The Potty Mouth at the Table, by Laurie Notaro

Laurie Notaro is absolutely hilarious.  Her new book, The Potty Mouth at the Table, had me laughing out loud on just about every page, and stopping repeatedly to tell my wife, "You have to hear this!" and reading passage after passage aloud.  Sure, I'm a guy, and her target audience is women, but I still loved hearing stories of her nutty life.

Some of her favorite targets are social networking, self-appointed food critics, and various sorts of pomposity.  But mostly she tells stories about some of the crazy things that happen to her, like when she might have found a dead hobo in her yard, when she was repeatedly groped by a TSA agent, or when a self-righteous poet at a reading called her a "potty-mouth" for saying "sh---y."  (By the way, she is a bit of a potty mouth, but a rated PG potty mouth, carefully selecting her profanity for its humorous effect, not punctuating every thought with it.)

We learn a lot about Laurie.  She does not like to share a bath puff.  She would rather give birth in public than throw up in front of people.  She has serious addictions to buying fabric and second-hand furniture.  She has little patience for foodies and vegans, but don't you dare take donuts from her secret stash.  Her husband makes cameo appearances as the long-suffering partner.  I wouldn't mind hearing a bit more from him.  Life with Laurie sounds like it must be a constant, outrageous adventure!

http://www.laurienotaro.com/

Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!