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laila4343's review
3.0
I have no idea why I had this book on my TBR - read about it somewhere, obviously. I think I was attracted to it because my husband's a bartender. I enjoyed it, especially the further I got into it. I do think that the writing felt a bit "on the surface" for me, though - I feel like maybe there were some issues that could have been examined more thoroughly - about alcoholism and her marriage, etc. While I was reading it, I kept thinking how different Rosie and I are - I would neve,r ever feel comfortable going into a strange bar by myself and striking up conversations with strangers, while she seems to live for just such a thing. The difference in introverts and extroverts, perhaps?
ericthec's review
3.0
Overall i liked it. I like that she reviewed the bars that were special and why. Thy did all sound like great welcoming places with interesting people. The book started out well but by the end you ask if it's not a lot sad. Maybe everyone's apts in New York are so small you have to go out every night. It's not as lonely as staying home but it still seemed sad to me. she addresses alcoholism briefly
spinstah's review
3.0
I enjoyed this - it was a quick read, focused on the bars the author has been a regular at, and what she found in her regularhood at them. There were a couple of things I wish she'd explored in more depth, but overall it was an interesting memoir.
rocketiza's review
2.0
Bleh. From the title, I expected more memorable stories set in bar, but most were pretty terrible why would you string a book together with these things. Also written in the tone of 'I'm so impressed with myself' - there's parts where she pauses to reflect about her life and decides that it was worth living the way she was living and you just go no shit, you've spent 10 pages talking about how cool it was and awesome you were, that's not really a revelation or deep at all.
rlk7m's review
3.0
This book wasn't what I was expecting, but it was still a decent read. However, I couldn't shake the feeling that the author was a little redundant in her writing style. I know how much you loved Puffy's because I just spent a chapter reading about said love, so I didn't feel the paragraph devoted to it in the very next chapter was necessary. If you're looking for a history of or guide to bar culture, this isn't it, but I won't complain too terribly much about a memoir of a woman overcoming her self-described "fuckups" in various bars throughout her life.
danidesantis's review
2.0
I found Rosie (or at least Rosie as a narrator) totally irritating. She seemed to adopt whatever personality the "
in crowd" had going and avoided any conversation about interesting questions. I was drawn to the idea of the book - surely there are a lot of great stories that come from decades of bar crawling, but either she doesn't remember them or she is trying to protect the anonymity of other bar crawlers, which ultimately, ends up being a pretty lousy book.
in crowd" had going and avoided any conversation about interesting questions. I was drawn to the idea of the book - surely there are a lot of great stories that come from decades of bar crawling, but either she doesn't remember them or she is trying to protect the anonymity of other bar crawlers, which ultimately, ends up being a pretty lousy book.
brontherun's review
3.0
"A bar gives you more than drink alone. It gives you the presence of others; it gives you relief from isolation. When you are a regular, it gives you community, too." So Schaap describes the community and connection she finds in the local bars where, throughout her adult life, she has been a regular. While I've covered a lot of ground in the memoir genre, this account stands out for me as unique.
Schaap describes various seasons of her early adulthood via the kaleidoscope of people and drinking establishments she catapults through. From her teens through her thirties, she settles in different bars, seemingly searching for connection and self identity. As can be expected, various humorous stories abound from a woman making herself at home in these masculine enclaves.
While entertaining, I personally found it pretty heartbreaking as well. Of her time watching English Premier League in NYC bars, she repeats in slightly different language, "It's the hope that kills you, not the despair. Any Tottenham fan could tell you that." In that sense I had a lingering sense of despair in many of these stories. While it may indeed be an indicator of her survival and strength, it was less than inspirational.
Schaap describes various seasons of her early adulthood via the kaleidoscope of people and drinking establishments she catapults through. From her teens through her thirties, she settles in different bars, seemingly searching for connection and self identity. As can be expected, various humorous stories abound from a woman making herself at home in these masculine enclaves.
While entertaining, I personally found it pretty heartbreaking as well. Of her time watching English Premier League in NYC bars, she repeats in slightly different language, "It's the hope that kills you, not the despair. Any Tottenham fan could tell you that." In that sense I had a lingering sense of despair in many of these stories. While it may indeed be an indicator of her survival and strength, it was less than inspirational.