Let’s Pretend This Never Happened

I found this book by way of a circuitous route. A Facebook friend “liked” a blog post by the author. I started reading that blog, then I went to her website, then I found her book.

So, the book, Let's Pretend This Never Happened: (A MostlyTrue Memoir) is by Jenny Lawson. It’s quirky and funny and reminds me a little of David Sedaris. Her over-arching message is to embrace the weird stuff about yourself; it’s what makes you you. It isn’t raucously funny, but it’s funny. What I liked most about it is her very original voice.

She recounts a few arguments with her husband – some of them carried on in Post-It notes. On one of them she writes “I poisoned something in the refrigerator. Good luck with that.” I suppose that sounds a bit mean, but in the context of the story she is telling, it’s funny.

I also have this book in print and am willing to share!

• Read the Washington Post review of this book
• Visit Jenny’s Lawson’s blog: The Bloggess

Thirteen Reasons Why

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher tells the story of Hannah Baker’s suicide. She has recorded cassette tapes to be delivered from person to person (a total of 13), telling the story of what brought her to commit suicide. The story is narrated by Clay Jensen (person #9) as we listen with him to the tapes. This is a young adult novel about how careless and sometimes cruel high school students can be.

I liked the way the book was structured by weaving the narrator’s story with that in the tapes. I sometimes got confused early on, because the tape transcript is in italics – that’s the only indication that you’re hearing Hannah’s voice and not Clay’s. It was a compelling read, but the timing was wrong for me – I needed something more uplifting.

Some of you might enjoy the book; I’ll bring it with me on Monday. (Yes! It’s a print book!)

Read a review from The Guardian