"She thought she'd have more time, Laurie Notaro figured she had at least a few good years left. But no--it's happened. She has officially lost her marbles. From the kid at the pet food store checkout line whose coif is so bizarre it makes her seethe, 'I'm going to kick his hair's ass!' To the hapless Sears customer service rep on the receiving end of her Campaign of Terror, no one is safe from Laurie's wrath. Her cranky side seems to have eaten the rest of her--inner-thigh Chub Rub and all. And the results are breathtaking. Her riffs on e-mail spam ("with all of these irresistible offers served up to me on a plate, I WANT A PENIS NOW!!!'), ebay, ('There should be an ebay wading pool, where you only get to bid on Precious Moments figurines and Avon products, and you have to make it through *that* first before jumping into the deep end'), and the perils of of St. Patrick's Day ('When I'm driving, the last thing I need is a herd of inebriates darting in and out of traffic like loaded chickens') are the stuff of legend. And for Laurie, it's all 100 percent true."
From the back cover.

The back cover synopsis above DOES NOT do this book justice! This is one of the funniest books I've ever read. It's very rare that I laugh or cry while reading a book, but this one made me laugh *until* I cried! Couldn't put it down; never mind that it was 3:00 am, I had to keep reading.
It's irresistible chick lit and if you're in the mood for just that and/or to escape for awhile from your own life, this book is made for *you* to read. Although most everything she writes about will have you going 'uh huh' I have been *there*--it is written in such a way to make you laugh at your own everyday hassles of life and to realize not only are you *not* the only one, but you can laugh at yourself while ruminating on your own nut-ball mistakes and silly quirks.
Never thought anyone could surpass Marian Keyes's writing, but Laurie managed it.
This one I have to share.

11/01/07: Bookring. Participants are in the order that they posted to join.

1. JennyC1230-GA
2. Bluestocking88-WA
3. cbostler-UT
4. NMReader-NM
5. FeralReader-CA
6. elle311-VA
7. meezergirl--NJ <---no response to pms or ISO. Next person being contacted.
8. HallieK-TX
9. prollacct-PA
10. guinaveve-OH
11. Aberpeter-WA <------on its way here
12. Caridad-FL
13. chambejd-MA <------asked to be skipped
14. spoiledrotten-NJ
15. Aramena-OK
16. Back to MaryZee who donated her copy to continue this stalled ring.

http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/5066185-Link to MaryZee's copy.

Please make sure your name is on the list and spelled correctly.

Usual ring rules apply:
1. Journal that you received book.
2. Please read within one month or less.
3. PM next on list.
4. Journal thoughts, comments.
5. Enjoy!

RELEASE NOTES:

Sent off today to JennyC1230, first on the list. ENJOY!!!

I have already read a few pages and this book looks really funny! I can totally relate to her "hair issues". (Humidity and thick, curly hair just don't mix!)

Thanks classicfox for hosting this bookring!

This book was so funny!

I made note of some of the funniest quotes:

On airline seats: "I believe seats should be equipped with a Guess Again, La-z-boy!! button on the back side of every headrest to automatically shoot these space suckers back into the upright position."

"She's not much to look at, and sure, her overbite looks like a canopy for her chin, but she's a nice girl and you could do a lot worse."

"I felt like the biggest girl in the universe--as if I had been exposed to Chernobyl-like amounts of radiation and had just flattened entire Japanese villages simply with the crumbs that had fallen from my mouth."

I will have to check out other books by this author! If you like this book you might like books by David Sedaris.

Sending to bluestocking88 soon!

Mailed to bluestocking88 today via Media Mail. Delivery Confirmation #03071790000411908080

Enjoy!

This has arrived safely as the fourth bookring to arrive at my house this week (and it's been silent here for about a month before that!) I will get to it as soon as possible. Thank you for sharing--it looks wonderful.

I really enjoy reading Laurie Notaro--she's got a lovely twisted sense of humor that I relate to perfectly. This book was good, but I thought Autobiography of a Fat Bride was a little better. I think my favorite section was "eBaby." I have cbostler's address and will be posting this off in tomorrow's mail.

Thank you for sharing this book. It was a fun diversion at this busy season.

A few months ago, I was struggling through a day when nothing seemed to be going right and I saw Classicfox's offer for this book in a bookring. The subtitle of the book, "True Tales of the Dorkiest Girl Alive," felt like a perfect fit!

I received the book this afternoon in the mail, and look forward to reading it.

"We Thought You Would Be Prettier" is entertaining and funny. It's the first book of Laurie Notaro's that I've read, and I'm heading to the library to borrow a few more of her works.
I'm a fan of Erma Bombeck's writing, and Motaro's style and sense of humor reminds me of Bombeck, albeit more brassy and raw.

"We Thought You Would Be Prettier" is written in a first person narrative, and I wanted to picture the author speaking as I read, so did an online search. Notaro has an excellent website, www.laurienotaro.com/ It's loaded with great information, hilarious illustrations, and delightful pictures of the author herself.

A side note: I've been a Bookcrosser for almost two years, but couldn't shake that feeling of being a green newbie until I read the list of participants. Bluestocking88, Guinaveve, and Spoiledrotten, I've done exchanges with you before! There's a comfortable, satisfying, I'm-one-of-gang-at-last feeling to this bookring. Hooray!

I look forward to reading future journal entries for this book.
Thanks for sharing, classicfox.
I have NMReader's address and will mail the book today.

Arrived today - added to mnt tbr

Well judging from the other entries it wasn't just that I needed a laugh.

This is a hilarious look at life from a slightly twisted angle. It was fabulous and as others have already said I will be looking to read more by this author.

RELEASE NOTES:

Will drop at PO over lunch.

Arrived in California today (that was quick)! Thanks for sharing. Can hardly wait to read this one.

Gosh, I wanted to enjoy this book, but I just didn't. I did laugh once, on page 31, where Laurie describes her husband's self-preservation technique of ignoring her. I feel for the guy!

The title is fabulously clever, and it was fun to be part of this ring of friendly bookcrossers.
Thanks for including me!

Off in today's post to elle331.
[sent via media mail: delivery confirmation# 0307 1790 0005 6859 8035].

Arrived in the mail today, thanks for sending it FeralReader ;) I've read Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club and thought it was hilarious! Will read and send on its way!

I really wanted to like this book, but to me, it just wasn't as funny as the first book I read by her. There were good parts, like "National Stupidity Day", which sadly, I can relate to, being exposed to this on a regular basis while out and about running errands, and "Moving Day" where she reminisces about the good times she spent at her Nana's house. Then there were sad parts, like in "Attack of the XL Girl"...I didn't know there were stores that hid their clothes size 6 and up in the back--how discriminating to us real sized women! And I just had to shake my head at the ranting going on about the pet store boy with the "flippy hair" that made her want to kick said hair's ass.

I do want to thank classicfox for sharing this book, and FeralReader for sending it to me. And like someone said in a previous post, what wonderful company I am in, with this group of rocking BCers!!!

Waiting on meezergirl's address to send it on its way...

Since there was no response from meezergirl to my emails or ISO post, classicfox advised to contact the next person on the list.

On its way to HallieK...Happy travels, little book!

Got this in the mail today and can't wait to read it! It's just the sort of thing I'm in the mood for!

I love this woman! She's such a riot!

Book mailed off 6/1. Very sorry for the delay!

After some concern from classicfox that this may have gotten lost in the mail, it finally arrived yesterday. I've been waiting for this one and can't wait to get to. I'll begin at lunch today.

While there were quite a few LOL moments, overall I felt that the author went on and on to the point that my mind began to wander. This book was just like sitting with a friend having mindless conversation, which was definately enjoyable; only I couldn't get up and excuse myself once bored.

Went off with the mailman!

I just got this out of the mailbox this afternoon after finishing another book, so it came at the exact right moment. I am going to PM the next participant now to have the address ready to send it on when I am finished. It looks like a quick and funny read.
It was neat to see that this book has been passed on once already for my Keep Them Moving Challenge!

RELEASE NOTES:

If you are the finder of this book, welcome to the site. Please make a journal entry so that I know it has been picked up and found. To do so is free and you can do it anonymously. You can read the book or not, keep it, pass it on to someone else you think might enjoy it, or leave it in a public place like I did.

edited to add- This book did not make it to Aberpeter. There is an issue with her receiving packages through the postal system. I have located another copy of the book. MaryZee has kindly offered to contribute her book to keep this ray moving. A big thanks to MaryZee. Link to new copy:
We Thought You Would Be Prettier

This was pretty funny. I enjoyed the short story-like format. I could've done without the story of her old bar haunt closing down, but the rest were entertaining.

Update: 9/12/08: For whatever reason this book did not get to Aberpeter. Thanks to the efforts of guinaveve, a copy has been found and donated by MaryZee. This bookring is now back in action--thanks to the both of you!! I have added MaryZee to the bottom of the list so the book can be returned to her.

http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/5066185--Link to MaryZee's copy.