Look Alive Out There

Essays

By: Sloane Crosley

Narrated by: Sloane Crosley

This program is read by the author

Sloane Crosley returns to the form that made her a household name in really quite a lot of households: Essays! These small doses of wit and sass make for an exuberant, unforgettable audiobook.

From the New York Times–bestselling author Sloane Crosley comes Look Alive Out There—a brand-new collection of essays filled with her trademark hilarity, wit, and charm. The characteristic heart and punch-packing observations are back, but with a newfound coat of maturity. A thin coat. More of a blazer, really.

Fans of I Was Told There’d Be Cake and How Did You Get This Number know Sloane Crosley’s life as a series of relatable but madcap misadventures. In Look Alive Out There, whether it’s scaling active volcanoes, crashing shivas, playing herself on Gossip Girl, befriending swingers, or staring down the barrel of the fertility gun, Crosley continues to rise to the occasion with unmatchable nerve and electric one-liners. And as her subjects become more serious, her essays deliver not just laughs but lasting emotional heft and insight. Crosley has taken up the gauntlets thrown by her predecessors—Dorothy Parker, Nora Ephron, David Sedaris—and crafted something rare, affecting, and true.

Look Alive Out There arrives a decade after I Was Told There’d be Cake, and Crosley’s essays have managed to grow simultaneously more sophisticated and even funnier. And yet she’s still very much herself, and it’s great to have her back—and not a moment too soon (or late, for that matter).

quirky humor

good writing, laugh out loud funny parts and interesting tales. good voice and reading. recommended.

Witty and Intelligent

The author’s frank and honest reactions to events in her life had me laughing out loud. She has a wonderful sense of humor and a firm grasp of pop culture. Whip smart and vulnerable at the same time. Buy this book.

terrific

I love this book. Crowley is smart, super-funny, and honest. She couldn't write an unoriginal sentence if she tried, and her delivery is a huge pleasure. I recommend this book to everyone, but also if you have someone struggling through something upsetting, this book might be a match, because though it isn't exactly light (as it deals with serious matters) it is so funny that it is deeply deeply pleasurable without being painful.

UGH

I tried a few times to listen to this, bored to tears I am giving up. I am an avid audiobook listener, listening to books 30+ hours, so I thought I could soldier thru but decided my life isn’t probably that much longer so I’m giving up. I found the story trite and just couldn’t buy into it. Maybe if I was in my 20s ... maybe.

Boring + Annoying

What disappointed you about Look Alive Out There?

I am only a few stories in but I find it to be annoying. I wanted to like this really bad but I feel like she's just whining. I have a stressful job so in my free time I don't feel like listening to things that aren't upbeat and somewhat positive. She seemed to be focusing on things that caused her issues and it was just annoying, I wanted to say Get On With It.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Her voice was fine. Just didn't like her stories.