Anna gave me a book by Laurie Notaro during sophomore year of college, probably as a gift for birthday or Christmas.
(All I can remember is the book, Anna, and my sophomore dorm room.)
(I assume it was a gift.)
(Anna, if you loaned me a book ten years ago that I then stole, feel free to see me about that.)
Like most books I’ve been given as gifts, I took forever getting around to reading it and then loved it and bought everything else from that author I could find.
All of Laurie Notaro’s books are collections of humorous essays.
(Well, she has a couple of novels, but I’m not recommending them because I’ve never read them because I really prefer my favorite authors to stay in their assigned niches.)
(I’m fairly demanding of those I love.)
Notaro’s I Love Everybody (and Other Atrocious Lies): True Tales of a Loudmouth Girl is the book about her 30s and job interviews and Halloween parties and her mom’s love of QVC.
We Thought You Would Be Prettier: True Tales of the Dorkiest Girl Alive is the first Laurie Notaro book I read and while Anna told me it wasn’t as good as her others (Anna isn’t the best at selling gifts), it’s always been my favorite.
(Maybe because it was my first.)
(That’s always a special book bond.)
This book was published in 2005, so a lot of the essay subjects are, perhaps, a bit dated, but they still make me laugh.
4 Funny Laurie Notaro Books For When You Need A Laugh
I have legitimately used parts of Autobiography of a Fat Bride: True Tales of a Pretend Adulthood to give life advice to my friends.
This is the book where her essays deal with meeting her husband and their love story.
(I’m a huge sucker for humorous, real-life love stories.)
4 Funny Laurie Notaro Books For When You Need A Laugh
The Idiot Girls’ Action-Adventure Club: True Tales from a Magnificent and Clumsy Life is Notaro’s first book, the one that established her tone and subject matter and hilarity.
It is also the last one I read, because I enjoy being contrary.
But it’s totally deserving of its hype and if you want to see where the humor started, it’s highly recommended.