The Potty Mouth at the Table
By Laurie Notaro
Categories: Non-fiction, humor
The sharp-witted perception of Laurie Notaro is a staple of socially awkward awesomeness. No one else can quite convey the driving impulse to hoard fabrics, the distain of the modern ‘foodie’, or the unbreakable laws of personal hygiene regarding shower puff like Notaro. “I would never laugh about a dead hobo, or even think of the term ‘hobo’”, might have gone through your head a time or two before reading this book, but never say never friends.
Our heroine, amid a hoarder's start-up-kit
If you pick this book up and have only 5 more minutes to live, and would like some laughs to forget about impending doom, read the chapter ‘Live from the Bellagio’ on page 71. I read it while camping and had to read excerpts to my four male companions around bouts of laughter, to better explain that I’m not some freak who has psychotic breaks with reality punctuated with laughing fits. It’s about throwing up in public, the shame of such an unforgivable act, and tips to live through such an event. You might think that such things only happen in elementary school, but it’s a wide open world out there with lots of tainted falafels to eat.
Notaro’s books are always good for a laugh, they include a variety of topics about the true life adventures of a writer. She’s got a unique perspective that borders on the manic side of life, getting worked into a frenzy over anything from suspected child laborers to erotic Harry Potter fan-fiction. A few years ago I was reading another one of her books ‘Autobiography of a Fat Bride: True Tales of a Pretend Adulthood’ on a plane to Vegas with my husband (then fiancée) and I was laughing so much, so loudly and uncontrollably that Shane was slightly embarrassed to be sitting next to me. And by slightly, I mean he was whispering urgently to me “please, please be quiet.” So far be it for me to spoil every savory story in ‘The Potty Mouth at the Dinner Table’, I can’t even convey the vast landscape of Notaro’s mind without giggling about Facebook being the ‘reigning five-star general of hell’. So if you’re in the mood for a laugh and some perspective on your own quirks and habits, please read this book.
Additional required reading if Potty Mouth made you laugh out loud...
