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itsalexjackman's review against another edition
3.0
Would Everybody Please Stop? is observational, conversational and stream-of-conciousness-tional. It's an easily read collection of essays on a wide range of subjects and of a wide range of genres. There's the psychological profile of one Elmer Fudd placed just a few pages before an essay on the author's debate between being a wig lady or a scarf lady in the face of chemotherapy. There's the note to her friends inviting them to stay at her beach house just a few essays before a (sure to be fulfilled) prophecy of Martha Stewart co-opting Buddhist culture. Then there's the time she's sure to be charged with murder after undertaking an ill-advised tie-dye project.
The book is enjoyable, conversational and a quick read. Parts of it shine, and other parts do not as much - all parts are brief, so you'll always have another great essay just a few pages away.
The book is enjoyable, conversational and a quick read. Parts of it shine, and other parts do not as much - all parts are brief, so you'll always have another great essay just a few pages away.
hollyb_ookish's review against another edition
3.0
The essay style was really cool and I loved the quirky messages, but overall I wasn’t a fan of the writing style.
wmatamoros's review against another edition
3.0
Some quirky parts that made me laugh, but will definitely be ones of those books that someday I will be scrolling through my “read” books on here and be like,” Huh. I don’t even remember that one...”
beneatthetrees's review against another edition
1.0
I was not prepared for the barrage of petty grievances found in this book. I was not prepared to hear [so and so] "looks a little gay" as a sly aside???? I wasn't prepared for an entire chapter dedicated to an imaginary interview with Elmer Fudd??? I wasn't prepared for list after list after list of: things wrong with her house, things she doesn't like that other people do, things she'd borrow from an imaginary friend (very detailed). And the whole time there were wildly ableist overtones for truly petty reasons-- being on a help line ends with her imaginary self ending up in the "looney bin" or when she said everyone should walk with walkers all the time to help stop themselves from ever falling before quickly scoffing and saying that would be "pathetic." Pathetic was used a lot, ironically.
Overall this truly felt like "Jenny Allen's Shower Thoughts" that should've just stayed in the shower.
Overall this truly felt like "Jenny Allen's Shower Thoughts" that should've just stayed in the shower.
thoughtsfromapage's review against another edition
5.0
Jenny Allen is hilarious, and her new collection of essays proves it. Would Everybody Please Stop? kept me laughing – at times with tears streaming down my face - from the time I picked it up until I finished it (all in one sitting). A few of the essays are more serious, addressing topics relevant to today’s world, but every essay is outstanding. I loved each and every one which rarely happens to me when reading a compilation such as this one. My favorite hands down was “How to Tie-Dye” where she decides she has free time while staying in a motel during a snow storm and starts to tie-dye a bunch of shirts. The project goes hilariously awry. I enjoyed it so much that as I was writing this review I had to go back and read it again. “Swagland”, “Take My House, Please”, and “My Gratitudes” are not far behind. I also really liked “My New Feminist Cop Show” which I truly appreciated because the issues she raises are ones I have repeatedly mentioned to my husband while watching shows with female detectives. Her essay on this topic is spot on. I also loved “I Have to Go Now” because that is exactly what happens to me when we decide to stay at someone’s home instead of in a hotel. I highly recommend Would Everybody Please Stop? Thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Strauss, Giroux for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
crosberg's review against another edition
2.0
I honestly couldn’t finish it. A lot of this feels like it can be reduced to “old lady yells at clouds”. The titular essay is mostly complaining about how language has changed and she doesn’t like it, which is stupidly elitist. What really chapped my ass was the like about wanting Sean Connery to play Bind forever because the other actors who have played him “seem a little gay”...because there’s something wrong with being LGBTQ? Because the actors playing Bond have to be available for her personal sexual fantasies? Either way, gross. She’s got a way with words, but I’m not interested in reading someone complain about things from a place of profound privilege. Here’s something that really should stop: humble bragging about living in Manhattan.
aschwennsen's review against another edition
5.0
This book made me literally laugh out loud and I appreciate how well the author knows herself and is able to describe her thoughts and actions.
amma_keep_reading's review against another edition
3.0
It was 'meh'. Not terrible but not my kind humor. There was some stories I enjoyed but I was otherwise unimpressed.