Let's Pretend This Never Happened

Author: Jenny Lawson

One-sentence summary: Blogger Jenny Lawson writes about her unique childhood, current life and challenges with wit and humor.

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 5

Our favorite thing about it: It was funny in parts.

Our least favorite thing about it: The rest was not funny or interesting and the writing style (if you can call it that) got annoying.

Main Topics of Discussion: Writing Style, Humor, Blogs becoming books, dealing with difficulties, honesty

Our favorite quote: “Having one dead animal in the house is eclectic and artistic. More than one reeks of serial killer. There really is a fine line there."

Notes: We found this book pretty funny in parts, especially toward the beginning. At first the writing style helped the humor along and the self-deprecation of the author was good for a few laughs. And then in wasn’t. Basically, the writing style was very much stream of consciousness or how someone would talk who can’t stay on track with a story. There were so many diversions, PPPPPS’s and random foot notes that it became disorienting. While we were decidedly not offended by any of the language or numerous mentions of vagina, we felt like they were trying too hard for humor instead of being meaningful words that added to the story. One thing we did appreciate was the author’s way of dealing with difficult situations with humor. While that may not work for everyone, we could appreciate how that helped her deal with life. In a nutshell, we felt like this author is much better in blog format. Compiling all these stories into a book was just too much of that style at one time. If read individually, and over time, we felt like we might have appreciated the content a little more. Maybe.

Memorable Meeting Moments: This was our Christmas meeting and it was at Christina’s house! Her Christmas decorations set the mood for our gift giving and our festive meal. We also did a book exchange, as always, and Christina did our Jeopardy year-in-review game for us this year.

What We Ate: Rosemary Baked Brie with Honey and Candied nuts, Pot Roast, Red Potatoes, Cauliflower, Green Salad, Dill Carrots, Brussels sprouts, and a Pumpkin Roll for dessert