I read about this “mostly true memoir” somewhere out in blog land. This book was written by Jenny Lawson, aka The Blogess, whose blog I don’t even read! This book “takes readers on a hilarious journey recalling her bizarre upbringing in rural Texas, her devastatingly awkward high school years, and her relationship with her long-suffering husband, Victor.” Hilarious may be an understatement. I was laughing so much while reading in bed that I had to be careful not to wake up Dave! When I got to the chapter about Beyoncé the Giant Metal Chicken I realized why I found the rest of the book so funny – I have read this blog post multiple times and it never ceases to crack me up! I am not sure why I didn’t realize the book was written by the same person who wrote about the Giant Metal Chicken! My favorite part of the book though was the part about how for her, her house is clean if nothing sticks to her or gives her cholera. Her husband on the other hand likes his house clutter free. Of course, he likes her to do the cleaning. I can totally relate!
Our final book group read for the year was Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares. An interesting choice, I think! “Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy?” The interesting thing about this book is that the two writers wrote their chapters separately without consulting each other as they went (and I did find one inconsistency that probably was there because of this!). I enjoyed the red notebook scavenger hunt in the first chapter. Thereafter it got a little less of a scavenger hunt and a little more silly. This book was fun, but not amazing. Sometimes I think I’m too critical – but as far as books about teens go, this wasn’t my favorite. It was funny at times and the characters are enjoyable. I look forward to finding out why our book group member chose it for us to read!