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A review by jeanetterenee
It's Not That I'm Bitter . . .: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying About Visible Panty Lines and Conquered the World by Gina Barreca
4.0
January 26, 2012 I made a quick second run through this before passing it on to a friend. Barreca goes beyond a breath of fresh air. She's a right bracing breeze.
This was the perfect choice for whiling away a dreary Sunday afternoon. With a title like that I thought it would be all lighthearted silliness, but she also shares some surprisingly profound wisdom about life in general and societal attitudes toward women. I'm always impressed by and a little envious of people who can put into just the right words what we've all observed about ourselves and those around us. Barreca does this with great wit but also with compassion for her fellow women and the pressures they face (beauty, perfection, people-pleasing, not speaking up for oneself).
Much of the humor is subtle, but there were a few times I had to put down the book and gasp with laughter.
A sampling of her wit and wisdom:
On PMS:
"Worrying about retaining water is important only if you are a boat."
On reincarnation:
"I've decided to remake my will---I'm going to leave everything to myself."
On dating:
"If you think you are 'too much' for a guy to handle, weigh carefully the possibility that he's simply 'not enough' for you."
A gentle suggestion for Hillary Clinton:
"Do you think you could stop referring to women in power as 'cracks' in the glass ceiling? It's such an infelicitous metaphor, don't you think?"
On sex:
"I lost my virginity, but I still have the box it came in."
This was the perfect choice for whiling away a dreary Sunday afternoon. With a title like that I thought it would be all lighthearted silliness, but she also shares some surprisingly profound wisdom about life in general and societal attitudes toward women. I'm always impressed by and a little envious of people who can put into just the right words what we've all observed about ourselves and those around us. Barreca does this with great wit but also with compassion for her fellow women and the pressures they face (beauty, perfection, people-pleasing, not speaking up for oneself).
Much of the humor is subtle, but there were a few times I had to put down the book and gasp with laughter.
A sampling of her wit and wisdom:
On PMS:
"Worrying about retaining water is important only if you are a boat."
On reincarnation:
"I've decided to remake my will---I'm going to leave everything to myself."
On dating:
"If you think you are 'too much' for a guy to handle, weigh carefully the possibility that he's simply 'not enough' for you."
A gentle suggestion for Hillary Clinton:
"Do you think you could stop referring to women in power as 'cracks' in the glass ceiling? It's such an infelicitous metaphor, don't you think?"
On sex:
"I lost my virginity, but I still have the box it came in."