Laurie Notaro
Author of The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club: True Tales from a Magnificent and Clumsy Life
About the Author
Laurie Notaro is an American writer who was born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. She graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in Journalism. Notaro was a columnist for ten years at The Arizona Republic. She is the author of The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club, show more Autobiography of a Fat Bride, I Love Everybody, We Thought You'd Be Prettier, and An Idiot Girl's Christmas. Her book, It Looked Different on the Model, became a New York Times bestseller in 2014. (Bowker Author Biography) Laurie Notaro writes a weekly humor column for the Arizona Republic newspaper. She lives with her husband and pets in Phoenix, AZ. show less
Image credit: Photo by Shelley Spray
Works by Laurie Notaro
The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club: True Tales from a Magnificent and Clumsy Life (2000) 1,480 copies, 39 reviews
We Thought You Would Be Prettier: True Tales of the Dorkiest Girl Alive (2007) 996 copies, 17 reviews
There's a (Slight) Chance I Might Be Going to Hell: A Novel of Sewer Pipes, Pageant Queens, and Big Trouble (2007) 697 copies, 25 reviews
The Idiot Girl and the Flaming Tantrum of Death: Reflections on Revenge, Germophobia, and Laser Hair Removal (2008) 644 copies, 33 reviews
An Idiot Girl's Christmas: True Tales from the Top of the Naughty List (2005) 439 copies, 13 reviews
It Looked Different on the Model: Epic Tales of Impending Shame and Infamy (2011) 357 copies, 19 reviews
Associated Works
I'm Not the Biggest Bitch in This Relationship: Hilarious, Heartwarming Tales About Man's Best Friend from America's Favorite Humorists (2011) — Contributor — 67 copies, 3 reviews
Sex and Sensibility: 28 True Romances from the Lives of Single Women (2005) — Contributor — 28 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Notaro, Laurie
- Birthdate
- 20th century
- Gender
- female
- Education
- Arizona State University (Journalism)
- Occupations
- writer
humor columnist - Short biography
- From Random House: Laurie Notaro was born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. She packed her bags for Eugene, Oregon, once she realized that since she was past thirty, her mother could no longer report her as a teenage runaway. She is the author of The Idiot Girls’ Action-Adventure Club, Autobiography of a Fat Bride, I Love Everybody, We Thought You’d Be Prettier, and An Idiot Girl’s Christmas. She is currently at work on a plan B (to take effect when her book contract runs out,) which consists of options with minimum dander of office politics, including selling hot dogs at Costco, selling hot dogs from a street cart, selling hot dogs at high school football games, or being the Stop sign holder for road construction crews. She avoids raccoons both day and night and fully expects to be run out of her new hometown once this book is published. At press time, she is still married, her cat is still alive, and she has an adorably disobedient dog named Maeby, who wears sweaters and loves chicken strips. (Clearly, Notaro has no children.)
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Brooklyn, New York, USA
- Places of residence
- Brooklyn, New York, USA
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Eugene, Oregon, USA - Associated Place (for map)
- USA
Members
Reviews
I had the pleasure of attending two of her virtual readings in December and she read a hilarious excerpt from this book which I realized I had not read. I promptly put it on hold and enjoyed it while making gumbo which I think she would be offended by since it wasn't lasagna or something else Italian. Our backgrounds are probably why I love her stories so much but she is way more off the wall than I which makes it so much more funny. Her stories about her husband made me laugh out loud and I show more was thrilled to learn at her readings that she is currently working on another book which will come out this spring. It is about middle age and I'm sure will be as irreverent and hysterical as all her other books. show less
The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club : True Tales from a Magnificent and Clumsy Life by Laurie Notaro
After reading about 2 pages of the book, I decided I want to have beers with Laurie Notaro. Or tequila. Or something.
The book is hilarious. I had to stop reading it in public because people kept looking at me funny. After I got through two stories, I forced myself to stop reading, grab a pencil, and go back from the beginning, writing notes in the margins, underlining parts I liked best, inserting comments, etc. Once I finished, I sent the copy with marginalia to my best friend in San show more Diego.
Since then, we've come up with a system. I write in all of Notaro's books and send them to her. Then she writes in them and send them to another friend. She does the same and sends the book on. We've kinda started our own Idiot Girls' round-robin with the books.
Definitely worth it. show less
The book is hilarious. I had to stop reading it in public because people kept looking at me funny. After I got through two stories, I forced myself to stop reading, grab a pencil, and go back from the beginning, writing notes in the margins, underlining parts I liked best, inserting comments, etc. Once I finished, I sent the copy with marginalia to my best friend in San show more Diego.
Since then, we've come up with a system. I write in all of Notaro's books and send them to her. Then she writes in them and send them to another friend. She does the same and sends the book on. We've kinda started our own Idiot Girls' round-robin with the books.
Definitely worth it. show less
Synopsis: Lucy Fisher comes home from a Hawaiian vacation to find her life turned completely upside down. Her fiancee has thrown all of her possessions out of the house they share, including her wedding dress. Then, Lucy finds out she has lost her job. Not knowing what to do with herself after such a shocking turn of events, Lucy heads to her sister's house to regroup.And as the old saying goes, just when you think things can't get any worse, they do. Lucy is suddenly dead and trying to show more learn to navigate an entirely new situation: the other side. As it turns out for Lucy, the other side involves going back to school. School to learn to spook, that is. Lucy learns that she will be sent back to Earth, to "live" among her family and old friends until she completes her mission. What the mission is, she doesn't know. But Lucy does know that she has to complete the mission, without breaking any of the spooking rules, or risk being trapped on Earth forever.Review: I have long been a fan of Laurie Notaro's hysterical memoirs and was excited when her first fiction novel, There's a (Slight) Chance I Might Be Going to Hell: A Novel of Sewer Pipes, Pageant Queens, and Big Trouble, was released. Unfortunately, I was disappointed with the book. I found the novel to be difficult. That being said, I am extremely pleased with Notaro's second fiction novel, because Spooky Little Girl was fabulous.I'm such a fan of Magical Realism that I could almost not not love this novel. I found Lucy to be so endearing. She was a completely likeable, sympathetic character. The plot of the novel was interesting and very funny. I laughed aloud many times while reading it. Notaro's brilliance with Spooky Little Girl is making Lucy's reactions to being dead, being in spook school, and then being thrust back among the living, mirror how the reader images they would feel in the same situation.And if you need another reason to check out this novel, it was an extremely quick read, because I couldn't put it down. show less
Ambien shenanigans. Tweekers falling asleep on your front lawn. Getting into a fight with a size “M” shirt at a boutique store — and losing. All just moments in the life of Laurie Notaro, a humor writer transplanted from sunny Arizona to the hippie-laced suburbs of Oregon. And in her latest memoir, It Looked Different On The Model, Notaro welcomes us again into the zany world that is her no-holds-barred brain.
Notaro has been my hero for quite some time — and though I couldn’t get show more into her recent novel, I’m still a huge fan of her true-to-life, hilarious stories. No one makes me giggle like Notaro, and some of her scenes in this one — especially those including “Ambien Laurie” — will forever be embedded in my brain. Her line about a monkey rooting through purse trash? Comedy gold.
That being said, is this Notaro’s finest work? Nope. Laurie is at her best when she’s making fun of herself and relating stories of “impending shame and infamy,” as her title suggests. The only problem here is that while a few of her recent tales had me in stitches, the vast majority just sort of . . . rambled along with no real goal or intention. Just between you and me, friends, I may have skimmed over a few. Like the open letter to her alleged iPhone thief? I mean, I love my phone — I really do. But page after page of that drivel? Eh.
But I still love you, Laurie — and I still desperately wish you could be my BFF. We’d make snarky comments about our neighbors and speculate over which crazy acquaintance is really a drug addict and gripe about our weight. It would be a grand old time.
I read this book quickly and recommend it — and her — to fans of Jen Lancaster and Valerie Frankel. If you’re looking for laugh-out-loud memoirs that remind you we really are all human, Laurie Notaro could well be your girl. I recommend starting with We Thought You Would Be Prettier, my first experience with Notaro — but if you’re a stickler for reading chronologically, first check out The Idiot Girls’ Action Adventure Club. Laurie doesn’t take herself too seriously, and that’s what I love about her. She’s a hilarious mess. show less
Notaro has been my hero for quite some time — and though I couldn’t get show more into her recent novel, I’m still a huge fan of her true-to-life, hilarious stories. No one makes me giggle like Notaro, and some of her scenes in this one — especially those including “Ambien Laurie” — will forever be embedded in my brain. Her line about a monkey rooting through purse trash? Comedy gold.
That being said, is this Notaro’s finest work? Nope. Laurie is at her best when she’s making fun of herself and relating stories of “impending shame and infamy,” as her title suggests. The only problem here is that while a few of her recent tales had me in stitches, the vast majority just sort of . . . rambled along with no real goal or intention. Just between you and me, friends, I may have skimmed over a few. Like the open letter to her alleged iPhone thief? I mean, I love my phone — I really do. But page after page of that drivel? Eh.
But I still love you, Laurie — and I still desperately wish you could be my BFF. We’d make snarky comments about our neighbors and speculate over which crazy acquaintance is really a drug addict and gripe about our weight. It would be a grand old time.
I read this book quickly and recommend it — and her — to fans of Jen Lancaster and Valerie Frankel. If you’re looking for laugh-out-loud memoirs that remind you we really are all human, Laurie Notaro could well be your girl. I recommend starting with We Thought You Would Be Prettier, my first experience with Notaro — but if you’re a stickler for reading chronologically, first check out The Idiot Girls’ Action Adventure Club. Laurie doesn’t take herself too seriously, and that’s what I love about her. She’s a hilarious mess. show less
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- Works
- 23
- Also by
- 2
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- 7,415
- Popularity
- #3,297
- Rating
- 3.8
- Reviews
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- ISBNs
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