NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER For readers of Nora Ephron, Tina Fey, and David Sedari
s, this hilarious, wise, and fiercely candid collection of personal essays estab
lishes Lena Dunham-the acclaimed creator, producer, and star of HBO's Girls-as o
ne of the most original young talents writing today. In Not That Kind of Girl,
Dunham illuminates the experiences that are part of making one's way in the wor
ld: falling in love, feeling alone, being ten pounds overweight despite eating o
nly health food, having to prove yourself in a room full of men twice your age,
finding true love, and most of all, having the guts to believe that your story i
s one that deserves to be told. "Take My Virginity (No Really, Take It)" is th
e account of Dunham's first time, and how her expectations of sex didn't quite l
ive up to the actual event ("No floodgate had been opened, no vault of true woma
nhood unlocked"); "Girls & Jerks" explores her former attraction to less-than-ni
ce guys-guys who had perfected the "dynamic of disrespect" she found so intrigui
ng; "Is This Even Real?" is a meditation on her lifelong obsession with death an
d dying-what she calls her "genetically predestined morbidity." And in "I Didn't
F*** Them, but They Yelled at Me," she imagines the tell-all she will write whe
n she is eighty and past caring, able to reflect honestly on the sexism and cond
escension she has encountered in Hollywood, where women are "treated like the pa
per thingies that protect glasses in hotel bathrooms-necessary but infinitely di
sposable." Exuberant, moving, and keenly observed, Not That Kind of Girl is a
series of dispatches from the frontlines of the struggle that is growing up. "I'
m already predicting my future shame at thinking I had anything to offer you," D
unham writes. "But if I can take what I've learned and make one menial job easie
r for you, or prevent you from having the kind of sex where you feel you must ke
ep your sneakers on in case you want to run away during the act, then every miss
tep of mine will have been worthwhile." NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR
BY LIBRARY JOURNAL "The gifted Ms. Dunham not only writes with observant preci
sion, but also brings a measure of perspective, nostalgia and an older person's
sort of wisdom to her portrait of her (not all that much) younger self and her w
orld. . . . By simply telling her own story in all its specificity and sometimes
embarrassing detail, she has written a book that's as acute and heartfelt as it
is funny."-Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times "Dunham has crafted warm, int
elligent writing that is both deeply personal and engaging. . . . [Hers] is not
only a voice who deserves to be heard but also one who will inspire other import
ant voices to tell their stories too."-Roxane Gay, Time "A lovely, touching, s
urprisingly sentimental portrait of a woman who, despite repeatedly baring her b
ody and soul to audiences, remains a bit of an enigma: a young woman who sets th
e agenda, defies classification and seems utterly at home in her own skin."-Chic
ago Tribune "A lot of us fear we don't measure up beautywise and that we endur
e too much crummy treatment from men. On these topics, Dunham is funny, wise, an
d, yes, brave. . . . Among Dunham's gifts to womankind is her frontline example
that some asshole may call you undesirable or worse, and it won't kill you. Your
version matters more."-Elle From the Hardcover edition.
