Helpful Score: 2
I am going to desperately try to write a short review without filling it with responses to other peoples reviews. Here we go.
Not That Kind of Girl is a flighty, off-the-cuff collection of short stories compiled to make a train-of-thought style memoir-ish collection. It is similar in structure to Tina Feys Bossypants" and Mindy Kalings "Is Everybody Hanging Out Without Me?" (and probably tons more, but those are two that Ive read and that come to mind).
Dunham is not trying to change the world with this book, and she is purposely being self-indulgent. This is a memoir. One of the top-most adjectives to define a memoir is self-indulgence. Her experiences and reflections are her own, and there really is very little room to identify or relate to her stories. I am no longer in my 20s, I was not raised in New York City by well-off and artsy parents, and my rural mid-western upbringing could not be farther from Dunhams experiences. But I still enjoyed reading them, and I still appreciate her sharing them.
What I most enjoyed was when the author shares her experiences with OCD and dissociative disorder. She manages to tell stories about how she has dealt with these things in her life without asking for pity and also letting us know its okay to laugh about her experiences, because sometimes these things cause people to do really weird shit.
Im not sure Ive ever described a book with this term, but I feel like this would definitely be a good beach read. (I dont go to the beach and beaches and oceans terrify me in general, so I just read it at work.) Its short, engaging without being over-bearing, interesting and sometimes funny. The only complaint I have is that Dunham writes in a way that shows she has no idea of her privilege and she never once stops to consider that her upbringing/life isnt an average one. At the same time, Im not sure if this book is the right place to do that.
Not That Kind of Girl is a flighty, off-the-cuff collection of short stories compiled to make a train-of-thought style memoir-ish collection. It is similar in structure to Tina Feys Bossypants" and Mindy Kalings "Is Everybody Hanging Out Without Me?" (and probably tons more, but those are two that Ive read and that come to mind).
Dunham is not trying to change the world with this book, and she is purposely being self-indulgent. This is a memoir. One of the top-most adjectives to define a memoir is self-indulgence. Her experiences and reflections are her own, and there really is very little room to identify or relate to her stories. I am no longer in my 20s, I was not raised in New York City by well-off and artsy parents, and my rural mid-western upbringing could not be farther from Dunhams experiences. But I still enjoyed reading them, and I still appreciate her sharing them.
What I most enjoyed was when the author shares her experiences with OCD and dissociative disorder. She manages to tell stories about how she has dealt with these things in her life without asking for pity and also letting us know its okay to laugh about her experiences, because sometimes these things cause people to do really weird shit.
Im not sure Ive ever described a book with this term, but I feel like this would definitely be a good beach read. (I dont go to the beach and beaches and oceans terrify me in general, so I just read it at work.) Its short, engaging without being over-bearing, interesting and sometimes funny. The only complaint I have is that Dunham writes in a way that shows she has no idea of her privilege and she never once stops to consider that her upbringing/life isnt an average one. At the same time, Im not sure if this book is the right place to do that.
Helpful Score: 1
I was not familiar with Lena Dunham when I saw her giving a TV interview about this book. I thought "Wow, it seems like I would like her" so I got the book. Lena is a really really good writer. Her essays are powerful, nothing but raw truth. I don't think many women realize how much the men we date says about us and makes us who we are. Each disastrous date or embarrassing sexual encounter teaches something and leads somewhere, even if we don't see it at the time. I love the way Lena looked at these encounters she's had (with sex but also friends, family and work.) Half way through the book, I started watching the first season of Girls. I was impressed with how many of the things she writes about come through in her show and how well done it is. If you're already a fan of Lena's and Girls, you will love this book. But even if you aren't, you should read it anyway. Especially if you're a writer!
