How Did You Get This Number: Essays

Sloane Crosley is a gifted essayist. I am not sure that I love this genre but I have to admit that she is darn funny. She is not really talking about more than the mundane peculiarities of everyday life at her age but she has a great knack for getting it all down on paper and then examining it from all sides instead of just letting it go like most of us would do. Actually, I am quite grateful for the Sloane Crosley's of the world because they remind us that life is always interesting even when it's not and everyone has a great story to tell even when they think that their life pales in comparison to everyone else's.

This author cheers me up, whether I need cheering or not. Her first book got me hooked (how could you not love the title, I Was Told There'd Be Cake)? Keep writing, Sloane. I Was Told There'd Be Cake

I was anticipating Sloan Crosley's new book, How did you get this Number, since I finished the first book. I am only half way through this book, but so far it's better than I expected. The first book was great, so I am so happy that her second book is smarter with the same wittiness and charm of the first book. I recommend!

In the follow-up to her successful debut, I Was Told There'd Be Cake, Crosley uses her quick wit and sassy one-liners to provide the backdrop to a selection of stories both humorous and touching. Comprised of nine stories about Crosley's late-twenties/early-thirties life, How Did You Get This Number is an entertaining book but to some people it may seem to lack the original insights and unique situations that make essay collections like this work. It's not all bad, though, because there are some pretty enjoyable one-liners. Each essay zooms from the universal observation to a series of entertaining particulars and back out again. The humor is observational, the plots are subtly intricate, and each piece is populated by monsters masquerading as regular people.

Sloane Crosley is an extraordinary talent. Much like the other notorious essay writers of today (Sedaris, Vowell), her essays are private and often hilarious glimpses into her life. From encountering clowns in Lisbon to getting kicked out of Paris, Crosley has seen - and done - a lot. And her essays let you experience her life in a way that feels like you, too, were there. How Did You Get This Number is a fantastic book, with an extraordinarily strong voice. (Which is obvious, considering her last book, the fantastically titled I Was Told There'd Be Cake, is in development as a series on HBO.) She makes the mundane interesting, the outrageous seemingly normal. Her writing is vivid, detailed and doesn't leave anything out. Her conversational tone is welcoming, and her stories addictive. And throughout it all, you just wish you were friends with her. Show Me on the Doll, the first and my favorite essay, details her random trip to Lisbon, where she, as mentioned, met clowns, got lost and found a tower that didn't lead to anything. Still, the experience was enlightening in a way a trip to Paris wouldn't have been. Le Paris!, which chronicles two trips to the city beautiful, shows the humor in traveling, and how things aren't always how you remember them to be. Take a Stab at It is a relatable tale about crazy roommates, and If You Sprinkle is a fantastic tale about growing up and who we - and those who were cool in elementary school - become. It's about those passive-aggressive friendships, and how there's no way to predict the future, despite what the game Girl Talk may suggest. Off the Back of a Truck was incredibly surprising - in a fantastic way. While most of Crosley's essays point out her embarrassing moments, with pure self-deprecating writing, this one shows a very honest, vulnerable person getting over a relationship. None of her other essays have documented her dating life, so I found this one especially telling - in a good way. I really enjoyed it, as it shows how much you take on in a relationship, and how sometimes it's too much. As much as I enjoyed Crosley's first book, I definitely prefer this one. I still have a thing with her last lines (I like last lines to be epic and sometimes hers left me wanting more), and some of her essays were a bit much (to the point that you wonder if it really was all true), but still I really enjoyed the book. Her essays take you through a maze and just when you think you're completely lost, they bring you right back to where you started. She's a tremendous talent, and I can't wait to see what else she has to come.