Meaty by Samantha Irby: I am excited because I am thirty years old and I don't have a man in my life

I was scanning through NetGalley and saw a copy of Samantha Irby's earlier collection, Meaty available. And since I enjoyed We Are Never Meeting in Real Life so damn much I thought I'd see if I could get a copy of this. And a copy was granted, in exchange for an honest review.

I can't decide which of two books I like better. It's hard to say since really they're both similar. They're both collections of essays about her and her life. They're hilarious and vulgar and a times touching (did I tear up while reading one about her mother? MAYBE. Was it followed up not long after with an essay about diarrhea? MAAAYBE) 

She has essays about dating ("How to Get Your Disgusting Meat Carcass Ready for Some New, Hot Sex"), medical issues ("The Many Varieties of Hospital Broth"), family ("My Mother, My Daughter"), money ("I Should Have a Car with Power Windows By Now"), pop culture ("Elena Tyler: AKA Why I Can't Be Mad at Lena Dunham"). What I'm saying is Irby has range.  

And she's relatable. I mean, look at the way she talks about her Crohn's Disease

And I know a lot of things suck, and so many people are going through so many terrible things, but to me, in this goddamned moment, nothing is worse than this gross-ass shit disease. Yes, there are worse things, but since those things are not currently happening to me, this bullshit is the worst thing that has ever happened to anyone in the history of ever.

This is how I feel about any bad thing that happens to me, regardless of how serious. It's times like this you realize how truly connected we all are.

This book is hilarious. Thinking about it, I may like it better than WANMIRL. Maybe. It's close. But they're both pretty great and if you like funny ladies, give them a try.

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Irby, Samantha. Meaty. Vintage, 2013. NetGalley

We Are Never Meeting In Real Life: Hopefully lesbian bed death is real

As I have mentioned a zillion times, books by funny ladies are my jaaaaaaaaam. So I was browsing NetGalley and saw this book, We Are Never Meeting in Real Life and, OK, I didn't actually recognize the author Samantha Irby. But the cover has an angry wet cat on it and it says it was by the author of the blog "bitches gotta eat" which was pretty much all I needed to at least give it a try. It was my lucky day, since I was approve for a copy in exchange for a review and here we are.

The book is a collection of essays about Samantha's life. It's not really a memoir, but of course, write what you know.

The first essay, "My Bachelorette Application" is a great start. It sets the tone for Irby's humor, especially if you aren't already familiar with her.

I am squeezed into my push-up bra and sparkly, ill-fitting dress. I've got the requisite sixteen coats of waterproof mascara, black eyeliner, and salmon-colored streaks of hastily applied self-tanner drying down the side of my neck. I'm sucking in my stomach, I've taken thirty-seven Imodium in case my irritable bowels have an adverse reaction to the bag of tacos I hid in my purse and ate in the bathroom while no one was looking, and I have been listening to Katy Perry really loudly in the limo on the way over here. I'm about to crush a beer can on my forehead. LET'S DO THIS, BRO.

I know that was long, but it's gold. And like I said that sets the tone. And really, I could repeat pretty much the whole thing here because it's all hilarious.

She is self-deprecating and vulgar, not the best with money when she has it (I want to be one of those people who feels satisfied when I pay my bills rather than cheated out of whatever frivolity was sacrificed in its place), and while she's never really touching and vulnerable, she doesn't shy away from some of the tougher parts of her life.

She has essays about sex, about her cat Helen Keller that she hates but also loves, about her weight, about growing up poor, about how leaving the house is overrated.

So if any of this sounds like your thing, and it should cos it's pretty great, I recommend. Clearly.

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Title quote from location 2946

Irby, Samantha. We Are Never Meeting In Real Life. Vintage, 2017. NetGalley