It's Not That I'm Bitter . . .: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying About Visible Panty Lines and Conquered the World

By Gina Barreca

Book Overview

In a world where eye cream is made from placenta, Gina Barreca is the lone voice calling out "But wait, whose placenta is it?" She asks the crucial questions: Why is there no King Charming? Why does no bra ever fit? Why are there no tutus in XL? Why do more intelligent women have trusted psychics than have trusted financial advisors? While she definitely wants everyone to know that she's not bitter, Gina does want to know why no one realizes that Anne Bancroft was only thirty-six when she played Mrs. Robinson, the quintessential cougar. In "It's Not That I'm Bitter..." Gina shouts out her message to women everywhere: "You are smart enough to conquer the world, so please stop weeping when you try on bathing suits at T.J. Maxx." As Gina declares "The world lies to us and we want to believe. We want to believe that, if we wear a pair of palazzo pants with a latex escape hatch built into the stomach area, we'll appear five pounds slimmer instantly... We torture ourselves, even though we are smart broads." In deliciously quotable essays on the ability of both chin hairs and tweezers to affect your life, the reason every woman believes she's crazy, the possibility that the "glass ceiling" may just be a thick layer of men, and thoughts on intimate conversations she'd have with Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, Cindy McCain and Sarah Palin, Barreca gleefully rejects the emotional torture, embraces the limitless laughter, and shows other women how they can conquer the world with a sharp wit, good shoes and not a single worry about VPLs.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312547269
• ISBN13: 9780312547264
• Release Date: May 2009
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.6" x 1.1" x 5.8"

Customer Reviews

Brilliant! Hysterical! summer reading

Gina's new book is incredibly funny--really stupendous summer reading!! I have too many favorite parts to list, but I'm particularly tickled by the GWDLTWWs (the Guys We Don't Like to Work With) and the chapter called "If You Don't Pay Your Exorcist, Do You Get Repossessed?" Your fellow sunbathers might look at you strangely on the beach because you're doing that snorty laugh you have no control over, but isn't it worth it? I mean really.

I can definitely relate to this one!

This book is hysterical! I laughed so hard my stomach ached, and I had tears running down my face. I could barely breathe. Everytime I would get control of myself and try to read another line, I would crack up again. I have recommended this book to my friends who have book clubs, and all the females in my family who are 40-something and beyond. It's great to be able to put things into perspective and laugh at ourselves. This would be a great book to put on CD!

Nice to know I'm not alone . . .

NOT THAT I'M BITTER is laugh-out-loud funny and will make you feel less alone in the world. Barreca admits those things I thought were my personal quirks and grievances, and I put the book down feeling that they are now sources of triumphant solidarity rather than embarrassing little peccadillos. "I, too, agonize over errant chin hairs and have tweezers in my car's cupholders!" "I, too, respond to compliments with detailed explanations about why the compliments are undeserved!" "I, too, have experienced the sly manipulations of Guys We Don't Like To Work With (GWDLTWW) who tell me I'm angry when I simply disagree!" What a relief!

Fabulous Book!!!!

Hilarious, witty, and wise! This is a truly fabulous book. It's definitely one of those books you'll want to keep out and refer to on a regular basis for big fat laughs and sage advice. Thanks, Gina!

Mandatory reading for teenage girls

Where was this book, NOT THAT I'M BITTER, all my life? It will be a hilarious, nail-biting romp for middle aged women, but even more important, it should be mandatory reading for all teenage girls. If they absorb Barreca's witty wisdom, it will guarantee a future female life WITHOUT bitterness, and instead one filled with confidence, power, good will and much heart. I'm giving it to both my daughters as a way of saying that our generation did all this for you--read Barreca and you will do it better. For all its humanity and heart, BITTER manages to be funny and entertaining as well. Barreca is truly one of a kind--better than chicklit, delectably worse than straight feminist message-making--she's a breath of fresh air for us all.