My Boyfriend Wrote a Book About Me

by Hilary Winston

TV writer Hilary Winston offers up a witty collection of autobiographical tales about her misadventures in dating.

Just when Hilary feels like her life is finally in order, she gets a sucker-punch to the gut: Her ex-has written a novel based on their relationship in which he refers to her throughout as the “fat-assed girlfriend.” Her response to this affront is just one of the many hilarious stories in My Boyfriend Wrote a Book About Me--a laugh-out-loud, tell-all in which Hilary sets the record straight on all her exes.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Humor, Essays, Comedy, Biography, Chick Lit

240 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2011

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is bad.

There's no other way around it.

I'm sorry if you liked this book, or thought it was funny. I'm sure you're a nice person. But you're wrong.

This book is so bad, that this is my third attempt at writing a review for this book... this book is so bad that I can't think straight.

I love books by women who love to talk about their struggles as single women, or young mothers, or go getters, or whatever...

I've read Jill Soloway, Beth Lisick, Sloane Crosley, Hollis Gillespie, Gail Parent, and Sarah Vowell- all women who write autobiographically- all of whom I enjoy to varying degrees, I recommend all of them long before I recommend Hilary Winston's book.

I saw you in the bookstore- and you were cute... you were a cute girl, with big eyes, wearing cupcake pajamas, drinking a Tab cola...
I flipped through your pages. You seemed pretty entertaining. It turns out you're a writer for Community? I love that show. You know what book? You've hooked me. Let's go out... I'll read you before I go to bed... maybe take you to a coffee shop with me... who knows? Maybe I'll read you while I'm in the bathroom? Am I ready for that kind of commitment? We'll see...

Here's the premise of the book:
Hilary Winston is walking around a Barnes and Noble when she sees her ex-boyfriend's name on a book. (She doesn't mention his real name, or the name of the book, in her book... but it's Chad Kultgen, and the book is The Average American Male... thank you Google).
Hilary picks up the book- which is in the fiction section of the store- and starts to read. Hilary learns the fiction book is very much based on their very real relationship-and that her ex-Chad, her boyfriend of five years, the man who broke up with her, has written Hilary as a clingy, fat-assed girlfriend. Hilary is obviously upset.
So Hilary recounts her childhood, her first love, her second love, her love for her cats, her love for Kyle (She renames Chad, Kyle in the book), her love for her cats, her love for Kyle, her love for her cats, her love for Kyle, her love for Olive Garden, her love for her cats, her love for Kyle, her love for comedy writing, her love for Kyle, her love for her cats, her love for breadsticks from the Olive Garden, her love for Kyle, her love for her cats, her serious love for comedy writing (really? Cause I'm not seeing it on the pages of this book...) her love for Kyle, her broken heart over Kyle, how could Kyle break up with her? Did the relationship mean nothing to Kyle? Really Kyle? Kyle? Kyle? Kyle? How is she going to get over Kyle? He'll never find another love like Kyle... Kyle... Kyle... Kyle...

OH DEAR GOD! PLEASE STOP TALKING ABOUT YOUR STUPID EX-BOYFRIEND!!!!!

I wanted to break up with her after 50 pages of the book.
The only thing that got me through this book was the guilt that I had been suckered into buying it. I forced myself to climb up that damn mountain of Morhdorh just so I could through this book into the lava pit of despair... or whatever.

I did not read The Average American Male... nor do I have any desire to (I did read reviews of the book... and misogynistic books aren't really my thing).

About halfway through the book I thought, "you know- self..." Cause that's how I start all conversations with myself, "You know- they- they being book stores- like Borders- They should take this book, and that other book- The Average American Male- and package them together... sort of a he said, she said... though to be honest... I don't know if I could get through that. Maybe somebody would like that."

Really, I got the feeling Hilary was clingy and full of herself, and after five years, Chad, who is a jerk, and full of himself, just stopped caring.

Hilary: Look at my cat!
Chad: I'm playing a video game.
Hilary: Take me out to eat!
Chad: I'm playing a video game.
Hilary: Is it because I make more money than you? I write for television. What do you do?
Chad: I'm playing a video game.
Hilary: Look at what the cat is doing now!
Chad: You want to have sex?
Hilary: Can the cat watch?
Chad: I'm going to finish this video game.
Hilary: Look, I put a hat on the cat!
Chad: I'm playing a video game.
Hilary: It's funny! It's like that book!
Chad: How did you get a job writing? I'm still playing a video game!
Hilary: Now the cat is meowing! Look at it!
Chad: Can we have sex yet?
Hilary: Maybe, after I put boots on the cat.
Chad: I'm going to bed.
Hilary: WHY DON'T YOU LOVE ME??????????

It turns out they're both very uninteresting people.

Chad (I'm guessing) likes to think he hates women... but really he's just an insecure little guy- who now has three books under his belt (and I'm guessing has probably written himself into an angry little corner, and his books will become less angry, and people will start to say things like, "Well, it's kinda like his last book, but just not as good." Cause it turns out he's really not that angry to begin with).

Hilary thinks she's a victim, but really she likes to talk a lot about how she wrote for My Name is Earl, and how she once saw a famous person naked, and about how rough her life, what with her writing for a couple of hit television shows and her mom surviving cancer and all.

She wants me to feel sorry for her- what with her ex breaking up with her, and her feeling sorry for herself, and all her crying, and then going to parties to hook up with people, and her crying, and having bad sex with people who are either using her (which she willingly admits to knowing) or who she is using, and her crying...

But I can't feel sorry for her. She has a job, she has a house. She has a mom who lived through cancer. She has no relationship? So she goes out and has flings... and she's unhappy?
Who cares? Your whole life revolves around you meeting and marrying a man?
You know what? I've read that book (unfortunately) years ago... it was called Twilight. It's about a girl who can't get over a glittering vampire.
Someone she knows is wrong for her- and yet she pines after him day after day after day after day...

So there I am, hating this book... but there's light at the end of the tunnel.
And what does Hilary Winston do???

Spoiler...

She talks about how her damn cat dies.

And for a split second, I feel bad for her... well, for the cat. This cat that I'm sure was begging to be put out of it's misery...

"Aw crap, she's crying again... where the hell is that cat nip ball, I gotta find it before...DAMMIT! She's got me... now she's going to cry into my fur. I'm gonna be bathing myself for days after this. DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO GET DESPERATION TEARS OUT OF CAT FUR???"

But it's a cheap gimmick Winston! I'm not falling for it!
I will not feel sorry for you because you put your cat's death at the end of your book. And you know why? Cause your mom survived CANCER in a footnote on page 167 of a 223 page book.

Tell your hard luck stories to someone else... cause I ain't going for it!

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Two self-absorbed superficial buttheads dated each other and then wrote books about it. And now I'm conflicted. Because on one hand, I wish they had never met each other, so that neither of them would have ever gotten book deals. And the world would be better off. But on the other hand, I'm almost tempted to be glad that they found each other, because they kind of deserve one another. (Warning: this is going to be a long-ass , bitter review.)

I don't think I've ever had such a negative reaction to an author before. And I'm one of those people who get irrationally angry at authors who write books I don't like. I don't know how Winston managed to portray herself as such an obnoxious human being. The worst part is, I think she was trying to be honest and relateable. Well, I'll believe she was honest, but I didn't relate to her at all, and I hope you didn't, either.

1) I was under the impression this was supposed to be a sort of comedy essay book. Because, you know, it's labeled as "non-fiction/HUMOR" on the back cover. Also because Winston writes for one of the funniest and most creative TV shows on right now, Community. But Winston is just not funny. Potentially funny things sort of happen to her but something about her style kills any chance at humor. And I'm not usually one to complain about a book not being funny, because comedy is really subjective, but Winston kept going on about how funny and witty she was. Nope.

2) She is such a whiner. She complains about everything. I understand we all have our weak moments, and obviously she has psychological issues she needs to deal with, but honestly. She'd be like, "I didn't like this guy and he annoyed me and treated me badly and made me pay the bills and called me fat and didn't like my cats and also I don't really think he's funny or attractive or interesting and we don't get along at all...so we dated for a year." COME ON. Either end the relationship or keep dating the asshole, but don't moan about it like you've got no choice and the universe just has a grudge against you. She just wallows in her own shit decisions. Also, she has a wildly successful writing career, writing for some of the most critically successful shows of the past few years. She interned at the White House for Clinton. She travels a lot. Her parents, while apparently not terribly supportive of her career, supported her quite a lot when she asked (actually, demanded) 1600 dollars from them so she could move to a new place, even though she was like in her mid-twenties. She now lives in a nice house that she can afford on her own. And yet she doesn't seem to care about any of that, because she doesn't have a boyfriend. ARE YOU KIDDING ME.

3) She's hypocritical. She was inspired to write the book after being deeply hurt by the personal details of her in "Kyle's" (really Chad's) book. So she writes her own. Fair enough. But then she includes some pretty mean details about her other ex-boyfriends. After bemoaning how awful it was that her ex included her in his book. Urgh. She also complains a bit about LA standards of appearance for women, but frequently makes unkind (and unnecessary) comments about random minor characters' appearances. She ends the book with an acceptance of her singleness (how very original...) but throughout the book treats single people like pathetic losers who have resigned themselves to an unsatisfying shell of a life.

4) She just behaves like a crazy, immature, petty, clingy, selfish brat. After she and Kyle broke up, they lived together for a month (weird and unhealthy, but whatever), and she would pull from her creepy "Kyle Box" cards that he'd gotten her and shout things at him like "Remember when you wrote 'You are the most amazing girl I have ever met?' I hate you, you selfish mother-fucker!" Is she FIVE? I know people get upset during break-ups, but yikes. She is like every "crazy girlfriend" stereotype rolled into one. She's just as bad as every guy she dates. It's not funny, it's not relateable. It's annoying and pathetic.

5) Stop calling Kyle to reflect on your relationship. Stop imagining what your lives would have been like. Stop talking about how you thought you would marry him. Just stop. I know it's hard. But stop. He is a massive dick. I'm sick of hearing about Kyle. So stop.

6) So many baths. Not funny, just creepy.

7) I don't give a crap about her stupid cats. And she described her cat Emmett as "handsome" about a thousand times. Christ.


Don't read this book. Watch Community instead. I have no idea how someone so obnoxious can help produce something so fantastic. Just how? How?

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I need an intervention so I can get over my humorous 30-something memoir addiction. Either that, or Barnes and Noble needs to install a warning system just for me. The next time I am lured towards something confessional, an alarm will go off and then an announcement: "Step away from the humorous memoir." Then kind people in lab coats will show up and gently escort me out of the store and suggest that I go buy shoes.

And even ending up with another pair of platform wedge sandals that I can't walk in without hurting something would be better than weeping into my pillow because some stranger's cat died -- it was supposed to be a *humorous* memoir, the back cover didn't say anything about sad animal stories! -- and then lying awake all night to worry about the fate of feminism.

All of which is to say, this book reads like the author is being painfully honest. And I think being painfully honest with oneself is valuable. But I wonder how being painfully honest for entertainment purposes changes the dynamic. Would creative people live healthier lives if they weren't constantly on the look out for material? And if one is painfully honest with oneself, presumably the point is self-improvement / growth / change, but if one's dysfunction is then rewarded, where's the incentive to improve / grow / change? And if one was never interested in improvement, then painful honesty for the sake of painful honesty is just wallowing around masochistically and that's not terribly interesting to read about. I'm not sure what this book was supposed to be -- performance art, self-improvement, or masochism. It reads like all three at various points. I'm not sure the author knew either.

Personally, I'm rooting for the author, I'm happy she got a paying job and a book contract, and I really hope she finds a relationship that makes her happy. But after slogging through all that pain with her, I want to have gotten farther at the end than the realization that "I don't need anyone else to make me complete" (or words to that effect) which is the kind of insight I could have gotten for free on an Oprah rerun. It kind of makes me wish she'd waited another 20 years and THEN wrote this book. Maybe her insights would have matured into something more insightful.

I thought the most interesting parts were her remarks about Hollywood TV writing / comedy culture. That's a book I'd like to read. She's also funny -- although not necessarily during the parts that are supposed to be funny. I think every writer gets one "oh no, she didn't!" moment. After that, the shocking parts, aren't funny. Just shocking. And then the shock wears off and they're boring.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a review of the Advanced Reading Copy that Sterling Publishing Company was kind enough to send to me because I won it here on Goodreads First Reads.

With a bit of editing this book will be a seriously big hit. What drew me into its clutches was the cover art and then the title. Seriously funny stuff and you know what, the text didn't suck either! I mean you just never know when the book cover is this awesome.

Premise of the book: Hilary Winston goes into her posh LA Barnes and Noble bookstore in the middle of the afternoon in the middle of the week only to discover her ex-boyfriend Kyle wrote a very unflattering book about her and their 5 year relationship together, but didn't even have the nerve to get the facts straight or publish it in the non-fiction section. What a jerk!

I'm 34 years old and I have stories I feel the need to tell, including one about the death of a relationship and its resurrection in the 'New Fiction' section at Barnes and Noble. In fact, that story is the inspiration for telling them all.

After the introduction, Hilary goes on to examine all her other relationships both pre-Kyle and post-Kyle and she does this in a very self-deprecating way that's totally hilarious, unpredictable, but relatable, all at the same time.

So, if you've ever had your heart broken, then stomped on, and then put through the blender just for good measure, you MUST pick this book up in order to laugh, cry, and get over the asshat that did it to you!

[Zaneta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like it says in the dedication page, this book is for "anyone who has ever had their heart broken. And dreamed of getting just the tiniest slice of revenge. And didn't do it because they were worried they'd look crazy."

To some people, Winston may seem like the crazy-ex girlfriend for writing a tell-all memoir about her previous relationships. But then again, most people do not innocently discover themselves as the "fat-assed girlfriend" in their ex's new novel at Barnes and Nobel. The book is separated into six parts and goes through Winston's ordeal of dating gay men, being a crazy cat lady, and surviving her first adult break-up. She laments that most of her ex-boyfriends are bad decisions, and yet, endures them with the help of alcohol. While her memoir is definitely comedic, there are some poignant, heartbreaking moments where you just want to go into the pages and give her a hug. Despite the memoir being a stab at her ex-boyfriend, Winston flushes him out as a real person--you know why she fell for him, why she thought his name was going to be the one she wrote on her envelopes, and you know why it failed.

Winston is a real life Bridget Jones. Slightly chubby, pathetic, endearing, and desperately wanting a Mr. Darcy. But unfortunately, real-life is never pretty as a work of fiction. And as someone who has had their heart broken and definitely dreamed of getting more than a tiny slice of revenge, this memoir helped.

[Kara · Rating 1 out of 5]

So far there's a lot about cat piss. And baths. But not baths in cat piss.

After completing the book, my review doesn't change. It just wasn't that good.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was excited to read this book. I’m a fan of the book her ex-boyfriend wrote
(about her apparently), The Average American Male, and I love My Name is Earl.
The concept of a revenge novel is comedic in itself. I picture Kathleen Turner
and Michael Douglas in War of the Roses pecking at a typewriter as fast they can
trying to get the last laugh in. Both of these novels were brutally honest in
painting an amusing perspective of the female and male psyche.

Winston’s book documents many of her experiences with boys/men starting at a
very young age. Outside of finding that her boyfriend wrote a book about her,
they are all average experiences you’d expect from any girl. What makes it
entertaining is that that Winston is not afraid to waive her crazy flag in the
air. However, her self-deprecating humor is more sad than funny and I feel that
I know too much about her cats. At no point could I understand her
marriage-minded point of view and I wondered if there are other women who think
this way. Maybe she’s not crazy but the norm?

This is the kind of book you get one of your girlfriends with low self esteem or
for any girl you know that was “inspired” by Eat Pray Love. The cover is
adorable. Who doesn’t want to read about a cupcake pajama girl? I’m going to
pass this along to female friends and see if they connected with it. I am very
curious. I would highly recommend reading The Average American Male by Chad
Kultgen so you can see the absurdity in the difference of the two points of view.

[Nette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty funny in places, unnecessarily gross in others. I'm not prudish or squeamish or other -ish words, but after reading entire chapters about her problem poop and her broken cervix, I feel like I should charge her a twenty dollar co-pay.

[Scribblegirl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I find it very hard to believe Hilary Winston gets paid to write comedy. That she writes (or has written) for Community boggles my mind, since I like Community, and it's not only funny, it's often brilliantly so, and frankly, I find it impossible to believe the girl who wrote this could ever write an episode of Community that I would like. This book is NOT funny. It's sad and pathetic and really frigging depressing. It's so pathetic, in fact, that I can't believe it isn't professional suicide for Winston to spill her guts like this in public. She talks mostly about bad sex, desperation, and her dying cat, none of them with any humor, and with very little of anything even approaching pathos, except for the cat, and that only at the end, when she informs you (in an epilogue) that he died while she was writing her opus to self-pity and self-loathing sex. (Her own mother's recovery from cancer was literally a footnote, despite several pages of how her mother's illness was horrendously traumatic for Winston.) Perhaps most unforgivably, Winston seems not to have learned a damn thing in all her lurid tales of cat pee, lonely desperation and bad, impersonal sex. She's no different at 35 than she was at 16. She's just learned to embrace trite axioms and then to intone them in print as if they actually signify growth. If I were a tv producer (instead of a lowly reality tv writer) there is absolutely no way I'd want a self-involved trainwreck like Winston on my staff. Unless my show were about people who will go the extra mile in self-degradation just to get an extra 15 minutes of fame. That, I think she'd be stellar at.

[Kristy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I genuinely enjoyed this book. I am surprised at some of the negative reviews here and I can't help but wonder if somehow expectations were set a bit too high? I remember the same thing happening with Julie Klausner's book (which I also found very funny and entertaining). I guess in both cases I had read all this neg stuff already and I was expecting things to be really substandard, and then they turned out to be really funny, charming essays with moments of actual heartbreaking insight. And both of these women are kind of broken, needy cat lovers (far be it from me to point fingers here, people. It takes one to know one? Well, there. I know TWO.), and they both have a retrograde sort of longing to get married and be "normal" which leads them to make a lot of bad, self-destructive choices in life, which they then frame in really hilarious ways for your entertainment and maybe edification. And you can sit there and think "there but for the grace of God" or you can read it the way my Uncle Chuck watches Hanoi Hilton (with grim recognition and a Scotch). Whichever, I think you will have a good time if you just come to either/both of these books with an open mind.

[Heather Colacurcio · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book at a point in my life where it really hit home; I found myself on the last page in less than two days of starting it, and on the verge of tears as well. Winston's book is indeed humorous, but there is a profound sadness and hurt that weaves itself throughout the majority of her stories. Winston recounts what it means to love and be loved and the devastation that lost love brings. The lingering effects of a breakup stay with us long after the person we loved has left, long after we have rid ourselves of the mementos and physical memories of that love. Winston's experience is parallel to the experience of every person who finds themselves willing, but almost incapable of letting go and picking up the pieces after a breakup. Yet, Winston manages to find both the humor and truth in heartbreak; we as humans have the ability to go on, and while we may go on with a heavy heart for some time, eventually, we come to realize that we do not need to carry the burden of lost love with us. Everyone wishes that love would last forever, but if it doesn't, do we need to punish ourselves and others forever? Can we somehow believe that our love was real at a particular time in our life and accept that we will once again find something just as special? Winston explores the rise and demise of her relationships, keeping these questions in mind and attempting to find a middle ground in the midst of anger, resentment and loss. If you've ever loved and lost, you'll identify with Winston's struggle to move on. If you've loved and never lost, consider yourself lucky, for matters of the heart are amongst the most difficult to deal with. Still, Winston proves you can rise above and redeem both yourself and your heart, when you are ready. Read this for it's honesty, read it for it's humor, read this for it's truth.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Initially drawn in by the title I didn't expect to love this book, yet I did. It's probably the truest to life book I've ever read on relationships, sexual experiences and break ups.

I grew really attached to Hilary and hope she one days finds 'her one'.

Four stars.

[Angelica · Rating 1 out of 5]

Let's start with the title, the whole title. "My Boyfriend Wrote a Book About Me: And Other Stories I Shouldn't Share with Acquaintances, Coworkers, Taxi drivers, Assistants, Job Interviewers, Bikini Waxers, and Ex/Current/Future Boyfriends but Have" ....

The title itself is long, drawn out, boring and pointless.

The main character describes her pathetic life focusing on her ex boyfriend that she's obviously still hung up on, complaining that he wrote a book about her and calls her a fatass. She continues to complain about her "dating" life although I don't really know if I consider half of her experiences actually dating. She sleeps with guys she barely knows, while worrying about her ex boyfriend who does nothing but insult her.

I wish she would've spent her time at a gym and getting some serious help getting over her ex and meeting new guys instead of writing about her problems. It's hard to find sympathy for someone who doesn't want to help herself and it's even harder to read about it.

I read it all because it wasn't very long and because I paid for it, but I certainly don't suggest you do the same.

I got the feeling that she was trying to write books similar to Chelsea Handler's series (which are actually funny by the way, read those instead), except no one knows who she is and her stories are too dumb to make anyone care.

[Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Free ARC through GoodReads FirstReads.

The main reason for my "it was OK" rating was the style. The book was written very casually, similar to what I'm used to seeing on blogs. This was a deliberate choice, but it was not to my taste.

That said, the content was fine. There were plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. There was also a lot more sadness than I expected.

I'm the same age as the author, and while at first I found some of the misadventures hilarious (and had plenty flashbacks to my own exes) by the end I was truly bummed. The book reminded me too much of when I was sad and lonely. When I felt utterly unlovable and wallowed in self-hatred masked as funny self-deprication.

I hope that in a few years the author comes out with another book, one that still pokes a lot of fun at herself and her boyfriends but comes from a happy and fulfilled place.

[Richard · Rating 2 out of 5]

I happened upon the book by accident. The title caught me, and the description made it sound like a fun read.

Before I get to my review, I will qualify everything that follows by saying I am clearly NOT the target audience. I am ten years older than the author, male and straight.

The writing is fluid, and the stories are interesting. In fact, most of the stories are the type that I would probably have enjoyed more if I heard them in the workplace or from a friend, one at a time, spread over time. They have honesty to them that at times made the book read much more like a diary.

My chief critique is that the book wanders off course early on and never manages to get back on track. Moreover, the author probably could have had a very funny book on her hands if someone had suggested to keep the text on the original course. Part one grabbed me, and the set up with the marketing had me expecting a very different book. I did not expect the book to become a list of all the guys that the author had dated, and how the men were mostly flawed. This is an overstatment on my part, but not by much, as it seemed to only be broken up by writings about her cat and a rebirthing section.

i.e. The title MY BOYFRIEND WROTE A BOOK ABOUT ME is misleading. It should read MY Ex-BOYFRIEND... This has a very different and an even greater meaning since the ex- is brought up throughout the book.

By the end of the book, I really liked the author but I had grown frustrated with the situations she was recounting. Most of the humor was gone, save for a recurring last line jab at someone, and it seemed to have become far less self-deprecating or introspective and more critical of the men in her life. The entirety of the book seemd to be about getting the last word in.

I actually feel bad writing anything negative here because I had grown to care about the author's journey. She has a strong voice even if I didn't always care for the subject matter. Maybe it's because I'm not really a 'cat person'... as Emmett , her cat, plays a HUGE role in her book. Maybe it's because the book isn't for men. Too bad for me because I think I might have really liked the book with some minor changes.

[Evelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I'll be honest, I expected a bit more humor to the book, seeing as Hilary Winston is one of the writers for Community, and I did actually pick this up in the humor section. I was drawn by the title, really, and I was hoping that there would some sort of characteristic development or resolution to this, but it really was just a bunch of stories about her disastrous relationships and her cat. Don't get me wrong, it was quite funny at times, it just didn't give me a sense of completion. The only part that actually moved me was when she talked about her cat's death. Alright, but not something I would buy if I had known what I was in for.

[MAP · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just didn't find this that funny. I think it's because I didn't connect with it. All the positive reviews talk about how they totally understood where she was coming from and had experienced similar things and so it was funny. The only parts I connected with (and consequently, laughed and cried at) were about her cats.

I guess it's not really her fault that we haven't had many, if any, similar dating experiences. I'm just saying the humor isn't universal.

[Jennifer Steinhoff · Rating 1 out of 5]

I often need to remind myself that I don't have to finish every book I start. I gave this book 2 chapters and then returned it to the library. I think everyone has enough of their own bitterness to deal with, without reading and absorbing someone elses anger and resentment and bitterness.

[Readersaurus · Rating 1 out of 5]

Less than 1/2 star. Not even a little funny.

[Raven · Rating 1 out of 5]

The title caught my eye in iBooks, and so downloaded the sample... as I was reading, I realized that I had read the book Winston's ex-boyfriend had allegedly written about her- Chad Kultgen's "The Average American Male." I actually really enjoyed Kultgen's work of fiction, as his prose was interesting and minimalistic; something I thought was a clever representation the male mind. It was pretty chauvinistic, with numerous references to the pronounced size of the main character’s girlfriend’s derriere, but that was sort of the point. It offered an interesting take on the dichotomy of what goes on in the male mind versus what actually makes it out of his mouth. That being said, I figured there were two sides to every story, so I bought “My Ex-Boyfriend Wrote a Book about Me,” curious about Winston's point of view. Winston's memoir (of sorts) was definitely not worth the trouble of reading. As the title implies, Winston asserts that the fictional characters in Kultgen’s book are based on past experiences that they had together as a couple… and claims how embarrassed she was that the details of their relationship were published. Except, then she goes through painstaking detail, reopening every one of the wounds and slights she perceived throughout their relationship and compares those experiences to what Kultgen wrote. Winston, it seems, fails to realize one of the most important aspects of fictional writing- write what you know. Of course it would seem likely that a young male writing a book about someone not-so-dissimilar from himself would draw from past relationship experiences to create relatable characters. Furthermore, Kultgen’s book features two female characters, both of which seemed to feature similarities to Winston, both good and bad. Had it been a single character, I might have given Winston a little more credibility… but this dragging story just seemed to expose narcissistic aspects of her own personality. Interspersed with the comparisons to Kultgen’s work, Winston writes about random events in her childhood and young adult life. These chapters, to me, seemed like an afterthought- they were amateur in quality and did little to help this abysmal book that felt more like a jilted ex-girlfriend trying to get the last word than a true effort to “set the record straight” as Winston asserted. Would I have felt this way had I not read Kultgen’s book first? Maybe not initially. However, I would have been prompted to read his book, just as I had been prompted to read her take on the situation. In doing so, I believe I would have reached the same conclusion- Winston’s book is just not good enough to stand on its own, and her delusions of grandeur would have become increasingly apparent in contrast to Kultgen’s successful execution of fictionalized events. Good rule of thumb: “it’s not always about you.”

[Yvette Hamacek · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book...although I think that referring to it as a revenge novel in any way is very misleading. The inspiration for this book came from Chad Kultgen's "The Average American Male" in which Hilary was referred to as the "fat-assed girlfriend". However, instead of getting any kind of revenge on the ex-boyfriend, she actually humanizes him. She makes the relationship seem much deeper and more authentic than the thinly-veiled fiction version of it that he uses in his book. The contrast of his description vs. her description of the same relationship is worlds apart. It clearly demonstrates the men are from mars, women are from venus concepts.

The rest of her relationships are approached very much like the average woman. The men you have dreamed of being with forever who instantly are a let down, the men you don't like that much but you like how they make you feel so you stay with them, the men you settle for because you let your own self-doubt get in the way of any possible relationship with a man you deserve. While I think that her disturbing attachment to her cats (and her willingness to live among shower curtains littered in cat pee) may have prevented her from getting involved, I think it was more of a defense mechanism than anything else. Everyone's been hurt and done something to prevent themselves from forming real attachments - gained weight, slept around, avoided men altogether - and that was what she used her cats for.

All in all, I didn't think that it was very funny, which is something I was really hoping for from a writer on the Community. However, I did find it an entertaining read and something most women can relate to.

[Meagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. This was the last book I read in 2011, and it was a great way to end the year. Hilary Winston is a great writer on Community and she translates very well into a book. She finds the humor and the enjoyment of life in all of her awkward and quirky experiences. She talks about her boyfriend who she thought she was in love with, a few one night stands, her fear of becoming a cat lady, and how she learned to be happy being single. She is intelligent and easy to relate to.

Sections include:
Part 1: My Boyfriend Wrote a Book About Me
Part 2: The Foundation Is Cracked
Part 3: Bathing in Tandem AKA My First Adult Relationship
Part 4: No More Baths (Well, Maybe a Few More)
Part 5: Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Things, and One Crazy-ass Mailman
Part 6: Where Do Broken Vaginas Go? Do They Find Their Way Home?

If you enjoy humorous non-fiction books, you will love this one.

[Shannon Alexander · Rating 3 out of 5]

I went on a brief "books by 30something white women who aren't that interesting" kick. I THOUGHT maybe she'd be interesting since her ex-boyfriend did write an unflattering book about her and she writes for Community. The stuff about the boyfriend was interesting and I think it's nice karma that the sheer fact that he wrote a book about her got HER a book deal, for better or worse. There is some funny stuff and I like her -in comparison to the NY hipster style of I Don't Care About Your Band- because she's from Texas and more down to earth. But there is a weirdly long section about her doing past life hypnotism that is like way more intense than you'd expect. Overall, didn't really say a whole lot but not a terrible way to pass the time.

[Adam O'Brien · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book tried to be a lot of things, and it just tripped itself up. The girl knows (thinks) she's really funny, and says so, frequently. But she also plays this i'm-so-awkward-and-clueless-isn't-that-adorable? game. She whines about how she's ugly and will never find love and will be an old cat lady and lost her virginity at the embarrassingly old age of fourteen, but also documents a new good-looking guy she slept with every other page. She casually whores around using people and abandoning them, but claims she can't find anybody to love her.
A lot of these flaws are forgivable by themselves, but all together have the effect that was really the worst part of the book, which was how thoroughly dirty and disgusting and depressed I felt while reading it.

[Angela]

All I kept thinking during this book was 'At least it isn't 'I Don't Care About Your Band'' - but that's not enough reason for me to love it. Why so many baths, Hilary? Why?? It was a quick read, it was relatively painless, but I want to boycott all books of this genre. Hey, twenty-something women in metropolitan areas: if you're going to wear your damn weirdness on your sleeve, stop flaunting it like the emotional relevance of a sassy new haircut. I can't deal with it any more.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was told this book would be hilarious, but I thought it induced less laughter than it did pity. Because I have taken one semester of psychology classes, I can confidently diagnose this girl with depression and low self esteem. Which she admits to anyway. Self depracation is funny, but this girl is just depressing. Some laughs, but more cringes.

[Gwen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Warning: The title is the funniest thing about this book. It's well written, and the author is likable and I'm rooting for her, but the book is really kind of sad and depressing to read. I don't think I laughed once.

[Christine Fay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This hilarious book was written by a woman who is a script writer for popular comedy sitcoms such as My Name is Earl. This is a humorous and true account of her unsuccessful dating life. The chapter titles themselves are hilarious, i.e. The Shy Pooper. It is a quick read and very entertaining.

[Michelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Stopped reading this book because it is all about this girls sex life... Sounds sorta pathetic most of the book

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

This had some super hilarious parts and was a fun subway read, but she took self loathing to a whole new level which started to feel less funny, and more pathetic. I kind of wanted to punch her.