Samantha Irby

This was Irby's first book, published in 2013 and revised and re-issued in 2018. I had previously listened to Wow, No Thank You. and enjoyed it, and this one is in much the same vein. It features Irby's signature frankness and willingness to "go there" - whether "there" be descriptions of the effects of her IBS or details of her sex life. It did feel like she was going more for shock value here than in her later essays. While I enjoyed this one - I don't mind bad language, gross descriptions, or nitty-gritty details - I do think it lacks the insightful humor of some of her later work.

3.5 stars… (more)

A collection of essays by a queer black city girl 30 years my junior shouldn't resonate so well with me, and truthfully, some of it doesn't. But a lot of these are so relatable, and FUNNNNNY (in that laugh-to-keep-from-crying way). In a serious vein, Irby has dealt with poverty, depression, anxiety, discrimination and chronic disease for most of her life. And she's as surprised as anyone by her own (she would say accidental) success. Sometimes, she sounds as though she's trying to make the reader dislike her, being blatantly forward about her own shortcomings, but I'm sure she's defensively warding off rejection, and just possibly exaggerating for effect. She can be indelicate...wait, no...she can be downright gross at times. And her language will put a lot of people off. But she has things to say that we probably all need to hear. You can sample her work on-line if you have an Instagram account.… (more)