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literaljo's review
1.0
Wanted to like this but it was all over the place and completely useless in places. I read this in Dutch and it really made me wonder why a foreign publicist would even be interested in publishing this. I hope that it’s better in English cause man, this was a bad ‘book’.
bgoodbookclub's review
dark
emotional
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
2.75
I should have gone into this expecting it to be a rambling but it was a rambling. I love a good journal entry/note but these sentences were truly so random? Some I really liked, others I hated, and others I was indifferent to. I will keep this on my shelf because it's a signed copy and I enjoyed the Lenny Letter but I probably won't read it again.
pennylane13's review
5.0
This is an excerpt of Lean's journal of thoughts from college days. It is a pre-twitter jotting of ideas and thoughts that one has throughout the day. I find that I like getting these thoughts out as well. When they are out they are no longer lingering inside. I am in the public school system so I am unable to properly have a twitter. I decided to start a "Thoughts" journal myself. I find that it keeps me more positive and going back reading things makes me look at situations more objectively.
I love Lena's writing. I am a fan of her first novel and this was a delightful extra to be able to peek into her world a little more. Highly recommended.
I love Lena's writing. I am a fan of her first novel and this was a delightful extra to be able to peek into her world a little more. Highly recommended.
morganashleyx's review
5.0
Scored a signed copy of this and it is now one of my most prized possessions. Love the concept and love Lena Dunham.
nikkinmichaels's review
3.0
I never quite know how to rate or review compilations or anthologies like this. Probably all I can really say is that IS IT EVIL NOT TO BE SURE? is certainly very Lena Dunham, and a few of these little snippets are straight-up brilliant. Most of them are forgettable filler, but certain ones sort of slap you in the face in a good way.
willemijnkranendonk's review
4.0
‘Als ik één les zou mogen meegeven (..) is het mijn overtuiging dat jonge mensen, en met name vrouwen, hun ervaringen aan papier zouden moeten toevertrouwen, al is het alleen maar hierom: jij bent de enige die jouw specifieke ervaringen ooit zal beleven en het zou zonde zijn als ze verloren zouden gaan als je er niet meer bent of omdat je ze vergeet of omdat je volwassen wordt en afschuwelijke snowboots aanschaft.’
ggranada's review
4.0
There's a difference between writing to write and writing to publish. Amazingly, Lena Dunham not only crosses that line, she sprints (okay, lightly jogs) past it, pen in hand, soft pretzel in the other, and per usual, head held just little too high.
"Is it evil not to be sure?" is a short collection of observations, one-liners, and strange encounters Dunham chronicled during her time at college when she was nineteen. In HBO GIRLS fashion, most snippets are about strange sexual experiences and shitty (or great?) friendships—she can't decide, either.
Not all of the e-book is about brooding liberal arts boys and drunken nineteen-year-old debauchery (though, most of it is). Dunham journals the constant skin-grating frustrations of writing consuming your thoughts, studies, profession, and mental health. She touches on the self-inflicted neurosis of not being taken seriously as a young writer (and deep down not being sure if you're deserving). She writes, "Frustrating, isn't it, when nothing short of peeling back your skin will let somebody know how smart you really are."
Some of her most poignant observations describe some of the young women she's met in college that are already burning brighter than any boy of equal age, "I have some friends who i just can't imagine with a guy. They are too huge, too overwhelming. It would be like pinning a massive carnation to a baby's lapel."
If you don't happen to fall into the very niche audience of being nineteen, somewhat depressingly existential, and incorrigibly self-important (the last two come with being nineteen), you just won't like this book. In fact, you'll probably only get 5 pages in. And that's what I enjoy about "Is it evil not to be sure?". If you aren't an insufferable nineteen-year-old (and maybe even if you are), this will read as too precocious, too angst-riddled, and painfully short-sighted—because it is.
The $2.99 I paid was worth every penny because it goes toward the Girls Write Now organization, though I wouldn't necessarily drop three bucks just to hear Dunham's journaled ramblings. All in all: I didn't love it, I didn't hate it. And ultimately, I'm still unable to find it in my heart to loathe Dunham as much as the public does.
Like a badge of artistic nepotism, Lena Dunham wears her pretension on her sleeve, and oddly, I admire her for that. She writes, "I've always thought that there's something essentially radical about a woman deciding her life is worthy of writing down."
The world could use a few more female radicals.
"Is it evil not to be sure?" is a short collection of observations, one-liners, and strange encounters Dunham chronicled during her time at college when she was nineteen. In HBO GIRLS fashion, most snippets are about strange sexual experiences and shitty (or great?) friendships—she can't decide, either.
Not all of the e-book is about brooding liberal arts boys and drunken nineteen-year-old debauchery (though, most of it is). Dunham journals the constant skin-grating frustrations of writing consuming your thoughts, studies, profession, and mental health. She touches on the self-inflicted neurosis of not being taken seriously as a young writer (and deep down not being sure if you're deserving). She writes, "Frustrating, isn't it, when nothing short of peeling back your skin will let somebody know how smart you really are."
Some of her most poignant observations describe some of the young women she's met in college that are already burning brighter than any boy of equal age, "I have some friends who i just can't imagine with a guy. They are too huge, too overwhelming. It would be like pinning a massive carnation to a baby's lapel."
If you don't happen to fall into the very niche audience of being nineteen, somewhat depressingly existential, and incorrigibly self-important (the last two come with being nineteen), you just won't like this book. In fact, you'll probably only get 5 pages in. And that's what I enjoy about "Is it evil not to be sure?". If you aren't an insufferable nineteen-year-old (and maybe even if you are), this will read as too precocious, too angst-riddled, and painfully short-sighted—because it is.
The $2.99 I paid was worth every penny because it goes toward the Girls Write Now organization, though I wouldn't necessarily drop three bucks just to hear Dunham's journaled ramblings. All in all: I didn't love it, I didn't hate it. And ultimately, I'm still unable to find it in my heart to loathe Dunham as much as the public does.
Like a badge of artistic nepotism, Lena Dunham wears her pretension on her sleeve, and oddly, I admire her for that. She writes, "I've always thought that there's something essentially radical about a woman deciding her life is worthy of writing down."
The world could use a few more female radicals.
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