A review by bedbooksandapaw
Wow, No Thank You. by Samantha Irby

funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

5.0

Well, I have a new favorite author, and maybe a new favorite genre in comedic essays. The audiobook version of “Wow, No Thank You.” was absolutely the right choice for me - listening to Samantha Irby’s narration feels like chatting with a very funny friend after a long day.

I genuinely think almost every part of this book is great, but a few highlights for me: The chapter about the difficulty/awkwardness of trying to make friends and impress people as an adult, and embarrassing yourself so badly you want to melt into the floor, is particularly relatable to me. I also really appreciate her hilarious and blunt honesty about her medical issues throughout the book. Talking about bodies being painful and/or doing gross things is something I personally think should be normalized, so it was refreshing to hear someone else do it out loud, and without hesitation!

I think the only part of this book I don’t love is chapter 8, i.e. the “sure, sex is fun, but...” chapter. I still think it’s funny, and that particular chapter may have worked better for me in a physical or ebook format, but hearing that phrase over and over via audiobook was a lot for me. I do want to give Irby credit for saying it with different inflections to try to make it sound a little less repetitive, though!

I can’t stress enough how excited I am to have found this writer via perusing the prompt lists for #thediversebaseline challenge (run by @bookish.millennial and @themargherita.s), and that I have three more books of hers ahead of me. I read this for April’s “book by a BIPOC author about chronic illness/pain” prompt. Listening to a few hours each night for the past week has been a really nice way for me to spend time with myself and laugh out loud.