damsorrow's review
3.0
This book's good, but I was only reading it because I wanted to have written it. Does that make sense? Three stars!
bizzylizzie's review
3.0
This book started out great and ended up to be mostly disappointing. I am a fan a Beth Lisick and attend her Porchlight Storytelling series in San Francisco when I can, so I feel a little bit bad giving this book a 3-star rating, like I am being critical of a friend. And like I said, I LOVED it when I started it, and thought it was so funny and totally related to her sense of humor and wacky adventures, especially when she talks about her childhood in the 70's. But midway thorough, and definitely at the end, the momentum was lost and with it, the point of the book. I was left feeling kind of like, yeah? so what? what did we learn here? Not that every book has to have a lesson, but going through all of that "just because" felt a little unsatisfying. That said, she is a funny writer and it was a quick read and entertaining.
christythelibrarian's review
3.0
The first couple of autobiographical sketches were hilarious and brilliant and I was ready to rave about the book, but the rest of the book is not quite as engaging.
carodonahue's review
3.0
A must for anyone who has ever gone through the rite of passage of shopping vintage or living in the Bay Area. Read it in your late twenties if you want to reminisce about the past and feel a bit better about having moved on. If you read it earlier, it may feel a bit too much like your real life. Still, it always feels better to be able to laugh about it.
badcatsass77's review
3.0
Beth Lisick's writing is funny, honest, and engaging. I always enjoy her books in the tub or on the bus, since they often read as little disjointed performance pieces thrown in together. This book does not necessarily hold together as a cohesive narrative or memoir, but it is entertaining and it is great to read the voice of someone to whom you relate. I was born in Berkeley and grew up in San Francisco in the 80's and 90's, although not in suburbia, and a lot of what Beth describes here rings familiar. The book can be intensely self-absorbed and maybe a little bit smug sometimes, but that seems to be the point of its structure.
bookworm_gg's review
3.0
Beth Lisick is funny. Traditional family upbringing, and very non-traditional adult life. This collection starts with her childhood and ends with her having her own baby. I kept wondering how she would ever "settle down" into family life. She doesn't. Thank goodness.