They Used to Call Me Snow White...But I Drifted: Women's Strategic Use of Humor

I read this book a couple of years ago and liked it but I just read it again because I am going through a bad time (divorce, hate my job, getting fed up with y teenage kids) and it cheered me up like taking a piece of cake from a dessert cart when somebody else is paying.Highly recommended.

I read this book after hearing the author speak at a local college. She was wonderful! This book totally met my expectations. It's not a collection of jokes, but it is uplifting. Regina Barreca also makes excellent points about the dynamics of power between men and women, in addition to how humor can either confirm or alter these dynamics. I would recommend this to anyone interested in feminism and/or humor.

I was assigned this book in a class a couple years ago, and I have kept read it every couple of years to give me a boost and to remind me of what a powerful force humor can be. The examples are terrific and actually useful. The writing can be appreciated by a reader from high school age through assisted-living age...it is not a book just for a small group but for everybody. For women who like to laugh this book comes close to being perfect. The jokes about sex are worth the price!

Not only can Barreca take a joke, she can masterfully script her own making the reader laugh out loud at the comedy and complexity of the gender roles - both male and female - we think we lead, but which in fact often lead us. In "They Used To Call Me Snow White... But I Drifted" Barreca makes public many of the private joys, hypocrisies and trials of women's humor in an honest and frank manner. But make no mistake: behind her comfortable writing style lies a poignancy, wit and substance that raises the stakes. Reading "Snow White" is like sitting down at the kitchen table with your funniest (and smartest) aunt and being let in on all of life's best and naughtiest secrets. Simply put, Regina Barreca gets it.

This well written (and hilarious) book instructs women to unveil and unleash their humor in the real world. Barreca maintains that the demure Mona Lisa style of humor is no longer sufficient--if it ever was.. With the increased number of women in the workplace, this book has particular value for changing work climate. Women's open laughter and humor can improve the connection, perspective, and creativity at work. A must read for women....and men.