Lovely Little Shelf

The Book: The Idiot Girls’ Action Adventure Club: True Tales from a Magnificent and Clumsy Life, by Laurie Notaro

The Story: There isn’t really a story here, so much as a collection of essays (and that is to intellectual a word… I don’t know what to call them) about random stuff happening in this woman’s life.  From what I can figure out, I’m pretty sure that these were previously published as articles that she writes for some newspaper.

Anyway.

Funny little pieces about normal life stuff.  Going to a high school reunion.  Taking her grandpa shopping.  Scraping drunk friends off the sidewalk.  Putting together an office in her house.  Teaching her mom about the internet.

What I Thought: When I started this book, I was laughing out loud.  No, not just laughing out loud… that’s not accurate.  I was laughing til I cried.  Snorting.  I thought it was hilarious.  It really IS hilarious.  The parts about her mom and her grandparents got me every time.  So, so funny.

However, at some point it dawned on me that she’s not 22 or even in her 20’s or 30’s.  This is a woman in her 40’s.  And that makes it much less funny.  It makes it almost sad.  I don’t know why but searching for your drunk friend on a city street has the possibility of being funny when you’re, I don’t know, 25.  By 45? It just seems pathetic.

I still liked it, but by the end I just wanted her to move and get new friends and go to counseling or something.

I have been in  a real book rut- starting books and sitting them down, not able to focus.  This book kept me reading because the little chapters were quick and easy to get through.

Conclusion: If you are a woman, I’d say this will probably crack you up.  Mostly if you are kind of nerdy or misfity or a drunk.  It’s worth the read, but don’t expect too much substance.