March 12, 2016

Do You Like to Laugh? Jenny Lawson's "Furiously Happy"



Let me just drop some names: Sloan Crosley, David Raikoff, Augusten Burroughs, and David Sedaris.

I’m not sure if I spelled them right, but those are all people who have written at least one book that takes their life and examines it to mine the funny things that happen and then put them on the page. I’m not sure how true all the stories are, or if it really matters because they come across as if true. What does matter is that they have used their lives and they have made me laugh on page.

I had never read any of Lawson’s works prior to picking this up. I think it was a mixture of the reviews and the dead raccoon on the cover that made me buy it. I ended up reading it really quickly because it was fun to read. Let me tell you this too – I think in terms of laughter, I laughed more reading this book than I have in reading any of the dropped authors at the top. There’s a solid laugh on every page. And sure, it might not be the deep thinking sort of NPR laughing that you might want; it’s not totally cheap either.  The story about her visit to Australia is the high point for me, but just her everyday life is funny. I recommend this book solidly, and I have bought her previous work so that I can laugh some more.

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