Library Journal
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Written in signature Irby style, this third volume of essays (after We Are Never Meeting in Real Life) from the laugh-out-loud comedian and excruciatingly relatable author/blogger (bitchesgottaeat.com) sees the writer abandoning Chicago singledom for suburban married life while navigating chronic illness with humor and a vivid, resonant voice. Topics ranging from "Into the Gross" and "Love and Marriage" to "Body Negativity" and "Detachment Parenting" are explored in pieces that are both funny yet deeply sad and occasionally try too hard. That is, they are human in the very best way. A recurrent theme is how the author has dealt with unpredictability in her life. Whether growing up destitute (and still having a fraught relationship with financial matters) or being at the mercy of her bowels and the exhausting indignity of planning life around Crohn's disease, Irby has longed for stability and dependable affection, and has often not found it. Love, she notes, is boring, which is a wonderful thing. VERDICT A sheer delight for Irby's legions of fans. For those new to her work, or who enjoy Jenny Lawson, Roxane Gay, Jenny Slate, or Nora Ephron, this should be obtained immediately.—Audrey Snowden, Milford Town Lib., MA

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

In her third essay collection, Irby shares what she's been up to since We Are Never Meeting in Real Life (2017): leaving Chicago to live in Michigan, becoming a kind of parent to her wife's kids, writing for the Hulu show, Shrill, turning 40 ( the hilarious thing about being forty is this: I don't know anything ) and lots more. One essay is a 1990s mixtape, complete with track listings and their explanations. Lesbian Bed Death is a series of statements that begin with Sure, sex is fun and end with things like but have you ever watched PBS? Hello, 911? catalogs everyday emergencies like stepping onto a moving walkway, or being the first person at a party. And despite Irby's claim that It is not that helpful! , the collection-closing story of getting her first book published will especially speak to budding writers. Irby has an uncanny ability to punctuate all the funny stuff with well-placed moments of true tenderness, making this exactly what her longtime and new readers will love and LOL over.--Annie Bostrom Copyright 2020 Booklist

Publishers Weekly
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This overly manic collection from blogger Irby (We Are Never Meeting in Real Life) hints at the author’s talent, but ultimately disappoints. In recounting a period in her life that saw her attain success as an author, endure a frustrating flirtation with Hollywood, and move from Chicago to Kalamazoo, Mich., “where the most popular bar has a mechanical bull,” Irby primarily aims to amuse, but the humor is one-note, leaning too much on double exclamation points, triple question marks, and caps lock, and too little on original observations. She also overemphasizes showbiz references—at one point, she imagines her life as a wacky Hollywood comedy, and at another point, as several seasons of a TV show. Irby can be remarkably candid, as when she admits to having a “running inner monologue recounting every horrible thing I’ve said or done since I can remember first publicly humiliating myself,” one that “never shuts the fuck up or goes away even for a minute.” This emotional honesty is the book’s best feature, but is less appealing than it might have been, due to the hectic tone. Readers will be disappointed by this strained attempt at comedic memoir. (Apr.)