Tag: Jenny Lawson

Review: Furiously Happy

Published on by Rachelle

Furiously

  • Author: Jenny Lawson
  • ISBN: 9781447238355
  • Genre: Non-Fiction/Memoir
  • Pages: 276

I used one of my Audible credits to get this book after listening to Let’s Pretend This Never Happened.

In her new book, FURIOUSLY HAPPY, Jenny explores her lifelong battle with mental illness. A hysterical, ridiculous book about crippling depression and anxiety? That sounds like a terrible idea. And terrible ideas are what Jenny does best.
According to Jenny: “Some people might think that being ‘furiously happy’ is just an excuse to be stupid and irresponsible and invite a herd of kangaroos over to your house without telling your husband first because you suspect he would say no since he’s never particularly liked kangaroos. And that would be ridiculous because no one would invite a herd of kangaroos into their house. Two is the limit. I speak from personal experience. My husband says that none is the new limit. I say he should have been clearer about that before I rented all those kangaroos.”
FURIOUSLY HAPPY is a book about mental illness, but under the surface it’s about embracing joy in fantastic and outrageous ways-and who doesn’t need a bit more of that? – Goodreads synopsis

I enjoyed Furiously Happy even more than her first book.  I didn’t think that was possible, but apparently it is.  This book also solidified me as a fan of Jenny Lawson.  I’m a religious reader of her blog and follower of her Twitter and Instagram accounts.  I got ridiculously excited when I found out she’s coming out with a new book, which just happens to be a coloring book.  I pre-ordered it as soon as pay day, and I was actually anxious about not having the money to pre-order as soon as it was available.  As if, somehow, it would disappear before I could claim my future copy of it?
For the first time, I’ve read of someone else who got so angry about her brain chemistry messing up or getting in the way of her living her life the way she wants to that she decided to give it the finger.  As she says in the first chapter, being “furiously happy” isn’t a cure, it’s a weapon.  It’s also the realization that being “crazy” is ok.  If there is such a thing as the perfect book for just about anyone suffering from Anxiety, Depression, PTSD, chronic medical conditions, phobias, etc., this is the book.  It’s an amazing and wonderful reminder that humor and accepting yourself as you are is the best way to get through the craziness of life.
One day I will own Furiously Happy in paperback so I can re-read with highlighter and pen in hand and also read out loud all the passages that I want the Boyfriend to hear.  Until then, I’ll just re-listen to bits and pieces of the audiobook whenever I need a reminder to be furiously happy.
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Review: Let’s Pretend This Never Happened

Published on by Rachelle

Pretend

  • Author: Jenny Lawson
  • ISBN: 9780399159015
  • Pages: 318
  • Genre: Memoir/Humour

The above ISBN is for the hardcover edition, but I listened to the audiobook I purchased.

For fans of Tina Fey and David Sedaris—Internet star Jenny Lawson, aka The Bloggess, makes her literary debut.

Jenny Lawson realized that the most mortifying moments of our lives—the ones we’d like to pretend never happened—are in fact the ones that define us. In the #1 New York Times bestseller, Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, Lawson 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. Chapters include: “Stanley the Magical, Talking Squirrel”; “A Series of Angry Post-It Notes to My Husband”; “My Vagina Is Fine. Thanks for Asking”; “And Then I Snuck a Dead Cuban Alligator on an Airplane.”  – Goodreads

I’ve been a fan of The Bloggess for a very short time, having only come across Jenny Lawson’s blog a little less than a year ago.  Not long after reading a few of her posts, I wanted to read her books.  I especially wanted to read Furiously Happy, but being the crazy type of person that has to read things in order, I chose Let’s Pretend This Never Happened first.  I also decided to go with the audiobook instead of the paperback because Jenny narrates it herself.

I love audiobooks narrated by the author.  While sometimes that’s the last person who should be narrating a book, most of the time, they’re the best option because, hello, they wrote the book.  The author knows all their own natural pauses and cadence, and so you find out how the book should sound.  Also, there’s no way I’m listening to a humorous memoir by a Texan narrated by someone who isn’t a Texan.  Had Jenny Lawson not narrated her own audiobook, I probably would have just waited to buy the paperback next year when, and if, I was no longer participating in the Shelf Love Challenge.  Instead, I used my Audible credit like it was about to expire or the audiobook was going to be removed or something.

Let’s Pretend This Never Happened is for everyone who has had a crazy life or thinks they’ve had a crazy life.  It’s also for everyone who suffers or has suffered from Depression, PTSD, anxiety, or rare diseases for which there is no cure.  For you, get ready to meet a person who understands just what you’re going through and will make you laugh until you’re rolling on the floor, crying, and probably peeing your pants.  I don’t know how I was able to drive to and from work for the week it took me to get through this book, but I didn’t have any road rage while I did it.  I was too busy laughing.

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Review: Let's Pretend This Never Happened

Published on by Rachelle

Pretend

  • Author: Jenny Lawson
  • ISBN: 9780399159015
  • Pages: 318
  • Genre: Memoir/Humour

The above ISBN is for the hardcover edition, but I listened to the audiobook I purchased.

For fans of Tina Fey and David Sedaris—Internet star Jenny Lawson, aka The Bloggess, makes her literary debut.
Jenny Lawson realized that the most mortifying moments of our lives—the ones we’d like to pretend never happened—are in fact the ones that define us. In the #1 New York Times bestseller, Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, Lawson 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. Chapters include: “Stanley the Magical, Talking Squirrel”; “A Series of Angry Post-It Notes to My Husband”; “My Vagina Is Fine. Thanks for Asking”; “And Then I Snuck a Dead Cuban Alligator on an Airplane.”  – Goodreads

I’ve been a fan of The Bloggess for a very short time, having only come across Jenny Lawson’s blog a little less than a year ago.  Not long after reading a few of her posts, I wanted to read her books.  I especially wanted to read Furiously Happy, but being the crazy type of person that has to read things in order, I chose Let’s Pretend This Never Happened first.  I also decided to go with the audiobook instead of the paperback because Jenny narrates it herself.
I love audiobooks narrated by the author.  While sometimes that’s the last person who should be narrating a book, most of the time, they’re the best option because, hello, they wrote the book.  The author knows all their own natural pauses and cadence, and so you find out how the book should sound.  Also, there’s no way I’m listening to a humorous memoir by a Texan narrated by someone who isn’t a Texan.  Had Jenny Lawson not narrated her own audiobook, I probably would have just waited to buy the paperback next year when, and if, I was no longer participating in the Shelf Love Challenge.  Instead, I used my Audible credit like it was about to expire or the audiobook was going to be removed or something.
Let’s Pretend This Never Happened is for everyone who has had a crazy life or thinks they’ve had a crazy life.  It’s also for everyone who suffers or has suffered from Depression, PTSD, anxiety, or rare diseases for which there is no cure.  For you, get ready to meet a person who understands just what you’re going through and will make you laugh until you’re rolling on the floor, crying, and probably peeing your pants.  I don’t know how I was able to drive to and from work for the week it took me to get through this book, but I didn’t have any road rage while I did it.  I was too busy laughing.
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