I Love Everybody (and Other Atrocious Lies) by Laurie Notaro

I Love Everybody (and Other Atrocious Lies) Reviews

• 
  Jess the Shelf-Declared Bibliophile

  The author was pretty funny more often than not. I found myself cackling at times, but some stories felt like a you-had-to-be-there moment and were blah.
• 
  Neha

  I felt like I was reading a different book than the one other people on here reviewed. People mentioned laughing the entire time, but I honestly did not find it funny at all, and maybe once or twice gave a half chuckle. The author is obnoxious, rude, whiny, and unrelatable, and while she does get herself into some off-the-wall situations, they're all entirely of her own doing. There were occasional good one-liners in the book, but then she just goes on, and on...and ON, which completely ruins it. Pretty much the best part of this book is when she publishes her first book and gets bad reviews. She should have just taken them to heart and given up then.
• 
  Jill

  I was very disappointed, especially after hearing how funny she is from my co-workers. You just can't trust people.
• 
  Carrie Rolph

  This just didn't amuse me, EXCEPT for the chapter about how she played The Sims and made herself beautiful and her husband fat with a mullet so he wouldn't think he could cheat on her or anything, and then her Sim set the stove on fire while making dinner and caught on fire and died, and all her Sim husband did was stand there and scream. I laughed myself silly over that chapter.
  
  
• 
  Amy

  so dumb. life is funny, but not worth this many pages. i guess maybe i'd rather talk to funny people than read their stories. every thing seems really exaggerated. boogers, bad interviews, bad dates. i dunno. not into it at all. too forced.
• 
  Sally

  4.5 Stars (goodreads-please allow us half star postings!!!). I contemplated higher, because I literally sat like a crazed person laughing to myself out loud while reading this over the last day. Please take it to heart that you should not be drinking anything other than water for fear of having it shoot out of your mouth while laughing, possibly staining some very nice summer clothes. Not that I'm speaking from experience here, but...
  
  The book is designed as a series of experiences that I can only hope are embellished. If they are not, my sympathies to the author as she has had so many comically bad things happen to her, it's really quite sad. Didn't stop me from laughing, but I do have a slight twinge of guilt for some guffaws that might have escaped from my mouth. You cheer for her, you want to help her get back at the charming people she works with, or even Winnie the Pooh, for being such a poo.
  
  It's a totally fast read, and is a lighthearted laughable story. I will most definitely be picking up her other books and can't wait to read them as well. :)
• 
  Youndyc

  I'd love to be able to laugh at my life the way this author does, and then describe it that way to you. Laurie Notaro's stuff is occasionally hilarious to the point of snorting with mirth (admit it, you've done it, too), but mostly is milder humor of the look-at-how-absurd-life-is variety. It's fun! She reminds me of a friend of mine from graduate school who has a regular life like the rest of us, but who when she describes said life sounds like she is in the midst of a major comedy. I think my friend should start writing her stories down. Like that one where she took her fat cat to the vet..... I simply cannot do it justice. So I will leave it to my friend and Laurie Notaro.
  
  
• 
  BAM the enigma

  Although this book had some laugh at loud moments, it's really just a woman kvetching about everyday issues. Things happen, suck it up, Laurie.
• 
  Karen Germain

  I've said it before...I love Laurie Notaro! It's been a tough week and I wanted to read something uplifting. I knew that I could count on Notaro to pull though and make me laugh. In particular, I liked the "I Love Everybody" section, which included a very relatable trip to Cost-Co. There was also a great section on dealing with the abandonment of friends who have decided to have children. I feel her pain! I probably laughed the most on the section where she explains her grandmother's fascination with the Lifetime network. I also ended up sharing part of the book with my mom. She is basically in her last days and the book made her laugh. This was huge for me.
• 
  Swaps55

  I'm usually not interested in the "chick books" that have become so popular recently (maybe they were always popular, but I've only taken notice of them in the past couple of years). You know, the witty, funny, celebrations of the modern women in all her success and tragedy. I think the appeal is that so many women can relate to these voices, these women, fictional or real, who live lives we recognize and are heartbreakingly and humorously honest about some of our most private thoughts and failures. Unfortunately, since I'm not particularly chick-ish, I've never jumped on the bandwagon, and wouldn't have read this if walkawayslowly hadn't sent it to me. Though I still wouldn't necessarily seek this genre out after reading it, I did enjoy it.
  
  Humor is such a hard thing to write, harder than anything else, and to do it requires a very real talent. I thought I was in trouble on the first page when the first "gag" unfolded in a really forced, constructed way that was predictable as well as unnatural, but to my relief I think that was about the only moment in the book when I rolled my eyes at the writing style. This book is funny, and Laurie Notaro is a genuinely good humorist. A lot of her issues I could not relate to (this will make me sound like a snob, and I am, but hey, at least I'm honest, right?), such as dieting (I honestly cringed when she talked about the way she ate, which can be blamed on my new found desire to be a nutritionist) and irresponsible spending (blame my parents), and some other very common things normal Americans face. But while I might not have related to several things, I can see how so many people out there do, which would make the appeal of this book all the greater. She does so well when it comes to vocalizing so much of what we're all really thinking, no matter how outrageous or inappropriate. That said, I can't imagine wanting to ever meet this woman, as much of what she says and does really isn't something to be proud of. But it was a fun read.
  
• 
  thefourthvine

  I bought this one on the strength of
  The Idiot Girl and the Flaming Tantrum of Death. Sadly, it's not as good as that one - and Flaming Tantrum I got for free.
  
  Previously, my rule has been that if a book makes me laugh out loud, it gets four stars, period. I value laughter, and comedy is hard. This book made me change that rule, because it was such a weird blend of laughing and, well, cringing. While reading these essays, I found myself really, really hoping this was all an exaggeration, that she was claiming to have said things she only thought, that she didn't really act that way. And even though I mostly think that's true, some of these stories still hit a squick I didn't even know I had, some close kin to my embarrassment squick. "You're an adult!" I kept wanting to say. "You have a job and major debt and a husband! Stop acting like a junior varsity football player who has a really good steroids connection!"
  
  Still. I did laugh out loud from time to time, when I wasn't wincing away from the page. And I probably will buy another book by Notaro; her work is basically the print equivalent of cotton candy, which is, as it happens, exactly what I'm in the mood for right now.
  
  I just wish it was cotton candy that didn't make me flinch every other chapter, that's all.
• 
  Jamie (The Perpetual Page-Turner)

  This is the funniest book I have ever read! I am not the type of person who laughs out loud too often while reading a book or ever when I am alone..however..this book had me laughing out loud several times!
  
  Why did Laurie Notaro resonate so well with me?
  
  Well..I think this is basically due to the fact that I felt like everything she was saying was all the things that I think on a daily basis and all the commentary that goes on my head in regards to people and situations..except she is alot more hilarious and can write a hell of a lot better than I can.
  
  Favorite line of the book (maybe because my best friend thinks it describes me to a T.):
  
  (she is talking about how she is not a people person and how she is labeled as "mean" sometimes)
  
  "Now, I really need to point out that I am not indiscriminately mean; I am not mean to people whenever the mean mood strikes me. I feel that I must be provoked first, although my husband disagrees. In all honesty, I really wouldn't even identify myself as a mean person; rather, I would classify myself as a Pointer-Outer of Extraordinary Acts of Incredible Foolishness and, on Occasion, Rudeness. Some people, including my husband, would call these experiences meltdowns, but I would rather consider them Opportunities to Enlighten."
  
  I will read every book written by Laurie. I will!
• 
  Erika

  Update: Still thinking about this book incessantly! The incorrect grammar doesn't matter, if that is your "voice" when you're writing. I just finished The Old Man and the Sea, and Hemingway does his own thing too, and I wouldn't say he was a "bad" writer. Of course. However! Sometimes Notaro's writing doesn't sound like how I imagine her voice would sound, and it isn't correct grammar, so its a little jarring. If it had a flow to it, because thats how she thinks, I probably wouldn't have even noticed. However! What if Notaro's voice actually includes these improbable differences... I could write a book about Notaro's book :) But I won't...
  
  Laurie Notaro is HILARIOUS! Every single page caused me to laugh out loud! Just a note to self, there are a lot of swear words, "potty" humor, and incorrect grammar. I hope Laurie never reads this review, because I think if we met in real life we would be friends, and then I would feel bad about saying she's not a "good" writer... However! Her life and writing are super funny!!!
• 
  Rachael Quinn

  When I think of female humor writers, my mind comes up with Laurie Notaro and Jen Lancaster first, probably because they are young enough for me to understand what they are talking about even if they are a little older than me. I mean, I love Jill Conner Browne but she has decades on me instead of just over a decade on me. Anyway, Notaro is definitely my girl. I love Lancaster but Notaro understands what it means to have to glue down everything in your yard and house. She has animals that poop jelly beans on her desk. She knows how to work the Costco sample system.
  
  This was a great book. At this point, it's been years since I read Idiot Girl's Action Adventure Club and I feel like I need to go back and re-read it before moving on. Notaro is a Loudmouth Girl. She says the things that we all think. Her brain reminds me distinctly of my own. She has a tendency to go off on angry and hilarious rants. I laughed out loud, literally, and read bits and pieces to my boyfriend who now thinks that I may be crazy.
  
  This was a great read and I can't wait to read the next one!
• 
  pea.

  this was just the book to read when the chill of winter forces one to attach to the sofa with a heavy blanket... i laughed, i winced, i became more thankful for my mom, and i found the words to explain my sporadic disposition of annoyance and frustration towards my darling children and husband:
  "In all honesty, I really wouldn't even identify myself as a mean person; rather, I would classify myself as a Pointer-Outer of Extraordinary Acts of Incredible Foolishness and, on Occasion, Rudeness. Some people would call these experiences meltdowns, but I would rather consider them Opportunities to Enlighten (others)."
  i totally respect her decision to remain childless but i can only imagine the stories that would come out of her experience.
• 
  Daria

  I was looking for a quick and funny read and picked up this book. It was definitely a really quick read! Based on the reviews I was really anticipating something of a higher caliber. Most of the stories in the book are just sorta blah for me personally and brought me little or no amusement at all. Some did make me laugh, but overall I didn't think the collection was as funny as I was hoping it to be.
• 
  Noelle

  Laurie is one of my favorite authors and people.
  The fact I am an idiot girl through and through makes no difference, even if I were one of those perfect girls (or boys!) I'd still love her and her books. It would be impossible not to. She and David Sedaris have to arm wrestle for the top spot for Noelle's out-loud-stuff-gushing-from-nose-guffaws.
• 
  Nada

  I have nothing else to say other than i never disliked a book as much as i disliked this. I literally forced myself through it. It was a waste of time.
  
• 
  Jennifer Johnson

  Laurie Notaro may not love everybody, but I certainly love her. This book was funny. Really funny. Laugh out loud funny. The kind of book you should have on your shelf to read when you need to cheer yourself up funny. I Love Everbody (and Other Atrocious Lies) is a collection of funny essays written by Laurie about her take on life. Whether she's talking about her sister's SPAM addiction (as in the crappy emails), a trip to Disneyland, or her QVC addicted, Catholic mother or career day, Laurie had me laughing. One essay in particular, "The Sims" is reason enough to read this book- it's a hilarious take on what happens when Laurie creates her husband and herself in the Sims. For those of you who have played the game, you know the kind of hilarity that will ensue. I don't want to give it away- I highly recommend you read it.
  
  The thing is, I'd like to think in my own little way, Laurie and I have a similar writing style. Laurie's style is what I aspire to write like, she's honest and funny with the ability to throw in a run on sentence that will make you giggle. I really enjoyed this book- and it was the kind of thing I needed to be reading right now that provides the right humour relief after a stressful day. I'm currently reading another one of Nataro's books- and already last night I was sucked right in to the brilliant essays. I'm giving this book a 9/10- trust me on this one- ADD IT TO YOUR READING LISTS for a fun time.
• 
  Ana

  I placed this in my comedy shelf, although really, doesn't something have to be funny to be considered comedic? I thought that was the rationale ;o)
  
  I think this book's blurbs did it a disservice. Front cover claims:
  "[Notaro] may be the funniest writer in this solar system." - The Miami Herald
  
  Ahem.
  
  Really?
  Look, funny is subjective and all that, but 'funniest writer'? You're just setting yourself up for a downfall in having this splashed across the front of your book. And what's with the cover chosen? If ever an image did not match a book's content...
  
  To me, the woman in the pic looks like she just lost someone or was diagnosed with some horrible disease. She certainly doesn't look like she's about to tell you hilarious true tales of a loudmouth girl.
  But i know that the author probably didn't have anything to do with the choice of cover, so I'll just place the blame on that squarely with her publisher.
  
  I gave it two stars because the last 3 or 4 stories in the book were amusing, but this collection is otherwise a miss.
  I really wanted to like it and maybe her other more famous books are really great (haven't read them yet), but this one wasn't.
• 
  Julie Tillman-Amador

  I've got to give this book five brilliant stars! This is Laurie Notaro at her funniest, for sure. Ever since Idiot Girls' made me convulse with laughter in public, I've been a fan. But I like this book better than the first two combined. I'd give it six stars if I could. I was a retired Idiot Girl when I found the first book, so there was a lot I could relate to from my `previous life.' I was married for 7 years before the second. But with the exception of having children, this is a book that I can really relate to. It shows us a slightly more grown up, but funnier-than-ever Laurie. People, if you're not laughing at these stories -- out loud (and possibly in public places with fluids squirting out of your nose) -- you're just one of the people that Laurie "loves" so much. It's okay, if you don't get it, because we need people like you in the world so Laurie can help us laugh at you! Why hasn't Hollywood scooped her up and given this smart, talented and hilarious woman her own TV show?? She's funnier than any sitcom I've seen since Seinfeld! I love everybody, too. I really do.
• 
  Natalie

  If it is possible to outdo herself from her last book, she did. What I love about her the most, is she's cut from a mold that many REAL women can identify with.
  
  She's like the Carrie Bradhaw of female writers, ONLY, she's the REALISTIC version, a size 12, and sometimes bigger, midwest-flavored, cussing, dirty-joke telling, snack-loving, zit-cursing, had-too-much-to-drink at happy hour, thrift store shopping, Gen-X'er woman.
  
  And I LOVE her.
  
  All her memoirs are the same, small chapters that feel like casual news columns expanded for print, funny, centered around something she'd done that has backfired or at least run amuck.
  
  Favorite chapters in this collection are "Babyless," finally, a chapter where us "don't-mind-being-childless women" don't have to feel guilty about not wanting kids. And "An American Drug-Smugging Girl," where she sneaks to Mexico to get pain-killers for her "lady troubles," allergies and so forth.
  
  Brilliant.
  
  
• 
  Michelle H

  Hands down, this is my favorite Notaro memoir. I crack up just remembering the truck with a nutsack even years later. I also snort-laugh at her hypochondriac tendencies including her fear of Cancer of the Upper Asshole, how she and all students in journalism school choose whether to join the Barbies of broadcast or the hominids of print, blowing booger bubbles for bosses, and how she will humiliate her mother by naming her first child Sphincta.
  
  She really seems to have hit her stride in this third book when she describes being kept alive by junk food preservatives, becoming a drug runner from Mexico, fighting with her husband over their Sims doppelgangers, and the indignities of being replaced by a freakish costumed canine. The funniest by far is when Laurie truly admits she is a mean girl who doesn’t love anybody or anything, especially Disneyland or the oxygen-dependent lady blocking the sample trays in Costco.
• 
  Mackenzie

  Ugh.
  
  It is so frustrating to look for powerful female comedy writers, think you found a good one and then realize that to most people whiny equals funny.
  
  This woman is just like your friend who makes REALLY poor decisions and then wonders why situations keep biting her in the ass. Her attitude is so poor, no wonder she has been "let go from 7 jobs." Well duh! You seem to spend your time attempting to complain 24/7 thinking that you're "funny" when all that comes across is "negative."
  
  It's unfortunate too, because I live in Phoenix, and wanted to support someone from the area, I understood where she was coming from concerning various cities in our state. But NONE of that could redeem a book that is wasted on bitching masquerading as "comedy."
  
  The first and last fabulous female comedy biography I have ever read was Tina Fey's Bossypants. This book was NOWHERE near a rival.
  
  Blech. Thank GOD it's over.
  
• 
  Pug

  I remember reading this book, a couple of times before, but since I had neglected to mark it down on Goodreads, I had to read it again.
  
  This is one of the funniest books I have ever read! Rarely, if ever, do I literally LOL at a book... this one had me snickering, chuckling, and burst-out-laughing more times than I can count. I read one particular passage to my mom and husband and could barely get through it because I was laughing so hard.
  
  Which passage?
  
  The chapter "Disneyland: A Tragedy in Four Acts." In case you weren't amused by the part were Goofy flipped the bird at the Mad Hatter, or the part where Eeyore feels up her mom, then just wait until the part about her riding the kiddie acorn-coaster. The ridiculousness of it, and the relatableness of it (e.g. a 30-something childless woman who everyone assumes is "special") instantly made this book, and this author, one of my favorites!
• 
  Eva-Marie

  I didn't finish this. Not only didn't I finish it, but I didn't get very far in at all. I'd say 50 pages tops to be honest.
  Maybe I'm just not the type who appreciates Notaro's humor, maybe it's the mood I've been in this week, I'm not sure. Whatever it was, besides a few chuckles, I just didn't read anything I thought was very funny.
  She seems to write well and I can see how people like her books. I got the clear impression she'd be funny as hell to hang around, but reading her words just didn't do it for me so I'm on to something else.
• 
  Teresa

  I couldn't finish this book. Laurie Notaro thinks she is Jennifer Weiner. The beginning scene about how she had to pee, she was sure of the results, and it was going to be so life-changing - and it was just a drug test because she got a job. Welcome to adulthood. It wasn't funny, it was tacky.
  
  I didn't get through the first 40 pages, because already the character came across as selfish, immature, and spoiled. I didn't want to read any more of Notaro thinking she was clever with her attempt at being amusing.
• 
  Robyn

  What is there to say? This was another so-so hit or miss collection of essays from Laurie Notaro. After reading 'We thought you'd be prettier,' I figured I had to give her one more try to win me over - but again, I was disappointed. I actually think that I rolled my eyes more times than I laughed. I'm going to stick with Burroughs when I'm looking for outrageous situations and witty reflections. Thanks for trying, Notaro.