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4.13k reviews for:
Dear Girls: Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets and Advice for Living Your Best Life
Ali Wong
3.83 AVERAGE
4.13k reviews for:
Dear Girls: Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets and Advice for Living Your Best Life
Ali Wong
3.83 AVERAGE
I'm a fan of Ali Wong's stand up and her raunchy humor, so as soon as I heard she had a book out, I added it to my to-read list. I was excited when it was chosen as our November bookclub pick. The waitlist at my library was so long, I decided to listen to it on audible, as I likely wouldn't have it in-hand by the next bookclub meeting. While I'm not a huge fan of audio books (my husband listens to them *a lot*) I figured listening to a comedian would be different, and would make the book extra funny.
What I really appreciated about the book was Wong's deep appreciation for her Vietnamese-Chinese background, and the pride she takes in being an Asian-American. I learned a lot, and have a newfound respect for her. I enjoyed hearing stories about Ali growing up, her siblings and her parents. I also really empathized with her when she spoke out the kind of man her father was and how heartbroken she was when he passed.
I didn't really enjoy the book, though. I found it to be a lot more serious than I had expected. I also found the reading/writing to be choppy. A chapter would begin about one topic, and it would kind of meander into a few other things that felt disconnected. Also, in many chapters she gives advice, and reads off lists, like, 10 things to look for in a good asian restaurant or 5 qualities to look for in a husband. While they were funny, the list-reading got a little repetitive.
In the end, I found the book to be humorous, but not laugh-out-loud funny as I'd hoped it would be. I'm not sure, though, if it's because I listened to it and didn't actually read it. I'm going to give audio books one more try (Jonathan Van Ness is up next!) and I'll see how I feel about it then.
What I really appreciated about the book was Wong's deep appreciation for her Vietnamese-Chinese background, and the pride she takes in being an Asian-American. I learned a lot, and have a newfound respect for her. I enjoyed hearing stories about Ali growing up, her siblings and her parents. I also really empathized with her when she spoke out the kind of man her father was and how heartbroken she was when he passed.
I didn't really enjoy the book, though. I found it to be a lot more serious than I had expected. I also found the reading/writing to be choppy. A chapter would begin about one topic, and it would kind of meander into a few other things that felt disconnected. Also, in many chapters she gives advice, and reads off lists, like, 10 things to look for in a good asian restaurant or 5 qualities to look for in a husband. While they were funny, the list-reading got a little repetitive.
In the end, I found the book to be humorous, but not laugh-out-loud funny as I'd hoped it would be. I'm not sure, though, if it's because I listened to it and didn't actually read it. I'm going to give audio books one more try (Jonathan Van Ness is up next!) and I'll see how I feel about it then.
medium-paced
i had such high hopes for this. i typically love ali wong’s standup but this just didn’t do it for me.
side note, the afterward by her (now ex) husband is the worse kind of cringe. i too would choose bill hader over that clown.
side note, the afterward by her (now ex) husband is the worse kind of cringe. i too would choose bill hader over that clown.
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Audiobook, like I always do and recommend for comedian autobiographies. It's what you would expect of Ali's humor. It's a bit too crude-without-a-purpose for me. It also was pretty superficial and didn't dig deep into any of the themes. I thought the most interesting part was about her siblings. She wrote at length about her brother but not about her sisters which I was interested in hearing more about. The Afterword by her husband was a nice touch if lengthy.
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
If you love her comedy specials you’ll enjoy the book! She records the audiobook herself which makes it way funnier. It’s kinda sad hearing how her husband and her talk about each other with so much love and respect in the book, knowing that they’re divorced now
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
I'm sad she and her husband are divorced after reading this lmao
it wasn't 100% for me but i loved reading about her experience being half vietnamese and going to vietnam because i recognise all of the food and places mentioned and that was so exciting to me !!
i probably would've enjoyed it more if i had seen more of her stand up shows
i probably would've enjoyed it more if i had seen more of her stand up shows