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Wow, No Thank You.
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A new essay collection from Samantha Irby about aging, marriage, settling down with step-children in white, small-town America.
Irby is turning forty, and increasingly uncomfortable in her own skin. She has left her job as a receptionist at a veterinary clinic, has published successful books and is courted by Hollywood, left Chicago, and moved into a house with a garden tha ...more
Irby is turning forty, and increasingly uncomfortable in her own skin. She has left her job as a receptionist at a veterinary clinic, has published successful books and is courted by Hollywood, left Chicago, and moved into a house with a garden tha ...more
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Nancy Sommerdorf
OMG yes, you must read this!!!
Community Reviews
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Start your review of Wow, No Thank You.
This was smart, funny and charming as with Irby’s other books. I enjoyed reading it. Few writers do self deprecation to elucidate a larger point as well as she does.
Also white people. Y’all must stop confusing Samantha and I. Each time she mentioned it here I was embarrassed for you guys. She’s awesome. I am decent. We look nothing alike! There is more than one big black woman writer with tattoos.
I just blew your mind, I am sure.
Also white people. Y’all must stop confusing Samantha and I. Each time she mentioned it here I was embarrassed for you guys. She’s awesome. I am decent. We look nothing alike! There is more than one big black woman writer with tattoos.
I just blew your mind, I am sure.
incredible, truly.
NOW AVAILABLE!!!
this book made me love samantha irby as much as the rest of you already do.
'cuz i admit—i was not crazy about We Are Never Meeting In Real Life. i went on and on about why in my review, but you're already here, so to summarize: i'd never read her before and a few too many of the essays came across as self-conscious and overworked, like she was trying to shove humor/memoir pieces through a short story filter. it felt 'off' in shape and form; keeping the reader at arm's length by ...more
this book made me love samantha irby as much as the rest of you already do.
'cuz i admit—i was not crazy about We Are Never Meeting In Real Life. i went on and on about why in my review, but you're already here, so to summarize: i'd never read her before and a few too many of the essays came across as self-conscious and overworked, like she was trying to shove humor/memoir pieces through a short story filter. it felt 'off' in shape and form; keeping the reader at arm's length by ...more
"Convenience is the number one driver of everything I do."
It's been a tough few weeks. Working from home and social distancing was starting to mess with my mojo. Even as a natural born introvert, I could understand why Tom Hanks' character was talking to a coconut* called Wilson in the movie "Castaway". My incarceration had its moments. I was starting to get Stockholm Syndrome with myself.
So thank goodness for the fabliss Sam Irby. What better way to spend the last day of the Easter long weekend ...more
We all need some humor, but maybe even more so during this time. Funny, heck yes, but also so much with with I could identify. Out with friends and wishing to be home. Making plans on a certain day but when the day comes wondering what you were thinking. Looking in your closet and wondering what pod bought some of these clothes. Her Crohn's disease and lamenting her partners penchant for buying healthy snacks. So much more is included, her comic delivery is top notch.
Sometimes raunchy, honest an ...more
Sometimes raunchy, honest an ...more
Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/
Back when I had feelings, my self-esteem was a toilet.
Dear Sam Irby . . . . .
YMMV because her stories are about things like dropping hamsters due to aggressive menstrual cycles and shitting her pants and various other “swimsuit area” issues women sometimes have . . . .
But she also talks about marriage and step-parenting and her cats and everything else that isn’t quite so in-your-face and also . . . . .
Barry knows boo ...more
Back when I had feelings, my self-esteem was a toilet.
Dear Sam Irby . . . . .
YMMV because her stories are about things like dropping hamsters due to aggressive menstrual cycles and shitting her pants and various other “swimsuit area” issues women sometimes have . . . .
But she also talks about marriage and step-parenting and her cats and everything else that isn’t quite so in-your-face and also . . . . .
Barry knows boo ...more
Samantha Irby’s writing cracks me up on a consistent basis so I went into this book ready to be entertained. And I was, but it was also so much more than that — touching, emotional, relatable, surprising. And on top of all of that, just tons of fun.
3.7 (rounded up)
Well, is there such a thing as being too self-deprecating?
Irby is the queen of anxiety (and occasionally, poop), and she is not shy about baring all. Honest, funny, and overly self-deprecating, this collection of essays grabbed my attention.
This book is about getting old (ha, to Irby this means turning 40! Gawd!). It’s about not fitting in, and having crippling anxiety and physical pain to make matters worse. It’s about trying to survive as a married, lesbian, black woman living ...more
Well, is there such a thing as being too self-deprecating?
Irby is the queen of anxiety (and occasionally, poop), and she is not shy about baring all. Honest, funny, and overly self-deprecating, this collection of essays grabbed my attention.
This book is about getting old (ha, to Irby this means turning 40! Gawd!). It’s about not fitting in, and having crippling anxiety and physical pain to make matters worse. It’s about trying to survive as a married, lesbian, black woman living ...more
May 05, 2020
Gretchen Rubin
added it
Hilarious, fascinating. I read the essay "The Worst Friend Date I Ever Had" on The Cut website, and immediately tracked down the book.
Mar 18, 2020
Nenia ⚔️ Queen of Villainy ⚔️ Campbell
marked it as to-read
Samantha Irby understands my inner curmudgeon
As great as ever, just what I needed right now.
Review to come.
Review to come.
Just when I thought Samantha Irby could not get any funnier she knocks me in the gut with this essay collection making me laugh hysterically into tears.
I would recommend reading this after ‘We Are Never Meeting in Real Life’ and ‘Meaty’ (I think those first two collections might be a bit funnier), but Samantha Irby remains a total, laugh-out-loud delight.
She never disappoints. Laugh out loud hilarity that is very needed anytime, but especially now!
The title says it all. Clearly I am not the target audience for this piece, but I can only give my opinion. My general impression was the author is trying too hard. The rapid-fire barrage of self-deprecating insults and trying-to-shock situations came off as embarrassing, rather than provocative. I had hoped this would provide amusement in our COVID-19 time,, but the world of the author was too distant from my own to make connections. Readers from a different generation and place may have a diff
...more
Hilarious, real, and poignant. Samantha Irby has a way with self-deprecating humour and brutally honest self-awareness that somehow don't come off as depressing or cynical, but comforting (as in, I'm not the only one!) and genuinely laugh out loud funny. Topics include the perplexities of home ownership, the round about way she got published, friend dates, writing for the TV show Shrill, unsuccessfully trying to sell her own TV show, and Crohn's disease. I loved it!
My introduction to Samantha Irby was her essay collection We Are Never Meeting in Real Life. I’d heard that it was hilarious and heartfelt but honestly, I never expected to sob! She shared tragic and often embarrassing stories from her life with the perfect balance of honesty and humor.
In Wow, No Thank You. Irby delivers more hilarious and relatable stories of her life with a focus on aging. She’s now forty, married with stepchildren, questioning things like home ownership, and uses an entire d ...more
In Wow, No Thank You. Irby delivers more hilarious and relatable stories of her life with a focus on aging. She’s now forty, married with stepchildren, questioning things like home ownership, and uses an entire d ...more
Thank you to Vintage/Knopf Doubleday and NetGalley for a free e-arc of this title for review. (While I did read the e-arc, I also read the entirety of a finished copy.)
I was a huge fan of Samantha Irby going into Wow, No Thank You (to the extent that I was nervous that I just...couldn't like it as much as Meaty or We Are Never Meeting in Real Life). But I did. I really did.
I felt so lucky to get an early copy of this title, but rather than tear through it right away, it became my "in case of eme ...more
I was a huge fan of Samantha Irby going into Wow, No Thank You (to the extent that I was nervous that I just...couldn't like it as much as Meaty or We Are Never Meeting in Real Life). But I did. I really did.
I felt so lucky to get an early copy of this title, but rather than tear through it right away, it became my "in case of eme ...more
I enjoyed Irby's new book immensely, but I do have to wonder if perhaps it's a little less biting and hard-hitting because the author is... happy? Many of the essays in "Wow, No Thank You." feel a little bit like Erma Bombeck if Erma Bombeck didn't shave her armpits. That's not an insult - Erma Bombeck is funny and it's a shame she's gone out of style. But they're generally kinder and gentler this time around.
I really enjoy Samantha Irby's writing and how she is able to write very engaging essays that pulls you in and keeps you invested. Irby describes leaving Chicago to go live in a small Republican town with her lady and two children. She talks about what is is like for an older person to actually made it out, pitching in Hollywood and mortifying situations that had me laughing out loud!
I really enjoyed this collection of essays, Ibry's voice is strong and I love hearing from it!
What I learned rea ...more
I really enjoyed this collection of essays, Ibry's voice is strong and I love hearing from it!
What I learned rea ...more
Samantha Irby is one of the funniest writers out there. I read this book because I got fired from my job thanks to this pandemic and needed a little joy and humor in my life. She provided that for me. There are so many excellent essays in this book. Seriously. You need to read it because this world is going to get worse before it gets better.
Hello 911? This book made me laugh so hard I started secreting fluids.
*
There are many kinds of reading enjoyment, and consuming Samantha Irby’s words is the relishing kind. So much about being a woman is being subconsciously on-guard: against media that objectifies you, a country that hates you, and men who do active & passive harm just by being alive and unaware of their systemic privilege. To cast yourself into a book knowing with utter certainty that the writer is on the level—that she knows ...more
*
There are many kinds of reading enjoyment, and consuming Samantha Irby’s words is the relishing kind. So much about being a woman is being subconsciously on-guard: against media that objectifies you, a country that hates you, and men who do active & passive harm just by being alive and unaware of their systemic privilege. To cast yourself into a book knowing with utter certainty that the writer is on the level—that she knows ...more
Samantha Irby is really funny. He’s voice is so clear. I love the way she talks about aging and how she makes her own super specific experiences feel relatable. I laughed out loud a few times while reading this book. I also listened to a few essays and that was more enjoyable than reading. I found some of the essays to go off on too many tangents or just go for too long.
I adore Samantha Irby and will read anything she writes.
Samantha Irby had me chuckling over her relatable experiences, hilarious self-reflection, and true observations.
Love her infinitely. Full review: https://meganprokott.com/wow-no-thank...
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Samantha Irby is my spirit animal. That’s my review.
3.5? don’t think I liked this one as much as the first two but not for any particular reason. Still delightful, still hilarious, still plan on reading every book she writes. She describes relatable anxious thought spirals perfectly. She just really makes you wish you were her friend!!!! And her humor reminds me of my friends and that warms my heart :—) and ofc I will never tire of reading about diarrhea emergencies.
If you loved We Are Never Meeting In Real Life, then I'm almost certain you'll love this too. If you're new to Irby, her brand of personal essays makes for comical escapist reading in these weird times we're living through. The focus of the essays in this collection is, again, similar to that in WANMIRL - married life, life as someone who struggles to function as an adult (can relate) and being a socially awkward introverted person (can relate more often than I'd like to admit). This book won't
...more
Apr 22, 2020
Stacie
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
audio-books-completed
Irby always delivers on supremely sarcastic, amazingly varied, and intensely chuckle-worthy anecdotes. If you've read and enjoyed her earlier books, you'll probably love this one. Her dry, witty humor has only gotten more well-rounded with each collection. This was a wonderful and hilarious distraction.
If you plan on picking this up, I would highly recommend the audiobook. It's read by the author, which only makes the subtle, and not-so-subtle, inflections funnier.
If you plan on picking this up, I would highly recommend the audiobook. It's read by the author, which only makes the subtle, and not-so-subtle, inflections funnier.
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