The Nearly Reader

From Good Reads: For fans of Tina Fey and David Sedaris—Internet star Jenny Lawson, aka The Bloggess, makes her literary debut.
 
Jenny Lawson realized that the most mortifying moments of our lives—the ones we’d like to pretend never happened—are in fact the ones that define us. In the #1 New York Times bestseller, Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, Lawson takes readers on a hilarious journey recalling her bizarre upbringing in rural Texas, her devastatingly awkward high school years, and her relationship with her long-suffering husband, Victor. Chapters include: “Stanley the Magical, Talking Squirrel”; “A Series of Angry Post-It Notes to My Husband”; “My Vagina Is Fine. Thanks for Asking”; “And Then I Snuck a Dead Cuban Alligator on an Airplane.” Pictures with captions (no one would believe these things without proof) accompany the text.

 

 

This memoir has been on my radar since it was released several years ago...but somehow I never got around to reading it. Or Jenny Lawson's blog (why, don't ask)-but with a title and cover like that, I knew that it was going to be a hoot.

And it was a hoot. Mostly. Sometimes it was heartbreaking...like really really heartbreaking when all I wanted to do was close the book and go hibernate underneath the blankets in bed for about a year.

Mostly though, I laughed a lot...many times out loud, not even caring if I was overheard. One particular chapter made me laugh so hard that my husband nearly charged into the bathroom to make sure I was okay and I didn't fall into the bowl or anything like that. 

Jenny threatens promises the reader with a second book and I really really hope that she delivers on her promise as I would totally be into reading a second book about Jenny Lawson's misadventures.

In the meantime, I suppose I could finally get around to reading her blog.

I just finished reading Let's Pretend This Never Happened and Everyday and I loved both of them. In fact (spoiler) I might have actually given one of them a 5 star rating which is super rare for me.

I'll probably have some reviews up tomorrow. Right now though I'm probably going to go veg out in front of Hulu (two weeks behind on Grey's Anatomy) and have myself a beer.

Next on tap is The Story of Edward Sawtelle on my Kindle and The Hour I First Believed as a physical book. 

Michael Stipe (formally of REM) covering David Bowie's song, The Man Who Sold the World.

First thought: Oh, this gave me goosebumps. Seriously good.

Thought two: Wow, he is starting to look a lot like Shel Silverstein.

From Goodreads: On the hot Texas army base she calls home, Katie spends the lazy days of her summer waiting: waiting to grow up; waiting for Dickie Mack to fall in love with her; waiting for her breasts to blossom; waiting for the beatings to stop. Since their mother died, Katie and her older sister, Diane, have struggled to understand their increasingly distant, often violent father. While Diane escapes into the arms of her boyfriend, Katie hides in her room or escapes to her best friend’s house—until Katie’s admiration for her strong-willed sister leads her on an adventure that transforms her life.

Written with an unerring ability to capture the sadness of growth, the pain of change, the nearly visible vibrations that connect people, this beautiful novel by the bestselling author ofOpen House reminds us how wonderful—and wounding—a deeper understanding of life can be.

 

Durable Goods was a quick read, I began on Monday right before I headed into work and finished it Tuesday night. 

Despite the brevity of this title, it was extremely easy to jump into the story and get into Katie's head and even though she was only 12 years old and just beginning to become a woman...I definitely was able to put myself in Katie and see and feel her world. 

I felt a little disappointed that Durable Goods was just a little too short (even though a lot did happen in the 200 some odd pages) but as I was preparing to add this into my book list on Good Reads I realized that it had a sequel...and upon further investigation (and a damn good memory for books) I remembered that I had picked up Joy School several months back at a Library book sale so as soon as I finish up with the two library books I need to read in the next few weeks I'll once again visit Katie Nash and check up on how she is doing.

I'm already excited, especially as the synopsis sounds intriguing.

I started this right before I went to bed yesterday and I'm already 100 pages in-despite being at work all day and only getting too read it during stolen moments here and there. Thank god I'm off work tomorrow so I can get more reading in. 

I finished this up tonight, and realized that I have the sequel on my physical TBR shelf at home. I am ridiculously happy about this as I had not realized the two books were related at all and bought them in two separate occasions. 

This was my second book by Laurie Notaro and so I went into this book expecting to laugh. Laurie Notaro is a pro of taking the total embarrassment of the ineptitude of being a complete spazz and making it funny and "almost" normal. A fellow spazz, I grabbed this title up in hopes of getting some much needed validation.

For the most part, Laurie did not disappoint. I found myself laughing quite a bit, which is always a plus. Sure, reading story after story about drunk spazziness did get a little old, but it was an old that was still pretty funny and I still laughed...even if I was rolling my eyes at the same time.

But then Laurie went there...

And by going there, she used a certain word in a certain context that really bothers me. 

And then she did it again, and again. She used the "R" word. At least three times she used the word. And each time I saw it I flinched and found myself with steam coming out of my ears.

After that, the book was kind of ruined for me. I had been enjoying having a book that was making me laugh but after spying the R word, my enjoyment was done. I debated whether to stop reading it, but as I was three quarters of the way through...it decided to finish it and see if there was any redemption. There wasn't.

I'm debating whether I'm going read more books by Laurie Notaro. I'm going to lean towards no, unless there is a truly compelling reason to read another one of her books.

I can't decide whether this chair is even comfortable. Regardless, I highly doubt it would fit in my apartment. 

So I managed to survive Easter. 

Dinner at my in laws is usually pretty low key, at least compared to holiday dinners with my family. Sometimes that is a competitive sport. This year was not any different, aside from the fact I was overly tired and wanted nothing more than to be at home, in bed, vegging out in front of Netflix. 

But I survived and I have a few hours to just chill out before I need to be in bed, asleep.

The only thing I would have done differently today is that there was a sad lack of chocolate. I guess the Easter Bunny forgot to stop by my house...although, I do have chocolate stockpiled away. I'm just too lazy to dig it out. Plus, it's not an oversized chocolate bunny.

So now I'm going to get in my PJ's. Open a bottle of hard cider and read for a few hours.

Happy Easter!

This is my first, and only full day off from work this week and I am exhausted. I was hoping to get a good night's sleep last night, but my pain in the ass dog decided that he was going to be a bed hog all last night. So my sleep was broken up, at best. 

Personally, after the last few days I had and the night's sleep I had all I want to do is totally hibernate with the only debate being whether I spent the day in bed reading, or marathoning MASH episodes in bed. 

But because it is a holiday and the only day I have to spend with my husband...I might end up having to actually put on pants and a bra and do the family thing. 

But let's see how the day plays out. Last time I talked to my MIL she was still debating whether to bother with cooking so I'm holding on to the hope that I will end up being able to stay home guilt free and read, and drink coffee and wine and just relax.

Enjoying my first cup of coffee (of probably many) and it is wonderful...although, might retire my Keurig today and go straight for the actually coffee pot.

I may have spilled beer on a library book. Thankfully it's not damaged...but it definitely has that distinctive beer smell.