I Want to be Where the Normal People Are

 I Want to be Where the Normal People Are by Rachel Bloom   282 pages

Summary from Goodreads: Rachel Bloom has felt abnormal and out of place her whole life. In this exploration of what she thinks makes her "different," she's come to realize that a lot of people also feel this way; even people who she otherwise thought were "normal."

In a collection of laugh-out-loud funny essays, all told in the unique voice (sometimes singing voice) that made her a star; Rachel writes about everything from her love of Disney, OCD and depression, weirdness, and female friendships to the story of how she didn't poop in the toilet until she was four years old; Rachel's pieces are hilarious, smart, and infinitely relatable (except for the pooping thing). 

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After reading the praise from other comedians praising this book, I thought it would be hilarious however, there was nothing funny about it and I read to the end hoping to find what the praise was for but not one nugget did I find.   I would not recommend this book.   I felt it was a complete waste of time.

While this book did not deal specifically with comedy but instead dealt with Rachel's bouts of insecurity and self shaming, I tried to appreciate it from that aspect that she was sharing inner thoughts on her life, but, even so,  I could not like this book.   I could not find empathy here because it was not related in a way that I found others could share similar experiences with.  Maybe there are redeeming qualities to this work others will find that I did not but I stand by my original feeling that giving it a chance it just wasn't a worthy read and since I found it unappealing, I would not recommend it to others.

- Shirley J.