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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
So good! Cringeworthy at times too. But so funny. And she is so much more interesting than I expected her to be. I don't really like white wine but I would like to have a glass or bottle of Chardonnay with her.
This was a weird one for me. I had so many mixed emotions from chapter to chapter. It felt like she was up on a soapbox for a lot of this book, and for every chapter that I was slow clapping, nodding my agreement, and wiping tears from my eyes, there were two or three chapters where all I could think was "...really, friend? That's really what you're choosing to say?" It was a strange sensation. I'm not sure if listening to it as an audio book helped or hindered my enjoyment, to be honest. A mixed bag, at best. Still worth 3 stars.
I feel sort of bad for not liking this book since I admire Amy Schumer and her work both on stage and off, but, man, this is not worth the time spent. I'm willing to bet that Schumer did not suddenly one day wake up thinking, "I'm going to write a book." More likely, the scenario was involves a publisher or agent waking up one day thinking, "Amy should write a book because even if it is dreadful, it will sell a ton of copies just because she wrote it." (BTW, I listened to the book, and I think this improved the experience. I can't image what this must be like on the page.)
Where to begin? The writing itself is mediocre, depending almost entirely of cliches. If I hadn't been walking while listening to this, I would have dozed off in places. More importantly, however, is that in the introduction, she tells us this is not really a memoir since she is not old enough for that and we should not be looking for lessons. Then she completely, absolutely, totally ignores this with almost every chapter ending in a preachy, preachy sermon. I found myself groaning whenever I could tell she was about to wind up a chapter by beating us over the head with the lesson learned from such and such an experience.
Writing an how-I-became-a-success book without bragging is tough, but Amy is really not very good at subtlety here. Half way through, I was silently begging her not to go into another spiel about what a wonderful boss she is after having learned how shitty bosses can be or how generous she is, handing out checks to family and friends to the point of having to have her accountant tell her to slow down. Worse than the bragging, however, is the humble-bragging, which is kind of ironic since she makes fun of this trait in others.
I will admit, being a 64-year-old male, that I am not likely her target audience, but I am also not one to separate books, movies, etc., in to strict female/male categories. Good writing is good writing, and bad writing is just bad. Maybe I was mistaken by thinking the book would be about ten times funnier than it was and ten times less preachy. The letter to her vagina that opens the book is hilarious and I laughed aloud half a dozen times during the 40 chapters, but the list segments seem like filler as do the excerpts from her diary (with contemporary footnotes and comments), and, as I mentioned, the heavy-handed preaching could completely disappear, but then we wouldn't have enough pages for a book, would we?
Where to begin? The writing itself is mediocre, depending almost entirely of cliches. If I hadn't been walking while listening to this, I would have dozed off in places. More importantly, however, is that in the introduction, she tells us this is not really a memoir since she is not old enough for that and we should not be looking for lessons. Then she completely, absolutely, totally ignores this with almost every chapter ending in a preachy, preachy sermon. I found myself groaning whenever I could tell she was about to wind up a chapter by beating us over the head with the lesson learned from such and such an experience.
Writing an how-I-became-a-success book without bragging is tough, but Amy is really not very good at subtlety here. Half way through, I was silently begging her not to go into another spiel about what a wonderful boss she is after having learned how shitty bosses can be or how generous she is, handing out checks to family and friends to the point of having to have her accountant tell her to slow down. Worse than the bragging, however, is the humble-bragging, which is kind of ironic since she makes fun of this trait in others.
I will admit, being a 64-year-old male, that I am not likely her target audience, but I am also not one to separate books, movies, etc., in to strict female/male categories. Good writing is good writing, and bad writing is just bad. Maybe I was mistaken by thinking the book would be about ten times funnier than it was and ten times less preachy. The letter to her vagina that opens the book is hilarious and I laughed aloud half a dozen times during the 40 chapters, but the list segments seem like filler as do the excerpts from her diary (with contemporary footnotes and comments), and, as I mentioned, the heavy-handed preaching could completely disappear, but then we wouldn't have enough pages for a book, would we?
Audio version. I appreciate Schumer’s humor and messages of empowerment, but I probably would have rated the book a 2 if I read it instead of listening.
3.5/5
I really struggle with non-fiction, biographies, etc. This was no different- I tried it on audiobook and while I really enjoyed it, and lol'd a few times, I didn't finish it before it was due back at the library. And I probably won't. However, if you're a fan of Amy Poehler or Tina Fey's books, you will probably like this!
I really struggle with non-fiction, biographies, etc. This was no different- I tried it on audiobook and while I really enjoyed it, and lol'd a few times, I didn't finish it before it was due back at the library. And I probably won't. However, if you're a fan of Amy Poehler or Tina Fey's books, you will probably like this!
Was hoping for so much more. It simply wasn't very funny and let's be honest, the only reason I read it was in hopes that it would be as good, or close to, her show. Not even close.
(note: i read this book in january 2017 and wrote a really long nice review about it. i do not really want to advocate for amy schumer's work anymore, so now - january 2020 - i'm removing my rating and review. woohoo!)
Amy brings her funny style to this book, but she also brings the all to real to me real life issues she's faced. Her story of an abusive relationship hit so close to home. I'm so glad she wrote about it so others can know they are not alone. But the book isn't just sad real life issues, it also features Amy's signature humor and I loved hearing her read this book. Loved it and will have to reread it again in the future so I'm reminded that I'm not alone in what I went through.