Going by the official Goodreads Designation here: 2 stars = "It was OK"

I didn't hate it, I didn't love it. Some of these essays are funny all the way through, some have funny lines, some are just random anecdotes that I'm not sure why they even made it into a book. I saw somebody in another review said this is like snippets from chatting on the phone with your funny friend and that's true - just random stuff thrown together about stuff that happened to her.

I think this seems like the perfect book to have handy for reading in waiting rooms or in a noisy train station or something when you want to read something but can't really concentrate too carefully.

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A witty collection of essays which range in scope from problems as trivial as playing herself on Gossip Girl to more serious topics such as fertility.

Having never read anything else by Crosley, I enjoyed her intelligent and humorous voice in conjunction with her mildly self-deprecating tone. I liked the fact that she wasn't afraid to be honest and admit to her own mistakes, specifically in the last chapter of the book regarding the misunderstanding of the cost of certain medications as well as her freezer incident, but she maintained a comical vibe and blamed no one but herself. One thing worth mentioning is that this is a very accessible collection of essays; some of these range from one to two pages while others are quite a bit longer, making it easy to pick up as you please. I'm looking forward to reading her other works, most specifically I Was Told There Would Be Cake. ( )

Entertaining essays. ( )

I never know if essayists live more interesting lives than most people or if they just write their lives more interestingly. This one is probably a bit of both. Not everyone's cousin is a legendary porn stand-in, or has a bit part on Gossip Girl, but everyone in NYC has noisy neighbors. From these premises Crosley spins funny, profound stories. A David Sedaris comparison is apt. Probably she's less cynical than Sedaris, but no less honest. The humor is more in the language with Crosley.

For me, the least successful piece in the collection was also, unfortunately, the longest. Crosley is assigned a magazine travel piece. She goes to Ecuador and decides to go climb the second tallest volcano in the world even though she has no mountaineering experience. It's very "gringa goes south of the border" which is no less offensive of a shtick even if she's aware of the dynamic. More to the point, there are lots of opportunities to not go on the obviously dangerous climb, but she keeps going and gets into a potentially fatal situation. It's a situation with a lot of tragicomic potential, and she wrings every bit out of it. The moment where the life-or-death stakes of the situation become apparent is probably supposed to be harrowing for a reader, but I just had zero sympathy for her because for no good reason other than "I am writing a piece and it would be cool," does she continue on. It's a bad reason to die IMHO.

If you read one essay in the collection, read the last one, which is about Crosley deciding to freeze her eggs. It is an incredible piece of writing.

Prior to reading this book of essays, I had never heard of Sloane Crosley. I chose to read it based on the glowing professional reviews. The reader reviews on Amazon were equally positive. I found the writing to be excellent. The essays are Dave Barry funny. My guess is Crosley is considered a writer who appeals more to women than men,and the balance of Amazon reviews supports that. Having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed each essay. It’s a quick one or two sitting read, good especially for reading between longer, more serious books. ( )