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bookbabe0614's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
gadicohen93's review against another edition
5.0
I read the first story of this book in a Mission bookstore. Shoulda bought it right then and there, but decided instead to wait until almost a month later, when I ordered it on Amazon, got it in the mail four days later, and turned the last page one day after that. This is the kind of book whose glaringly obvious spelling and grammar mistakes (e.g., its) only contribute to its ability to sort of re-set your brain's reading style and wash your mind with a spray of cold water.
I appreciated -- in fact, felt inspired by -- Cookie's lavishly dégagé attitude toward life. Hers is the kind of nonchalant style of describing ridiculous events that lesser writers, like myself, try to emulate but fail to even touch. She treats rape in several points in the book as a kind of fact of life -- something awful, yes, but also as something she can exploit to turn the tables on her rapists and abuse them in the best way she possibly could: through her writing, with sharp, eviscerating humor. The story of her road trip abduction in the South was the best one, and the funniest one, in my opinion. Overall, Cookie was empowered, drunk with empowerment even. It's upsetting how young she died.
I wish the book was longer, and meatier. It went by too quickly, and I wish she'd dug deeper into some philosophical theme. I want to read a novel by her.
I appreciated -- in fact, felt inspired by -- Cookie's lavishly dégagé attitude toward life. Hers is the kind of nonchalant style of describing ridiculous events that lesser writers, like myself, try to emulate but fail to even touch. She treats rape in several points in the book as a kind of fact of life -- something awful, yes, but also as something she can exploit to turn the tables on her rapists and abuse them in the best way she possibly could: through her writing, with sharp, eviscerating humor. The story of her road trip abduction in the South was the best one, and the funniest one, in my opinion. Overall, Cookie was empowered, drunk with empowerment even. It's upsetting how young she died.
I wish the book was longer, and meatier. It went by too quickly, and I wish she'd dug deeper into some philosophical theme. I want to read a novel by her.
bmarchman's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.0
This was one of my weirder finds. I found this book watching a Very Delta video on TikTok where she had this fascinating cover displayed on her desk as she spoke. I was so taken by the image of the person on the cover and the title that I saved it away for a time when I had the money to buy it. Come December, the book arrived and I dove in based solely on a cover and Cookie’s connection to John Waters, and boy did I luck out.
This collection of essays, recollections, articles, and stories is exactly what I look for in a non fiction book. It’s honest, funny, weird, and sometimes melancholic and depressing. It’s everything Cookie (from what I can tell) was in her short time on this planet. That’s why I love books like these because they help us far more than some history books can. What’s important here are not the details or the facts, but the feeling of life in that period. It’s about what she imparts to us on her life’s journey through the world of Haight Ashbury to New York City at the height of the AIDS epidemic.
I particularly loved the first three parts which detail her life from 1964 to 1989. And while I found Part 4 to be particularly engaging and moving, I did find that Part 5 was a bit of a slog in comparison. But honestly, when looking at someone’s collected works, there are always going to be pieces that draw you in and others that don’t.
This book helped shine a bright spotlight on a person I did not know, a time I did not experience, and helped me think a bit more critically and compassionately about my own life.
This collection of essays, recollections, articles, and stories is exactly what I look for in a non fiction book. It’s honest, funny, weird, and sometimes melancholic and depressing. It’s everything Cookie (from what I can tell) was in her short time on this planet. That’s why I love books like these because they help us far more than some history books can. What’s important here are not the details or the facts, but the feeling of life in that period. It’s about what she imparts to us on her life’s journey through the world of Haight Ashbury to New York City at the height of the AIDS epidemic.
I particularly loved the first three parts which detail her life from 1964 to 1989. And while I found Part 4 to be particularly engaging and moving, I did find that Part 5 was a bit of a slog in comparison. But honestly, when looking at someone’s collected works, there are always going to be pieces that draw you in and others that don’t.
This book helped shine a bright spotlight on a person I did not know, a time I did not experience, and helped me think a bit more critically and compassionately about my own life.
debbiemv's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
3.0
aweepingwillow's review against another edition
5.0
just giving this 5 stars so that it can be among my "favourites"/marked out in some way. absolutely love this, so much heart and humor, inspires me to LIVE