them as people. There were some nice and insightful and moving parts of it, but it was mostly only okay. Too bad! I mean, it wasn't awful, but I wouldn't particularly recommend it. Hold out for Mallory Ortberg!
skimmed
October 26, 2016Petri wrote something smart-funny lately that I read in one of any number of news outlets (maybe it was the Washington Post), so I decided to look at this book. Awkward about describes it. Sort of teeny-boppery foolishness. Wasn't impressed, except for the amount of time she must have spent on it. Anyway, she is funnier now, I'm happy to report, and has a column in the WP.
April 23, 2015
Disclaimer: I was provided with an Advance Reader Copy of this book for free from the Penguin First to Read program. All opinions expressed in the following review are my own and have not been influenced by Penguin.
Lately, the book market has been saturated by fun, humorous, and self-deprecating memoirs written by young women. Compared to all the similar memoirs I've read, Alexandra Petri manages to write her version in a more entertaining and unique way.
The main reason that Petri's book stands out also makes parts of her book inaccessible: she dives deep. Petri was the nerdy child that a lot of bookworms tend to be and identify with, but the beauty of nerdiness is that you dive so deep into your particular subject that sometimes the only people who can talk to you (read: stomach you) are your fellow specific nerds. This means that when Petri spends an entire essay detailing one sect of her nerdiness, you can feel left out if you're not familiar with the topic being discussed. However, when Petri discusses a nerdiness you experienced, reading the essay feels like curling up with a cozy blanket and chatting with your best friend on the couch for hours.
Overall A Field Guide to Awkward Silences is a pretty enjoyable read as long as you skip the essays that you feel don't jive with your own particular brand of nerdiness or humor. Unfortunately, I'm one of those annoying people who feel like they need to read every chapter, even within a set of unrelated essays, and force myself to slog through things that don't really interest me. If I hadn't done this, I probably would have enjoyed Petri's memoir more than I ultimately did. The essays I enjoyed the most were "Ten General Rules", "How to Join a Cult, by Mistake, on a Tuesday in Fifty-Seven Easy Steps", "Trivial Pursuit", "We Are Not a Muse", "The Dog in the Manger", and "So Far, So Good."
For more book reviews, visit https://girlwithabookblog.wordpress.com/
Lately, the book market has been saturated by fun, humorous, and self-deprecating memoirs written by young women. Compared to all the similar memoirs I've read, Alexandra Petri manages to write her version in a more entertaining and unique way.
The main reason that Petri's book stands out also makes parts of her book inaccessible: she dives deep. Petri was the nerdy child that a lot of bookworms tend to be and identify with, but the beauty of nerdiness is that you dive so deep into your particular subject that sometimes the only people who can talk to you (read: stomach you) are your fellow specific nerds. This means that when Petri spends an entire essay detailing one sect of her nerdiness, you can feel left out if you're not familiar with the topic being discussed. However, when Petri discusses a nerdiness you experienced, reading the essay feels like curling up with a cozy blanket and chatting with your best friend on the couch for hours.
Overall A Field Guide to Awkward Silences is a pretty enjoyable read as long as you skip the essays that you feel don't jive with your own particular brand of nerdiness or humor. Unfortunately, I'm one of those annoying people who feel like they need to read every chapter, even within a set of unrelated essays, and force myself to slog through things that don't really interest me. If I hadn't done this, I probably would have enjoyed Petri's memoir more than I ultimately did. The essays I enjoyed the most were "Ten General Rules", "How to Join a Cult, by Mistake, on a Tuesday in Fifty-Seven Easy Steps", "Trivial Pursuit", "We Are Not a Muse", "The Dog in the Manger", and "So Far, So Good."
For more book reviews, visit https://girlwithabookblog.wordpress.com/
July 9, 2015
Witty, intelligent, original and EXHAUSTING. I can't imagine there would ever be an awkward silence in her presence. Ever.
May 28, 2015
3.5 Stars
Every once in awhile we need something fun, quirky, and just out there. Something to have a good time. Something original, carefree, and will leave us laughing because it truly is ridiculous in all the best ways.
A Field Guide to Awkward Silences is one such read.
Entertaining, sometimes bizarre, always fun, relatable, (because come on, how many of us have never been in an awkward situation?), and a laugh in every chapter, it is a book that is hard not to like, nod your head in agreement in many situations, and roll your eyes in so many because really, is this person for real?
Well written and a great escape read to try in a lazy afternoon, to cleanse the palate and just have a fun time, A Field Guide to Awkward Silences will be that escape, the hilarious laugh out loud story that will keep you on your toes and keep a smile on your face.
Every once in awhile we need something fun, quirky, and just out there. Something to have a good time. Something original, carefree, and will leave us laughing because it truly is ridiculous in all the best ways.
A Field Guide to Awkward Silences is one such read.
Entertaining, sometimes bizarre, always fun, relatable, (because come on, how many of us have never been in an awkward situation?), and a laugh in every chapter, it is a book that is hard not to like, nod your head in agreement in many situations, and roll your eyes in so many because really, is this person for real?
Well written and a great escape read to try in a lazy afternoon, to cleanse the palate and just have a fun time, A Field Guide to Awkward Silences will be that escape, the hilarious laugh out loud story that will keep you on your toes and keep a smile on your face.
postponed
May 3, 2016I saw her blog entry about a change to the AP Stylebook.
Last week, the AP Stylebook surrendered a few more inches of ground. “Over” is now a more than acceptable alternative to “more than,” when it comes to describing relative amounts. Over already gets used more than more than. I don’t know how to protest this, other than reversing the replacement. I am not more than this. I will never get more than this. Over a few people were saying it this way anyway, but that doesn’t make it right. If all your friends ran more than the edge of a cliff, would you join them? No!
Last week, the AP Stylebook surrendered a few more inches of ground. “Over” is now a more than acceptable alternative to “more than,” when it comes to describing relative amounts. Over already gets used more than more than. I don’t know how to protest this, other than reversing the replacement. I am not more than this. I will never get more than this. Over a few people were saying it this way anyway, but that doesn’t make it right. If all your friends ran more than the edge of a cliff, would you join them? No!
August 1, 2015
Gripped my attention from the start but lost me when I halfway into the book. I understand that its a biography but I didn't feel connected to the author all the way to the end. Overall was an okay read. Had some pretty witty and funny parts but that's it.
December 26, 2019
I primarily know Alexandra Petri through her twitter account and picked this up as a fun, light read. Many pieces are laugh out loud funny, some could have used a good editor. And I’ve decided I don’t have to pretend to care about Star Wars so just skipped that essay completely. I read the book straight through in a few days and I suspect that the book is even more enjoyable if you dip in for an essay or two at a time.
That said, Petri is an incredibly promising humorist and look forward to seeing what else she publishes in the future.
That said, Petri is an incredibly promising humorist and look forward to seeing what else she publishes in the future.
June 8, 2021
A brilliant dive into the exceedingly awkward life and times of Alexandra Petri. She'll find the weird angle to every interaction, which warms my heart and makes me love her writing, as well as spit out whatever I'm drinking when my eyes gaze over one of her hilariously phrased witticisms.
November 18, 2017
It pains me to give this 2 stars because I think Alexandra Petri is brilliant and hilarious, and I love her column in the Washington Post, but this book is not great. The stories make her seem very young, one is about how she is not a good driver, another is about the fact that her friend group has started getting married. Her articles in the Washington Post bring humor to the absurdities of current political news, but the stories in the book feel neither topical, nor all that funny. This was disappointing because I really love her other work, which is way I picked up this book in the first place.
Read these instead:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...
"Hillary Clinton graduates from Wellesley, although first she gets in touch with Alinsky and his mentor, Satan. She fails to mention at the first meeting that she, too, is Satan, and then once they know each other it seems too awkward to bring it up. As a consequence, the Devil mentors Herself for many decades, wasting everyone’s time and effort."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...
"We are withdrawing from the Paris Accords.
But also, it is apparently summer. Hundreds of years have shriveled up and crumpled into dust and blown away on the wind since January, but it is apparently summer now, and you must prepare.
It is necessary that you obtain a Beach Body.
The Beaches are coming inland, and your body must be ready when they come for you."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...
Read these instead:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...
"Hillary Clinton graduates from Wellesley, although first she gets in touch with Alinsky and his mentor, Satan. She fails to mention at the first meeting that she, too, is Satan, and then once they know each other it seems too awkward to bring it up. As a consequence, the Devil mentors Herself for many decades, wasting everyone’s time and effort."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...
"We are withdrawing from the Paris Accords.
But also, it is apparently summer. Hundreds of years have shriveled up and crumpled into dust and blown away on the wind since January, but it is apparently summer now, and you must prepare.
It is necessary that you obtain a Beach Body.
The Beaches are coming inland, and your body must be ready when they come for you."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...
August 22, 2015
The dazzle of the creative spirit is celebrated in this fun debut read: "Field Guide to Awkward Silences". Alexandra Petri recalls her undercover participation in a TV talent show, a "punster" in the Pun-Off competition, being the muse of an un-famous author, her Civil War re-enactment, her great love for all things Star Wars, and one of her final acts: crashing the "Textbook on Geriatric Care" dinner seminar with a convincing Russian accent!
It is easy to appreciate Petri's quirky zany style and sense of humor, as she recalls her behind the scene experiences in all her unusual situations, and being "deeply weird" about Star Wars watching the entire trilogy (also memorizing the dialog) over 200 times. Darth Vader appealed to her- tall, dark and breathing, she attended her first Star Wars convention while she was in college, participating in full Jabba the Hutt costume, she also had fun speed dating with other characters.
Although other teen girls had infatuations and crushes on the popular Back Street Boys, NSYNC, Leonardo DiCaprio and Justin Timberlake, Petri's first serious infatuation was with Robert E. Lee, it didn't matter in the slightest he had already been dead over 130 years.
Another inspiration for Petri was a good friend of her Republican father-- Bertram, an quiet older gentleman she gave her undergraduate thesis too for review:
"He knew the best way of being yourself. You could be as odd as you liked, as long as you had something to offer-- in his case a whole arsenal of stories, odds and ends of fact. Awkward? Awkward wasn't in his vocabulary, Sthenolagna was. He just was. And maybe, someday, if I learned enough stories, I could make my way up there too."
This was really a fun enjoyable read, though lately the literary market seems flooded with author advice on how to inspire creativity. Petri seemingly attempted to stand out in her book and certainly succeeded in doing so! An added blend or mix of serious storyline would have made this book seem more grounded, at times the subject matter seemed so abstract and far out, the book needed to be read at a slower pace. Many thanks to the Seattle Public Library.
It is easy to appreciate Petri's quirky zany style and sense of humor, as she recalls her behind the scene experiences in all her unusual situations, and being "deeply weird" about Star Wars watching the entire trilogy (also memorizing the dialog) over 200 times. Darth Vader appealed to her- tall, dark and breathing, she attended her first Star Wars convention while she was in college, participating in full Jabba the Hutt costume, she also had fun speed dating with other characters.
Although other teen girls had infatuations and crushes on the popular Back Street Boys, NSYNC, Leonardo DiCaprio and Justin Timberlake, Petri's first serious infatuation was with Robert E. Lee, it didn't matter in the slightest he had already been dead over 130 years.
Another inspiration for Petri was a good friend of her Republican father-- Bertram, an quiet older gentleman she gave her undergraduate thesis too for review:
"He knew the best way of being yourself. You could be as odd as you liked, as long as you had something to offer-- in his case a whole arsenal of stories, odds and ends of fact. Awkward? Awkward wasn't in his vocabulary, Sthenolagna was. He just was. And maybe, someday, if I learned enough stories, I could make my way up there too."
This was really a fun enjoyable read, though lately the literary market seems flooded with author advice on how to inspire creativity. Petri seemingly attempted to stand out in her book and certainly succeeded in doing so! An added blend or mix of serious storyline would have made this book seem more grounded, at times the subject matter seemed so abstract and far out, the book needed to be read at a slower pace. Many thanks to the Seattle Public Library.
April 19, 2015
I won a free copy of this book through Penguin's First to Read, in exchange for an honest review.
Everyone who tends towards awkward has their own way of dealing with those moments when you've said or done something wrong. Alexandra Petri embraces the strange. To be fair, she's usually trying to make things better, but instead usually makes things hilariously worse.
She even seeks out chances to embarrass herself, auditioning for America's Next Top Model, and Jeopardy!, and entering national pun competitions and speed dating at a Star Wars convention.
The important lesson she has to offer is one we already know--awkwardness is not so bad. Embarrassment will not kill you. And sometimes caring less about what people might think allows wonderful things to happen.
Divided into little event-chapters, this book is an easy, light read. Some of the episodes were more awkward than funny, but her tone is humorous throughout, without going overboard. Anyone who has had one of those moments of regret can relate to the feelings behind the stories, even if they personally haven't experienced them to quite the degree happening in the book.
Overall, a good read for someone looking for a laugh, or the understanding that a few mistakes don't matter too much in the end.
Everyone who tends towards awkward has their own way of dealing with those moments when you've said or done something wrong. Alexandra Petri embraces the strange. To be fair, she's usually trying to make things better, but instead usually makes things hilariously worse.
She even seeks out chances to embarrass herself, auditioning for America's Next Top Model, and Jeopardy!, and entering national pun competitions and speed dating at a Star Wars convention.
The important lesson she has to offer is one we already know--awkwardness is not so bad. Embarrassment will not kill you. And sometimes caring less about what people might think allows wonderful things to happen.
Divided into little event-chapters, this book is an easy, light read. Some of the episodes were more awkward than funny, but her tone is humorous throughout, without going overboard. Anyone who has had one of those moments of regret can relate to the feelings behind the stories, even if they personally haven't experienced them to quite the degree happening in the book.
Overall, a good read for someone looking for a laugh, or the understanding that a few mistakes don't matter too much in the end.
April 1, 2015
Penguin gave me an advance copy of this for review.
This was a fun read most of the time. I think this would make a great beach book or as something to read between books. I generally like this type of non-fiction if I'm going to read non-fiction. There were a few moments where I though Petri's writing was both over and underwhelming. What I mean by that is there were times when I'd be enjoying a chapter and suddenly I'd be Googling a word. Now I have an adequate vocabulary, but this was a little ridiculous. I ended up skimming over some parts. There were also parts where it felt like she was trying too hard to be funny. Like when she was talking about trying to be a failure, well she failed this time...at least for me.
If you're interested in this book I'll say this...This was a good book overall, but I found myself reading a chapter or two when I was between books. I think I would have actually enjoyed the audio book, but even then I'm not sure.
This was a fun read most of the time. I think this would make a great beach book or as something to read between books. I generally like this type of non-fiction if I'm going to read non-fiction. There were a few moments where I though Petri's writing was both over and underwhelming. What I mean by that is there were times when I'd be enjoying a chapter and suddenly I'd be Googling a word. Now I have an adequate vocabulary, but this was a little ridiculous. I ended up skimming over some parts. There were also parts where it felt like she was trying too hard to be funny. Like when she was talking about trying to be a failure, well she failed this time...at least for me.
If you're interested in this book I'll say this...This was a good book overall, but I found myself reading a chapter or two when I was between books. I think I would have actually enjoyed the audio book, but even then I'm not sure.
April 16, 2015
Being a native of Wisconsin, there were parts of this book that made me think, "I know exactly what she's talking about!" The Kohler museum, for example? A sight to behold! Wisconsin fairs? You haven't lived until you've tried a cream puff! I also caught myself thinking, "I hope my family never slighted her father...or his Packer schedules!"
First of all, writing this book took some guts! Petri knows how to take her personal experiences and make them into life lessons; lessons worth laughing at (sometimes). This memoir is written in short story format, which is great in parts and not so easy to follow in others. Parts of this book had me laughing; parts had me cringing, and parts had me scratching my head.
I did come to a few conclusions at the end of this book:
- I want a reading list from Alexandra Petri.
- I cannot wait to read more of whatever she writes.
Over all, this memoir is a hilarious read that I would recommend to someone who needs a good laugh.
First of all, writing this book took some guts! Petri knows how to take her personal experiences and make them into life lessons; lessons worth laughing at (sometimes). This memoir is written in short story format, which is great in parts and not so easy to follow in others. Parts of this book had me laughing; parts had me cringing, and parts had me scratching my head.
I did come to a few conclusions at the end of this book:
- I want a reading list from Alexandra Petri.
- I cannot wait to read more of whatever she writes.
Over all, this memoir is a hilarious read that I would recommend to someone who needs a good laugh.
July 2, 2017
Alexandra Petri is a columnist for my hometown newspaper, and I adore her writing. (And I can't wait for the day she can replace the newspaper's long-time humor columnist who I don't find funny at all). I waited a long time for this book on hold, and so had built up a ton of anticipation to read it. But unfortunately, I didn't care for it that much.
I guess the theme of the book is about her propensity to try way too hard, and it was carried out by her trying way too hard to make some of these very ordinary life experiences more funny than they were. Or maybe she's much better at focusing her humor on politics than she is on her own life. Anyway, I'll keep reading her in the paper and hope her next book is better.
I guess the theme of the book is about her propensity to try way too hard, and it was carried out by her trying way too hard to make some of these very ordinary life experiences more funny than they were. Or maybe she's much better at focusing her humor on politics than she is on her own life. Anyway, I'll keep reading her in the paper and hope her next book is better.
March 26, 2015
Some of the essays in this book are so painfully funny that even reading them aloud to someone else, in a vain attempt to gain control over this written material, will cause you to choke or hiccup. Probably best to tell them to get their own copy of the book. Early on, the author describes entering a dog agility contest herself, claiming she was running in memory of her deceased dog, and being allowed to run the course. She did not place (of course.) I so wish I had seen this happen. She has become my new hero. I love her writing and her essays. I received this ARC from Penguin's First to Read program.
March 25, 2016
Alexandra Petri is hilarious. I enjoy reading her columns in the post (she's to thank for the fact that I haven't had to subject myself to any of the Republican debates), and I figured I would see if she was as funny and enjoyable in book form.
She is. Unlike other "comedy memoir writers".... that's a thing? She comes across as someone I would get along with and be friends with.
She also has the capacity for supremely awkward interactions without shame and embarrassment. As someone who has always been too concerned with what others think of them, it's refreshing to live vicariously through her lack of fucks to give.
She is. Unlike other "comedy memoir writers".... that's a thing? She comes across as someone I would get along with and be friends with.
She also has the capacity for supremely awkward interactions without shame and embarrassment. As someone who has always been too concerned with what others think of them, it's refreshing to live vicariously through her lack of fucks to give.
February 18, 2018
Bought this because of the author's gorgeous opinion piece: Men of the World: You Are Not the Weather. This book is two years old so by the end of it you can see the growth between the essays in this book and that really compelling piece, but this is definitely much less mature, with sparks of brilliance flickering here and there. Some of this is excellent -- merrily funny, and she clearly has a way with words, poignant and thoughtfully in the right places -- and some is pretty misguided (like the piece where she describes being obsessed with the Confederacy as a teenager and doesn't at all explore what that might mean...).
December 30, 2016
I first encountered Alexandra Petri because I'm the kind of person who gets enjoyment out of watching pun competitions on YouTube, and I was particularly excited to find and root for a contestant who (a) is a woman (of which there are not many) and (b) addresses feminism, onstage, in a male-dominated competitive performance environment (because she's a badass). I was excited to discover she's written a book, which I enjoyed reading very much. This collection of semi-interrelated essays are witty and fun. Very enjoyable overall.
December 12, 2018
The first few dozen pages and the last few dozen pages are hilarious. In between, it is more unique than it is funny, but still good to read. Alexandra Petri has lived a fascinating and admirable life; after reading this book, I think that has as much to do with the immunity to mortification she writes about on the first page as it does her uncommon talent.
January 4, 2021
I prefer Petri’s shorter, more satirical pieces, but this was still fun and made me smile and laugh periodically. We were born in the same year and studied ancient Greek out of the same textbook, and I like the way she thinks.
This book is pre-Trump era though, and very earnest and young. A fun diversion but not life-changing.
This book is pre-Trump era though, and very earnest and young. A fun diversion but not life-changing.
June 11, 2015
It's true - interesting things do happen when you stop worrying about what others think. I enjoyed the beginning of this quirky, strange, rather out there tale. The middle to end was where she lost me. This small town gal just couldn't relate to her lifestyle and background.
December 4, 2016
Comedy books are never all that good because the timing is just not reliable and the patterns are so predictable... still, this one was better than usual and I finished it. There are some genuinely funny and touching essays in here.
July 31, 2018
Collection of articles and short stories in which Alexandra Petri shares anecdotes about her childhood and life, as well as dropping droll commentary about this, that, and the other thing.
A fun book!
A fun book!
Want to read
May 16, 2015Looking forward to getting this book in the mail. I can't believe I won this book on Goodreads!
July 6, 2015
This book is hilarious. I want to be best friends with the author. Seriously. Kindred spirits or something.
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