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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
I would read this again in a heartbeat and recommend it to any person with a heart for family stories and a love for dry humor. I laughed out loud so many times in this book, not a common thing! Kimmel remembers her childhood with fondness and honesty, not making it too sugary and clearly hyperbolizing some things, but it's all to great effect.
I thought this book was so innocent and sweet. It is told through very subtly through eyes of very young, very naive "Zippy".
There was one part of the book (pg 117) that just cracked me up because I've seen a similar situation play out when my baby sister was just a toddler. It starts out, "There were so many things I was good at. [...] I was also very good at Interview. What follows is an actually transcript from a tape I made with my mother." (Which, I'm going to paraphrase because it's quite long when transcribed in full!)
Me: "Mom. Mom. Mom. Hey. Let'd do Interview."
Mom: "Not now, sweetheart. Let me just finish this arm. [Note: she was knitting a sweater.]"
Zippy the snorts unhappily into the microphone and shuts off the recorder. After this scene repeats several times, increasing in her young fury and impatience, she starts to sing Bible songs and finally her mother tells her to shush up or they'll never play.
Mom: "Good evening, and welcome to Interview. Let's just go straight to our guest and have her tell us her name. Can you tell us your name, miss?"
Me: "No"
Mom [surprised]: Okay, then, is there something else you'd like to tell our audience?"
Me: "Not today."
Mom: "Well, then. I guess we'll just sign off. Would like to say good-bye?"
Me: "No"
Tape is shut off.
That just had me giggling because it is such a child thing to do and it was adorable.
What I liked the most about this memoir was that it was simple. Not in a demeaning way but in a whimsical way. This child was accident-prone, sensitive, bullish, awkward, honest and slightly strange which made her very likable. This is not a tragic story riddle with addiction, abuse, death or sudden epiphanies - it's the story of a relatively normal and happy childhood in a small town. It's refreshing.
I also thought it was hilarious that her sister told her she was adopted and her quiet, Quaker mother corroborated the story by telling she was traded by the gypsies in exchange for a bottomless green velvet bag and that she had been born with tail. There are several anecdotes similar and each of them is worth reading about.
What I didn't like: Has nothing to do with the writing, but with the Book Club Questions in the back. The editor missed a pretty glaring error in the question:
15. Where the Jarvises poor?
WHAT! What grammatical abomination is that? (Not to mention that at the very beginning of one of the stories, she makes a statement about how none of her brother's teachers like the poor families and therefore gave him a very hard time growing up). But, seriously, "Where the Jarvises poor?" That makes my brain hurt.
Where they poor what?
Where they pour what?
Were the Jarvis' poor? ding, ding, ding.
For being a #1 NY Times Bestseller and Today's Book Club edition, I'm surprised no one reviewed the book club companion hooked it..
Book is excellent, witty and deliciously plain all at the same time.
There was one part of the book (pg 117) that just cracked me up because I've seen a similar situation play out when my baby sister was just a toddler. It starts out, "There were so many things I was good at. [...] I was also very good at Interview. What follows is an actually transcript from a tape I made with my mother." (Which, I'm going to paraphrase because it's quite long when transcribed in full!)
Me: "Mom. Mom. Mom. Hey. Let'd do Interview."
Mom: "Not now, sweetheart. Let me just finish this arm. [Note: she was knitting a sweater.]"
Zippy the snorts unhappily into the microphone and shuts off the recorder. After this scene repeats several times, increasing in her young fury and impatience, she starts to sing Bible songs and finally her mother tells her to shush up or they'll never play.
Mom: "Good evening, and welcome to Interview. Let's just go straight to our guest and have her tell us her name. Can you tell us your name, miss?"
Me: "No"
Mom [surprised]: Okay, then, is there something else you'd like to tell our audience?"
Me: "Not today."
Mom: "Well, then. I guess we'll just sign off. Would like to say good-bye?"
Me: "No"
Tape is shut off.
That just had me giggling because it is such a child thing to do and it was adorable.
What I liked the most about this memoir was that it was simple. Not in a demeaning way but in a whimsical way. This child was accident-prone, sensitive, bullish, awkward, honest and slightly strange which made her very likable. This is not a tragic story riddle with addiction, abuse, death or sudden epiphanies - it's the story of a relatively normal and happy childhood in a small town. It's refreshing.
I also thought it was hilarious that her sister told her she was adopted and her quiet, Quaker mother corroborated the story by telling she was traded by the gypsies in exchange for a bottomless green velvet bag and that she had been born with tail. There are several anecdotes similar and each of them is worth reading about.
What I didn't like: Has nothing to do with the writing, but with the Book Club Questions in the back. The editor missed a pretty glaring error in the question:
15. Where the Jarvises poor?
WHAT! What grammatical abomination is that? (Not to mention that at the very beginning of one of the stories, she makes a statement about how none of her brother's teachers like the poor families and therefore gave him a very hard time growing up). But, seriously, "Where the Jarvises poor?" That makes my brain hurt.
Where they poor what?
Where they pour what?
Were the Jarvis' poor? ding, ding, ding.
For being a #1 NY Times Bestseller and Today's Book Club edition, I'm surprised no one reviewed the book club companion hooked it..
Book is excellent, witty and deliciously plain all at the same time.
Maybe because I am feeling kind of melancholy, this books strikes me as more nostalgic rather than laugh out loud funny. There are certainly funny moments, but what I get more from it is her strong attachment to her dad.
Upon finishing, I really did enjoy this book. Again, I laughed a few times, but for me, it was more about appreciating her experiences and how she bonded with her dad. I actually teared up at the end.
Upon finishing, I really did enjoy this book. Again, I laughed a few times, but for me, it was more about appreciating her experiences and how she bonded with her dad. I actually teared up at the end.
Sept. 07 book club. Hilarious. Life growing up from a girl's perspective. Easy read. Light.
Memoirs are not normally my “thing” when it comes to reading. However, A Girl Named Ziggy was a pleasant surprise. My parents both grew up in Henry County (graduating Knightstown in ‘86) and my mom already read the book a while ago. When she got it as a Christmas gift this past year, she regifted it to me. A lot of the stories Kimmel shares growing up in the 70s were similar to the ones my parents used to tell.
I appreciated some of the elements of this book - the simpler times, the awkward moments of growing up. However, I think this book could have been compiled in a better way which would have made it flow so much better.
This book was recommended to me by a friend, Wendy Boisjolie. I read over half of it and then saw the audio-book in the library and listened to the end. As an added bonus the author read the book on the audio, which was fun. I found this book humerous at times, sad at times and just an interesting view of life in a small town. This would be a great book to read for bookclub because there is a lot that could be discussed. Her family dynamic was very interesting.
Laugh out loud funny...although I must say I feel sorry for any animal who somehow ended up in Zippy’s town. I listened to the audio version, read by the author, and I feel like this made all of the hilarious stories and nuances come to life. I was completely entertained by Himmel’s stories of growing up in small town Indiana and absolutely loved this memoir!
I WANTED to like this book....I TRIED too like this book....but I DIDN'T like this book. This is a memoir of a girl who grew up in the early 70's in small town Indiana. If I've learned one thing in the past year, it is that I am NOT a fan of memoirs! Most read like a series of anecdotes that may be fine in small doses as short stories, but instead result in a book with no real plot that is far more interesting to the author as she writes the book than it is to the reader. This book reminded me very much of 'Sh*t My Dad Says' without the course language.
Imagine that you make a new acquaintance who seems interesting, so you invite her to lunch so you can get to know each other better. You order, then ask about where she is from. She tells you not only where she was born, but the circumstances of her birth. She tells you about the creepy lady across the street. She tells you about the mean boy next door. All through lunch SHE talks and she never-shuts-up!
Or imagine instead, she invites you for dinner. As dinner is cooking she pops in a DVD of old home videos. Many hours later, as your eyes glaze over, you are only hoping for it to end so you can escape.
That is pretty much how it feels to read this book! I realize that some people enjoy reading memoirs, which is why they sell very well. I am just not one of them! But if you are a memoir fan this is possibly a book you will enjoy. I read it as a book club selection, and most enjoyed the book. I really did TRY to like this book!
Imagine that you make a new acquaintance who seems interesting, so you invite her to lunch so you can get to know each other better. You order, then ask about where she is from. She tells you not only where she was born, but the circumstances of her birth. She tells you about the creepy lady across the street. She tells you about the mean boy next door. All through lunch SHE talks and she never-shuts-up!
Or imagine instead, she invites you for dinner. As dinner is cooking she pops in a DVD of old home videos. Many hours later, as your eyes glaze over, you are only hoping for it to end so you can escape.
That is pretty much how it feels to read this book! I realize that some people enjoy reading memoirs, which is why they sell very well. I am just not one of them! But if you are a memoir fan this is possibly a book you will enjoy. I read it as a book club selection, and most enjoyed the book. I really did TRY to like this book!
Zippy is innocent, sweet, and just unpretentious, plain, white bread middle America. Also, laugh out loud funny at times. An endearing memoir of a small town childhood.