#buzzingonbooks

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Waiting to Grow Out of It: A light review of You’ll Grow Out of It

I was thrilled to follow up The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo by You’ll Grow Out of It. The book was written by the head writer on Amy Schumer’s TV show, Jessi Klein. This accidental line up got me excited to read another funny, feminist novel by a powerful, successful woman. Thankfully, You’ll Grow Out of It did not disappoint.

I am ashamed to say that prior to listening to Fresh Air (an NPR podcast) segment, I was blissfully unaware that Klein was in any way associated with Schumer, much less the head writer on her show. I am however thrilled to say that I now have another beloved woman comedian to add to my list of girl crushes.

I would have to say the best part about You’ll Grow Out of It has to be that Klein writes for women of all ages. Whether you’re young and dating, in your 20s and dying to get your boyfriend to propose, in your 30s trying to figure out your career or 40 and struggling to get pregnant, Klein is writing for the female masses. She tells stories about her first heartbreak, deciding to make therapy a part of her everyday life, her successful career, the challenge to get her finance to propose to her, and her struggles with fertility. I adore this relatable style of writing and when humor is added into the mix I become fully invested.

Since finishing You’ll Grow Out of It I have been scouring the internet for any other writings, television shows, or stand up clips by Klein because, unlike Schumer, her humor is more low key but still hilarious and entertaining.

The only complaint I have about the book was my inability to identify what stage of life Klein is in at the time she was writing the book. In some parts she is dating Mike, other times she is engaged to him, other times she is pregnant, others she is not able to get pregnant. I totally understand that writing a book take time (and I am positive it would take me about 20 years to write a book) but I would have been able to follow her life easier if she would have arranged the chapter differently. However, this complaint is not enough to keep me from giving the book a four out of five wine glass rating.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone trying to fill their book shelf or brain with fabulous books by fun and spirted women comedians. So head to the closest bookstore or, more realistically, Amazon and pick up You’ll Grow Out of It.

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I Laughed, I Cried, I Tweeted: Review of The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo

First time novelist but long time comedian Amy Schumer has captured my attention yet again. I love her stand up so I knew I was going to enjoy her book, but I had no idea I would love is as much as I did. The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo being one of many books written by comedians I have read, I fully expected it to be like all of the others, but I was so wrong. Similar to other comedian-turned-authors, Schumer opened up about the struggle to break into the industry, her sexual history, and sexism in the industry, but unlike others she touched on so much more than that.

The first in a string of important yet difficult topics Schumer takes on is rape. Although she doesn’t call what happened to her when she was a teenager “rape” and has said to several sources she doesn’t consider it rape (which is totally, 100 percent fine, because FEMINISM), she does tell about the less than ideal way she lost her virginity. After recounting the haunting story, she encourages women to take control of their sexuality and informs her readers that one in every six women is raped. This chapter lacked the humor readers are used to seeing from Schumer, but for a good reason. I am a firm believer that any time sexual assault can be discussed, it should.

Following rape, Schumer goes on to discuss how she was in a violent, abusive relationship in her 20s. By this point in the book my mind was already made up that Schumer was a goddess and this was the best memoir I had ever laid eyes on, and it just kept getting better. In this chapter she makes it a point to tell her audience that victims of domestic violence aren’t always shy, quiet women. I loved this chapter so much because although I had been told domestic abuse victims aren’t always timid, insecure girls, I still (unfortunately) believed deep down they were. I love how Schumer was able to change my perspective so quickly on this very relevant and important issue.

My favorite, and the most heart wrenching, chapter in the book by far was when Schumer breached the controversial topic of gun violence. As many know, in July of 2015 a very mentally disturbed man entered a theater in Louisiana during a showing of Schumer’s movie Trainwreck and killed two young women and wounded nine others. As Schumer discussed the heartbreak she felt upon learning this news I couldn’t help but break down and cry. Gun violence is a very serious issue in our country and to hear a comedian talk about her new found passion in gun law advocacy overwhelmed me with emotion. Not only does Schumer express her grief and horror at the gun violence that goes on far too often in our country, she also places a list of senators who have taken money from gun lobbyist and ways to get into contact with local representatives in the back of her book. This act made me fall in love with Schumer and her book yet again. I love that she has become so passionate about ending gun violence and was encouraging her readers to do the same.  

On a lighter note, Schumer’s commentary throughout the novel about her sexual escapades, her high school mistakes, trying to break into the world of comedy, and (of course) her lower back tattoo was hilarious and beyond entertaining. As a fan of Schumer’s stand up comedy I was a little nervous that the book wasn’t going to live up to its hype but thankfully, it surpassed every expectation I had. Through her jokes and stories Schumer ended the book by using her lower back tattoo to show that she is human and she makes mistakes but then grows and learns from them. I think this is a lesson girls are not told nearly enough and I was so excited Schumer took the time to remind all of the young women (and men) reading her novel this valuable lesson.

All in all I can truly say I was beyond thrilled by The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo. Between the advocacy, the humor, and the stories, I felt I became to truly know Schumer and what she stands for while simultaneously being entertained by her witty humor. I am giving The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo five out of five wine glasses without any hesitation, and I will also begin scouring the web for details about when (hopefully) Schumer’s next literary work of art will be available.  

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#BOTW (for the past week and a half)

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How to Party with an Infant is the book of the week! I got so excited about reading it I forgot to announce it! So far the book by well known author Kaui Hart Hemmings is hilarious, light and all around perfect. It is well on its way to becoming my favorite boo of the summer!

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Not so pretty review of Rich and Pretty

While my mid-book review of Rich and Pretty was hopeful, the book turned out to be a dud. The novel paints a picture of two New York City women who have been friends since they were 11 years old, went to college together, lived together in the city post-grad and then began their adult lives together but separate, as most BFFs do. However, instead of having main characters, Lauren and Sarah go on a big adventure that has a clear beginning, middle and end, the author Rumaan Alam just continues to paint the picture of the two women’s lives. He uses beautifully descriptive language to tell about their lunch dates, their work lives (or lack thereof for Sarah) and their love lives while also sprinkling in uneventful details of their pasts. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy the details and the side stories; it’s just that literally nothing happened. Sarah, the rich of the Rich and Pretty duo, does get married, have a baby and then have another baby, but literally who doesn’t these days? If I wanted to hear a story about someone with more money than me getting married and having kids I would have just logged onto Facebook, not paid $25 for a book from Amazon. Although I was not overly excited about Rich and Pretty, I did like the setting of the novel. I am obsessed with anything based in New York City, so the book did fulfill my craving to read about the lives of wealthy and beautiful New Yorkers. Aside from the lack of plot line, Alam is a very talented writer and I enjoyed the simplistic yet telling way he described the characters and their actions throughout the book. The more I read, the more I was waiting for something to happen, but when nothing did I still kept reading because Alam’s writing had me interested enough and hopeful that something would happen. Unfortunately, I do not have much to tell about Rich and Pretty, so I am bestowing it with a two wine glass rating. I do plan to read any future books Alam writes because of his knack for language and the hope that they will contain more action, or at least a page I can pinpoint as the climax.

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Happy National Book Lovers Day to all my book worms! I hope your day is filled with happiness, wine and (of course) books! 📚🍷

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Expression I have while reading Dancing with the Tiger.