Scan barcode
labunnywtf's review against another edition
3.0
I love Margaret Cho. I am convinced she and I would be BFFs. Not even kidding. She's amazing. I watched her show when I was much younger, and saw a few of her performances on television. I always liked her.
I didn't know what to expect going into this. I didn't know if it was going to be a straight memoir, or if it was going to be funny, or sad. It was all of the above. She had me cracking up at one point, thoughtful at another. The harder parts of her life, she tells in a very real way, without being too much or too little. It's appreciated.
I didn't care for the way she narrated this, though. She over enunciated everything, and left dram.ati.ic. pauses between syllables that I just couldn't understand why they were there.
The bit about crushes was especially poignant for me. If I'd had the hard book in front of me, I would've copied it word for word and plastered it to my refrigerator to remind myself to not be a douchebag when it comes to having a crush on someone.
I didn't know what to expect going into this. I didn't know if it was going to be a straight memoir, or if it was going to be funny, or sad. It was all of the above. She had me cracking up at one point, thoughtful at another. The harder parts of her life, she tells in a very real way, without being too much or too little. It's appreciated.
I didn't care for the way she narrated this, though. She over enunciated everything, and left dram.ati.ic. pauses between syllables that I just couldn't understand why they were there.
The bit about crushes was especially poignant for me. If I'd had the hard book in front of me, I would've copied it word for word and plastered it to my refrigerator to remind myself to not be a douchebag when it comes to having a crush on someone.
sueellen61's review against another edition
2.0
I thought that since I loved her humour that I would love her book but didn't happen. Couldn't even finish reading it unfortunately.
sheena_00110101's review against another edition
3.0
I really like Margaret Cho and have explored her works while studying and writing about feminist political thought for my undergrad. The beginning of the book works well, maybe because all the crap of being an outcast child and teenager was so distant at the time she wrote it. The second half, being so much closer at the time of writing, makes for a bit of an uncomfortable read. Despite concluding with profound statements about loving and accepting oneself, after reading through the final chapters that detailed very dark periods of her life, I was left feeling a little relieved that I didn't have to read anymore. But, if you like Margaret Cho it's likely for her raw honesty which you will find here in abundance.
iffer's review against another edition
2.0
I'm glad that Margaret Cho told her story. It's a brave story about living for too long not valuing herself, and descending into various addictions and unhealthy relationships. This wasn't bad, but I never really connected with it. I'm not really sure why this is was. It could've been due to the writing, the lack of detail in the vignettes, or because I didn't find this as humorous as I thought that I would.
trilobite's review against another edition
3.0
Between the funny stuff, Margaret bears her soul quite a bit in this memoir.
serene216's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to like this book but it was very hard to follow. Jumped around a lot.
cynthiabemisabrams's review against another edition
5.0
As we seek to better understand systemic racism and sexism, Cho's memoir holds unexpected value. In particular, her vivid recounting of the 19 episodes of her groundbreaking TV series All-American Girl is essential reading for TV fans, feminists and students of culture.
I read this work on Kindle, as I needed it fast, in order to prepare for interviewing Cho for my podcast, Advanced TV Herstory. It's amazing and reassuring to see the frequently highlighted passages that Kindle reveals. It helped me understand more about Cho's fanbase.
I read this work on Kindle, as I needed it fast, in order to prepare for interviewing Cho for my podcast, Advanced TV Herstory. It's amazing and reassuring to see the frequently highlighted passages that Kindle reveals. It helped me understand more about Cho's fanbase.
daydreamangel18's review against another edition
3.0
Margaret is a really self destructive person for a long time, getting high and drunk because of self esteem issues and lack of direction in life. She was on the radar because of her tv show, but it was failed venture and the subsequent years saw her touring the country as a standup comic, which while she might enjoy, I get the feeling she felt it was a step back after having starred in her own sitcom and that catastrophe no doubt fuelled her self hatred and led her to bad choices, particularly in romantic partners having no self worth to refuse the advances of almost any men. Her life seemed a complete mess but at the end she tells you she was now in a better place, but it’s a bit hard to believe. I think Margaret now days is a lot more centred and I hope she is truly happy in her life.
alexampersand's review against another edition
4.0
I really like Margaret Cho, and I liked the idea of this book, mostly from the self-empowerment title. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting. Less funny, and a lot more dark and depressing. A lot of the book focuses on her addiction to drugs and alcohol, and her self-image issues. And if it was a fictional book, I would probably have got frustrated with her as a protagonist and told her to get over it. But it was real, and she really went through it, and I can see why some people are put off the book because of it.
However, the ending justified it all - it was the self-empowerment that I was looking for. My only complaint is that it felt like the final two chapters were tacked on the end as a last minute afterthought, 10 pages to lighten the mood after 150 pages of darkness and misery.
Luckily, for me it still worked for the most part. The only part I found a struggle was the last 40 or so pages. By that point, I was ready for her to be over the drugs, and it felt like she was too - it felt like there was a lot less detail, and a lot more of just retreading the same ground. But as I said, it was worth it then for the conclusion that came of it. I just wish there was a bit more focus on it.
However, the ending justified it all - it was the self-empowerment that I was looking for. My only complaint is that it felt like the final two chapters were tacked on the end as a last minute afterthought, 10 pages to lighten the mood after 150 pages of darkness and misery.
Luckily, for me it still worked for the most part. The only part I found a struggle was the last 40 or so pages. By that point, I was ready for her to be over the drugs, and it felt like she was too - it felt like there was a lot less detail, and a lot more of just retreading the same ground. But as I said, it was worth it then for the conclusion that came of it. I just wish there was a bit more focus on it.
bethreadsandnaps's review against another edition
2.0
I don't think I laughed once while reading this. It was written in a detached way, and she was kind of whiny.