Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson

I could do without the footnotes, which are just irritating - it is hard to explain how badly footnotes work on a Kindle, but between this book and Jasper Fforde I think I could make a compelling case. Drawback being, crafting an entire book of curated, arranged moments takes a hell of a lot of concentration and effort, while stream-of-consciousness nonsense is relatively easier.* It's like Lawson forced herself into writing a memoir when she really excels at writing moments. And that's a shame, because it means the only reason I keep reading is because I'm waiting for another story like the turkeys to show up, and instead I get very tiny moments like the bobcat toss. There are lots of places where I think we're just supposed to enjoy Lawson's rapid-fire babble, but it's not babble with meaning to it, it's just nonsense. It's uneven, it's all over the place, and some chapters feel like pure filler - I don't need pages of imaginary post-its written to her husband Victor, for instance. I can't help feeling like this book was all written in a single sitting, with little editing or review. When she really gets going on a story, it's pretty fantastic - but that's only 10% of the book, and the remaining 90% is just awful. Which kills me, because I get the feeling Lawson had the potential (and raw material) to knock it out of the park, but it just doesn't come together. If you're looking for a Sedaris alternative, this unfortunately isn't it.

Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson