Don't Sleep with a Bubba: Unless Your Eggs are in Wheelchairs

by Susan Reinhardt

The Southern Belle's answer to David Sedaris -Karin Gillespie "She's like a modern-day, southern-fried Erma Bombeck or Dave Barry" -Booklist Aimed at anyone with a funny bone, these all new stories and essays by Gannett-syndicated columnist Susan Reinhardt tackle domestic life, particularly of the Southern persuasion, with sidesplitting observations and searing confessions. Reinhardt candidly lets readers into her world as she goes mano a mano with her Bubba of a husband-and occasionally her mother. From discovering she's getting a dreaded "front fanny" to revealing her husband's experiments with a Norelco shaver and their Pomeranian pooch, Reinhardt scrapes bare the bedrock truth about married life and love. She also poignantly shares her struggles with a depression that secretly plunged her downward and her reaction to the unexpected helping hands that pulled her up. Totally uncensored and blisteringly honest, Reinhardt is all heart-and a storyteller to savor and remember. "So engaging. . . so honest . . . will make you laugh out loud" -The Asheville Citizen-Times "Like hanging out with your bluntest, most mischievous friend, the one who never fails to crack you up" -Chicago Sun-Times "Funny and touching . . . Reinhardt is not afraid to put it all out there" -The Pilot N.C. "Susan Reinhardt takes the naked, honest truth and sets it on fire in a blaze of laughter . . . will have you holding your sides the whole time" -Laurie Notaro, Autobiography of a Fat Girl "She can break your heart in one sentence and leave you laughing till you're breathless in the next" -Julie Cannon, True Love & Homegrown Tomatoes Susan Reinhardt is a syndicated columnist and feature writer whose work has appeared all over the world in major newspapers such as the Washington Post, London Daily Mirror, Newsday, and other Tribune Media and Gannett publications. Reinhardt has won dozens of awards for her writing, including several Best of

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction, Southern

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Susan Reinhardt is a best-selling author known for her gift of taking serious topics and infusing them with humor and heart.

Her novels are perfect for book clubs, the beach and vacations, or sitting on the couch with a good read.

She is especially praised for creating casts of unforgettable, quirky characters who stay in readers’ minds long after the final page.

Her debut novel, CHIMES FROM A CRACKED SOUTHERN BELLE, won “Best Regional Fiction” in the Independent Publishers Book Awards international contest, and was a No. 1 Amazon bestseller. The novel was a top summer reading pick and a book-club favorite.

Her second novel, THE BEAUTIFUL MISFITS, was named a Reader Favorite and was awarded an IPPY silver medal.

New York Times bestselling author Breanne Randall said this about THE BEAUTIFUL MISFITS:
"I don't know if I've ever gotten sucked into a book so fast! The writing is BEAUTIFUL, but it's so much more than that- there's an authenticity here that I don't see in a lot of books these days. I'll only expand it to say, you're going to have a lot of feels. You're going to LOVE this book. And it may just end up as one of your top reads this year. And I promise, I don't ever recommend books unless I truly, truly love them. — Breanne Randall, instant New York Times Bestselling author of The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic.

Her latest novel, THE HALF WIFE, a romantic comedy and perfect beach read, is coming soon from Carolina Girl Press.

Reinhardt is a former syndicated columnist and has written for national publications, winning multiple awards.

She lives in the gorgeous Blue Ridge Mountains near Asheville, N.C., and is on her second and final husband. She has two grown children, three steps, and can ride a unicycle and twirl a baton at the same time. But not very well.

Publishers Weekly reviewed her work, saying it was "Filled with “lyrical prose” that’s “fun and fresh,” and Booklist lauded her work as “ranging from side-splitting to achingly poignant. She's like a modern-day, southern-fried Erma Bombeck or Dave Barry, and her tales of the ordinary will resonate with women everywhere.”

Reviews

[Julie N · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't Sleep With A Bubba is a collection of essays by newspaper columnist Susan Reinhardt about various topics, mostly related to love, marriage, and being a Southern woman (the development of the dreaded front-fanny!). I love any and all Southern humor, so this one was enjoyable but not what I expected.

Writing
I'm not really sure how best to critique the writing of a humor book. It's written in the same style as a newspaper column and they are all opinion kind of pieces. Writing is standard humor fare - funny essays, short and sweet.

MST3K
I've been saving this one for a while because I read and loved the author's Not Tonight Honey. It's been a while, but I remember that one made me laugh so hard and had me dying to read more by the author. This one didn't live up to what I remembered of Not Tonight Honey. It was funny and there were some hilarious essays, but most of it just wasn't that funny to me. It was still a good read and a great pool/beach book, but not as funny as I had hoped. I was also thrown off by the inclusion of some very serious essays dealing with the author's depression. Those essays were wonderful as well, but they seemed to be just randomly tossed in the middle of the book with no introduction or conclusion. Since they didn't fit with the tone of the rest of the book at all, it was odd to have them right in the middle. It felt like I was reading two different books.

So the final review: I say if you are a fan of Southern human (oh dear, this should say Southern HUMOR), you need to read Susan Reinhardt. But start with Not Tonight Honey and see how you like her before you try this one. She has a third book called Dishing With the Kitchen Virgin that I plan to check out as soon as I can find a copy. If you are just wanting humor in general, check out Laurie Notaro or Jen Lancaster.

[smalls · Rating 1 out of 5]

So far I am reading through this book, but not laughing. Not even in my head. I don't know why. I can tell I'm supposed to be laughing. And some of it is relevant to me. Maybe she is trying to hard to make us laugh. I'm not sure what it is, but I am still plugging through it. The stories are interesting enough, but something is missing for me.

Well,
I am ending this book for me. I got to page 119. I think I figured why I don't like this book. It takes her too long to get to the point. I love details in a book, but this is just too dragged out for me. She finally gets into a bad experience, but focuses on how we would have never expected this from a school like what she was attending too much. Again, this was just too frustrating for me. I will pass this on and hopefully someone else will enjoy it.

[Mata · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a collection of stories-- each chapter is it's own story. It's pretty good in the stories it tells and the issues it tackles, but it wasn't my cup of tea. I don't have kids, I'm not married, I have little experience with the South... a lot just kind of went over my head. I found myself skimming too much. If you do read the book, however, the first 100 pages is light and funny, but keep reading. She goes into the serious stuff in the second part of the book, and I think her strength lies in how well she talks about her battles with her demons.

[Keri Murcray · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have become a real fan of Susan Reinhardt's writing and find her quite hilarious much of the time. However, I found this book to be a little bit more dark than her previous collections. The chapters on her depression/alcoholism were much deeper, sadder, and harder to read...though written quite honestly and funny at times. I would definitely recommend her books/writings, but this one is a little less funny at times.

[Lynn Bonelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hilarious in some parts and tear jerking in others. While I don't want to discredit Ms. Reinhard's writing I would call this filler or fluff reading (except the story of her depression and alcoholism along with the the one about her children), a nice break from heavier reading (I was trying to work my way through Midnight's Children!!). Sometimes we need a bit of fluff between all of those lit classics. If you're looking for funny, you'll find it here.

[Wendy Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first Susan Reinhardt book and I am thoroughly impressed! I will say that I was a little skeptical after reading the first couple of chapters. They seemed contrived and obviously exaggerated if not entirely made up. I pushed through a few more chapters and sure enough it got much better. So much better, in fact, that I had a hard time putting it down at times. I've already ordered her other books and look forward to reading more of her stories.

[Nina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very funny assembly of essays. I had my doubts about the book when I started it, but by the middle I was very drawn in by the writer and her style. There is a surprising depth to some of the essays in which she writes about her battle with mental illness. I think back about some of her essays often.

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book kind of confused me. It started out funny and I really liked it. Then suddenly it went dark and serious and very not funny. The sudden plunge into college date rape and then suicide attempts and mental hospitals knocked me for a loop. Just as suddenly it went back to funny but I couldn't ever shake that darkness. Finally finished it but it left a sour taste in my mouth.

[Krisnow18 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Susan Reinhardt is a syndicated columnist. I will be honest - never heard of her! This is a collection of her columns, I guess, so a fairly fast read. I kept this one in my car to read while waiting places. She is funny - even when she is talking about depression. She tells the truth. We should all be lucky enough to have a friend like her.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

My pick for Book Club 07-08. Some parts are crude, but an overall worthwhile read. Not just all funny stuff and fluff. Some heart-wrenching personal stories as well as parts that made me laugh out loud.

[Beth Mcginley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun read. There is no overall story plot, just the author's funny stories about her life. The book takes a dark turn in the middle, but becomes funny again towards the end. Read this if you just want to laugh!

[Shay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book made laugh out loud at times, which was annoying to my husband when I was reading in bed and he was trying to sleep. A few chapters are depressing and in a few chapters the author's humor seemed a bit forced. For the most part, I enjoyed this book.

[Amanda Williamson · Rating 2 out of 5]

It has its ups and down moments. Middle-way through it reads more like a memoir than it does a humour book but it picks back up near the end. It also has the original bawdy humour keeping in the Reinhardt style.

[Heidi Day · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started off hilarious and then something happened. It was like she inserted a whole different book in there. It would have been much better if she had chosed to write a separate book about her personal pain and struggles.

[Michelle Rahn · Rating 3 out of 5]

jump around. it just jumps from one thing to the next. I pictured her as some heavy not very attractive person then got to the back flap and was like oh wow. chick looks better than me. Oh well, it got a little tense in the middle with her melt down but still, just too much going on.

[Madam · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can't believe Gannett employs this woman as a humor columnist. Haven't they heard of Celia Rivenbark?

[Marissa Morrison · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this would be a book of humorous essays. I didn't sign up for such topics as date rape, alcoholism, or the author's suicidal experiences.

[Rebecca]

Great book to pick up and read between novels. Laugh out loud funny. middle age women humor. Southern Bell David Sadaris...not as witty.

[Sue-Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some parts funny and some I skimmed through.

[Monett · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was funny; but I got bored with the tone (the sarcasm never let up) and never ended up finishing it.

[Regina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious as always!

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hysterical moments...I was looking for a humorous read and certainly found it. Will never be able to hear the word possum without thinking of Susan!

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This books is so funny! I don't think you have to be a southerner to laugh out loud but it wouldn't hurt! I love humor and this author is hysterical.

[Susan Hendry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very funny

This is a very funny book. It a collection of short stories that will make laugh out load. However, it something I would recommend if you are looking for a continuation of one story from start to finish.

[Sherry Rambin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Susan Reinhardt writes her books of genius, sober.

I have now read 3 of Susan's books and I'm still amazed at how she can formulate ideas and sentences so graphically.
This book begins with several chapters of laugh out loud bodily shaking, but then turns deadly serious as she shares her own bouts of depression and a suicide attempt.
Finally, the story returns to laughter as a human roller coaster of emotions emerge.
Will I read her other 3 books ?? ABSOLUTELY !

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Humorous stories with a few heavy topics. Too Erma Brombecky for me.

[Serina · Rating 3 out of 5]

but its not a funny book....