Does This Make Me Funny?: Essays

by Zosia Mamet

From the singular mind of Zosia Mamet, a collection of charmingly witty and achingly vulnerable essays about the challenge and magic of growing up in show business

You may know Zosia Mamet from her singular role as Shoshanna on Girls, or for being one of Hollywood’s original nepo babies (or as she says, “a B-minus nepo baby, a nepito baby if you will”).

What you might not know is that as a toddler she visited theaters where her mom was rehearsing, crawling around on the floor and scrunching herself between seats; that she earnestly believed in Santa Claus for way too long; that she spent years navigating body image issues in hopes of finding elusive self-love; and that she was so overwhelmed and overjoyed when finally meeting her idol David Sedaris that she hid in the bathroom and melted into a “puddle of glitter.”

By turns charmingly witty and achingly vulnerable, the essays in Does This Make Me Funny? introduce us to Zosia Mamet in all her glory—from her early days growing up in literary and dramatic circles, to her years as a young adult pining for acceptance and love, to her first attempts to make it as an actor, to where she (and Shosh) are now. A gripping, funny, and earnest look at what it means to be a girl in the world and how to define yourself amid the bustle of show business, Does This Make Me Funny? is a captivating debut from a natural-born storyteller.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Essays, Audiobook, Autobiography, Humor, Biography

8 pages, Audiobook

Published September 8, 2025

Reviews

[Amanda W · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I will admit that I’ve never seen anything Zosia Mamet has been in besides Girls, and I’ve never read anything she’s written previously. I found her character in Girls to be kind of frantic and too much for a good portion of the show, and I find it interesting she takes the time in this book to say that she’s nothing like Shoshanna from Girls, because half the time these stories feel like Shoshanna would be telling them.

I’m sure Mamet thinks her “nepo baby lite” comment, as well as her repeated insistences that she had to just claw and scratch for everything she was given, come off as tough and self-deprecating and funny. However, when she spends time discussing all her famous relatives, tells the story of how she got an agent (her dad just told someone to start representing her), and how she spent so much time as a kid on sets and therefore knew how the ins and outs already before she started her career…the assertions that things were so much harder for her than someone who didn’t count two playwrights, an actress, and the president of Julliard in their family just doesn’t ring true.

The same goes for some of the stories in this book. Mamet’s stories about her childhood and teenage years seem…off, and contradictory, and the story about her real life mirroring an exact storyline from Girls seems way, way too coincidental to be true.

That being said, Mamet absolutely shines when she tells stories about her adult life. Stories about bad relationships, depression, body dysmorphia, and her husband are all raw and almost compulsively readable. If the whole book consisted of these stories, this review would be a glowing one, instead of just so-so.

[Alyssa Savino · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's hard because at its best, there are moments in here that are real and visceral, and even beautiful! Unfortunately, at its worst, this is an ad for an eating disorder and almost beyond insufferable. But if I had shut the book forever after the Toothpaste essay (Zosia, PLEASE - that should NOT exist), I wouldn't have been able to enjoy the fun little bits about Martha Stewart and Anna Wintour and arguably (to me, I guess!) the best essay, It's In Your Head (about the challenges of simply seeking medical care as a woman).

I did like that she was so feisty in some of these - no punches held for her childhood bullies and those aggressive personalities in Hollywood.

Zosia, even you can't make me hate you.

[Maria Marmanides · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

In the introduction to Does This Make Me Funny?, Zosia Mamet tackles the “nepo baby” label head-on, insisting she doesn’t see herself as one and that she’s worked hard for her success. While it’s clear she’s trying to engage with a cultural conversation, the point feels overemphasized and doesn’t acknowledge that both things can be true at once: she may have had access through familial connections that others did not while also working hard to carve her own path. One truth doesn’t cancel out the other. It left me wishing she had trusted her perspective more—rather than starting on the defensive, simply letting her stories speak for themselves.

When Mamet does lean into storytelling, her voice shines. Essays on relationships with addicts, struggles with body image, and reflections on her most memorable role, Shoshanna, carry both humor and poignancy. These glimpses remind the reader why she’s an insightful performer and writer, willing to share her perspective with honesty.

Interestingly, she also contrasts herself point-by-point with Shoshanna, listing all the ways they are different—but I found myself wishing she’d dug deeper here. At times, her descriptions of her own childhood persona feel like the raw beginnings of where Shoshanna could have started. Exploring that overlap—how one path became Mamet and another might have led to Shoshanna—could have been fascinating.

While the collection didn’t entirely land for me, readers who are fans of Mamet’s work or who enjoy celebrity essay collections will still find moments of wit and candor worth the read and I certainly found enjoyable parts myself.

[Kim Rubish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zosia Mamet is a charming, smart storyteller. Many of these stories give fascinating insight into her career, her past, her roles, her experiences with the medical system, etc. That being said, it also felt disjointed, and despite how heavy so much of the material was, the stakes somehow never felt clear. I finished the book feeling unclear on how any of it has actually affected her, or how she’s grown and changed and learned (or not!)

She also wants SO badly not to be a nepo baby and god I get it but babe!!

[Jill]

DNF

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the experience of reading this book, and I'm giving it three stars for that reason, but quite a bit of the book felt like a missed opportunity. The experiences were there, but they didn't sing as much as they could have. The book was filled with the most overused cliches (popping pills like Tic Tacs, butterflies with crushed wings), and I think Mamet would've been helped by using a ghostwriter. Stories like having your coat stolen from you by Axl Rose should have more impact than they do here.

There's also some filler--I don't think tweezing an errant chin hair or squeezing a tube of toothpaste warranted a chapter each.

[Kaitlyn Chase]

I don’t like to rate memoirs but for those critiquing Zosia’s incredible vulnerability and chalking it up to an eating disorder ad, I say what a shame to miss all of the beauty and vulnerability in every other page. Her ability to be so incredibly present in her recounts was stunning. She can also REALLY write, I hope she keeps at it.

[Laura Shipman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve always been told I am a Shoshanna, and now after reading this I know I am a Zosia too. Does This Make Me Funny? is filled with essays that are witty, funny, and surprisingly relatable. Zosia’s voice feels genuine, like you’re sitting with a friend who is telling you stories that make you laugh and nod along.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Lauren Brumley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Zosia and it was fun to learn more about her as a person, because turns out she is *not* Shoshanna. Some essays are much stronger than others. The essays I enjoyed most were the ones that went deep — Zosia talks about her struggles with anxiety, an eating disorder, being a young adult finding herself in wild situations in NYC.

Thank you to Viking Penguin and Netgalley for this ARC!!

[Rosalind Breckheimer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like I would have LOVED this & made this book my bible if I had read when I was 18.

[Juni Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ujevn essay-samling. Føles som den e skrevet av (og kanskje til?) nån som e mye yngre. Kjedelig at epilogen e det beste, for da va jo boka ferdig.

Boka e livets siste julegave fra mormor. ❤️

[Philomena Block · Rating 4 out of 5]

This does make Zosia funny. Incredibly honest, funny and heartbreaking. It made me miss Shoshanna, but happy to know Zosia more.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe not everyone needs to write a memoir? Like most essay collections, this was a mixed bag. "Breakfast with DS," which is about her relatable anxiety spiral before meeting one of her idols (David Sedaris), was the standout chapter for me, as was the concluding essay about her character in Girls. I just had to trudge through hours of self-pity and fingerpointing from an admitted nepo baby to get there.

Also, I found the cadence with which the author reads her audiobook to be so odd, like she was rehearsing lines she wasn't familiar with and not performing stories from her own life. By speeding up to 1.25-1.5x, she sounded more like chirpy, overly caffeinated Shoshanna.

[Marnie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Some famous people truly aren’t interesting enough to have a book. Zosia is one of them.

[annie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rounding to 2.5 for the shosh essay….not everyone needs to write a book.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5. Fun and short.

Biiiiig trigger warning for eating disorders. Zosia mentions actual numbers and behaviors.

[Lauren Gibbons · Rating 2 out of 5]

definitely had potential but ended up feeling like overly romanticized propaganda for eating disorders and dating the worst men in the world :/

[Kimberly Maino · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was not on my TBR, nor did I know it existed. But I stumbled upon it at the library and thought, “I like Shoshanna, why not?” There is an attitude about memoirs and the like, which is that not everyone needs to write one… and that may be true. But, if it’s written well and entertaining enough, who cares? Did she have the most fascinating life ever? No. Did she NEED to write this? Maybe? Did I swallow it up? Absolutely! It was fun, it was dark, it was quick, it was funny, it was actually really good. Semi-spoiler alert: the “Radiohead” dude reminded me of Booth Johnathan. I wonder if that character was based on him at all.

[Clare Mulroy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious and full of heart

[Cassidy · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars rounded up
It was really difficult to be in Zosia's headspace for a majority of these essays. A lot of insecurity, anxiety, and self hatred...she did a good job at narrating though.

[Ava Butera · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5!

[Ella Stolz]

I simply must read any memoir about life in Hollywood/growing up in the business

[Taylor Kennedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked it, didnt love it. I enjoyed the funny self deprecating tone, and the stories of show business. I think i would rather go watch girls.

[Andrea Meier · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.8 ⭐️

[alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think Zosia Mamet is v funny actually.

3.5 stars.

[izzy! · Rating 3 out of 5]

some of the essays i did enjoy but i found her to be a little self deprecating and at times have a little bit of a victim complex. i think it made sense for some of the stories given that she was a teenager at the time but i don’t feel like she grew out of it

i did get through it pretty fast though and enjoyed reading it but i don’t think she’s the type of person id get along w lolz

it’s ok that you’re a nepo baby girl!

[Ryann McAnelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

honestly, it kinda pissed me off

[Casey McGuire]

As someone who enjoyed Girls, also loves David Sedaris, and is sort of perversely interested in the Hollywood ‘machine’ (and how it affects people within it), I found this entertaining and funny (although a bit neurotic and self involved)!

[Lisa]

I'm finding it excruciating to read about her childhood of suffering - maybe it would be easier to move through if I weren't listening to the audiobook.

[vee · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mamet writes “I am terrified that everyone reading this now hates me, thinks i an a hack, a terrible writer, a narcissist, a loser with unfunny stories”…I dont know about everyone but, otherwise, nailed it. What a completely uninteresting and unnecessary book about pointless drivel (believing in santa too long, dating various losers, getting her period during traffic, whining about not wanting to be called a nepo baby while in every way being a total nepo baby) that has no insight, humor or perspective. It’s clear there was plenty to write about and learn from in her life. None of these essays are that.