Book cover of Let's Pretend This Never Happened

Book description

Even when I was funny, I wasn't this funny'
Augusten Burroughs, author of Running With Scissors

Have you ever embarrassed yourself so badly you thought you'd never get over it?

Have you ever wished your family could be just like everyone else's?

Have you ever been followed to school by…

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Why read it?

4 authors picked Let's Pretend This Never Happened as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I dare you to read this book and not belly laugh at least a half dozen times.

I love that Jenny Lawson can poke fun at herself and her relationships and do so in a way that you can’t help but cheer for her. This book may have the highest laughs per page ratio I’ve ever read.

I felt like I was on a roller coaster ride that never stopped while reading this book. It was thrilling and scary and fun. I also couldn’t stop bursting into laughter that ranged from high-pitched shrieking to low-key chuckling, all while nervously looking around to see if anyone in my proximity would ask what was so funny. Because … I don’t know what was so funny.

Everything I was laughing at was inappropriate. Concerning. Completely not funny if I thought about it. But that is the genius of Jenny Lawson’s memoir. Her wild and disturbing journey through life and her…

I first discovered this writer through her blog, The Bloggess. I admired her frank, weird, obscene imagination then and I still do, now that she’s become a best-selling author. 

Her childhood in rural Texas could not be more different than mine in the urban Bronx, but she still feels like a kindred spirit. I love the way she navigates through childhood, marriage, pregnancy, and work while not allowing her physical and psychological issues to limit her in any way. 

One of those issues is being phobic, and that’s something I can relate to. You name it, I’m afraid of…

From Annie's list on laughter and tears.

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Book cover of Idol Pursuits: Complete Edition

Idol Pursuits by Robert Rioux,

Think how tough it is to reach adulthood in today's complicated world. Now imagine doing so in front of a global audience. That's what growing up in show business is like. Every youthful mistake laid bare for all to see. Malefactors looking to ensnare the naive at any turn. Each…

Any memoir which begins with the author calling Laura Ingalls a liar because she didn’t employ fact checkers while writing Little House on the Prairie, is my kinda read. Jenny Lawson writes in a non-sequitur, stream of consciousness way that I love because that’s how my mind works. This book is laugh-out-loud funny and edgy, but also heartfelt and heartbreaking. It’s a wonderful glimpse into the mind of someone who is unabashedly messy. We need more stories like this

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Book cover of Idol Pursuits: Complete Edition

Idol Pursuits by Robert Rioux,

Think how tough it is to reach adulthood in today's complicated world. Now imagine doing so in front of a global audience. That's what growing up in show business is like. Every youthful mistake laid bare for all to see. Malefactors looking to ensnare the naive at any turn. Each…

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