There's a (Slight) Chance I Might Be Going to Hell by Laurie Notaro

I enjoyed Laurie Notaro's first novel quite a bit. The main character, Maye, seems to be pretty closely based on Laurie Notaro, but that's not a bad thing. She's funny and smart and relatable, and her fruitless search for a friend in her new hometown is basically exactly what I feared was going to happen to me when I thought MB and I might be moving somewhere new for me to attend grad school.

Her various missteps into the social circles of Spaulding, Washington, are really quite hilarious, from the "Gothic literature" group who are more into Wicca than Henry James to the bitterly divorced bookstore clerk who can't hold her liquor. Maye's yard man warns her that the local wildlife will kill her ("Raccoons are nocturnal animals, and if you see one when it's light outside, that thing's got the distemper and it's crack-ass crazy. Don't make eye contact. Never look it in the eye, or it will rip your face off with its claws and eat it like it was a Fruit Roll-Up."), and her mailman has a grudge against her dog Mickey. Worst of all, her husband's delightful new boss is married to a poisonous shrew who takes perverse pleasure in insulting Maye to her face every time they meet.

Then Maye decides to enter the town's annual Sewer Pipe Queen Pageant, and things start to get really interesting. It didn't take me too long to figure out the twist, but there's something satisfying about guessing the end and then seeing it play out, so I don't think it took anything away from the book. All in all, this one is a nice, fun romp, and should appeal to established Laurie Notaro fans and newcomers alike.

You're Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton!

You combine all the elements of a mad scientist, a brash philosopher, a humble researcher, and a money-hungry attracter of tourists. With all these features, you could build something monumental or get chased around by your own demons. Probably both, in fact.

A movie based on your life would make millions, and spawn at least two sequels that wouldn't be very good. Be very careful around islands.


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