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mrsbear's review against another edition
4.0
Article first published as Book Review: It's Hard Not to Hate You by Valerie Frankel on Blogcritics.
mehitabels's review against another edition
5.0
Literally read in one day. I didn't realize until a third of the way through that it was a memoir, which pleased me to no end since I was feeling like I had met a soul mate.
Funny, honest, painful AND helpful. A self-help book for those who really try to help themselves. And yet, not a self-help book at all, but the kind of conversation held over too much wine with a friend you haven't seen nearly enough of.
Funny, honest, painful AND helpful. A self-help book for those who really try to help themselves. And yet, not a self-help book at all, but the kind of conversation held over too much wine with a friend you haven't seen nearly enough of.
floralfox's review against another edition
4.0
Valerie Frankel is funny. And that can be hard to do with just words on a page, without inflection and facial expressions or gestures. I mean, I could watch Chelsea Lately all day long, but I'm not sure her book got one laugh out of me. And boy do I love Tina Fey, but there were times when I thought, listening to Bossypants on audiobook, "I'm not sure if that joke would have come off the same way if I'd just seen it in text."
Frankel is honest, wry, and bold in ways I sometimes want to be but can't force myself to do. She's self-deprecating and capable of looking into herself and trying to figure out what the fuck is wrong with her. I admire that. Not all of us can do it. Not all of us would even try. She's also got some good lessons about forgiveness in her (forgiving herself and others) and touching moments between her and her family, even though she's not usually one for sentimentality.
I think it sought out what it was supposed to do: I was curious about her life and I cared about it, and it made me laugh. I don't think any happy-go-lucky people might see in it what I see, but I'm a complainer. I whine and bitch and moan over all the little things, so I understood it perfectly.
It's probably not something I would've picked up if it hadn't been for my book club, but I'm glad I read it.
Frankel is honest, wry, and bold in ways I sometimes want to be but can't force myself to do. She's self-deprecating and capable of looking into herself and trying to figure out what the fuck is wrong with her. I admire that. Not all of us can do it. Not all of us would even try. She's also got some good lessons about forgiveness in her (forgiving herself and others) and touching moments between her and her family, even though she's not usually one for sentimentality.
I think it sought out what it was supposed to do: I was curious about her life and I cared about it, and it made me laugh. I don't think any happy-go-lucky people might see in it what I see, but I'm a complainer. I whine and bitch and moan over all the little things, so I understood it perfectly.
It's probably not something I would've picked up if it hadn't been for my book club, but I'm glad I read it.
julieallsen79's review against another edition
fast-paced
2.0
What a disappointing waste of hours I can’t get back. I thought she would, eventually, find a way to stop bitching. Nope. The whole book was basically her justifying her miserable attitude.
worldsnoop's review against another edition
3.0
I've only read one of Frankel's books before this. Didn't realize it was a memoir until I was about halfway through it. It takes turns switching from funny to tedious, but, refreshingly honest. Nice to let your evil twin out for a romp occasionally.
virginiaduan's review against another edition
3.0
I found Frankel to be funny, endearing, and wanted to be her friend. I loved her voice and found her observations spot-on, acerbic, and real. Good fun!
pecas7's review against another edition
2.0
I suppose I thought the title was sarcasm -- thinking it was facetious. Nope. It's just about someone's life getting better, once she starts to learn to hate (rather than turn into a chameleon). She's an excellent writer. But it was negative and I had to force myself to finish this book, hoping it would redeem itself in the end (which it did a little, but not enough to recommend to anyone else).
shanbear16's review against another edition
3.0
It's hard not to hate Valerie Frankel. Ok that was an obvious joke, but it's kind of true. I was really unsure whether her point was to let all the anger out; don't bottle it up because it could very well kill you. Or, recognize you have anger and try to deal with it. I saw a lot of mixed messages in this book. The other reason why I "hate" Frankel is because she acts so self dejecting while at the same time name dropping left and right. Sure she shields the identity of some, but it's usually when she's going on about her writing career. She's had some hardships in her life, but ultimately most are all white people problems. About half way through the book I wanted to just yell over and over to "get over it!"
aaylajanelle's review against another edition
3.0
If we could give half-star ratings on this site, I would give 3.5 instead of 4. As it is, it'll have to stay at 3.
Overall, I truly enjoyed this book. The best part about Frankel's voice (as you can probably tell from the title) is that this story is all about being honest with yourself and saying the things that you're really thinking (and let's face it, we're all thinking it as well). I loved that she comes out and says what we all want to say and lets consequence lie where it must. If I had half the guts, I'd start doing the same thing right away.
For a pseudo-memoir of sorts, this book has a great balance between humor (think: unrestrained jealousy, irritation, hatred, and petty moments) and insight (I actually stopped to think about my own personality quite often while reading this).
The one thing that I didn't like was the unclear message throughout. She talks about embracing your rage, but then she visits a Zen Buddhism center, tries a week without complaining, and learns to stifle her outbursts and let grudges dissolve. She had a nice conclusion, but sometimes it was difficult to tell what practices she was actually condoning.
I would probably recommend this to someone else, if asked; not wholeheartedly as my favorite book of all time, but as one that has a few good bits of wisdom.
Overall, I truly enjoyed this book. The best part about Frankel's voice (as you can probably tell from the title) is that this story is all about being honest with yourself and saying the things that you're really thinking (and let's face it, we're all thinking it as well). I loved that she comes out and says what we all want to say and lets consequence lie where it must. If I had half the guts, I'd start doing the same thing right away.
For a pseudo-memoir of sorts, this book has a great balance between humor (think: unrestrained jealousy, irritation, hatred, and petty moments) and insight (I actually stopped to think about my own personality quite often while reading this).
The one thing that I didn't like was the unclear message throughout. She talks about embracing your rage, but then she visits a Zen Buddhism center, tries a week without complaining, and learns to stifle her outbursts and let grudges dissolve. She had a nice conclusion, but sometimes it was difficult to tell what practices she was actually condoning.
I would probably recommend this to someone else, if asked; not wholeheartedly as my favorite book of all time, but as one that has a few good bits of wisdom.