This was an enjoyable book, even if I am still a bit baffled by it and can’t figure out if it was a 3 star or a 4 star read. It’s half comedian/actor memoir and half pop sociology in the vein of a Freakanomics or Malcolm Gladwell book. Ansari didn’t want to write just another celebrity memoir and he was fascinated by the new ways technology is influencing society’s love lives, so he teamed up with NYU sociologist Eric Klinenberg. Together they took on a […]
Dancing with Werewolves, or at least a Werewolf
I have to admit that I’m actually kind of glad that I read the sequel first. It made this series a lot more fun (and it’s a lot of fun already) for all the “oh, now I get it” moments. The opening of the first volume of the Parasol Protectorate presents vague Cinderella elements in the heroine (although her likely prince charming is both werewolf and not very charming-or is he…). Alexia was never allowed to participate in society in order to give her younger […]
No One Is Safe
I don’t think I can reach the 250 word quota for this review. Just go read this book. It’s hilarious. No book is safe, no character left unscathed. Ortberg’s ability to hone in on the character’s personality and then twist it into the 21st century is ridiculously brilliant and packs a punch that shades between laughing out loud and the irresistible urge to shout “BURN!” to the character on the page. My two all-time favorite sections are her rip on the American Girl series and […]
Scottish black comedy madness.
Okay, so biting the bullet on my next couple of reviews because I’m behind and don’t want to get even further behind by being paralyzed about what to say. Bottom line about One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night (which is apparently named after a Robbie Williams song–thanks, Kat!): super fun spoof of action films in book form. Great characters even though they could have been flimsy. Very funny. Features dialogue written in the Scottish dialect, which I thought was really fun (but […]