I Love Everybody (and Other Atrocious Lies)

“I know people are led to believe via television that the life of a columnist (e.g. Carrie Bradshaw) is a glamorous one filled with fancy clothes, fabulous parties, and Apple laptops.
“That, I’m afraid, is a lie.”
“…You see, in journalism school, the day comes when you have to make a choice: broadcast journalism or print journalism. The pretty people choose broadcast; the hominids choose print.
…if a pretty talking head tried to cross the line to the print group, we would have to beat her with notepads, tape recorders and keyboards, and called her ‘Barbie’ until it was time to eat her…”

“So I guess I am mean, I can admit that much, and because of my potential to find Opportunities to Enlighten, and the frequency show more with which I often stick my hands into the air, extend all my fingers, and shake my wrists in what my best friend Jamie has aptly described as the Angry Jazz Hands move, I knew at that moment I couldn’t get a job working with people.”

“Prison would never work out: I’d get picked last for all the gangs, I’d never get included in escape plans, it would be just like high school.”

Truly, truly, Laurie Notaro is one of my all-time favorite writers: from “Not My Lifetime,” where Laurie’s beloved (and hilarious) Nana loses her favorite TV channel (“But really, there was no talking to Nana about upgrading her viewing choices to something palatable, or at least something that didn’t have a ‘Chinese menu title,’ one choice from Group A (Deadly, Dangerous, or Betrayed) teamed with one choice from Group B (Lies, Kisses, or Love) for a name.”) to “Swimming with the Fishes, her excursion to the Japanese Tea Garden with her friend Jamie, only to have Jamie fail to “Use Caution” (“Then the Angry Little Mermaid took her shoe off and emptied out a whole Thirstbuster’s worth of water.”)—she made me laugh like hell, and wish I knew her in real life. Rock on, Idiot Girl: you do rule the world. show less

4.5 Stars (goodreads-please allow us half star postings!!!). I contemplated higher, because I literally sat like a crazed person laughing to myself out loud while reading this over the last day. Please take it to heart that you should not be drinking anything other than water for fear of having it shoot out of your mouth while laughing, possibly staining some very nice summer clothes. Not that I'm speaking from experience here, but...

The book is designed as a series of experiences that I can only hope are embellished. If they are not, my sympathies to the author as she has had so many comically bad things happen to her, it's really quite sad. Didn't stop me from laughing, but I do have a slight twinge of guilt for some guffaws that show more might have escaped from my mouth. You cheer for her, you want to help her get back at the charming people she works with, or even Winnie the Pooh, for being such a poo.

It's a totally fast read, and is a lighthearted laughable story. I will most definitely be picking up her other books and can't wait to read them as well. :) show less

Notaro was a humor columnist at The Arizona Republic for ten years before her column suddenly disappeared from the paper, something I'd always put down to the popularity of her first book. Nope, all the sordid details are in this book of essays, published in 2004. Here are the hilarious essays about the management changes at work and the cast of idiots that cost Notaro her job, the story of wearing a pair of favorite pants for so long that they exploded into fibers while on vacation, the drunken tree trimmer who began knocking on her door at all hours to ask for money and cigarettes, and an essay regarding something that still happens in Phoenix, where the City sends out threatening letters to an entire street about their yards. These show more subjects may not seem a likely source of humor, but Notaro has a remarkable ability to see the worst in everything. show less

Notaro's collection of essays this time centers around her various frustrations at living in a world populated by doofuses, dolts, and demanders of various ages, sizes, and social standing. Meanwhile, she's awaiting the publication of her first book, trying to hang on to her job amid corporate shuffling, and fending off inquiries about her reproductive status.

A collection of autobiographical essays from one of the funnier writers I've come across. Though in places too acerbic to be truly uproarious, once you get into Notaro's groove her rants and tangents range are pretty darn funny. There were times I laughed aloud - no mean feat, considering I was reading this on an exercise bike. Her descriptions of the tampon flying out of her purse, the spontaneously exploding pants, and her attempts to "love everybody" while at CostCo on a weekend were particularly memorable. A short book, but good for a quick laugh.

This was the first Notaro book I picked up and it's the first time I have ever read a book that had me snorting with laughter in the first 10 pages. I passed it on to my aunt who passed it on to her friend and I never got the book back. We all loved it, we called each other to read passages that would get us roaring with laughter all over again. I would highly recommend this book to readers with a quirky, sarcastic sense of humor.

Funny book with tales from the life of Laurie Notaro. Tales of a friend who takes a swim in a Japanese ornamental garden. Jerry the neighborhood tweeker and handyman. Her Nana who believes that all the stories on Lifetime channel are real, which leads to an emergency race to her house. A hilarious trip to Disneyland where she finds a number of things wrong with the happiest place on earth. One where I found myself laughing out loud where she was playing the Sims game and started a fie in the kitchen.