“so much of what I love – gossip and furniture and food and the Internet”
I have to be honest – I rarely read non-fiction or autobiographies. But after watching and loving the series Girls, I was drawn to Lena Dunham’s writing style and her first memoir Not that Kind of Girl. And, admittedly, I thought her book of essays would make the 5 hour trek to NYC a lot more enjoyable! Now, I may not have been able to identify with ALL of Dunham’s exuberant accounts while growing up but I could definitely relate to those feelings of frustration with body image, of heartbreak, of needing to prove myself…of growing up.
I thought her book was brave. I thought her book was honest. I thought her book was a great balance of cringe-worthy moments and laughable tales. On the plane, it was a mixture of me trying to hide the page from my seat neighbour’s wandering eyes and me trying to stifle my snickers. (Which reminds me of when I was reading The Fault in our Stars on another similar plane ride, bawling my eyes out…the poor guy sitting next to me must have thought I was delusional!!) 
Not that Kind of Girl was a great read not because it was life changing or overly inspiring, but because it was the perfect break from my own realities. I loved hearing about Dunham’s awkward sex scenes on camera, how she finally found a sincere love and, being a list person myself, I. Loved. Her. Lists. But most of all, it made me reflect on my own journey through my 20’s. Even though I don’t have enough hilarious stories to fill a 265 page memoir (YET 😉 ), I do have a good balance of cringe-worthy, uplifting and even heartbreaking memories. For now, those will stay locked in the vault and instead I will simply thank Dunham for sharing… and for being herself.
“I can’t wait to be eighty. So I can have an ‘oeuvre’ – or at least a ‘filmography’.”