Noah is a great writer. I loved the short interludes between his longer chapters; they were a great way to contextualize his story (especially for an American audience). It felt more like a book of essays than a true memoir, and it was a little annoying the way he bounced back and forth between his childhood and young adulthood. It added drama, but sometimes it felt like the later stories took away from the earlier ones.

He did have a fascinating and often horrifying childhood. Amidst a slew of unbearably boring celebrity memoirs, this one stands out as it has nothing to do with his celebrity and everything to do with humanity.

Harriet is absolutely the worst. The story is still delightful as an adult, though.

I really enjoyed this book as a teenager and the content held up surprisingly well. The slang is unbearably outdated and occasionally offensive, but otherwise a solid teenage drama.

For the most part, this collection of stories is just light enough to keep you skimming across the page (I read it in a day) but with just enough depth to make you pause at times to think.

I liked the theme of modern romance, and that most of the characters were middle aged. It added depth, but also a lot of unexpected heaviness. Cohen is a great writer, and "Love Quiz" will haunt me for a very long time.

For such an influential book, it really is remarkably poorly written. No plot to speak of, just a nameless man wandering around like an idiot. And then it just ends. There is no thought given to the political, moral, sociological repercussions which in my mind would be the most interesting part of such an event. It's just a very over dramatic survivalist story.

I guess I've been spoiled by Sherlock and Elementary but the actual books are pretty lame. The mystery wasn't very interesting, the denouement was abrupt after so many pages of Watson puttering about wishing Sherlock was there to make moon eyes at, and I completely lost respect for Holmes when Watson points out that Holmes doesn't care if the earth goes round the sun or vice versa.

In a word, schmaltzy. It had some good moments, but the over-the-top cutesiness of it really turned me off. It was very predictable, and in a year I doubt I'll remember any of it.

Spoiler

I also found it ridiculous that Leena gives up her phone and laptop. It felt like it was just so Eileen could use the phone to text Ceci, which is exceedingly lame and unrealistic. It was also eye roll inducing that Leena got so mad at her shitty boyfriend for cheating on her when she spent two months mooning over Jackson. Like, you are both assholes, I don't pity you.

This was so bad I don't even know where to begin.

A daughter who grows up in a teeny tiny town, and then in her forties is surprised to find that her mother was the first woman to do a song and dance for tourists outside of the fudge shop, despite the fact that her mom started it while she was a teenager?

Falling in love with a man who, on your first date, asks you to swim in Lake Michigan, and when you tell him it's too cold, he throws you in and loses your glasses in the process?

Describing someone's lips as muscular?

A grown woman sending an email to her boss that starts with "C'mon"

A woman with clear dementia being not only allowed but encouraged to drive.

I could go on but I'm giving myself a headache.

Gotta love a scary lesbian Alice in Wonderland short!