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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
To the women who thought they’d be in their childhood relationship for the rest of their lives, but now live for the days of freedom, travel, making new friends and doing all the things you love - this book’s for you.
“…life is almost never about choosing between one thing you really want and another thing you don’t want at all. If you’re lucky, and healthy, life is an endless series of choosing between two things you want almost equally. And you have to evaluate and determine which awesome thing you want infinitesimally more, and then give up that other awesome thing you want almost exactly as much. You have to trade awesome for awesome. Everyone I know, no matter what they chose, was at least A LITTLE in mourning for that other thing.”
“But the most romantic day I had in Bariloche was a day I spent alone.”
“I had learned I was brave. But, most important, I felt just as free and alive and sure of where I was and what I was doing as I had on that car trip, lost in the middle of the country with my first boyfriend. And I was feeling that way all by myself. And that made me feel as unambivalent about myself as I had been about my first love. I had no idea where I was going, but eventually, I ended up back at the road, and found a bus back to town, and spent a couple more days in Diego’s bed that were sexy and warm but weren’t nearly as fulfilling or romantic as that unlonely walk alone.”
“When we are old we will smile about these times we have together when we were young.”
“If there is anything more ridiculously sexy than a young, blue-eyed Brazilian surfer who knows how to samba, I just don’t know what it is.”
“…life is almost never about choosing between one thing you really want and another thing you don’t want at all. If you’re lucky, and healthy, life is an endless series of choosing between two things you want almost equally. And you have to evaluate and determine which awesome thing you want infinitesimally more, and then give up that other awesome thing you want almost exactly as much. You have to trade awesome for awesome. Everyone I know, no matter what they chose, was at least A LITTLE in mourning for that other thing.”
“But the most romantic day I had in Bariloche was a day I spent alone.”
“I had learned I was brave. But, most important, I felt just as free and alive and sure of where I was and what I was doing as I had on that car trip, lost in the middle of the country with my first boyfriend. And I was feeling that way all by myself. And that made me feel as unambivalent about myself as I had been about my first love. I had no idea where I was going, but eventually, I ended up back at the road, and found a bus back to town, and spent a couple more days in Diego’s bed that were sexy and warm but weren’t nearly as fulfilling or romantic as that unlonely walk alone.”
“When we are old we will smile about these times we have together when we were young.”
“If there is anything more ridiculously sexy than a young, blue-eyed Brazilian surfer who knows how to samba, I just don’t know what it is.”
A super delightful, raw collection of stories about a woman gleefully, messily living her life even while everyone around her seemingly stops (or stops-and-starts, in the case of a handful of divorces and failed serious relationships). It's really fun and honest, which is why it works. Kristin Newman does not shy away from the less-than-glamorous aspects, and doesn't hide her neuroses or questionable decisions. A really fun read that I'll pass around to friends.
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
“I always say that I need to travel to keep from dying of boredom from my own internal monologue. I think that, generally, most of us have a total of about twenty thoughts. And we just scroll through those thoughts, over and over again, in varying order, all day every day........ When you travel you’re forced to have new thoughts. “Is this alley safe?” “Is this the right bus?” “Was this meat ever a house pet?”
I love to travel and believe everyone should spend time traveling so as to open minds and hearts to other people and ideas and experiences. I’ve met people who have never left their state, which is just a tragedy. If I had my way I would sell almost everything, get a small condo for a home base, and spend most of the time traveling and experiencing new things. As far as this book is concerned, I really enjoyed reading about her travel experiences, especially as a woman. Her writing is funny (she is a professional comedy writer after all...) and the book was fun in a light summer read sort of way. I didn’t love it though, it was just average outside of that. It is possible to travel as a woman without a partner and without having a romance. But what really turned me off was the final chapter. It was like it was written by someone else and it got kind of preachy in a moral of the story kind of way that was just ugh.
I love to travel and believe everyone should spend time traveling so as to open minds and hearts to other people and ideas and experiences. I’ve met people who have never left their state, which is just a tragedy. If I had my way I would sell almost everything, get a small condo for a home base, and spend most of the time traveling and experiencing new things. As far as this book is concerned, I really enjoyed reading about her travel experiences, especially as a woman. Her writing is funny (she is a professional comedy writer after all...) and the book was fun in a light summer read sort of way. I didn’t love it though, it was just average outside of that. It is possible to travel as a woman without a partner and without having a romance. But what really turned me off was the final chapter. It was like it was written by someone else and it got kind of preachy in a moral of the story kind of way that was just ugh.
Worth a read/listen, but made me feel like I haven't "misspent" enough of my single-traveler life having sexy encounters with beautiful strangers in foreign countries yet. However, I've still got time to do that and this was a fun listen to enhance coming down with a case of the f*ckits next time I'm traveling.
Such a fun, flirty, and engaging read. I felt like I was having coffee with the author hearing all her stories from traveling the world. Must read for single girls!
Though I enjoyed reading about the travel elements, and related somewhat to the being the only single girl left. I found the last chapter of the book pretty terrible regarding how she wrote about her stepmother. The things she said were so harsh and seemed inappropriate given the circumstances - especially because I do not believe it was relevant to the rest of the book. Do yourself a favor if you are going read this book and stop reading after they go to the circus and skip to the epilogue.
I had such high hopes - what a great title. It's a title that I might have used for my own memoir. But I can only give it 2 stars. "It was OK."
And perhaps that was my problem with this book. I've lived my own version of a single-woman-traveling-and-having-adventures-of-all-sorts life, so this wasn't exactly a titillating story. Just a long accounting/brag about her travels and her relationship mistakes. It had some high points and held my interest for about the first 100 pages, and then it was just more and more of the same. Until, naturally, it reached the logical conclusion that yes - of course - all of this was naturally leading to a husband and two kids. Because where else could it possibly be leading??
Full disclosure: I received a free copy of this ARC from Random House.
And perhaps that was my problem with this book. I've lived my own version of a single-woman-traveling-and-having-adventures-of-all-sorts life, so this wasn't exactly a titillating story. Just a long accounting/brag about her travels and her relationship mistakes. It had some high points and held my interest for about the first 100 pages, and then it was just more and more of the same. Until, naturally, it reached the logical conclusion that yes - of course - all of this was naturally leading to a husband and two kids. Because where else could it possibly be leading??
Full disclosure: I received a free copy of this ARC from Random House.