Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She's "Learned" Paperback – Illustrated, October 20, 2015

I devoured this book over two days. I made an emotional connection with these stories, the likes of which I haven't in a very long time. There was an underlying lyricism that took me a couple of chapters to pick up on. It seems people expected this book to read like a common "celebrity memoir"; plainly written accounts of their rise and days in the limelight. This isn't one of those - and I feel even readers who have approached it positively have missed the bigger picture in this collection of essays. Not That Kind of Girl is a work of literature, light, yet well written and organized. Overall, this book chronicled transition from youth, and the growth of ambition. What I took away was acceptance of past silly or petty thoughts and actions, past disrespect and misunderstanding of oneself. There is hope. Those actions won't necessarily define you forever.While I recognize the items and themes that many have called "petty" and a result of Dunham's privilege; I think her lot in life has allowed for a lovely distilling of human emotion in our time. Lena captures things in words that I haven't had the time or perspective to do myself (probably due to the complications of being an underprivileged working millennial). For example, a number of her essays touch on what it feels like to have a sister. Enjoying their warmth, feeling possessive over them, desperation to understand them, wanting them to need you.I feel the need to qualify this review. I am not privileged. I grew up without stability. I have struggled a great deal more than Lena financially, physically, and socially. Issues like poverty, race, mental illness, education and climate change enter my thoughts and actions daily. So does gender equality and intellectual freedom. Intellectual material we have abound, but It is rare that I am able to make a connection with anything "girly." When I do, I also feel the need to qualify those traits, defend them - balance them with my taste for beer, true journalism and lack of desire for marriage.I shouldn't have to feel this way. Many girls, many women, do. There aren't many options for empowered intellectual women who desire entertainment that exudes hard work, deep thought, and talent. Not in the mainstream. This book is a burst of hope. Not just for women, but for freethinkers, subversive feelers, men, anyone seeking avenues for empathy. For everyone who can appreciate art. This being said, the book is not ideal entertainment for those who cannot easily empathize with the intimate thoughts of others.Yes - the author's privilege causes a disconnect between me and some of the subject matter. But it does not disconnect me from her prose, from the underlying themes, curiosities and emotions. Many talented artists and entertainers arrive at success due to luck and privilege. Privilege sometimes allows for the distilling of other qualities. For example, how does anxiety manifest itself when it's not solely focused on paying the bills and avoiding risk? What is the mind capable of when not bogged down with common worries? What are the expectations of women in our society, without the context of subsistence activities? Public struggles are certainly more important to "the good of the many" than personal ones, but that does not diminish them. Feelings matter, voices matter, art matters. Empathy with all human experience matters."As hard as we have worked and as far as we have come, there are still so many forces conspiring to tell women that our concerns are petty, our opinions aren't needed, that we lack the gravitas necessary for our stories to matter. That personal writing by women is no more than an exercise in vanity and that we should appreciate this new world for women, sit down, and shut up."I'm glad she didn't.

Wow. I always love reading the memoirs of screenwriters, particularly those who write for TV because it's always so, so fascinating to hear their stories in their own carefully crafted words...words they pour themselves over day in and day out, revise and revise again until they can't revise anymore and then put those words out into the world and it's their voice and their voice alone. What will they say? What will they brush over or not mention at all? Will they be as candid as they can possibly be? What does their voice sound like without a writers room behind them? What does their voice look like on the page? How's the tone, the pacing, etc..? How much of what they say will give me new insight into the show they run and/or write for? Needless to say, I'm truly enamored with the memoirs of TV writers and this was no different.Lena is not only very candid, TMI candid which is both horrifying and hilarious but I'm happy to report that I absolutely love her voice! Obviously, I knew that I would like it since I am a fan of what she chooses to write about on Girls but writing for TV and writing a book are two completely different mediums. And it's great to see that she's very talented (and comfortable) with both. The memoir is very fluid as it touches on a number of subjects, which I love. Lena knows what she's doing and is very much in tune with herself (the good and the bad) and her voice and this medium and she owns all of that and makes this book her own (love the illustrations) that all reflects wonderfully on the page.I was very much entertained reading this memoir and on the flip side, very enlightened on her life as I learned things that I otherwise never would've known. While I do empathize with her on some level, for the most part, this was simply a fascinating look at how she carried/carries herself as a young woman, which she still is and how certain moments have impacted her. Yes, this book covers her sexual exploration but there's more to her and her story than that and I'm glad I read this to find out what else that is, even if only a little for now, all in quite a humorous way. It was a very intriguing journey as I discovered the moments in her life that she considers notable and hope this is just the first of many non-fiction works she puts out because really, this is just the beginning.

Book was in very good condition. Absolutely great deal for price.

MUY BUEN LIBRO.LA CALIDAD DEL PAQUETE TAMBIÉN FUE MUY BUENA.

El libro envió fue muy rapido y el libro encaja al 100% con la descripción!

Ce livre a la pâte de Lena tout du long. Si vous avez aimé la série Girls ou le film The little things de Lena, vous aimerez ce livre.Je le déconseille si vous n'avez pas un niveau avancé d'anglais, il y a beaucoup de second degré et d'expression familière.Pour résumer, j'ai adoré, cela fait partie de mes livres préférés.

Smart, funny, relatable... Very easy to devour quickly. Light entertainment that's both introspective and supremely intelligent.Highly recommended.Buy it.