The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club: True Tales from a Magnificent and Clumsy Life

Overview

"I've changed a bit since high school. Back then I said no to using and selling drugs. I washed on a normal basis and still had good credit." Introducing Laurie Notaro, the leader of the Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club. Every day she fearlessly rises from bed to defeat the evil machinations of dolts, dimwits, and creepy boyfriends-and that's before she even puts on a bra. For the past ten years, Notaro has been entertaining Phoenix newspaper readers with her wildly amusing autobiographical exploits and unique life experiences. She writes about a world of hourly-wage jobs that require absolutely no skills, a mother who hands down judgments more forcefully than anyone seated on the Supreme Court, horrific high school reunions, and hangovers that leave her surprised that she woke up in the first place. The misadventures of Laurie and her fellow Idiot Girls ("too cool to be in the Smart Group") unfold in a world that everyone will recognize but no one has ever described so hilariously.

Editorial Reviews

This collection of columns, originally written for the Arizona Republic, details Notaro's daring exploits and comical mishaps as she matures from wild teenager to disheveled adult. Her vignettes are humorous if unoriginal. "The Useless Black Bra and the Stinkin'-drunk Twelve-step Program" is a classic drinking story, complete with the lost friend who is eventually found in a neighbor's front yard wearing only a bra. This hard-drinking, chain-smoking approach to partying inevitably leads to some punishing hangovers; in one extreme case, Notaro is mistaken for a homeless person while en route to jury duty in "Going Courtin'." Not surprisingly, disregard for her appearance diminishes her chances of fulfilling her mother's dream and bringing home from the trial a "balding, sexually repressed twenty-seven-year-old attorney strangled in a Perry Ellis necktie." Notaro's QVC-addicted mother is predictably in opposition to and embarrassed by her daughter's bad-girl antics. In "Waking Angela Up," Notaro compares herself to Janeane Garofalo, and there indeed are clear similarities in the blunt self-deprecation that fuels both women's humor. Notaro, however, lacks the biting originality of her more famous counterpart. In "This Is a Public Service Announcement," Notaro rails against public restroom users, including "the hoverer" and "the talker." Her existing fans will agree with these sentiments, while new readers might simply shrug, thinking, "Who doesn't hate those characters " Agent, Harvey Klinger Inc. (July) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information. -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY.

Author Information

Bio of Laurie Notaro

Laurie Notaro writes a weekly humor column for the Arizona Republic newspaper. She lives with her husband and pets in Phoenix, AZ.

Customer Reviews

• Notaro is Hysterical

  Posted December 26, 2006 by lini_91, Deep in the Heart of Texas

  The 1st in a series of hilarious books by Notaro made me fall in love with her and her goofy life. Be forewarned, it's almost embarrassing reading this in public--I was laughing out loud, that kind of spontaneous giggling that doesn't stop once it starts. And in some parts you are right there with her in these plots only a true "Idiot Girl" can appreciate.
  
  When you're done with this one, search high and low for the next and the next.....

• Laurie Notaro does it again!

  Posted January 14, 2009 by Sarah, Manchester, NH

  This was the second book I read by Laurie Notaro and I loved it! She is hilarious and I plan on downloading more of her books :)

Additional Info

Imprint

Villard Books

Filesize

500.99 KB

Number of Pages

240

eBook ISBN

9781588362438