• Let's Pretend This Never Happened

  • A Mostly True Memoir
  • By: Jenny Lawson
  • Narrated by: Jenny Lawson
  • Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (8,255 ratings)

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Let's Pretend This Never Happened  By  cover art

Let's Pretend This Never Happened

By: Jenny Lawson
Narrated by: Jenny Lawson
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Publisher's summary

Audie Award Nominee, Humor, 2013

For fans of Tina Fey and David Sedaris - Internet star Jenny Lawson, aka The Bloggess, makes her literary debut.

Jenny Lawson realized that the most mortifying moments of our lives - the ones we'd like to pretend never happened - are in fact the ones that define us. In Let's Pretend This Never Happened, Lawson takes listeners on a hilarious journey recalling her bizarre upbringing in rural Texas, her devastatingly awkward high school years, and her relationship with her long-suffering husband, Victor.

Chapters include: "Stanley the Magical, Talking Squirrel", "A Series of Angry Post-It Notes to My Husband", "My Vagina Is Fine. Thanks for Asking", and "And Then I Snuck a Dead Cuban Alligator on an Airplane".

©2012 Jenny Lawson (P)2012 Penguin

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Editor's Pick

Alas, poor Jenny…
"Just like the taxidermized, Yorick-like mouse on the cover, Let's Pretend This Never Happened is awkward, weird, and hilarious—as is the writer, Jenny Lawson, of The Bloggess fame. Her narration, too, makes this listen truly sing—quite literally when she belts out the chapter titles like a manic, singsong opera star. The whole package is so genuine and vulnerable that I frequently laughed to the point of tears as she regaled her experiences dealing with anxiety, depression, and social missteps. This is a title that could only be written by Lawson herself."
Sean T., Audible Editor

What listeners say about Let's Pretend This Never Happened

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    2 out of 5 stars
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  • K
  • 02-02-13

Every "ing" is pronounced "ink"

What would have made Let's Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir) better?

Different narrator would have made this better. Sorry Jenny, I just can't get past your saying "ink" instead of "ing" for all words ending in "ing" and boy, there were a lot of those words. I think in this case I would have preferred reading the actual book. Or sayink in your language, I would have preferred readink the actual book.

Has Let's Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir) turned you off from other books in this genre?

Nope.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Yep.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Dissapointink narratink

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

So not David Sedaris

What disappointed you about Let's Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir)?

It's the shtick of all the cutesy asides to the listener, in a voice that grates on the nerves.
Sorry.

Would you recommend Let's Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir) to your friends? Why or why not?

No. Could have been funnier with editing and someone else reading it.

Would you be willing to try another one of Jenny Lawson’s performances?

no.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

She has some great material, minus the shtick and her voice.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Keep it as a blog

We voted this for book club and half of the ladies asked for their money back. I can see her stories in blog snips but not a book. It feels like she’s trying too hard to be funny and edgy.

I can’t finish the second half - her voice is too high for audible and the other ladies in book club said the second half was terrible. Why does she sing the chapters? It hurts to listen.

The squirrel story is really the only thing worth reading. Sorry Jenny...

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Annoying

What didn’t you like about Jenny Lawson’s performance?

I've always found The Blogess's writing very funny, but a lot of that is because she says off-handed, unexpected things that I read as deadpan. Hearing her read it, however, Jenny Lawson is extremely self-aware of the "funny" moments, and says them in a tone like, "HEY GUYS, THIS PART IS FUNNY," which makes it totally unfunny and just ... irritating.

Any additional comments?

This is not a memoir so much as a collection of stories that the writer thinks are funny. In the end, I didn't feel like I learned anything, it just felt like a lot of cheap laughs sewn together. The only chapter I really liked was the one where she talked about her miscarriages because it was the only one that felt real and human, like there was a point behind the jokes and not just a bunch of funny or awkward moments. Also, she's a good writer, but the tangents drove the me crazy. Listening to this book was like listening to your most ADD friend try to tell stories, but by the middle of the story you've totally forgotten what you were talking about because you've landed somewhere else entirely. That style is funny at first, and it lends itself well to conversational-toned writing in general and blogging in particular, but when an entire book is like that, and especially when you're listening to it rather than reading it, it's extremely annoying.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Dont buy! Teenage level thoughts and voice. Waste!

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Adult perspective and storytelling abilities on her good childhood stories.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The characters from her childhood could make a good story if their stories were told by someone who could tell a good story. She sounded like an immature, disrespectful, ungrateful 14-year-old bitching about her life. Listening to this is more annoying than entertaining. It's like someone knew she had good stories and told her she should write a book. She should have hired a writer.

How could the performance have been better?

Had a more advanced narrator and a different book.

What character would you cut from Let's Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir)?

Jenny Lawson

Any additional comments?

Not worth publishing!!!!! $20 I'll never see again! Big disappointment.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Love funny female writers, hated this book

What would have made Let's Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir) better?

When I read the description and the reviews of this book, I was excited, but now I wish I could get a refund. Not only are the stories not even particularly funny, the constant cutesy asides from the author were something I found unbearable. Furthermore, I'm a southerner and love a good southern accent, but I found her voice really grating.

Has Let's Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir) turned you off from other books in this genre?

No, I'll just be more cautious and listen to an excerpt first.

What three words best describe Jenny Lawson’s performance?

Over-the-top

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Awesome!!

Where does Let's Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir) rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

If you like the Bloggess, buy the book now!! Funny and irreveren. If you don't like swearing...run away.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Author/narrator is annoying and self absorbed

The events that Lawson writes about are indeed funny, but the way that she writes and narrates is chatty and annoying. If her running commentry was edited out it might be ok.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Off-putting & Not funny

Would you try another book from Jenny Lawson and/or Jenny Lawson?

Never. Aside from the bizarre tales of her upbringing (roadkill, anyone), I found this to be a too-long story about the life of a self-absorbed woman without a lot of outside interests. I stopped listening halfway through because Jenny just did not have the knack for genuinely connecting with the people in her life or with me.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Yes, the content was presented in a sardonic way, marred by an unsympathetic portrayal of the other characters (real people), and with a 'look at me, I'm special' tone.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Let's Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir)?

What followed after the stories about her family was presented in a such a superficial way, e.g., life in the big city, her husband, the birth of her child (which came across as unimportant rather than funny). It's not the individual scenes as much as her me-me-me perspective that quickly became annoying.

Any additional comments?

Comparing Jenny to Fey or Sedaris is wrong. She is so far NOT in their league in terms of quality of content, consistency of humour, relevance and connecting with the reader/listener. I was beginning to feel sorry for her rather than being entertained.

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

I didn't even get through it, and i read her blog

Would you try another book from Jenny Lawson and/or Jenny Lawson?

Maybe, I thought that it was WAY too much rambling and the stories just kept going and going and going. She reads very fast so you really have to pay attention to what's she's saying.

Has Let's Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir) turned you off from other books in this genre?

No.

Would you be willing to try another one of Jenny Lawson’s performances?

Probably not. I think she reads way to fast.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment for sure. Her blog is so funny. And frustration. All of the stories just keep dragging and she never gets to the point.

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