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librarylandlisa's review against another edition
4.0
I know that many people are not a fan of the written ramblings of Sloan Crosley, but I am. I will be reading more!
macncheese_pdf's review against another edition
funny
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
trin's review against another edition
2.0
The theme of these reviews, you may have gathered by now, is “Trin doesn’t learn.” This is a prime example. I read Crosley’s previous essay collection, [b:I Was Told There’d Be Cake|2195289|I Was Told There'd Be Cake|Sloane Crosley|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255587590s/2195289.jpg|2201026], and found it very meh. Here is 2008!Trin on the subject:
“Crosley is a perfectly decent writer, but her experiences are just so everyday that reading this collection, I found myself puzzled as to why I was encountering it in book form as opposed to on someone’s LJ or something. So she had a bad boss! She went to camp! She has a funny name! She had an unpleasant moving experience one time! So what? If Crosley were able to draw some particular insight from these experiences, that would be one thing, but she doesn’t. Nor is she uniquely, fall-off-the-couch funny—just sort of quietly amusing.”
So, you know: nothing scarring there, but also nothing to suggest I should pick up Crosley’s next book.
However, it got sent to me in the mail. For free. And it had a picture of a funny bear on the cover! Apparently that is enough to get me to read something. Somehow I doubt any of you are surprised.
So read it I did. And if possible, I felt even more meh than I did the first time around. Crosley just isn’t very funny, and her essays also aren’t terribly focused. Half the time I’m not even sure what they’re supposed to be about—which, were I in tears from laughter every other sentence, wouldn’t matter, but as previous mentioned, I’m not. This is a collection of essays that is neither funny nor deep. It’s just...there.
And yet, I have to accept some culpability this time. As everyone (excepting George W. Bush) knows, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”
So here I am: slightly shamed, and down about two hours of my time. The bear picture is funny, though. We used it in our display of bear covers, as kindly Vanna’d by my coworker Geo:
There’s something to be proud of, at least!
“Crosley is a perfectly decent writer, but her experiences are just so everyday that reading this collection, I found myself puzzled as to why I was encountering it in book form as opposed to on someone’s LJ or something. So she had a bad boss! She went to camp! She has a funny name! She had an unpleasant moving experience one time! So what? If Crosley were able to draw some particular insight from these experiences, that would be one thing, but she doesn’t. Nor is she uniquely, fall-off-the-couch funny—just sort of quietly amusing.”
So, you know: nothing scarring there, but also nothing to suggest I should pick up Crosley’s next book.
However, it got sent to me in the mail. For free. And it had a picture of a funny bear on the cover! Apparently that is enough to get me to read something. Somehow I doubt any of you are surprised.
So read it I did. And if possible, I felt even more meh than I did the first time around. Crosley just isn’t very funny, and her essays also aren’t terribly focused. Half the time I’m not even sure what they’re supposed to be about—which, were I in tears from laughter every other sentence, wouldn’t matter, but as previous mentioned, I’m not. This is a collection of essays that is neither funny nor deep. It’s just...there.
And yet, I have to accept some culpability this time. As everyone (excepting George W. Bush) knows, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”
So here I am: slightly shamed, and down about two hours of my time. The bear picture is funny, though. We used it in our display of bear covers, as kindly Vanna’d by my coworker Geo:
There’s something to be proud of, at least!
heathercottledillon's review against another edition
3.0
Most of Crosley's essays seem sort of aimless to me. Of course, an author can write for the sake of writing, but I usually don't personally enjoy that style. However, Crosley has such a way with words that I stayed interested anyway and laughed out loud often, not necessarily at her stories but the way that she tells them.
tasuskind's review against another edition
3.0
Set of essays. Sloane Crosley is pretty amusing, though I liked her first book better. Still, not bad....
moserk's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
3.75
Lighthearted and full of sass, I found myself laughing a lot along the way.
For example, on traveling, Sloane likens herself to "a cat who urgently need to be on the other side of the room for no apparent reason" and that's laugh-out-loud hilarious, even for a dog person.
traceyelder's review against another edition
5.0
This book is hilarious! Crosley takes everyday life & turns even the most mundane situations into great stories.
If you enjoy autobiographies & short stories, this is a must-read!
If you enjoy autobiographies & short stories, this is a must-read!
caitylin55's review against another edition
3.0
I LOVED Sloane Crosley's first book - I Was Told There'd Be Cake, so my expectations were high for this book. I didn't find this book to be nearly as funny and entertaining as her first book.