The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club: True Tales from a Magnificent and Clumsy Life
Written by Laurie Notaro
Narrated by Hillary Huber
3.5/5
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About this audiobook
For the past ten years, Notaro has been entertaining Phoenix newspaper readers with her wildly amusing autobiographical exploits and unique life experiences. She writes about a world of hourly-wage jobs that require absolutely no skills, a mother who hands down judgments more forcefully than anyone seated on the Supreme Court, horrific high school reunions, and hangovers that leave her surprised she woke up in the first place.
The misadventures of Laurie and her fellow Idiot Girls ("too cool to be in the Smart Group") unfold in a world that everyone will recognize but no one has ever described so hilariously. She delivers the goods: life as we all know it.
Laurie Notaro
Laurie Notaro is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the humor memoirs The Idiot Girls’ Action-Adventure Club, Autobiography of a Fat Bride, I Love Everybody, The Idiot Girl and the Flaming Tantrum of Death, a finalist for the Thurber Prize, and Housebroken, among others. She is also the author of three works of fiction, including the historical novel Crossing the Horizon. Born in Brooklyn, New York, she then spent the remainder of her formative years in Phoenix, Arizona, where she created something of a checkered past. Laurie now resides in Eugene, Oregon, has a cute dog and a nice husband, and misses Mexican food like it was her youth.
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Excuse Me While I Disappear: Tales of Midlife Mayhem Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I Love Everybody (and Other Atrocious Lies): True Tales of a Loudmouth Girl Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Autobiography of a Fat Bride: True Tales of a Pretend Adulthood Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5We Thought You Would be Prettier: True Tales of the Dorkiest Girl Alive Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It Looked Different on the Model: Epic Tales of Impending Shame and Infamy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Crossing the Horizon: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
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Reviews for The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club
38 ratings28 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I loved this book! I can't wait to read more of this author's work
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is Laurie's first and ,in my opinion, best book. It is a series of hilarious essays about her life that only a true Idiot girl can fully appreciate. That's not to say that everyone else can't enjoy it too though. Fun, fast read that will leave you laughing out loud...so beware where you read it. ;-)
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A hilarious collection of stories about the everyday embarrassments of life and unique encounters with strange characters. I truly enjoyed reading this on the bus on my way to work, even when it made me giggle uncontrollably in public places.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5ZERO stars. I just don't find these essays particularly funny. They are supposedly about the single dating life, but there is too much focus on drunkenness. I couldn't even finish.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5It was okay, she seemed to try really hard to be funny. There were some funny parts in it but I just don't find folks that do stupid things when they are drunk to be that funny. I would try another one of her books, maybe this one was just a bit off.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I adored this book. It's fast-paced, quick-witted, and laugh-out-loud funny. If you have a fast-talking best friend who always turns a mundane story into the funniest thing you've ever heard, you will love this book.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I don't know why I read this, for I didn't find it terribly amusing or novel. I am, however, thankful that I have and always have had ridiculously high self esteem.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This chick cracks me up. I'd actually give it a 3.5 stars. Lots of experiences to relate too and she's just a great story teller. Its kind of like listening to your friend tell a story or complain about her dysfunctional life. Easy read and I'd definitely recommend.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A fun collection of essays written by Laurie Notaro who grow up around the same time I did which made them ring true.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5This was one of the worst books I've ever read.I'm not sure how this ended up in my TBR pile. I assume someone recommended it to me and I'm certainly hoping that whoever it is never brings it up because this book was truly awful.It's touted as a novel but it's really basically a series of Ms. Notaro's really dull newspaper columns. Each story goes basically like this :1 - Laurie gets drunk2 - Laurie does something stupid like peeing her pants, driving while drunk or sleeping with someone she doesn't know3 - Laure thinks she's hilariousI want to find this woman and tell her to stop encouraging her really fucked up life style.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Another Notaro book that had me laughing so hard I was snorting. I definately belong to her Idiot's Girl Club and can only cringe and laugh at the hilarious situations the author would get into that hit a little to close to home with me (drink may have been involved).
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I suppose this brand of humor isn't for me. Most of the essays about her early college life filled with alcohol and smoking are more pathetic than funny. I prefer humor which has a depth of meaning behind it, and if there was any here, I missed it. I enjoyed the one about public bathrooms and the gynecologist, but that was about it. The woman can write, I just wish she had more of a reason for doing so.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I "kind-of" liked this.....
I guess I don't see what's so funny about being falling-down-making a fool of yourself-puking drunk. I don't see what's so funny about being a slob.
Sigh....I'm just so "out of it"...I must be turning into my mother!
I did like the gift of the White Grannie panties...several sizes too large.....and the story about "Nana" in the hospital. I can tell you I know exactly how she feels about H.S. reunions, however, unlike her I just refuse to attend.
This book was amusing but I wasn't ROTFLMAO! I suppose this could have been worse......well I know it could have been. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This book is absolutely hilarious! This is Celia Rivenbark for the single girl with a little bit more of a foul mouth. With Chapter names like; Ashes to ashes, bones to dust, my mother always said underwear a must, or It smells like doody in here or The useless black bra and the stinkin’-drunk twelve –step program .How could it not be funny!These are little short chapters of true to life stories like Waiting for the bug guy you finally give up on him take off your bra and tada there’s someone at the door. I know I’ve done this waiting on cable, electricians etc. get into comfortable clothes take off your make-up and then they show up. And then to meet the bug guy, Fred, I think he may be inhaling too many fumes!If you are looking for a great laugh out loud read I highly recommend this book/author. I listened to this on audio narrated by, Hillary Huber who does a great job her timing is spot on.4 Star
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This book was given to me by one of my son's friends. She figured I would enjoy it because the woman is close to my age and some of the things she talks about I would understand. I did enjoy the book. Yet I wasn't as bad as her with some of her behaviors.Laurie is writing about her own personal experiences. Some are funny and some are just unbelievable. She talks about her drinking binges and her escapades that follow. The one time she gets pulled over because a woman is in her window yelling at her friend. She gets pulled over because she held up traffic and then is given a sobriety test. She fails yet she is sober. That is something I am always afraid of happening to me.I found the one story about the revenge of the bra girl very funny. I could just picture her yelling at the manager for yelling at the girls for talking while working. Sometimes management doesn't realize that people can multi-task.The book was entertaining and a nice book to read in between the longer books I have been reading.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Too self-conscious for me. I wanted to like it more than I did.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5You will laugh out loud. I was always a "good girl". I obeyed the law and always wore underwear, but I have a feeling that Laurie had MUCH more fun that I did...or still do. She pokes fun at herself and the world around her, but in the snarkiest way ever. I love that I am not the only adult who does not feel "grown up". READ HER!!!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Very funny and a bit crass (admittedly, how i tend to enjoy my humor...), Notaro unabashedly pokes fun at herself and at her friends and family. So much of this reminded me of my friends - though we're all a bit more hygenically advanced than she seems to be...
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I discovered Laurie Notaro in Tempe, Arizona during the Coffee Shop Book Tour. Notaro is funny and irreverent. These bit-size tales are perfect for a humorous, literary snack. No diet required.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5I didn't like this one much either. The author is whiney and drinks too much and is lazy. Am I morphing into a finger-pointing- crone?
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5After reading about 2 pages of the book, I decided I want to have beers with Laurie Notaro. Or tequila. Or something. The book is hilarious. I had to stop reading it in public because people kept looking at me funny. After I got through two stories, I forced myself to stop reading, grab a pencil, and go back from the beginning, writing notes in the margins, underlining parts I liked best, inserting comments, etc. Once I finished, I sent the copy with marginalia to my best friend in San Diego. Since then, we've come up with a system. I write in all of Notaro's books and send them to her. Then she writes in them and send them to another friend. She does the same and sends the book on. We've kinda started our own Idiot Girls' round-robin with the books.Definitely worth it.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5By far one of my all time favorite (along with relatable) book/memoir. Column writer, Laurie Notaro takes us on a journey throughout different experiences of her life. The book has all the qualities a book should have; Laurie also contains all the honesty and sarcasm a writer may need. Although scatterbrained, this book made me laugh. Not only from how Notaro describes her adventures; but by how easily I could find myself in these same scenarios, reacting the same way.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Each story in this book are 3-5 pages long and read as introductions to what would be interesting and funny stories. Only the stories as missing and I felt like I read 240 pages of beginnings. Still, a mildly entertaining book and a really quick read if you need a palette cleanser.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My favorite book of 2002 - it was biographically relevant :)
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Another case of the cover being the best thing about this book. Maybe it's just me but I found these stories to be cringe inducing. Laurie Notaro takes self-deprecation to a whole new level. She spends the whole book telling the reader how ugly and stupid she is. It's not tongue-in-cheek, this woman really hates herself and seems to spend a lot of time drowning her sorrows in booze. Sorry, I just had a hard time understanding how stories about being a hot drunken mess translated into "True Tales from a Magnificent and Clumsy Life"
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5One of the best books I have ever read. So funny, I was crying and had to stop reading and put the book down.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I really enjoyed this book was light, fun and easy to read. The author may not be what everyone likes to read about, she drinks and she smokes. Big no nos in todays' society it seems. But still was very funny. She tells about a trip to her gyno where she has helpers trying to find the missing speculum. Or explaining the Bill Clinton scandal to her grandmother who mishears it as "Moral Sex." Also time in a department store as a bra lady or seeing naked people in the locker room at the gym. Sometimes I found myself laughing out loud despite those around me looking at me like I was crazy.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5While browsing some Amazon.com reviews for something new and interesting to read, I came upon some great Laurie Notaro reviews and decided to, for once, trust the reviews and buy a copy of The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club on half.com. I know that I cheated and posted a few tidbits last night, but I enjoyed the book so much that I'm going to order Autobiography of a Fat Bride and I Love Everybody (and Other Atrocious Lies).The best way for me to describe the book is to categorize it as a female Augusten Burroughs/David Sedaris kind of book with a bit more of an unclassy sense of humor. Notaro is/was a humor columnist and each "chapter" reads as I would imagine one of her columns. With hilarious titles - "It Smells Like Doody in Here," "Moral Sex." "Ashes to Ashes, Bones to Dust, My Mother Always Said Underwear is a Must", each "chapter" is about five pages long and recounts a silly story - gynecologist appointments, camping in the middle of a cow pasture, high school reunions, and that super fun time when your parents discover the Internet.I particularly enjoyed the chapter where Laurie's mother discovers the Internet, sends strange e-mails (and calls two hours later to ask if Laurie is mad at her since she didn't respond yet), and then sees that eBay thing on Rosie O'Donnell and makes Laurie help her choose a screen name in order to look at the auctions. Well, that and the "Wrap & Roll" chapter, having lived temporarily with someone who was unable to master the concept.While David Sedaris/Augusten Burroughs can appeal to either sex, Laurie Notaro is definitely a woman's writer. That said, I think that most of my female friends would laugh at her writing and enjoy it. I zipped through the 225 pages in an afternoon (while watching the US v. Italy game) and actually think I'd like her other books better because she apparently "grows up" a little in those (aka there were quite a few "Laurie drinks too much" stories in this one).