Enter Pirates: Vintage Legends 1991-1999

by Laurie Notaro

Humorous essays by New York Times bestseller Laurie Notaro

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction, Essays

292 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2015

About the author

Laurie Notaro is a New York Times best-selling American writer.

Reviews

[Les · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a collection of early essays from Laurie Notaro; mostly from a college newspaper. I assume the errors were included to show how much slips through a college editor not because the current editor / compiler was lazy.

If you have read my reviews I am often snarky, sarcastic, cruel, nasty, disparaging and mean. In other words I aspire to be Laurie Notaro. If you can't handle sarcasm, cursing, cruelty and self-effacing humor this probably isn't a book you would enjoy. Further this book is concentrated on her college years which by appearances her major was drinking with a minor in smoking Marlboros...

I very enjoyed this very much it was a much needed break from reality.

[jana Blazek · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Laurie's brain.
My editorial heart
Wept over typos.

[Delia · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were definitely stories I enjoyed more than others. I love Laurie and will always read what she writes but I was very distracted by all the typos. I yearned to edit the book for her.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastically funny collection of Ms. Notaro's early work, culled from her recovered archives. These are articles from Laurie Notaro's college years at the University of Arizona. She worked as a columnist and wrote about her numerous adventures outside of the classroom-- mostly in bars. As usual, her unique outlook/observations regarding human nature and her own foibles does not fail to entertain and evoke laugh out loud reactions. This stuff is comedy gold.

[Cristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vintage Laurie Notaro gems

Can't get enough Laurie? This is a randomly awesome collection of essays and columns that remind us just how far we have come and how much fun we have had along the way. The death of the (potentially) special needs bird has long haunted me and was a great ending to wrap up this bonus collection from memory lane.. Fans of her early stuff will not be disappointed, fans of her new stuff may use this as a

[Kelsey Dangelo-Worth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of early essays/columns by Laurie Notaro that were found in a box and now are in a book for us to read. Lucky, lucky us! These essays, about being an unemployed college student that spend her nights at bars and her days running over pigeons, is full of her wonderful, classic prose-style, her dry wit, her brilliant comedic timing, and her unique use of hyperbole. A great, fun read from an author I can never get enough of. What a treasure. Grade: A

[Jenee Rager · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laurie Notaro has long been one of my favorite authors, and I usually have her books preordered months in advance. Somehow this one snuck past me and I didn't know it was even a thing until I saw a post on facebook. Most of the books I have read this year have been kind of sucky, so I ordered this and hoped for the best.

How lucky am I? When Ms. Notaro's sister mailed her a bag full of clippings, written in the 1990's, that her grandmother and saved, she gave the world a gift. For the first time this year I found myself staying up past my bed time to read "just one more chapter" and sneaking pages whenever I could. There were so many times where I was laughing so hard I snorted. From her stories about her car being impounded, to being "on the dole" to her parents during college, she manages to make even the most mundane of days and situations entertaining. I'm not sure if I have a spirit animal but if I do it's Laurie Notaro (okay, I'm probably not near as funny or cool, but a girl can certainly wish).

Seriously, if you haven't already, do yourself a favor and order this book. It's by far the best thing I've read this year.

[Kelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enter Pirates is a compilation of work that Laurie Notaro wrote as news paper columns in the 1990s. Keeping in mind while reading this that Laurie was young and new and her humor writing was still forming, it is interesting to see where her roots are in her writing and see how much she has improved her craft through the years. Laurie's ability to find the humor in almost every situation is fun. The stories center around the "poor, broke, college student" years so the essays are a bit repetitive in setting and theme but still interesting from a writing standpoint.

[Mollie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just like everything else she has ever written, Laurie Notaro's book made me laugh out loud. In addition to her crazy stories, I love her writing style and the creative ways she describes her life experiences. This may be a collection of her older works, but it is still funny collection nonetheless. The pictures that she included in the chapters are wonderful too.

I don't care what any IQ test says, when it comes to comedy, Laurie Notaro is a pure genius!

[Teri Gillen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Classic Notaro. Lots of editing errors.

Four stars minus one for the obscene amount of errors. I hate when I read a book and find myself playing the game of "spot the boo boo." There were so many missed words and wrong words, I began to think she never went to school for writing. Beyond that, she tells a good story.

[Tarra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like other reviewers mention, there are a lot of editing errors. I also felt like it would have been better if the columns had been in chronological order. A few of the stories repeat/rehash things that happen in previous stories, which is not something that usually happens in a Notaro book. Overall, most of the stories were funny and I'm still a huge Laurie Notaro fan.

[Christy Frear · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anyone else confused as to why so much of the book was littered with typos? They were all over! Anyway, that's not my reason for giving this three stars (although maybe it influenced the rating a bit!)--I liked it, but didn't enjoy it as much as Laurie's earlier books (which I was hoping I would, since this book was made from older material). I will still keep buying Laurie's books though. :)

[Aimee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each chapter is a different short story (newspaper column actually) written by Laurie Notaro. The copy is a bit rough - riddled with incorrect or missing words, but I'll overlook that for Notaro's self-depricating humor and wit. She's hilarious at any age!

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always enjoy her essays; and I gave this book five stars because she (presumably by mistake) reveals her husband's name. (Somehow I feel like I am making this knowledge a little less special by sharing it here... so you will need to read the book yourself to find out)

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I was late, dammit, I didn't have time to spend trapped behind bewildered tourists who had absolutely no idea what was going on in the world, or more importantly, what was going on in my world."
(p. 172)

[Rebecca Medina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny as always, it was enjoyable to sneak a peek into Notaro’s earlier years. Some minor editing mistakes (possibly kept for authenticity?) made me re-read some sentences, but all in all, another Notaro won.

[Sarah Colpitts · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love all of the writers stories but I love going back to where it all began! Good easy read that kept me entertained. I laughed so hard I cried at a couple!

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it.

[Karolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorites! Laurie is just like a friend from college coming over to hang out and catch up.

[Rebecca Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic Laurie, love all her stuff, read in two days.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Laurie Notaro. I do not love all of the typos in this book. Dozens. It takes away from the story, and I waited MONTHS to get this book because it was back ordered.

[Connie Delzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

So funny! I love Laurie Notoro!

[K blank · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love all of Laurie Notaro's books and this was did not disappoint. Her biting wit and comedy shines through in this book of early essays. There is one issue with these early essays and Laurie addresses this at the beginning of her book. There are numerous typos and grammatical errors. I understand these were written decades ago, however, a simple proofread would have rectified many of these. Otherwise, a delightful read.

[Noelle]

I loved Idiot Girls, and a couple other books of hers I've read, but this one was only okay (except the stories that were repeats from Idiot Girls).

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as riotously funny as her other work.

[Dylan Santamoor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not her best

I wanted this book to be funny like her others and it wasn't. Definitely some laugh out loud parts, but nothing more.

[Jewels · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh, but I loved being transported back to the 90s for a few days.

[Bethany C Hoffman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the classics

It's a good collection of classic essays from a funny writer. My only issue is that they have a ton of spelling and grammar errors.

[Rebecca Huntley · Rating 3 out of 5]

not what I expected, but funnier.

I laughed, or was it a smirk, and wished that I could know the author well! Found that I related to something in many of the chapters!