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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
Brilliant! I read it in a day on a lark. It was so easy to zip through, funny and poignant. A perspective I'd never heard before - so glad Tig is doing well. You can easily see how someone with all the challenges she has faced could easily end up otherwise.
I don't read a lot of biographies or autobiographies and, as such, I always find it a little difficult to rate them. They can't really be placed anywhere on the scale on which I usually grade books. Still, I can tell when I like them or not, and this one I definitely like. Partly because I'm a fan of Tig Notaro, I suppose, but also because it... well, I feel like I gained something from reading it. I can't quite put my finger on what, but that's not as important.
I first bought the ebook but, around the 33% mark, I found it's also on Spotify, read by Tig herself, which meant I naturally had to switch over to that. There's just something about her calm, deadpan delivery that makes this ten times better. I wouldn't say funnier, because, truth be told, a lot of this book hurts. It's very raw and real and other powerful adjectives. But there are also fun bits, of course, (I didn't know what to do with myself during the part about Santa in the Cadillac) and lovely anecdotes. But, mostly, it's a painful look into the life of someone who had such an extremely rough year I can't quite comprehend it.
But yeah. I liked the book. I feel like I gained something from reading it, even if it isn't my usual kind of book. I think it's well worth it.
I first bought the ebook but, around the 33% mark, I found it's also on Spotify, read by Tig herself, which meant I naturally had to switch over to that. There's just something about her calm, deadpan delivery that makes this ten times better. I wouldn't say funnier, because, truth be told, a lot of this book hurts. It's very raw and real and other powerful adjectives. But there are also fun bits, of course, (I didn't know what to do with myself during the part about Santa in the Cadillac) and lovely anecdotes. But, mostly, it's a painful look into the life of someone who had such an extremely rough year I can't quite comprehend it.
But yeah. I liked the book. I feel like I gained something from reading it, even if it isn't my usual kind of book. I think it's well worth it.
I got this book on a whim without really researching what it was about. w
What followed was a very personal tale that resonated on many levels. From c.difficile (you can't truely understand it unless you've been through it) to cancer this was an emotional ride but one I'm glad I took.
What followed was a very personal tale that resonated on many levels. From c.difficile (you can't truely understand it unless you've been through it) to cancer this was an emotional ride but one I'm glad I took.
If you've been following Tig Notaro's journey I recommend picking up this memoir; I hope you will not be disappointed.
The book is short, the jokes will almost pass you by, they're sewn so tightly and methodically into the material, and summarizes the past five years of her life, which has been well publicized, with the additional insight here and there by Notaro herself. I found a few of these personal insights--particularly those regarding her father and step father--to be illuminating and authentic. Occasionally I felt the same idea was circled back to, examined again, and the conclusion arrived at unchanged between the chapters.
Overall, I will support this artist whatever she does, because she does it with a self-awareness that is not for sale, with an empathy that can only be gained by being on "that" side of the health and death line, and a blink-and-you'll-miss-it humor that keeps me laughing through a few tears.
The book is short, the jokes will almost pass you by, they're sewn so tightly and methodically into the material, and summarizes the past five years of her life, which has been well publicized, with the additional insight here and there by Notaro herself. I found a few of these personal insights--particularly those regarding her father and step father--to be illuminating and authentic. Occasionally I felt the same idea was circled back to, examined again, and the conclusion arrived at unchanged between the chapters.
Overall, I will support this artist whatever she does, because she does it with a self-awareness that is not for sale, with an empathy that can only be gained by being on "that" side of the health and death line, and a blink-and-you'll-miss-it humor that keeps me laughing through a few tears.
emotional
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
dark
reflective
medium-paced
I LOVED listening to the audiobook, in which Tig reads her own writing. I love listening to author-read memoirs; this one especially was fantastic because I've watched Tig's comedy and know her voice—her sense of humor was really able to jump off the page because of the tone she used.
The writing is so, so, so wonderful. Tig is a comedian, but don't let that fool you into thinking she can't write prose that has you laughing, crying, and thinking about life all in the same paragraph. Her analogies, dark sense of humor, and brutal honesty made this book so excellent. The flow of her writing is smooth and organized. Tig knows how to connect scenes seamlessly—she does it as a comedian and she did it as a memoirist.
2021 review: Someone close to me was recently diagnosed with cancer, and hearing what Tig had to say about cancer felt like she was reading right out of my head, or the heads of the other people in my family. Everything she had to say about cancer made me want to laugh and cry at the same time. She truly can make jokes about anything, despite the severity and delicacy with which most people talk about difficult health issues. Her jokes are not ill-received, but welcomed. Not many comedians I've watched can make such darkly funny jokes as Tig Notaro. She's truly one of a kind.
I also loved reading about Tig's complicated relationship with her mother. Tig's adult journey grieving through her mother's death all while getting paid to make people laugh was a heartbreaking reality for her that I can't imagine.
Tig Notaro has lived a very interesting life so far, and I will read anything she writes. Her sense of humor combined with her interesting life story and stunning voice in nonfiction writing propelled this book forward. This book has been one of my favorites of 2021 so far, and I recommend.
The writing is so, so, so wonderful. Tig is a comedian, but don't let that fool you into thinking she can't write prose that has you laughing, crying, and thinking about life all in the same paragraph. Her analogies, dark sense of humor, and brutal honesty made this book so excellent. The flow of her writing is smooth and organized. Tig knows how to connect scenes seamlessly—she does it as a comedian and she did it as a memoirist.
2021 review: Someone close to me was recently diagnosed with cancer, and hearing what Tig had to say about cancer felt like she was reading right out of my head, or the heads of the other people in my family. Everything she had to say about cancer made me want to laugh and cry at the same time. She truly can make jokes about anything, despite the severity and delicacy with which most people talk about difficult health issues. Her jokes are not ill-received, but welcomed. Not many comedians I've watched can make such darkly funny jokes as Tig Notaro. She's truly one of a kind.
I also loved reading about Tig's complicated relationship with her mother. Tig's adult journey grieving through her mother's death all while getting paid to make people laugh was a heartbreaking reality for her that I can't imagine.
Tig Notaro has lived a very interesting life so far, and I will read anything she writes. Her sense of humor combined with her interesting life story and stunning voice in nonfiction writing propelled this book forward. This book has been one of my favorites of 2021 so far, and I recommend.
Honest & Refreshing
This is a quick, refreshing, honest memoir that I think you can enjoy whether you've consumed a great great of information about Tig's journey or none at all. Most of what I know about her story is from the documentary, Tig, which streams on Netflix. This memoir tells similar stories, but in a slightly more detailed and personal way.
This is a quick, refreshing, honest memoir that I think you can enjoy whether you've consumed a great great of information about Tig's journey or none at all. Most of what I know about her story is from the documentary, Tig, which streams on Netflix. This memoir tells similar stories, but in a slightly more detailed and personal way.
I know Tig is a comedian but holy hell is this an emotional roller coaster. Amazing story!
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced