Some great, some not-so great, but if you read nothing else in this book, read "Dear Laurie, Age Twenty-five."

Also, I regret that I may never be able to take my nieces to a Waffle House.

Entertaining and funny essays! I read a few of her books when I was in college. Fun to revisit her stories as an almost 40-something now.

This was actually more amusing than I expected! If you ever thought you had bad habits, were a less-than-stellar house guest, had frustrating run-ins or breakdowns with family and even more with strangers, than you might enjoy this. The stories and situations shared by Laurie Notaro had me nodding in agreement to some things and going bug-eyed and cracking up at other situations that were almost over the top unbelievable. It flies by for a fast read! I did this as an audiobook and she does a great job narrationg. SHe is engaging and gets you into her tales of woe and chaos.

As funny and insightful as ever. Admittedly, I skimmed over the recipes but I could imagine they would be helpful for anyone who enjoys them.

If there is one thing you ever need to know about me, it’s that I once made raisins in my office by accident. And that they tasted good.

I first read Laurie Notaro when I was much too young to truly appreciate her, and now that I'm a little older everything she's writing resonates so much more. Funny, sarcastic, sometimes biting, but always truthful, the way she sees the world has me laughing until I cry on multiple occasions.

Also, if you haven't done so, I highly recommend letting her read one of her books to you.

#readingchallenge2021 (my extra books!)

Reading Notaro’s earlier novels, I couldn’t get enough; I enjoyed her attitude, her brassness, her ability to reflect on observations in life that should get us down, but she makes them enjoyable (i.e struggles with weight, being gross at times, being messy)- though the last few and I didn’t connect- they felt like her attitude was ‘trying too hard’, there was no point to some stories, and it all seemed very scattered.

Reconnecting with her writing, through reading Housebroken, I had a bit of the same aversions. Though this novel had some relatable stories, and produced a few chuckles, I felt the flow jumped around too much- At times the stories felt ‘too dramatic’, the crassness was fine-but it was almost as if she had one funny punchline, should have let that hit and moved on, but instead she beat it to death.

A quick quirky read-ranting and raving, but none of it made me laugh too hard.

This is my first stroll down Notaro lane and it was quite enjoyable. I will admit to some essays being duds for me, but the ones that had me laughing out loud (there were tears & snorts) more than made up for those few I didn't love. I even found my way to the author's Facebook page to keep up with her daily shenanigans (and she definitely has them).

This essay collection was a bit uneven, but made me laugh out loud in places, which I rarely do in books.

I picked this book because of the similarity of the author's name to Tig Notaro (who the author TOTALLY references). I loved Lauren's breezy style and her conversational writing didn't grate on me as much as another recent read. I especially loved "Frankly, if I walk into your house and you don't have two hundred books in there somewhere that you haven't read yet, I don't trust you. I don't want to know you as a human." (27-28).
Fast and fun, this is most definitely an author I want to read again.