I Love Everybody (and Other Atrocious Lies): True Tales of a Loudmouth Girl

I Love Everybody (and Other Atrocious Lies): True Tales of a Loudmouth Girl
Average customer rating:

HAHAHAHAHA AND MORE...........

I love everything she writes - funny, quirky, will lift your spirits!

Review from a loudmouth girl

Very forced.

The Funny for the 30-something Crowd - Notaro Style

I Love Everybody (and Other Atrocious Lies): True Tales of a Loudmouth Girl
Laurie Notaro
Manufacturer: Villard
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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There's a (Slight) Chance I Might Be Going to Hell: A Novel of Sewer Pipes, Pageant Queens, and Big Trouble

ASIN: 0812969006
Release Date: 2004-06-08

Book Description

Here are more scathingly funny tales from the wild side! Laurie Notaro survived the debauched ride of her twenties and the bumpy road to matrimony. Now she’s ready to take on the thirtysomething years . . . and almost middle age has never been more hilarious.

Laurie is married, mortgaged, and now—miraculously—employed in the corporate world, discovering that bosses come in all shapes, sizes, and degrees of mental stability. After maxing out her last good credit card at Banana Republic, she’s dressed for success and ready to face the jungle: surviving feral, six-foot-plus Gretchen (“Three Thousand Faces of Eve”) before battling the overbearing, overstuffed (in way-too-small pants) new mom Suzzi, who ruthlessly cancels Laurie’s newspaper column and learns that payback can be a bitch. Laurie also explores the backstabbing world of preschoolers at a Halloween party, the X-rated madness of a family trip to Disneyland, and the pressure from her QVC-addicted mother and the rest of the world to reproduce. But while losing more friends to babies than to booze, she realizes there’s a plus side: at least for a couple of months she gets to be the thinner friend.

I Love Everybody (and Other Atrocious Lies) is Laurie Notaro at her deliciously quirky best. Can a woman prone to what her loved ones might term “meltdowns” (she considers them “Opportunities to Enlighten”) put a smile on her face and love everybody? Take a guess.

Customer Reviews:

HAHAHAHAHA AND MORE..................2007-09-19

I haven't laugh this hard in a long time.... I was having so much fun that I gave one to my daughter and she would called me late at night, just laughing and telling me which page to go to and it was a great bonding experience........It is awesome! thank you Laurie!

I love everything she writes - funny, quirky, will lift your spirits! .......2007-05-19

Although I feel compelled to note, right up front, that humor is tricky and what one person finds funny may not appeal to another, I still think this book is one that MOST readers will find laugh out loud funny. I love every book Notaro has written and they've found a permanent place on my bookshelf because they're guaranteed to lift my spirits on even the worst days.

Hers is the kind of humor that I'm tempted to call a combination of humor and self-help because I ALWAYS feel better about my life after reading about her misfortunes (but not guilty, because she is able to laugh at herself and, besides, her books sell well, so I figure any temporary humiliation is offset somewhat by that).

Notaro has a knack for being totally shameless about exposing life's various insults foisted upon her - and making normally dull subjects seem funny (everything from having kidney stones to finding herself traumatized and in a state of near nakedness, quite by accident, at Disneyland (yes, DISNEYLAND).

She is quick to point out her character flaws as well. She can be impatient, clumsy, drawn to the wrong type of boyfriends (until she found her husband) and prone to the most embarrassing experiences. Somehow this makes for a great read. I relate to her and I think a lot of others will.

I should note that this may fall into the type of book known as a "woman's book" and I'm not sure how many men will relate to this one. I hope I'm wrong about that.

Review from a loudmouth girl.......2007-05-16

Laurie Notaro is my hero. She has a great writing style. Her stories are hilarious. I suggest every woman who has ever struggled to fit in and do the right thing to read her books.

Very forced........2007-02-12

I purchased this book on a whim and was thoroughly disappointed (there goes my future spontaneous purchases!). Couldn't even get through it because it's attempts at humor were so flat, they were almost insulting. Thank God for target's return policy; I exchanged the book for Susan Gilman's 'Hypocrite...', which I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend.

The Funny for the 30-something Crowd - Notaro Style.......2007-02-04

Older, but still an Idiot Girl, Notaro's "I Love Everybody" recounts snot bubbles, the trouble with email, and other minutia done in classic Notaro style.

Notaro is one of my absolute favorite authors. She never fails to make me laugh-out-loud. I highly recommend any of her books!

Everybody's Grandpa: Fifty Years Behind the Mike

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Everybody's Grandpa: Fifty Years Behind the Mike
Louis M "Grandpa" Jones
Manufacturer: Univ of Tennessee Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Everybody Was So Young: Gerald and Sara Murphy: A Lost Generation Love Story

Average customer rating:

"Making It New"
The Murphys: maybe more interesting than their pal Fitzgerald
Real Life Is Better Than Fiction!
You will wish you had lived and loved and laughed with them
A beautiful story beautifully written

Everybody Was So Young: Gerald and Sara Murphy: A Lost Generation Love Story
Amanda Vaill
Manufacturer: Broadway
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0767903706
Release Date: 1999-04-20

Amazon.com

Gerald and Sara Murphy were the golden couple of the Lost Generation. Born to wealth and privilege, they fled the stuffy confines of upper-class America to reinvent themselves in France as legendary party givers and enthusiastic participants in the modernist revolution of the 1920s. He became an important painter; she made everyday life a work of art. Their friends F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and John Dos Passos all based fictional characters on the Murphys; Picasso painted them; and Calvin Tomkins rekindled their glamour for a younger generation in his affectionate 1971 portrait, Living Well Is the Best Revenge. Amanda Vaill's vivid new biography builds on Tomkins's work to provide a full-length account of the Murphys' remarkable life together.

As well as good times, that life included suffering endured with great courage. The Murphys' teenage sons died within two years of each other in the mid-1930s--one suddenly, one after a long battle with tuberculosis--and the Depression forced Gerald to resume the uncongenial work of managing his family's business. Vaill's sensitive rendering reveals the moral substance that enabled this stylish couple to survive heartbreak. But it's her marvelous evocation of those magical expatriate years that lingers in the memory. The wit and imaginative panache with which the Murphys lived sparkles again, recapturing a splendid historical moment. As Sara later said, "It was like a great fair, and everybody was so young." --Wendy Smith

Book Description

Gifted artist Gerald Murphy and his elegant wife, Sara, were icons of the most enchanting period of our time; handsome, talented, and wealthy expatriate Americans, they were at the very center of the literary scene in Paris in the 1920s. In Everybody Was So Young--one of the best reviewed books of 1995--Amanda Vaill brilliantly portrays both the times in which the Murphys lived and the fascinating friends who flocked around them. Whether summering with Picasso on the French Riviera or watching bullfights with Hemingway in Pamplona, Gerald and Sara inspired kindred creative spirits like Dorothy Parker, Cole Porter, and F. Scott Fitzgerald (Nicole and Dick Diver in Tender is the Night were modeled after the Murphys). Their story is both glittering and tragic, and in this sweeping and richly anecdotal portrait of a marriage and an era, Amanda Vaill "has brought them to life as never before" (Chicago Tribune).

Customer Reviews:

"Making It New".......2007-09-06

I had to go out and buy this book after seeing "Making It New: The Art and Style of Sara and Gerald Murphy" at the Williams College Museum of Art in Williamstown, MA. The book is terrific, but if you're interested in this period, its writers and artists than track down this exhibit. It's a wonderful and extraordinary show about the Murphys and those they were friends with. Paintings, theater pieces, diary entries, letters, amazing photographs, home movies and more illustrate that the Murphys were really an essential part of the 1920s and 1930s. An argument can be made that they were the center that everything spun out from. It is absolutely sensational.

The Murphys: maybe more interesting than their pal Fitzgerald.......2007-04-01

Zelda Fitzgerald died on March 10, 2005. Hers was a terrible death --- she was a patient at the Highland Mental Hospital in Asheville, North Carolina, and the building caught fire, and because the patients were locked in, Zelda and eight others died. She was 48.

Her life had, effectively, ended years earlier, when she had the first of her breakdowns and was diagnosed as a schizophrenic. Or had it ended earlier than that? Perhaps with the death of her estranged husband, the once glamorous, then ruined F. Scott Fitzgerald, in 1940. Or maybe even earlier, on the Riviera, in 1924, when she had a dalliance with a French aviator that so enraged that her husband she tried to kill herself a few months later. Or even earlier, when Scott started appropriating her personality and her ideas for the characters in his novels.

Yes, but for a few years there, they had it all, didn't they? They were the Golden Couple, the personification of the '20s: young, beautiful, gifted. But not smart about fame, although, back then, almost no one understood how the flame of media draws you in, consumes you for the amusement of an uncaring public, and leaves you with ashes in your mouth and regret in your heart.

No, wait. Some people did grasp that. The Murphys did. And, as Amanda Vaill tells their story, they are considerably more interesting than their friends, the drunk and disorderly Fitzgeralds.

And can we talk about turning life into art?

Late each morning in the summer of 1922, Gerald went outside his home in Antibes and created something never seen before --- a beach! --- by raking the seaweed and stones. For this, he is said to have invented the idea of the Riviera as a summer destination.

Moments later, Sara would join him and, on a blanket, read or write. She wore a white linen dress or bathing suit. And, always, a long strand of pearls, which she looped around her back so she wouldn't mar her tan (and, she said, because the sun was good for them). For this, she became a style-setter and muse.

Gerald and Sara together were not two but one. They were "The Murphys," a young and rich American couple who used their youth and money to establish themselves at the center of a cultural elite in which everybody was young, talented, acclaimed. Cole Porter, Stravinsky, Picasso (who was in love with Sara), Cocteau --- though they were stars on their own, they orbited the Murphys. "There was a shine to life wherever they were," Archibald MacLeish said. "It was as though custom and habit had been wiped away and the thing itself was, for an instant, seen. Don't ask me how."

Then F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway showed up.

If you've read Tender Is the Night, you know that Fitzgerald took the Murphys as models for the Divers. Whatever its merits, the novel reduced the Murphys to "Beautiful People." In fact, Gerald was an accomplished painter, an American Leger. He and Sara were experts on African-American spiritual music. They financed theatrical productions and helped worthy friends (Hemingway, for just one).

And they were far from untouched by the troubles of ordinary mortals.

First their young son Patrick came down with tuberculosis. Then, suddenly, their younger son died of meningitis. "Fancy. There's no other word for it," John Dos Passos said. "They could have thought & thought for a million years and they wouldn't have been able to think of one like that." And then, "fancy" again, a few years later, when Patrick died, and the Murphys had to carry on for their one remaining child.

It gets, if possible, more intense. Gerald returned to America to run his family business, a posh New York leather store named Mark Cross. He sent money to the faltering Fitzgerald. He had some deep poetic attachments with young men. And then he died. Dorothy Parker sent his widow this telegram: "Dearest Sara Dearest Sara." The widow staged a funeral that was described as "courage disguised as taste." But that was his life. And hers.

It's easy to read a book like this for the anecdotes about the mighty. But Fitzgerald comes across here as an eternal college boy and a bit of a fool, Hemingway as cold and manipulative. In contrast, the Murphys seem like explorers of the rarest kind --- blessed with money, they set out to find beauty and harmony. That they also found tragedy only makes their story more fascinating.

College kids majoring in Gender Studies can find much in the life of Zelda Fitzgerald to ponder. I'm not knocking that --- there are lessons galore in that roller coaster of a life. But when you're further along the road, the Fitzgeralds start to be, at bottom, a lot of noise --- spoiled children breaking things.

The Murphys, in contrast, look more substantial, more worthy of a sustained view. The Murphys, for all their money and privilege, seem real. These days, I don't want to read about the Fitzgeralds; I want to read Fitzgerald. But the Murphys --- they're well worth 500 pages.

Real Life Is Better Than Fiction!.......2007-01-11

This delightful story is like watching a wonderful old movie from the 30's-40's! And I learned a thing or two about history!!! I'll be urging my book group to read this.

You will wish you had lived and loved and laughed with them.......2006-07-23

This is a joy, a party, a nonfiction book that reads like a novel. It will make you long to be a part of the expatriate Americans in Paris and the south of France during the 1920s, even if you are not particularly good with history. Amanda Vaill takes a decade, a place, and a group of friends, and unravels for you a world where Hemingway and Fitzgerald adored, hated and envied one another; a world in which Picasso draws Sara Murphy on the beach, nude but for a long strand of pearls; a world in which John Dos Passos and Dorothy Parker and so many others of the "Lost Generation" simply populated each other's lives with more talent and longevity than any of them truly knew. Meeting them one at a time, through beach parties and romances and the writing of novels and the making of art and the normal joys and tragedies of life, will plant the history of this time in your mind like you would never guess. Watch out -- your next step may be Hemingway's "Moveable Feast" and Fitzgerald's "Tender is the Night," and you will be yearning to eat at The Brasserie Lipp in Paris, straining to hear the ancient laughter coming from the back room.

A beautiful story beautifully written.......2005-12-27

The story of Gerald and Sara Murphy is sprawling and encompasses so much that was exciting about America's last period of innocence, and runs the gamut from being the golden-child chosen ones of their era to something approaching Greek tragedy in their private lives. But the real test of a good biography is in the writing, and Amanda Vaill stands beside David McCullough as one of the most engaging biographers in our time, doing the incredible job of keeping all the players and egos, all the locations and permutations straight, intriguing, and finally resulting in something most biographies never are: A real page-turner. Even if you've never read Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Dos Passos, or MacLeish, their stories as interwoven with the Murphy's own will grab and hold your attention as brilliant, distinct, and all-too-human characters. Kudos for a masterwork that pulls all the disparate elements of the Lost Generation together so effortlessly to convey this important time in 20th century history.

Aimee Semple McPherson: Everybody's Sister (Library of Religious Biography Series)

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a fair presentation of an evangelist.
Nice Book
Vaudeville
SISTER AIMEE.........................FOR SUCH A TIME AS THEN

Aimee Semple McPherson: Everybody's Sister (Library of Religious Biography Series)
Edith L. Blumhofer
Manufacturer: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0802801552

Book Description

One of the most influential and dynamic evangelists of the twentieth century, Aimee Semple McPherson (1890-1944) was a complex, controversial figure with a flair for the dramatic. Against the backdrop of the Roaring Twenties, Sister Aimee, as she was widely known, cultivated her ministry, preaching the "old-time religion" and calling for a return to simple biblical Christianity. A religious leader who strongly identified with ordinary folk, McPherson attracted thousands of fiercely loyal followers throughout the United States and Canada.

Edith Blumhofer's thorough biography is grounded in extensive research and academic scholarship. The book offers unique insights into McPherson's Canadian and Salvation Army roots and her relationship with Pentecostalism. Significantly, Blumhofer had access to selected minutes of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, a resource not available to previous biographers, and contact with both of McPherson's children, Roberta Semple Salter and Rolf McPherson. Dozens of photographs also help to illustrate McPherson's multiple roles as missionary, radio broadcaster, editor, mother, wife, and—above all—colorful and inspiring evangelist.

Customer Reviews:

a fair presentation of an evangelist........2007-06-30

I picked this book up off the bargin table at my local bookstore and found it a good read. It made me want to read other books in the series.

Blumhofer presents a balanced view of Mcpherson neither focusing on the more sensational aspects of her life story nor selectively ignoring difficulties. This is not the typical protestant hagiography, but its presentation is generally positive. Blumhofer does a good job of sketching Aimee's influences and development, her remarkable and gregarious personality and ability as a visionary and organizer of a movement. She also presents the scandals, (marriages, handling of funds, the "kidnapping," infighting at Temple Angelus, lawsuits, etc.) in a fair way. I do not think you could come away from reading this book and think Aimee Semple Mcpherson did not have her share of faults, and issues. But you couldn't demonize her either.

The biggest criticism I have of this book is a certain sloppiness in the editing. Dates contradict, grammar is strained in places. It is a shame that there was no revision with the reprinting of the book.

Nice Book.......2007-04-23

This was a very fair biography of Aimee Semple McPherson. She told the story without being judgmental or accusatory. I liked that. It's as good as Epstein's book (which I want to read again), and is better in fact that she includes an index, where Epstein's does not, and books that don't have indexes are very difficult to reference at a later date. I liked this book very much.

Vaudeville.......2006-01-07

She seems to have been heavily influenced by both azuza street crowd i.e. much of today's pentecostalism/charasmatics i.e. the toronto/brownsville blessing (a history which is fraught with charlatans and very biblically problemic) and hollywood.

In studying many of her sermons what is readily apparent is the lack of any solid biblical understanding or doctrine. It was just get saved and jesus loves you. A cozy accomodation to the masses who can pretty much define that jesus they want to believe in and then follow.

SISTER AIMEE.........................FOR SUCH A TIME AS THEN.......2000-01-14

Aimee Semple McPherson was a Pentecostal evangelist who achieved celebrity status in the 1920's. "Sister"(as she was affectionately called) also pastored Angelus Temple in Los Angeles and founded the Foursquare denomination. To begin to understand the complex McPherson one should read this definitive biography by Edith Blumhofer. Aimee, a Canadian farm girl was heavily influenced by her mother's Salvation Army activism, and to a lesser extent, her father's traditional Methodism. For example, McPherson's putting ministry ahead of family is parallel to her mother's doing the same and the Salvation Army marriage vow to not let marriage interfere with ministry. The Army background definitely influence her use of theatrics and pageantry in her ministry. Robert Semple, an evangelist, and her first husband, introduces Aimee to Pentecostalism. "Sister"'s Pentecostalism was not definitive enough for classical Pentecostalists(Some Assemblies of God ministers saying she did not insist on tongues always being the evidence of the "Baptism of the Spirit"; a view which seems to shift in agreement with classical Pentecostalists later in her ministry?). She referred to her message as "Bible Christianity" rather than Pentecostalism. One is struck by the acceptance of her by much of Protestantism, the transdenominational clergy cooperation, and her good sense of using much of Protestant hymnody to unify the different traditions attending her meetings. She seems more of a forerunner of the "Charismatic Movement"(pentecostal renewal within Protestant denominations) than a classical Pentecostalist. The most intriquing aspect of the book for me as an evangelical, is Aimee's methodology in presenting the gospel. Rather than "preaching the law" so as to convict of sin, Sister instead provides a potrait of the Beautiful Saviour, Jesus, "the same yesterday, today and forever". Perhaps McPherson finds that the prescence of God will so show the Saviour in his holiness and glory that the same goal is achieved more efficiently? Blumhofer shows Sister Aimee, as she was, warts and all. One flaming anti-Pentecostalist summarizes McPherson as "married three times, died of an overdose". To get the full story, read this book. Fundamentalists and Evangelicals tend to look over obvious faults of their heroes: Luther was foul-mouthed and anti-Semitic, William Carey and John Wesley were far from role-model husbands. Sister, like all of us is a mixture of mud and marble. For God has no perfect people to work with. Her willingnes to go into the dance hall, boxing ring or red-light district to love the unlovely reminds one of Wesley and Whitefield. Historians, Evangelicals and Pentecostals will enjoy this well-researched, sympathetic potrait of "Everybody's Sister."

The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody: Great Figures of History Hilariously Humbled

Average customer rating:

The Hobo Philosopher
An oldie but a goodie
Must read for any history or humour buff
The Decline and Fall of Practicaly Everybody by Will Cuppy
A Fond Memory Returned

The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody: Great Figures of History Hilariously Humbled
Will Cuppy
Manufacturer: Barnes & Noble
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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1066 & All That: A Memorable History Of England, Comprising All The Parts You Can Remember, Including 103 Good Things, 5 Bad Kings And 2 Genuine Dates (Methuen Humour)
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ASIN: 088029809X

Book Description

Ever wonder what Nero did before he began fiddling about in Rome, or wanted the bare facts about Lady Godiva? Maybe you've found the story of Lucrezia Borgia a bitter pill to swallow, or wanted the straight skinny on corpulent King Henry the Eighth, but you haven't the stomach for stuffy history books. Now these and twenty-two more of history's most famous personages are brought brilliantly to life, in this collection of unfailingly accurate yet undeniably hilarious biographies. You'll laugh while you learn about the very real people behind the legendary names, including why Montezuma was so vengeful, and why Catherine was so Great. You'll even finally lay to rest the rumor that Charlemagne was called "Chuck" by his friends.

Customer Reviews:

The Hobo Philosopher.......2007-09-14

This book is historically accurate, funny, satirical, informative, entertaining - in a single word "wonderful". It has been an inspiration to me. When I found out that there was no more Willy Cuppy I was so disappointed that I started my own series on Famous Folks. I have temporarily entitled my book Hobo Notes on Famous Folks.
Obviously I loved the idea and the style of Willy Cuppy. Of course Will is much smarter than I am, but hopefully I can make up for my inadequacy in other ways.
Willy inspires me to sit down and start writing as does Robert Service and Mark Twain.
You can't miss with anything by Willy Cuppy - this is probably his most well known publication.

An oldie but a goodie.......2007-04-03

I have an original copy of the 1963 printing of Will Cuppy's The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody. Cuppy was a hilliarious writer. To do good comedy one has to take it seriously and Cuppy takes his history seriously, but I can't read his history without chuckling. His footnotes add to the humorous text. In this book he lampoons the various characters we learned about in highschool including Hannibal, Cleopatra, Columbus and Montezuma just to name a few. Will Cuppy makes one interested in what used to be just dull dates and factoids. Go for this one, you won't be disappointed.

Must read for any history or humour buff.......2007-03-06

I have read this work so many times I have worn out three copies, no exaggeration. It is delightful humour, of a sort rarely found nowadays. And it's not too bad as a history either. No "1066 and all that" drollery here. This is genuinely amusing, and it has held readers captive for decades. This book inspired me to seek the history behind the humour which has led to three decades of being a contented arm chair historian.

You will not be disappointed in this book, which I feel is Cuppy's best.

The Decline and Fall of Practicaly Everybody by Will Cuppy.......2007-01-15

One of my all-time favorites. My decades-old copy was literally falling apart, so I was glad to find a hard-cover edition available at a reasonable price.

A Fond Memory Returned.......2006-04-07

My high school history teacher (who was no fool and knew his stuff better than some professors I met in college) gave me this book. His copy was the original thing-- almost falling apart from being loved by so many students. It managed to spark an interest in history in me, because quite frankly I have no patience for the "golden sheen" that so many people try to put on historical figures. Who on earth cares about someone who's so perfect you could never talk to them, anyway? Let's face it, the so-called "greats" were people with flaws and quirks just like we are! Bravo to Will Cuppy for having the guts and the skill to portray them in a way that makes us laugh and makes us question a little beyond the almost impenetrable veil of History.

Average customer rating:

Offbeat slice of life stories
Totally disappointing.
Quirky, honest and very funny memoir
Hipper than thou poseur. Gag me.
Exceptionally well-developed and revealing essays about life in San Francisco

Everybody into the Pool: True Tales
Beth Lisick
Manufacturer: William Morrow
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0060778776
Release Date: 2005-07-05

Book Description

Beth Lisick started out as a homecoming princess with a Crisco-aided tan and a bad perm. And then everything changed. How exactly did this suburban girl next door end up as one of San Francisco's foremost chroniclers of alternative culture, touring as the only straight woman with a band of punk rock lesbian poets and living in illegal warehouses -- all while managing to get married, buy a house, and have a baby? Lisick explains it all in her hilarious, irreverent memoir Everybody into the Pool.

Plunging headlong into America's deepest subcultures, while keeping both feet firmly planted in her parents' Leave It to Beaver values, Lisick makes her adult home on the fringe of mainstream culture and finds it rich with paradox and humor. On one hand, she lives in "Brokeley" with drug dealers and street gangs; on the other, she drives a station wagon with a car seat in the back, makes her own chicken stock, and attends ladies' luncheons.

Among Lisick's true tales are "My Way or the Bi-Way," in which a series of girl-on-girl fiascos from UC Santa Cruz confirm her suspicions that she's just a straight girl with a positive attitude who'd give anything the old college try; "The Lowly Hustle," in which she takes on a litany of odd jobs to make ends meet ("I was like a college student designing my own major, except I was thirty-five and designing my own minimum-wage job"); and the endearing story of her "courtship" with her now husband Eli, who impresses her with a spastic rendition of a song called "The Wack-Ass Caucasian Two Step Chicken" and invites her to his Mission District warehouse space -- a world of feral raccoons and exploding sewage pipes. (It's clear to Lisick that he's "The One.")

Fans of David Sedaris and Sarah Vowell will relish Lisick's scathingly funny, smart, and very real take on the effluvia of daily living. No matter what community she's exposing to the light, Lisick's hilarious perspective always hits the right chord.

Customer Reviews:

Offbeat slice of life stories.......2006-11-06

Very enjoyable short stories with a unique view of growing up and living in northern California.

Totally disappointing........2006-11-04

If I could give anything lower than one star, I would - possibly even a MINUS 10.

I was totally disappointed, yet forced myself to finish the book. Had it not been for wanting to give a review here, I'd have stopped at page 24 with the pubic hair incident.

Had Everyone Into The Pool been fiction, it would have been different, but it's unimaginable (to me) that anyone could possibly tell such disgusting things about herself, her friends, and family, and act as though she's proud of it all.

This is one of, if not the, most disgusting books I've ever run across. The last chapter, about her poor baby, was sickening. I'm surprised she was never visited by CPS (Children's Protective Services) - or maybe she was. (But I doubt it, because I'm sure if she had been, she'd have been bragging about it, too.)

I can't imagine anyone in their right mind not seeing how filthy and uncared for this little guy was.

Even when the light finally went on in her head about the horrible condition of her pathetic, only months' old son, Gus, it didn't appear to make that much difference to her, and she didn't try to clean up the poor little guy or get rid of his cradle cap, but rather, she "...just kept walking, slipping Gus into this big, smelly fabric pouch around my neck called a sling."

She walked like that for hours, up hill after hill, triggering memories.

Hopefully she's learned since then, and has, or will have it, written in another book. I will not be reading that book to find out, however.

Unfortunately I bought this one from the author, at our local Writer's Conference, where she was the keynote speaker. What a disappointment the book was, especially after listening to Beth's inspiring words at the conference.

I'm just glad she didn't have any other books there to sell, or I'd have wasted even more money.

Just as an aside, it's inconceivable to me how anyone could read this book and actually like it, as has been evidenced by all of the glowing reviews given by other posters.

Maybe it's the age thing (I'm over 65), or the same as those who are Democrats, and those who are Republicans having totally opposite views of things. It's bewildering to me.

Quirky, honest and very funny memoir.......2006-09-07

Reviewed by Cherie Fisher for Reader Views (08/06)

I found "Everybody into the Pool" to be quirky, extremely honest and very funny. Beth Lisick is a natural storyteller who describes her life in a way that most of us only wish we could. Lisick developed this amazing sense of humor while growing up in a normal "Leave it to Beaver" household during the 1960's and 1970's sexual revolution. Her tales span from idolizing her "hippie" babysitter to chronicling San Francisco's alternative lifestyles.

Lisick laughs at herself as she describes her early transformation from geeky kid to ultra tanned homecoming queen in high school while wearing an oversized puffy sleeved plaid fashion disaster with royal blue, lime green, canary yellow, and bright pink with just a touch of purple. From there her stories lead through college to her beliefs in her own sexuality. Her total honesty in the Chapter "My Way or the Bi Way" where she believes she is bi-sexual is definitely not for the conservative reader. Lisick's experience with a woman was described as "There's no doubt I enjoyed myself, but it was similar to the way I enjoyed waterskiing for the first time or eating uni. I jumped in with a positive attitude, realizing it was an activity beloved by millions, but it didn't exactly push me over the edge."

Always underpaid, living on the edge of poverty, even working as a giant banana, Lisick's describes her artsy life on the fringe of San Francisco's counter culture. During her dives into this culture she finally meets her husband, Eli, in the chapter titled "The One". Eli is a product of a homosexual father and lesbian mother who are very open about their sexuality. Of course, Beth takes this in stride and really likes the family. Not surprisingly. It turns out that Eli is a poor musician living illegally in a Mission District warehouse in a drug infested neighborhood. After Lisick moves all of her things into this warehouse, the sewage pipes from the residential hotel above them explode, sending excrement and toilet paper all over her things. This leads her to decide that Eli really is "The One".

The litany continues describing her first home purchase in a drug infested neighborhood to motherhood. I especially enjoyed the chapter "Little Bundle of Entropy". She had me laughing as she lives life in the counterculture while cooking, driving a station wagon and being a mom. I really believe that Beth is the way to the top, and of course her arrival there will be on her terms. I would love to see her do an HBO or Comedy Channel special. For a good light read, you don't want to miss "Everybody into the Pool".

Hipper than thou poseur. Gag me........2006-01-09

This book was loaned to me by an acquaintance who borrowed the book from the library and thought I'd like it because I'm from SF and I'm edgy. Whatever.

Okay so Beth Lisick is cooler than you. And she's gonna pound that into you over and over again so you KNOW it. She was cool just out of diapers. She "hung out" with her babysitter who was a hippie! Her parents were so "square" that they were cool! (Hey, it's hip to be square, remember?)

And she has an astounding memory. She can remember-at age 4--that it was on a Thursday that something in particular happened. Right.

She's so cool that she was a track star AND homecoming queen, er, princess...but it didn't matter to her, because she's so cool, you see. So she wore an ugly dress because she was too cool to care. Right.

She's so effin cool that when she works with some nuns at a charity auction and they aren't paying attention and she COULD get away with stealing a lot of loose cash that's around she only takes the $40 that she needs and no more and still feels some guilt. Now that's cool, right?

She's so cool she never had to borrow a penny from her wealthy folks. But her dad helped her buy a house. But it was in the "bad" part of Berkeley--really close to Oakland--so she's still cool, see? And there were, get this, DRUG DEALERS on her block! And they knew her name! And it was all just so effin COOL!

Every time she mentions that she spent big bucks on her yuppy life style she apologizes for it, to be sure you know she's not just some kind of a sell-out or something.

Oh yeah, and she's a name dropper. And her brother made a name for himself in advertising and is rich.

And her lifestyle is cooler than yours because she chose to live on temp jobs and be "poor" and arty.

Does everyone see that she's an ARTIST and will never just be normal or want to be? See? See? See? She even thought she might be a LESBIAN!!!! Now if that's not counter-culture what is? Wow.

Good grief. People I've known who are like Lisick are the worst kind of poseurs.

Oh yeah, and she's a MOM, but she's a COOL mom whose baby isn't yuppified because he's snotty (and she wipes his snot off with her hair at one point! Isn't that COOL?) and dirty and dressed all funky and weird. So you know she's an artist.

Please. Spare me this...

Exceptionally well-developed and revealing essays about life in San Francisco.......2005-12-26

Lisick is a suburban girl turned alternative lifestyle writer. She's not overly hip, nor is she snarky about her involvement in counterculture. In fact, she envies other alternative magazine writers, all while living an authentic month-to-month existence in San Francisco. Her essays are well-developed, more than just brief snapshots, and she's not afraid to reveal all.

Lisick delves into her date with the prom king when she was a naive 14-year-old, her days living in a dilapidated warehouse in a seedy neighborhood, her attempts to become bisexual and free (even when it wasn't turning her on), working at a Catholic fundraiser, days spent in church haughtily reciting the Apostles' Creed from memory, and, finally, mothering a 3-month-old son. The essays are funny and feel a bit like a wicked delight. I'd love to read more from Lisick.

Keys to the Kingdom: The Rise of Michael Eisner and the Fall of Everybody Else

Average customer rating:

digging into disney
Prescient Book
pretty terrible
Not a full view of the man -- which proves the point!
Masters Paints a Grim Picture of Disney's Inner Sanctum

Keys to the Kingdom: The Rise of Michael Eisner and the Fall of Everybody Else
Kim Masters
Manufacturer: Collins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Disney War
WORK IN PROGRESS: RISKING FAILURE, SURVIVING SUCCESS
BUILDING A COMPANY: ROY O. DISNEY AND THE CREATION OF AN ENTERTAINMENT EMPIRE
Disney: The Mouse Betrayed
The Barry Diller Story: The Life and Times of America's Greatest Entertainment Mogul

ASIN: 0066621097

Book Description

Like one of the movie moguls of old, Michael Eisner is a titan -- feared, powerful, and almost magically successful. After rising through ABC television and Paramount Pictures, he awoke the sleeping giant of Disney and sent it stomping across the entertainment landscape. But since the tragic death of Frank Wells in a helicopter crash in 1994, he has lacked -- for the first time in his career -- a colleague who could temper his personality.

The result, writes Kim Masters, has been a slide into a Nixonian paranoia and isolation. In The Keys to the Kingdom, Masters crafts a gripping account of this larger-than-life story of larger-than-life hubris, combining an insightful analysis of power in Hollywood with a vivid, deeply researched narrative that brings the personalities, the enmities, and the corporate mayhem to life.

Customer Reviews:

digging into disney.......2005-03-26

A very well written account of the movie business--detailing a lot of the major players. Discussion how decisions are made and how grown men act like little boys most of the time. This industry is ruthless and this book gives the reader on all the inside scoop about how that happens. A fascinating read. The pictures stink but thats ok.

Prescient Book.......2004-04-12

Keys to the Kingdom predicted the current situation at Disney with remarkable accuracy. The insights about Michael Eisner turned out to be right on the mark.

pretty terrible.......2004-02-25

Oh Lord, this book is so unbelievably frustrating....more than any book I've ever read. Eisner, his life and his actions are so completely fascinating and Masters somehow manages to take all this great material and make it mind-numbingly boring...what was she thinking? That you could write a "nuanced" portrait of someone by throwing in hot gossip, sound bites, bits of articles from Time and Newsweek, as well as a bunch of stories that don't remotely relate to the main subject but are "dishy"? There was so much I wanted to know as I read this book, so many questions I had and she didn't answer any of them. Masters discusses Eisner's charm vs. his ruthlessness, she brings up provacative examples of his relationship to his family, his friends and his colleagues, and then steamrolls all of them by emphasizing how "aloof" he is and "imperial." Doesn't she know that when sketching a complicated portrait of someone, you can't just throw a bunch of facts around but you have to maintain interest by putting them TOGETHER to form a PERSPECTIVE, a CONTEXT. Much more time should have been spent on Eisner's days at Disney (rather than the completely gratuitous tales of his time at Paramount, and Star Trek, and Nimoy, and Gene Roddenberry, and Don Simpson, and Barry Diller, and...well you get the picture). I liked the parts about his childhood and his relationship to his parents, they should have been given much more space...but the biggest flaw of this book is the lack of info on the Eisner-Katzenberg relationship. Sure, Masters give plenty of space to financial issues about Katzenberg's bonus, but aside from Wall Street enthusiasts, who the hell cares? She COMPLETELY glosses over the roots of the Eisner-Katzenberg bond, and we never get an idea of WHY IN THE WORLD DID THESE TWO PEOPLE REMAIN TOGETHER FOR 19 YEARS IF THEY WERE SUCH ENEMIES? What held them together? How exactly did they meet? She talks about how Katzenberg was won over, like others, by Eisner's self-deprecating charm and his (Eisner's) confidence in him, about Katzenberg's not-so-great childhood and his problems with his own parents (very vague descriptions there as well) and how Katzenberg constantly "sought Eisner's approval". Why? What did Eisner offer him that no one else did? Why did Katzenberg follow Eisner from Paramount to Disney? She spends a whole lot of time talking (in a dry, Variety-kind-of-way) about the break-up, but the real question she (and other writers) have often missed is NOT why this relationship crashed and burned but why it was born in the first place. Why did Eisner need Katzenberg? Why did Katzenberg become so enamoured with animation, with his role at Disney, with a potential role as Eisner's number 2? These people are not carbon cut-outs, they are people. They are fascinating, complex characters and Masters gives them with about as much focus as subjects of an obituary. She seems more interested in how much money Captain EO lost, how much money Eisner allegedly cheated certain people out of, how much money Eisner paid Michael Ovitz, how much money Katzenberg wanted, how pissed Leonard Nimoy was at Paramount, what a disaster Star Trek: The Motion Picture was to produce. I don't know about you, but I didn't pick that book up to learn about this stuff. It's SO DIFFICULT to really learn about these people (Eisner and Katzenberg) despite their famous "relationship" or "feud" extremely little is really written about their interactions together as people...you have to research a ton of articles to even find out anything...this is such an interesting subject but whatever Master's knows that the rest of us don't, she isn't sharing. Her book (like many articles) unfortunately is pervaded with the "Everyone knows this" kind of tone that drives me nuts...well, I'm not a Hollywood producer, or director, or actor. I've never met either of these people, but that's why I'm interested! People buy books on Spielberg because they're interested, why the hypocricy? Masters book is slanted, glib, gossipy, disorganized, unfocused,and worst of all, insulting to the reader.

Not a full view of the man -- which proves the point!.......2002-10-11

Some may say that Masters' book is biased against Eisner, but she does nothing except reiterate the feelings about him that have been voiced by many others in other forums. Maybe you want to give him the benefit of the doubt, but the duplicity, wishy-washiness, undercutting, second-guessing, micro-management and all around malevolence that is evidenced shows that's pretty much impossible. What we can't figure out is just why he is the way he is? Why does he casually cast aside decades-long friendships? Why doesn't he cultivate relationships with valuable talent instead of alienating them? What is most important to him that would cause him to make some the decisions he does? Eisner seems to be capable of cutting off his nose to spite his face--he fails to do things that would be beneficial to the company's bottom line which is what he claims to be most interested in. It doesn't add up. Still, it is fun reading about the Paramount years, the Katzenberg trial, etc. At this point in time (summer of 2002) when many believe Eisner is in danger of losing his job, this book gives us as much insight as possible as to the inner workings of Eisner's brain.
instead of burning

Masters Paints a Grim Picture of Disney's Inner Sanctum.......2001-09-24

After reading Hit and Run and an excerpt from the this book in Vanity Fair, I couldn't wait to read "Keys to the Kingdom." I was not disappointed. Masters does a fine job of telling Eisner's (and the stories of those around him--Katzenberg, Diller, etc)story. Something about Eisner has always bit a bit unreal--even smarmy at times--and Masters holds nothing back. It isn't always balanced, but overall is fair. The details and stories are terrific--until the last 1/5th of the book. I was engrossed until the story turned the Katzenberg trial--where Masters drowned us in the details. I love details, but at times one needed a road map to keep. Masters is to be commended for a journalistic/insiders account of that dark time for Disney, but wow...I just had a time staying focused. However, on the whole the book is well worth the paper back price. You'll learn how Disney has never really gotten over the death of Frank Wells and why all those executives keep leaving. It is indeed a grim place; Eisner's inner sanctum. It is also another fascinating book.

Average customer rating:

George Kell - Better than Ernie
A decent man sheds new light on baseball's golden years

Hello Everybody, I'm George Kell
George Kell , and Dan Ewald
Manufacturer: Sagamore Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1571671803

Book Description

When George Kell broke in with the old Philadelphia Athletics back in 1943, never did he dream he had just embarked on a 53-year major league ride. From induction into baseball's Hall of Fame to an equally accomplished broad- casting career, it was a fantastic journey.

Customer Reviews:

George Kell - Better than Ernie.......2006-05-01

I know...I know...Ernie Harwell is a legend in Detroit and a Man of God. I would never take anything away from Mr.Harwell.

But, having listened to them both for years growing up, I can tell you that George Kell DEFINED baseball for many more Detroiters than you might think.

And this book helps resurrect the feeling he brought to the game for those who still miss him.

He had so many great lines. Every Tiger fan knows what kind of play he was describing when he said "...And it's a dandy."

And what about "...that helps." Maybe too obscure of a reference for some but Kell's voice uttering those words pop into my head almost everytime a fortuitious circumstance occurs in my life.

A little old fashioned, maybe even uptight by the standards of the 1990's when he hung it up, George would be PERFECT as the ultimate retro announcer in today's baseball climate where fans, so jaded by one disillusionment after another, would relish a rock-solid influence like the GREAT George Kell...

A decent man sheds new light on baseball's golden years.......1998-11-05

That George's book turned out to be a long, tall, cold drink of water on a hot summer day came as no surprise to me. We in Michigan, who watched George throughout his years as the premier Tiger TV announcer and as one of the great players of his time, have long known of his commitment to to all that is good and right about America's pastime. But he also served as a prophet concerning the aspects of the modern game which led to a slow decay not only in the quality of the game, but in the character of some of the game's players and management. Even so, how can a baseball aficionado not feel the warm sunshine of yesteryear as we read of a living Hall of Famer's account of playing under Manager Connie Mack, alongside and against Ted Williams...Joe DiMaggio...even Minnie Minoso! George's book is special. I can virtually guarantee you will not read the likes of "Hello everybody, I'm George Kell" ever again. It is an easy-reading account of baseball's glory days, when a nation came out of a war against the forces of evil, and after looking in the mirror, realized the color line must be obliterated in what was then the undisputed King of American sport. George's decency shines through the entire book, just as his light has shined his entire life. Bravo!

Average customer rating:

Buddhism for Drunkards
Y'know, at least he didn't quit drinking and smoking.
Not as powerful.
The power of negative thinking
Very Good

Ruining It For Everybody
Jim Knipfel
Manufacturer: Tarcher
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Buzzing
Slackjaw: A memoir
Quitting the Nairobi Trio

ASIN: 1585423378
Release Date: 2004-05-06

Book Description

Praised by The New York Times for his "wicked black humor" and by Thomas Pynchon for putting readers on "an extraordinary emotional ride," Jim Knipfel has written about the failings of his body (Slackjaw) and the failings of his mind (Quitting the Nairobi Trio).

Now, in his third-and finest-memoir, Knipfel looks unflinchingly at his soul, and comes to some surprising conclusions in this anti-spirituality spiritual manifesto.

Customer Reviews:

Buddhism for Drunkards.......2007-05-25

Knipfel's memoir opens with one of the best opening lines that I've ever read: "Whenever I hear the word 'spiritual,' I reach for my revolver." I thought, "Hell yeah," and continued to nod my way through the rest of the book. The book is a sort-of spiritual awakening (of the non-religious variety). Jesus only makes one appearance--riding a horse and swinging a giant flaming sword.

The writing style is loose and friendly, like a good conversation over beers at a dive bar...and there are plenty of beers and dive bars in the book's brief 235 pages. "I don't even want to think about the condition of my liver," Knipfel says in the introduction. After reading Knipfel's three memoirs, his liver is probably the least of his worries. Thankfully, he's still alive and kicking, and shows no signs of slowing his writing or drinking.

Y'know, at least he didn't quit drinking and smoking........2006-06-24

That was my second thought after closing the book. I mean, Ruining It for Everybody almost, ALMOST ends with Jim and Morgan embracing on the beach and professing their love. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Just, Jim Knipfel has been by source, my supply of Midwestern understatement as applied to daily demons, justifiable paranoia, sadness, rage.

It's hard to get a Lutheran, lapsed or not, to discuss such things outside the VFW, let alone write them down. And if one did, his spelling likely would be not so good. And much as I love the beat guys, the punks, the howlers, I get a little uneasy sometimes with so much ... effluence. So, Knipfel's honest, no-frills descriptions feel comforting. It's not so bad to be sad or mad or bat guano crazy. I'm not alone.

And then comes happiness. What to do with that? Where I come from, we don't talk too much about that, either. But there he goes. Talking about it.

I've got to tell you - I pre-ordered this book and then took two years to crack it open. First, there was the back jacket with the prominent words being "spiritual" and "revolver." When I see the word "Revolver," I never think "gun." I think "Beatles." When I saw "Revolver" and "Spiritual" together? I thought "Tomorrow Never Knows." And then? "Double Fantasy" and Mark David Chapman. When you get happy, are your best efforts behind you? Is it over? Because I really never liked "Double Fantasy" as much as pretty much anything else John Lennon ever did. Then MDC went and shot him, so there's no way to know what might've come later.

Not that Knipfel equals John Lennon, that's not where I'm going with this at all. Each is sui generis. One thing they share, however, is an often antic view of the less-celebrated among us. I didn't want to open "Ruining It," because I was afraid that, in love and happiness, Knipfel might have lost perspective.

Guess not, though. Knipfel's prose remains compact and well-constructed to the point of elegance. That alone makes "Ruining It" worth the time. You don't have to have read the other memoirs in order to enjoy this book, but I think you'll feel more special if you have. Read "The Buzzing" as well, while you're at it. You'll be glad you did.

While "Ruining It" lacks some of the salt and sarcasm of the first two memoirs, it presents a unique view of contentment, comfort, love, routine, passing delusion, and, once again, those pesky daily demons. Unique in its honesty and elegance; less so, in the sentiments themselves. Because, once again, after reading one of these books, I feel comforted and less alone.

Not as powerful........2006-06-22

So far, this has been my least favorite Jim Knipfel book. The others were far more effective and easier to read. This one seemed strained, as if Knipfel is really trying to mine a played-out vein. The book has its moments, and it's very much worth reading, but it's just not as well written as his previous efforts. I can still recommend it, but if you want to read finer efforts from this very talented author, go for SLACKJAW, the best of his memoir work, and THE BUZZING, his novel, which is just purely a lot of fun.

The power of negative thinking.......2005-10-19

Jim Knipfel, a longtime columnist for the New York Press (a free weekly that's kind of a more surly, localized Village Voice), has crafted a side career for himself by documenting the degenerating state of his mind and body, moves into somewhat uncharted territory in "Ruining it for Everybody." Whereas "Slackjaw" was mainly about his struggle with the disease retinitis pigmentosa (i.e., he's going blind) and "Quitting the Nairobi Trio" his stay in a psych ward, now he deals with matters of the "spirit." Opening with the line "Whenever I hear the word 'spiritual' I reach for my revolver" may clue you in to the fact that he's not exactly a religous fellow--he professes his atheism early and matter-of-factly in the procedings--he nonetheless sets out to examine how his pessimistic attitude has exacerated his problems, and how he decided to turn a new leaf. Along the way the reader is treated to real-life anecdotes that are so sharply observed--and filled with bitter humor--that even blind, he sees more than most of us ever will.

Of course, one has to wonder how much of his low self-opinion is in his head. While he constantly berates himself for his "evil" thoughts and barely controlled temper, one also finds a guy who'll help senior citizens cross the street as a matter of common courtesy and is even polite to people he'd rather not have to deal with (notwithstanding the incident where he starts strangling a rude person upon a rare visit to a nightclub). In fact, I'd even go so far as to say Mr. Knipfel has as much of the plainspoken decency of his midwestern upbringing as he does the punk nihlism of his adopted New York City. Even while atoning for his past "sins" (some of which are actually pretty sinful, to be honest) I sometimes want to tell him that no apologies are necessary. Sure, he's got plenty of things rattling around in his skull that would scare most people, but it's really rather amazing how little of it he unleashes on the outside world.

While the rest of the country seems to be descending into faith-based intolerance led by the usual crowd of pious hypocrites, we can actually use a guy like Knipfel to show that being a good person doesn't mean plastering a happy face on just so people will like you. He shows us through the example of his own life that some external morality has nothing to do with a person's character. While he may subscribe to a creed he calls "Buddhism for Drunkards" (which is actually a pretty catchy phrase), his sharp and caustic wit would be nothing but a boon to the much-maligned cause of secular humanism, even if he isn't much of a "joiner." At least, I'd drink to that.

Very Good.......2005-09-06

I thought this book was extremely well done.
It reads like Jim Knipfel's personal confession. I van read how he has changed - from a sad little misanthropeto am empathetic misanthrope. I don't mean that in a negative way, I think Jim would agree.

Average customer rating:

Funny, brilliant, playful, and of course, interesting
very gertrude stein, but more readable

Everybody's Autobiography
Gertrude Stein
Manufacturer: Exact Change
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Making of Americans: Being a History of a Family's Progress (American Literature Series)
How to Write
The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas
Paris France
Geography and Plays

ASIN: 1878972081
Release Date: 2004-01-02

Book Description

Everybody's Autobiography is among the very best of Gertrude's writing--[it] speaks with the true and original voice of Gertrude Stein, without apparent art or bravado.--Janet HobhouseIn 1937, Gertrude Stein wrote a sequel to The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, but this darker and more complex work was long misunderstood and neglected. An account of her experiences in the wake of having authored a bestseller, Everybody's Autobiography is as funny and engaging as The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, but it is also a searing meditation on the meaning of success and identity in America. Posing as the representative American, Stein transforms her story into history--responding to the tradition of Thoreau and Henry Adams, she writes: "I used to be fond of saying that America, which was supposed to be a land of success, was a land of failure. Most of the great men in America had a long life of early failure and a long life of later failure." Everybody's Autobiography is Stein at her most accessible and her most serious, and may yet prove to be among her most popular books.

Customer Reviews:

Funny, brilliant, playful, and of course, interesting.......2000-06-08

This is a fascinating account of Stein's travels in America following the success of "The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas". Stein finds many things interesting about America, and through her descriptions, so does the reader. Her descriptions of the habits, manners, lifestyle, and thoughts of Americans are very simple but profoundly accurate. Being a Gertrude Stein work, Everybody's Autobiography also features amazing prose that is often challenging but always rewarding. Surprisingly, Everybody's Autobiography is very approachable once one adjusts to Stein's style. This was the first Stein work I read and I've already begun reading The Making of Americans. I just can't recommend this book [and Stein in general] enough.

very gertrude stein, but more readable.......2000-05-07

i usually find stein's play with words a bit frustrating. however, this is a more readable book, one of her most accessible works. insightful in its view of fame & narcissism in america.

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