Features
- Cover Type: Paperback with 240 pages
- Published by: Villard
- Edition: 1st Edition July 2, 2002
- Written in: English
- ISBN 10 Number: 0375760911
- ISBN 13 Number: 978-0375760914
-
Book Dimensions:
7.9 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
- Weighs: 15.2 ounces
From Publishers Weekly
This collection of columns, originally written for the Arizona Republic, details Notaro's daring exploits and comical mishaps as she matures from wild teenager to disheveled adult. Her vignettes are humorous if unoriginal. "The Useless Black Bra and the Stinkin'-drunk Twelve-step Program" is a classic drinking story, complete with the lost friend who is eventually found in a neighbor's front yard wearing only a bra. This hard-drinking, chain-smoking approach to partying inevitably leads to some punishing hangovers; in one extreme case, Notaro is mistaken for a homeless human being while en route to jury duty in "Going Courtin'." Not surprisingly, disregard for her appearance diminishes her chances of fulfilling her mother's dream and bringing home from the trial a "balding, sexually repressed twenty-seven-year-old attorney strangled in a Perry Ellis necktie." Notaro's QVC-addicted mother is predictably in opposition to and embarrassed by her daughter's bad-girl antics. In "Waking Angela Up," Notaro compares herself to Janeane Garofalo, and there indeed are clear similarities in the blunt self-deprecation that fuels both women's humor. Notaro, however, lacks the biting originality of her more famous counterpart. In "This Is a Public Service Announcement," Notaro rails against public restroom users, including "the hoverer" and "the talker." Her existing fans will agree with these sentiments, while new readers might simply shrug, thinking, "Who doesn't hate those characters?"
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Notaro, who writes a weekly humor column for the Arizona Republic, has collected some of those columns into her first book. Notaro is "everywoman" not quite pretty enough, not the popular one, not good at holding a job or a man. She tells her stories about public bathrooms and high school reunions with a wicked edge that keeps us laughing at her and, of course, at ourselves. On the dreaded reunion: " `It's time for your high school reunion!' the letter shrieked, and then went on to inform me that 546 of the people I hated most in the world were coming together at some lah-de-dah resort for the entire weekend to talk about the good old days." In "Suckers," she recalls the gym class where the girls got "the talk." "It was one of the darkest days of my life when that nurse, Mrs. Shimmer, pulled out a maxi pad that measured the width and depth of a mattress and showed us how to use it." Ahhhthe good old days. This is a great, funny read that women will love. Recommended for most humor collections. Kathy Ingels Helmond, Indianapolis-Marion Cty. P.L.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Reader Reviews
This book has appealed to everyone in their 20's and 30's I've given it to. It is laugh out loud funny, and one of the early lines that grabbed me was on p.3, "Somewhere in between being drunk yesterday and sober today, my keys disappeared." Notaro has hilarious adventures on the dating scene, the bar scene (she warns against the pitfalls of DWI's, dialing while intoxicated), dealing with her mother, finding yourself post-college, and much more. Each essay is short and can stand alone. I never wanted this book to end! A terrific companion to this book is Notaro's 2004 book I Love Everybody (And Other Atrocious Lies). In that, Notaro writes about the process of getting Idiot Girls' published and how her newspaper career was completely unraveling during the writing of Idiot Girls. There's lots more from Notaro, and another author that Notaro fans might enjoy is Sandra Tsing Loh. Los Angelinos will especially appreciate her take on their city.
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