Plodding, depressing and unfinishable.  Why does the cover say funny?
598301
Cover used the words, "furiously funny moments"

I'm half way through and still waiting for the funny part.  So far this book is depressing and boring and I'm done.
No clue why people "couldn't put the book down".  Reading about Barbara's "pity party" as one reviewer put it, got tiring.

The book is written with flashbacks, some are in italics and relate to things from Barbara's childhood, but others just skip backwards in time, for no apparent reason.

Domestic violence, child abuse, job loss, old age, non caring police and child service departments and even the husband's job of filming violence and abuse in foreign countries.  If ever there were topics that lend themselves less to a book whose cover states it is funny, I can't imagine.

Nor do I understand the time and effort involved to write a fictional story with such topics.

Why aren't publishing companies held accountable for the comments on the cover?  Where were those funny parts?
964249
I couldn't help but like the cover.  Hey, the squirrel's really cute.  The trouble  is with the inside of the book.  Yeah, the book is definitely squirrelly.  Not only that, but the characters are unlikeable and don't ring true.  This is okay for a book to pass time with, but I don't think you'll find it involving.  I've read worse.  I've also read better.
3589188
not very funny, slow to develop - I couldn't sit thru it!
510822
I am reviewing the ABRIDGED version of this book.  If the other reviews are anything to go by, it appears they've cut out all of the funny bits during the abridgement because I sure couldn't find 'em.

The book features a 30ish woman who is stuck in a dead end job and married to a man who has no sex drive and is more interested in decorating their living room (and if you can't see the reason coming a mile away well then you simply haven't read enough Chick Lit books yet!).  When she finds an old tome entitled Elegance in a book store it gives her the incentive to dress better and is the beginning of some major changes in her current stale situation.

I was expecting some fun antics but instead I thought the whole thing was more sad than funny. The heroine's life is rather pathetic and she's a real weepy doormat who is in a lousy situation due mainly to her own insecurities and poor choices. It's hard not to cringe at some of the things she thinks, says and does but it's also very difficult to dredge up a drop of sympathy for her as well.

Not helping out matters any is the fact that narrator reads the book in a sort of depressed tone of voice which I'm sure was intentional but I don't particularly like being depressed. My long ride to work is depressing enough!

In the end I just did not click with Louise on any level. This is a woman who needs some professional help and not simply a hunky younger man to cure everything (cause I'm betting she screws it up sooner rather than later). This woman has a SERIOUS eating disorder that the author doesn't seem to think is a big deal. Bulemia is dangerous and goes far deeper than the simple act of eating and purging. Here it is made to seem like a solution to eating lots of fattening stuff and staying slim.

I didn't find this book a fun experience and won't be re-reading it.
1911993
Bleak & sludge-paced.  I lost interest in Main Character Theo (what a whiner!) around page 7,500 of this 20,000 page book.  Theos friend - The Polish Guy - is one huge cheesy stereotype.  The whole unfunny bromance reads like an add-on pasted into the story after the books completion, probably in hopes of providing some comedic relief from the unimaginative misery & strangulating pace.  Plus Tartt saves her Really Big Ideas for the end  at which point were way beyond benefiting from stale observations about Life, Loss, and Purpose. Just want the thing to be OVER!  Editors, where were you?
3566614
The Pint Man, while vaguely interesting in terms of the characters it introduces, falls far short of the glowing reviews on the back cover of the book. Rushin's wordplay is cheap and observational, and far too frequent. In my opinion, the book comes across as a more of a medium than a piece of art itself; it is a device through which Rushin publishes thousands of his own pseudo-comic puns and revelations about the complications of the human language. My goodness, you socked your money away in a sock drawer?! How marvelously, hilariously appropriate! Rushin is not the first to figure out that some words rhyme and other words have synonyms. Perhaps if the book had been published as a collection of bullet-pointed puns, anagrams, and references it wouldn't have fallen so far short of it's apparent goal to be a novel (An assumption I make based on the words "A Novel" printed on the front. I can only infer that people were getting confused).
Spend your time and money on something else.
4049890
Read this a little while ago. It didn't take very long to read, maybe two, three days tops? Interesting plot, but unfortunately, I don't feel it was executed properly.

To start, I was laughing the entire book. Not just at the jokes, but at the characters. Only about six (the main four ((the men iffy)), the grandma, and the drunk) had any real development, the rest being completely nuts, stupid, or otherwise annoying. Some of the jokes were also pretty dumb, for example, when the two main male characters got drunk off chocolate, one started singing, and suddenly a tree appeared. Then suddenly everything went back to normal and they were both sober ten minutes later. What?

The fairy cat was also pretty unnecessary. And all the "Super Slut Puppy" jokes the main character kept making (even though, in a way, she was right. She did sort of end up being the main guys slut).

In addition, this makes all Southerners look stupid. Period. (I'm not biased in this, either, since I'm a Northerner. I'm well aware that they are not stupid down there.)

Finally, the ending was one of the most anti-climatic letdown finishes I've ever read. And I've read a lot. I'm not really even curious as to what happens in the next book.

HOWEVER, I'm willing to say that this book is also heavily influenced by the reader. I wasn't expecting a short comedy skit, so I wasn't impressed. BUT, if people enjoy comedy, making others look stupid, unrealistically strange situations (unrealistic as far as fantasy/romance goes, I mean), and... well, letdown endings (one of those "wait, so all that happened, and then it didn't? UGH!" types), then I would recommend this book. But personally, there was so much comedy that I couldn't take it seriously to read.

I didn't, however, find any serious problems in the writing itself. Work on the plot and characters, and you're good to go. I also noticed that there is a squeal, but I'm not certain I want to read it, though this certainly isn't a stand-alone book.

IF YOU LIKE COMEDY, AND DON'T MIND READING A SERIES, then I would recommend it. However, it wasn't in my taste.
1184885
I reviewed this at MustReadBooksOrDie with my friend Shelley.

Shel: So if you are looking for a romantic comedy with a smidge of sadness in it, this may just be the book for you. Our main character, Lucy, who has been widowed for 5 years has decided that it may be time to start looking for a mate. The problem is that she has this obnoxious list of characteristics that is so incredibly depressing and nearly impossible to acquire that she's left with multiple less than stellar options...unless you count Ethan (which she doesn't want to do!).

Court: Yes, this is definitely one of those stories where it is obvious in space who she should be with, but she is so afraid of repeating any sort of heartbreak she goes out on painful dates with all sorts of suitors who are wrong for her. Though, really in a way, who could blame her. When you think you've found the love of your life and he dies...as well as all the men in her family where the men in town think you're cursed to kill them off, well....it's hard to get back on that horse!

Shel: Lucy and her aunts and many of the multiple other minor characters provide many humorous quips and moments through the duration of the novel and makes Lucy's hunt for the next husband funnier than her bland list would suggest. You see, Lucy and her mom and aunts have all buried their husbands and are fondly known in their small town as the 'black widows'. They all own and work together in a bakery and are so wrapped up in each others' lives that they have kind of stagnated in the stories they've all created for themselves. Because of this Lucy is hesitant to speak her mind or break out of her 'story' and it prohibits her from making healthy relationship choices....like giving Ethan a chance. Of course the fact that he's her dead husband's brother also makes any future relationship a little unusual and awkward. But, even more than that I think Lucy is afraid of what others will think and whether or not her heart can survive a relationship with him.

Court: Yes, the joys of opinionated family members! And these Hungarian women are damned opinionated! They cracked me up though...the three older Blacked Widow's are so set in their ways that they have a hard time accepting change..and by hard time I mean not at all. So they don't take too well to Lucy's ideas of expanding their business or that she is getting the business from a man when she should just be happy as a widow for the rest of her life like them. It is really hard for Lucy to sort through all the emotions that she has spent a really long time avoiding after her husband's death...and as long as her list is for potential husband picking, her list as to why she can't give Ethan the chance he deserves is equally as long!

Shel: Lucy's in laws (aka Ethan's parents), Grinelda, Corrine, Parker, and Ash...along with many other secondary characters provide many colorful and sometimes frustrating moments in the on again off again relationship of Ethan and Lucy. I love that Parker calls it like she sees it--she may be one of my favorite characters in the book! I also love all of the food descriptions--I think I gained about ten pounds just reading about all of the food!

Court: I heart Parker also. But mostly I loved Ethan. He put up with sooooo much insanity from Lucy and was an incredibly genuine guy. His awesomeness with his son Nicky and how he was so good to Lucy after all that time when he was grieving his brother as well made me swoon. I really liked him a lot!

Shel: If you are looking for a clean, romantic comedy...try this one! Court: Yep! We liked this one! And can say now that I've read two of Kristan's books that her heartwarming stories are worth the time and shenanigans that are a given in her stories!

Shelley: 3 Stars
Courtney: 4 Stars
1499424
I hung in there trying to make it through the series but I'm finally giving it up as a lost cause. I'd hoped that it would get better but instead it gets sillier and sillier, literally cartoonish. Unrealistic, it often contradicts itself within just a few pages. The bad guys are caricatures of evil. No remorse and entirely sociopathic. Genocidal monsters, so monomanical in their lust for power that it seems to be a job requirement... That the author hopes for monetary compensation for this pathetic effort is embarrasing. Thank goodness for kindle unlimited. It's high rating is inexplicable.
4904351
I thought from the synopsis it would be a funny read. Unfortunately, the humor is completely forced and the characters were unbelievable. The heroine is a spoiled society girl, but somehow she's an expert handling three 6-year-olds? Nope, not even a little believable. She is a complete ditz. The hero is not so over-the-top but still not that interesting. I'm still trying to figure out where he got his relationship issues. Also, what's up with the excellent relationship with his ex-mother-in-law? I must have missed where they explained why she is the one in his life and not his actual parents, grandparents or even an old aunt? The pace of the book is fine, but many of the scenes that are supposed to be funny just come across as ridiculous: the intervention, climbing the tree, the first cooked meal, the slushies, the scrimmage, the second intervention.
1953522
I seldom have bad things to say about books I have read but this is easily one of the poorer books I have read in a while for several reasons.

1.  There are SO MANY loose ends.  What happens to Newman?  Why is Margaret such a tease?  Whats up with Henry's parents marital problems?  Why is David cheating on Lucy?  Why does Henry not seemed motivated to stick with music?  Why does Lucy get so annoyed at Henry?  To say nothing of the fact that this was one of the most pathetic endings I have ever read.
2.  The whole book just seemed very depressing. I get that the book did not take the  turns I was hoping to see.  But  could anything positive happen for Henry?
3.  No characters other than Henry and Margaret seem fleshed out.  They really needed more development.
4  Nothing happens for 85% of the book.  The only reason I read it to the end is because I kept hoping something might pull together at the end, but I was wrong.

Overall Henry could be a likable main character, and  I did like him as a narrator.  Some of the things in the book are good themes, and everybody can relate to the whole college age kid trying to "figure it out" story.  But the utter depression and boredom, coupled with one of the worst endings ever leads me to urge others to pursue other things for a better read.
3021915
I will keep it short and to the point. I don't understand all the hype over this book. It is simply too morose and depressing. There were some pleasurable moments and glitters of hope. However three fourths of the way through I nearly put the book down and stopped reading. I kept waiting for something to happen. Anything. Anything it all. But nothing happens to change the tempo of the story. There is too much repetition. Walking, hunger, sadness, resting, death, dreariness, and hopelessness nonstop. I could not bring myself to giving the book two stars because I enjoyed the imagery, language, colors, and descriptions. It stimulated my imagination. This was the only thing that saved it. I nearly put it down, but I pressed on because I wanted to see how it ended. That too was a disappointment. There are cannibals, suicide, and mass calamity. But nothing is explained, nothing is ever answered. How unsatsifying. The book got rave reviews because of the author's name only. That's all. I suppose the author does not feel regular conventions of punctuation apply to him either.
4056257
UGH!!! After almost 2 hour of reading, this book is a total downer.  I enjoy a good thriller or mystery and understand a book being dark... but this is just grumbling and groaning.  I have no idea of the motivation for the book but it so much like someone's attempt for their own catharsis from something.
I USED to suffer through books that I wasn't enjoying and just endure chewing the gristle and sinew until I finally made it through to the end... only to say, "well, that was a waste of time."
But not any more.  There are just TOO many other books available.
If you wanting an opinion before you start this book, pass it by.  If you currently reading the book and getting frustrated, you're not alone.
IMO, it's time to move on to the next book on my shelf.
4705135
I do not understand how over 1,000 reviewers gave this book 5 stars.  It's plodding,
redundant, superficial, illogical and really quite shallow.  I tried valiantly -- after
all the raves -- to 'get into' it but just didn't find it compelling or worthy of any
more than 2.0 stars.
2586655
After reading reviews of this book that insistently compared Kaplan to the likes of David Sedaris, I begged my husband to buy it for me for Christmas. I immediately began reading it, and...well, nothing. I soldiered on through it, hoping that it would eventually get better, but it didn't. When I finished "Why I'm Like This," I felt disappointed and frustrated. Not only did it fail to live up to my (admittedly somewhat high) expectations, but it was entirely unremarkable in every way.

I smiled only a few times while reading this book, and I never felt compelled to laugh. Only a couple of times did Kaplan phrase something in a way that made me feel she was at all a capable author. I never once found a passage so funny, or so well-written, that I wanted to read it aloud to someone so that I could share in the joy, or in the pain.

This book felt like an uninspired journal account. Memoir-writing is a bit pretentious in itself, because you're assuming that someone wants to read about your life and your thoughts, but good memoirs make up for this pretentiousness by either making the reader laugh or think or, in the best cases, both. "Why I'm Like This" achieves neither, making it simply the pretentious offerings of a quite ordinary life.
4214756
The cover is the funniest one to color.  The others appear to be drawn by high school seniors.  Fill the page up with drawings!  and some of the sayings- Yawn.  not even a smile.
3965235
I agree with all the other reviewers, this book is simply awful. I was hoping that listening to it in the car in the audio book version would help, but it didn't. Even the person reading it sounds annoyed at times over the story. At first I thought, maybe the author approaches the cliches with a tongue in cheek, and it is meant to be fun and a little sarcastic, but it is not. What do we have?
1. a vain, beautiful girl who fears beauty won't last forever and is a serial dater
2. a girl with the perfect life, who is annoyed by her perfect boyfriends who then proposes to her
3. the girl we all know with the unhealthy relationship who gets dumped and then reinvents herself in her job.
I have heard it all, and I don't need any more of it.