Samantha Irby

"A Vintage Books original"--Copyright page.

Essays

We are Never Meeting in Real Life

A New York Times Bestseller This essay collection from the “bitches gotta eat” blogger, writer on Hulu’s Shrill, and “one of our country’s most fierce and foulmouthed authors” (Amber Tamblyn, Vulture) is sure to make you alternately cackle with glee and cry real tears. Whether Samantha Irby is talking about how her difficult childhood has led to a problem in making “adult” budgets; explaining why she should be the new Bachelorette (she's "35-ish, but could easily pass for 60-something"); detailing a disastrous pilgrimage-slash-romantic-vacation to Nashville to scatter her estranged father's ashes; sharing awkward sexual encounters; or dispensing advice on how to navigate friendships with former drinking buddies who are now suburban moms (hang in there for the Costco loot!); she’s as deft at poking fun at the ghosts of her past self as she is at capturing powerful emotional truths.

We Are Never Meeting in Real Life.

Lara Engle

Samantha Irby is funny. Sometimes gross, but funny. Sometimes sad or disturbing, but funny. And she is always real.

This book is so damn funny and so damn real. Men need not write any more non fiction as they will always be bested by Samantha Irby.

Super quick, super fun, I want to hear her opinions on everything. 

Izzy Burgess

This book is so damn funny and so damn real. Men need not write any more non fiction as they will always be bested by Samantha Irby.

Super quick, super fun, I want to hear her opinions on everything. 

heleen de boever

although a 5/5 reading experience because of all the passages vigorously underlined by my friend diana.

Micah

These essays were so funny, heartfelt, and delightful to read. I especially liked the line about how not enough people tell men they talk too much, because, wow, what a motto. This book is a breeze to get through, and the audiobook is narrated by the author, which gives that added touch of magic. I would recommend this book to any young person that feels like their lives are headed off the deep end.

Haylie

This book is funny and unexpectedly real in a non-fussy way. I liked the reflection about a chaotic childhood, body image, and relationships. I’m bummed I wasn’t able to read this in a more timely manner to really absorb all the wit at once, but I was able to jump back into the swing of things without missing a beat - which may be because of the fact that this is a books of essays but I’m attributing it more to Irby’s writing.

Alexandra Sklar

Her writing style is a bit intense for me, so I had a hard time linking into it. That said- her way of telling stories is fun and often humorous.

Maggie Gordon

My thoughts on "We Are Never Meeting in Real Life" when I picked it up for book club were "oh god, not another blogger-turned-author. These books are always such a waste of money!" The first essay in this collection didn't do much to quell my fears, but after that? Damn, not only is Samantha Irby genuinely hilarious, this isn't about a blogger who gets to go on fabulous trips paid for by other people. She's had a challenging life and does not shy away from talking about poverty, abuse, disability, sex, and queerness. She is direct, obnoxious, truthful, and an amazing comedian!

Melanie Richards

This book made me laugh like a weirdo on the bus. The guy sitting next to me scooted away a little bit.

Nooshin

Thank you Samantha Irby for providing me with funny rants at a time when all that was cooking in me was a load of angry, dark, slimy rants. The audiobook narrated by the author was a blast.

Ellie Younger

Hilarious, witty, honest. This book will give you insight into the lives of others, while also giving you belly aches from laughter.

Athena Eloy

Listened to this on audio, narrated by the author. It was one of the funniest collection of essays and sometime heartfelt but even those were tinged with Irby’s witty, laugh out loud sense of humor. Loved listening and would recommend.

Imane

This book was so much fun. The author doesn't try to be inspirational, or to show you that she's got her shit together. According to herself, she really doesn't, and she doesn't give a shit about it either because she's found her speed and she's cruising. I related deeply to some of her experiences and feelings, but as a black woman and as a fat woman in America, Irby is faced with specific challenges that she takes in strides, and she lets you know that she doesn't really give a fuck if you find her experiences or the way she talks about them palatable. There is a good balance of really funny bits (the first chapter, "My Bachelorette Application", had me stopping in my tracks to laugh out loud several times) and of serious topics (traumatic childhood, dysfunctional family dynamics, mental illness, and so on) which added depth and dimension to the project this book set out to accomplish. Irby is crude, she swears, she talks about things like it is, sometimes she can be uncomfortably transparent, and I respect her for that. I recommend the audiobook if you want to have a good laugh bc God knows we need it at the moment lmao.

Rose Stanley

Tenth book of Tis the Damn Readathon
Blank Space prompt: Read a book with a cat on the cover

Brutally honest, sometimes TMI (author has Crohn's and is very open about everything that comes with that!), sometimes extremely relatable. An eye-opener for my sheltered self.

b.andherbooks

Laugh out loud funny and punch you in the gut emotional, Irby pours her soul out onto every page. Best read slowly, a chapter a day, so as best to absorb every second of the ride. I especially enjoyed the essays about loathing being hot and her day to day life as a reluctant customer service pro.

Also, I'm so delighted the cat on the cover is actually apparently two different cats (a head and a body) as credited on the back book cover. Hilarious. This is also my favorite book cover of 2017. Perfectly captures the spirit of the book and is completely eye catching.

Mahasin S Ameen

I might never meet Samantha Irby in Real Life (but I know someone who has) this book is hilarious and I've decided to create a list of books by black women that are funny, insightful and have meaning to me.

Caitlin Berger

I loved every single page of this book!!!

Darice de Cuba

If it wasn't for an Instagram post about this book, I would have never known about Samantha Irby. Thank goodness for my Instagram addiction.

The parts I love a lot about this book are: how she deals with her chronic illness. She embraces life and people just have to deal. The humor is my kind also. That sarcastic, glass is half empty way of telling a story. She had a hard life but she tells it very funny and sometimes obscene way. Her love for Netflix and Hulu and food...I get her.

Book dedication: "This book is dedicated to Klonopin"

If you read The Subtle Art of not Giving a Fuck or The Life Changing Magic of not Giving a Fuck. This book is Samantha putting into practice, not giving a fuck. And I love that about her!

Quote from book:

"What I need to be, clearly, is rich. I need to invent an app or get hit by a city bus. I gotta start playing the lottery. Except, if I win, I definitely need a trustee or Britney Spears’s dad to dispense a weekly allowance because I am not to be trusted. I would buy half a dozen pairs of glasses and legally download a bunch of movies I don’t even like before the check even cleared. I would buy that Rainbow Brite doll I never got for Christmas 1986 and drive her around in my new car full of gasoline with my windows electronically rolled down and the air conditioner blasting, eating fistfuls of name-brand cereal and sipping an actual Capri Sun."


Also, there is a cat, Helen Keller. Helen is not a nice cat.

Mirella

Milly Schmidt

Joyce

Kaitlyn M.

Anna Horsley

Erich W

'I cannot remember the last time I was so moved by a book. We Are Never Meeting in Real Life is as close to perfect as an essay collection can get.' - Roxane Gay, New York Times bestselling author of Difficult Women and Bad Feminist In this painfully funny collection, Samantha Irby captures powerful emotional truths while chronicling the rubbish bin she calls her life. From an ill-fated pilgrimage to Nashville to scatter her estranged father's ashes to awkward sexual encounters to the world's first completely honest job application, and more, sometimes you just have to laugh, even when your life is permanently pear-shaped.

We are Never Meeting in Real Life Essays

Reviews