Notes from the Underwire: Adventures from My Awkward and Lovely Life

By Quinn Cummings

Book Overview

Meet Quinn Cummings. Former child star, mother, and modern woman, she just wants to be a good person. Quinn grew up in Los Angeles, a city whose patron saint would be a sixteen-year-old with a gold card and two trips to rehab under her belt. Quinn does crossword puzzles, eats lentils without being forced, and longs to wear a scarf without looking like a Camp Fire Girl. And she tries very hard to be the Adult--the one everybody calls for a ride to the airport--but somehow she always comes up short. In Notes from the Underwire , Quinn's smart and hilarious debut, she tackles the domestic and the delightfully absurd, proving that all too often they're one and the same. From fighting off a catnip-addled cat to mortal conflict with a sewing machine, Quinn provides insight into her often chaotic, seldom-perfect universe -- a universe made even less perfect when the goofy smile of past celebrity shows its occasional fang. The book, like the author herself, is good hearted, keenly observant, and blisteringly funny. In other words, really good company.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1401322867
• ISBN13: 9781401322861
• Release Date: July 2009
• Publisher: Hachette Books
• Length: 254 Pages
• Weight: 0.54 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.3" x 8.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Delightful, Funny and Just Right

A delightful, funny and charming collection of short stories written from the perspective of one who expects to "die from good intentions". Razor sharp writing and wit. Perfect for those times when you have 15 minutes to read. But beware, you'll laugh out loud, so don't sneak it into church.

Laugh out Loud funny!

Like many people who will buy this book, I was a big fan of Quinn Cummings, child actor. However, after reading this book I am an even bigger fan of Quinn Cummings, author, Mom and pet caregiver. She is funny, extraordinarily intelligent, clumsy, self-deprecating, generous and entertaining. When I read this book, I felt as though we were sitting at my kitchen table drinking wine and laughing over her stories and misadventures. I found myself laughing out loud and saying "me too" back to the book. Go buy this book...you will love it!

I laughed out loud many times!

I think that sums it up - I laughed so hard at one point, I had to put the book down and calm myself. The book is nonfiction - a series of funny (and occasionally sad) essays about Quinn Cummings' life (she apparently has a famous blog which I haven't read yet.) Kind of like Laurie Notaro if she were a parent.

"We never use Mommy's toothbrush to get the cat looking her best."

This quote made me spit my breakfast onto my desk - and it's not even that far into the book. This whole thing is riotous! Quinn's book is one hysterical essay after another, mostly about her family, her work and her pets. (The chapter about her cat getting high off her bedding was especially snort-inducing - good thing I read it alone.) And she's whip-smart, relaying her observations with a humorous, no-nonsense attitude. More, please!

Books never make me laugh out loud. This one did.

It is the hardest thing in the world to be funny, Quinn Cummings doesn't seem to be able to not be funny. Every page of this book was a joy to read. Quinn is honest, touching, funny, this is the kind of book you read and think, "I wish she was my friend." The surprising part is that aside from being funny, Quinn is a gifted storyteller, and a terrific writer. Buy extra copies to give to your friends, they will thank you.