I totally paused!

Title: Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea
Author: Chelsea Handler
Publisher: Simon Spotlight Entertainment
Genre: Humor
Pages: 264
How I Read It: Paperback purchased by me.

Synopsis: When Chelsea Handler needs to get a few things off her chest, she appeals to a higher power – vodka.

You would too if you found out that your boyfriend was having an affair with a Peekapoo, or if you had to pretend to be honeymooning with your father in order to upgrade to first class.  Welcome to Chelsea’s world, a place where absurdity reigns supreme and a quick wit is the best line of defense.

In this deliciously skewed collection, Chelsea mines her past for stories about her family, relationships, and career that are at once singular and ridiculous.  Whether she’s convincing her third-grade class that she has been tapped to play Goldie Hawn’s daughter in the sequel to Private Benjamin, deciding to be more egalitarian by dating a redhead, or looking out for a foulmouthed, rum-swilling little person who looks just like her…only smaller, Chelsea has a knack for getting herself into the most outrageous situations.

My Review: I liked Chelsea’s first book, and I really loved this one – I feel like she really hit her writing stride in this second book, you can totally see the humor you’ve come to love from watching her show.  There were plenty of things that had me laughing out loud, it was exactly the read I was looking for.

One of the things I like about Chelsea is that she and I have several things in common, including our love of vodka.  I mean, all I really needed to do was hear this title to know I would enjoy the book!  Her life is more vodka filled than my own, but it’s always amusing to hear the kinds of trouble other people get into when they’ve been drinking.  And this book has a great story of why you should never drive drunk, despite the humorous situation Chelsea finds herself in.

My personal favorite story was the one about dog sitting, I found myself laughing the most and even snorting a few times.  For the record, I snort all the time, and I have a feeling that some day I will also start peeing a little when I laugh hard.  It’s quite possible that an experience involving Chelsea will bring this about, because she really is that funny to me.

This is exactly the kind of thing I like to read from a comedy writer – based in truth coming from their own life, but still very funny and completely lived up to my expectations.  I think Chelsea’s style is something you either love or hate, so I doubt there will be mixed reviews from anyone who is already familiar with her.  I’m not very easily offended, all the stories were hilarious to me, and I think a lot of people who like her will think the same thing.

Read this book if: If you are a fan of Chelsea Handler, I’m positive you will like this.  If you don’t know anything about her, I would say try to catch her E! show before picking up her book.

My Rating: 4/5 – Borderline amazing!

Title: My Horizontal Life – A Collection of One-Night Stands
Author: Chelsea Handler
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
Genre: Comedy
Pages: 213
How I Read It: Paperback purchased by me.

Synopsis: In this raucous collection of true-life stories, actress and comedian Chelsea Handler recounts her time spent in the social trenches with that wild, strange, irresistible, and often gratifying beast: the one-night stand.

You’ve either done it or know someone who has: the one-night stand, the familiar outcome of a night spent at a bar, sometimes the sole payoff for your friend’s irritating wedding, or the only relief from a disastrous vacation. Often embarrassing and uncomfortable, occasionally outlandish, but most times just a necessary and irresistible evil, the one-night stand is a social rite as old as sex itself and as common as a bar stool.

Enter Chelsea Handler. Gorgeous, sharp, and anything but shy, Chelsea loves men and lots of them. My Horizontal Life chronicles her romp through the different bedrooms of a variety of suitors, a no-holds-barred account of what can happen between a man and a sometimes very intoxicated, outgoing woman during one night of passion. From her short fling with a Vegas stripper to her even shorter dalliance with a well-endowed little person, from her uncomfortable tryst with a cruise ship performer to her misguided rebound with a man who likes to play leather dress-up, Chelsea recalls the highs and lows of her one-night stands with hilarious honesty. Encouraged by her motley collection of friends (aka: her partners in crime) but challenged by her family members (who at times find themselves a surprise part of the encounter), Chelsea hits bottom and bounces back, unafraid to share the gritty details. My Horizontal Life is one guilty pleasure you won’t be ashamed to talk about in the morning.

My Review: I bought this book awhile ago after hearing about it from a friend.  I’d actually been watching Chelsea Lately for awhile before buying the book, and find her so hilarious that I figured the book was probably right up my alley.  Comedy isn’t typically my thing book wise, it’s hard for me to find things in print to be laugh out loud funny like they are for most people, and I kind of suffered from the same problem with this one.  It was definitely funny, but I think I really only smiled.

I blame myself for this, because I really just don’t laugh at books most of the time.  I also feel a little like Chelsea hadn’t found her voice quite yet when this was written, because she’s much funnier now.  Nonetheless, it was entertaining and I had a fun time reading through the whole thing.

Although there are definitely one-night stands in this book, there are a lot of stories about dealing with men in general – some are gay and aren’t really one-night stands in the traditional sense.  Some of the men she talks about she actually has relationships with.  There are even things about her family!

All of this makes the book very likeable and fun to read, it’s like having a bit of an insight into Chelsea…although I guess you never really know, she could have made the whole thing up!  It was certainly entertaining enough to encourage me to read the rest of her books, which are conveniently already on my shelf.

Read this book if: On the whole, I think fans of Chelsea Handler will like this one.  It’s a fun, fast, light read!

My Rating: 3.5/5 – Two thumbs up, fine holiday fun!