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Biography & Autobiography. Performing Arts. Nonfiction. Humor (Nonfiction.) Part memoir, part monologue, with a dash of startling honesty, There's Nothing in This Book That I Meant to Say features biographies of legendary historical figures from which Paula Poundstone can't help digressing to tell her own story. Mining gold from the lives of Abraham Lincoln, Helen Keller, Joan of Arc, and Beethoven, among others, the eccentric and utterly inimitable mind of Paula Poundstone dissects, observes, and comments on the successes and failures of her own life with surprising candor and spot-on comedic timing in this unique laugh-out-loud book. If you like Paula Poundstone's ironic and blindingly intelligent humor, you'll love this wryly observant, funny, and touching book.… (more)
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If you enjoy Paula's humor - go for it.
The basis for the book is interesting. Her version is that she tried to write the book and couldn’t come up with anything. Then, she realized that her OCD might be used as a benefit. So she studied up on some people in history and tried to tell their story. But each part of their story made her start to ramble about herself. And, as bizarre as that sounds (again, because this fits everything else that is Paula Poundstone), it works.
This is a very funny book and, if you don’t get it, then…well…I guess you just don’t get it.
But she's so great on Wait Wait Don't Tell Me!
I quite randomly happened upon this book tucked away in a
Most of the rest of the humor in the book comes firstly from Poundstone's experiences as a single mother and making observations about her children's schooling, relaying silly things her kids have said, and commenting on the ridiculousness of keeping up with all the "must have" childhood events, like taking "pre-piano" classes. A secondary source of humor is rants about anything that Poundstone finds unnecessary like chapstick, dishwashers, etc. This may not sound that funny when I describe it, but it's quite hilarious when Poundstone has her take on it.
Meanwhile, the historic parts are oddly informative while still being peppered with dashes of humor. The audiobook version is read by Poundstone, so the listener has the added bonus of getting Poundstone's tones and inflections, which really sell the humor. I recommend this book for those who enjoy Poundstone's comic mix of acerbic wit and amusing everyday observations.
In a nutshell: Comedian shares details of her life - including the time when she was convicted of endangering her children - against the backdrop of historical biographies. Seriously.
Line that sticks with me: I listened to
Why I chose it: Ms. Poundstone has a new book out, which I was hoping would be available on audio. It is not yet, but this one was, and so I picked it up.
Review: I started listening to this book this morning on my run, and kept it going all morning as I cleaned up, did chores, painted my nails. It was fun to listen to, engaging, and generally a good way to stay entertained on a Saturday when I have things to do but don’t want to listen to music.
Ms. Poundstone is regularly featured on Wait Wait, Don’t Tell Me on NPR; I also saw her stand-up show in Seattle a few years ago. I’ve found her mostly endearing, and was definitely surprised when she was charged with, among other things, ‘lewd acts with a minor’ many years ago. She addresses the arrest and sentencing in the book (the lewd act charge was dropped; she was punished instead for endangering her children by driving drunk with them in the car), allowing for the seriousness of it all while reflecting on some of the more absurd parts.
What makes the whole book kind of odd, but in a good way, is that each of the seven chapters intertwines parts of her story with the biography of an historical figure. Joan of Arc, Beethoven, Helen Keller and others are heavily featured. Ms. Poundstone isn’t comparing herself to them in any serious way; their accomplishments serve as a way for her to self-deprecatingly associate her life and challenges with those of others. And honestly, I learned a few things about these historical figures along the way, which was unexpected but a clever way to frame a book.
I also appreciated how she was open with the fact that she doesn’t have sex, and doesn’t enjoy it. She doesn’t judge others for having sex, and makes a couple of jokes at her own expense about it (namely focusing on how tired she is that even if she were doing sex correctly, as she assumes she wasn’t, she can’t imagine it being better than good sleep), but it is refreshing to hear someone speak openly about not being interested in it.
I can’t urge anyone to race out and get this, and there were certainly some cringe-worthy moments (I’m still not sure how I feel about the first part of the last chapter, which was focused on Chief Sitting Bull), but overall I think it was worth a Saturday morning’s worth of time.
By Paula Poundstone
2006
Harmony/Crown
If you are a fan of Paula Poundstones stand up comedy, or her witty humor, you will love this. Telling her story with candor, wit and totally straight up honesty, her memoir made me laugh out loud, and
I love her humor - love her wit - love her preserverance. Recommended.
p. 3: "I should have known. About 3 weeks before I went into rehab I got really drunk, went into a pet store, and bought a dog. It would have been no big deal, but we have nine cats. Believe me, the cats started hiding the alcohol after that."
p. 55:"One of the rules that we had to sign ( for her daughters school) this year was our children would not use "offensive language". I wrote a note back to the teacher, asking her for the offensive language list. I'm happy to go over it with my children and male sure they know what not to say, but if I don't know, it'll be difficult to commit to."
"A couple years ago I was reunited with a guy I knew in fifth grade. He said "All the other fifth - grade guys liked the pretty girls, but I liked you." It's hard to know if a guy is sincere when he lays it on that thick."
Referring to her scandal: "The judge said I was the best probationer he ever had. Talk about proud."
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