Dear Girls by Ali Wong

Dear Girls: Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets, & Advice for Living Your Best Life by Ali Wong
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is actually hilarious. She's no-holds-barred and often veers in grossness, but whatever, she is so funny. Also, she is the only other person I've ever heard of who had the exact same problem with the epidural on her first birth as me. (We both had no problems the second time so clearly it was the anesthesiologist.)

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Funny, You Don't Look Autistic by Michael McCreary

Funny, You Don't Look Autistic: A Comedian's Guide to Life on the Spectrum by Michael McCreary
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was short and actually cute and funny. Great for the young or old. Highly recommend.

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The Greatest Love Story Ever Told by Megan Mullally, Nick Offerman

The Greatest Love Story Ever Told by Megan Mullally, Nick Offerman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Cute joint humor memoir. Definitely answers any questions you might have about Mullally and Offerman as a couple. Discusses their careers a little, but there's nothing in depth about their time on their most popular shows, Will and Grace and Parks and Rec.

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Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a memoir only of Trevor Noah's childhood in South Africa during and immediately after apartheid. Really interesting to read a personal account of living under apartheid by a person uniquely situated inside the insanity and hypocrisy of it all.

He stops before his comedy career and that was really disappointing. There wasn't even a mention of how his career began.

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If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face? by Alan Alda

If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face?: My Adventures in the Art and Science of Relating and Communicating by Alan Alda
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Good book about the importance of good communication and how to improve at communicating with others. I’m familiar with some of the research that Alda referenced from other books. Alda seems to over-emphasize his own ideas and under-emphasize more researched strategies such as reading literary fiction (though he does mention it). He spends too much time making fun of “shakras” and not enough time explaining the research on the effectiveness of meditation and a simple explanation of say, breathe meditation. Still, it is definitely useful to read, and the more people that read it the better.

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You Can't Touch My Hair by Phoebe Robinson

You Can't Touch My Hair: And Other Things I Still Have to Explain by Phoebe Robinson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was good. Funny and educational. She's an amazing wordsmith (and is in the very modern comedy family of Aziz Ansari) so it might be tough for older audiences (or foreign audiences) to follow her amazing turns of phrases and pop culture references. I basically didn't put the book down until I finished it, unless you count the 1 million times my daughter needed things today. At least she goes to school tomorrow.

And yes, that mostly true about Karens.

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The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare

The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There is a lot misogyny in this play, but it was written at the end of the 16th century so I can forgive it. Here's what I noticed though: the play never says Petruccio strikes Katherina. Katherina, on the other hand, strikes both her very gentle sister Bianca and Petruccio. He never verbally abuses her either, saying only highly positive and romantic things to her. Petruccio does abuse Katherina by not letting her eat or sleep, and I can't defend that manipulation though it might sound like I'm about to try.

Katherina isn't just a general representative "woman." She's especially contrary, belligerent, and violent. All of this being rich, spoiled, and having very kidn family members. Petruccio is mostly interested in her money, but he seems to suspect that if her sister Beatrice is a great beauty and a gentle lady that Katherina also has this in her power. When Petruccio meets her, it seems clear that he appreciates her wit and intelligence but that he means to outmatch her. And he does woo her with his craziness even if this is mostly after their wedding instead of before.

The worst part of the play is Katherina's final speech which is really a lot to stomach. It's difficult to tell if she's deeply in love with Petruccio or suffering from some kind of Stockholm's syndrome. I suspect it's just a happy ending for the men in the audience that want the story to play out like a male fantasy.

Despite the terrible ending, I did enjoy this comedy. I think it was funny and kind of romantic and sexy. I'd be lying if I pretended my feelings about art-- or even real life-- are primarily based on feminism.

Entire play available here: http://shakespeare.mit.edu/taming_shrew/index.html

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More Information Than You Require by John Hodgman

More Information Than You Require by John Hodgman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Slightly funnier than the first one, The Areas of My Expertise: An Almanac of Complete World Knowledge Compiled with Instructive Annotation and Arranged in Useful Order. I especially enjoy the political jokes. Just as the first one was too heavy on fake "hobo" trivia, this one is too heavy on molemen. Um-hm, yeah.

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