Let's Pretend This Never HappenedLet's Pretend This Never Happened
Score Modern
What it's about
When Jenny Lawson was little, all she wanted was to fit in. Her wildly unbalanced father, a taxidermist, and her eccentric childhood in rural Texas made sure that never happened. In this mostly true memoir, she finds the humor in her strange life, her anxiety and her depression.
Why it's worth reading
It reached #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. Readers call it gaspingly funny and wonderfully inappropriate.
You'll love it if you liked
Good to know
It's irreverent and sometimes crude. It deals honestly with mental illness.
By the numbers
- Readers52 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics0 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Bestseller63 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #180 of the 290 memoirs and biographies we rank
- #632 of the 1,573 modern books we rank
- #1193 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
True story
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Quick answers
Is Let's Pretend This Never Happened worth reading?
Yes. It reached #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. It ranks #1,193 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 70.9 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Let's Pretend This Never Happened about?
When Jenny Lawson was little, all she wanted was to fit in. Her wildly unbalanced father, a taxidermist, and her eccentric childhood in rural Texas made sure that never happened. In this mostly true memoir, she finds the humor in her strange life, her anxiety and her depression.
How long does it take to read Let's Pretend This Never Happened?
About 10 hours (384 pages), or about 3 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after Let's Pretend This Never Happened?
If you liked it, try Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson, Calypso by David Sedaris or Bossypants by Tina Fey.