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  • Not That Kind of Girl

  • A Young Woman Tells You What She's Learned
  • By: Lena Dunham
  • Narrated by: Lena Dunham
  • Length: 6 hrs and 9 mins
  • 3.9 out of 5 stars (423 ratings)
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Not That Kind of Girl cover art

Not That Kind of Girl

By: Lena Dunham
Narrated by: Lena Dunham
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Summary

Lena Dunham, acclaimed writer-director-star of HBO and Sky Atlantic's Girls and the award-winning movie Tiny Furniture, displays her unique powers of observation, wisdom, and humour in this exceptional collection of essays.

"If I could take what I've learned and make one menial job easier for you, or prevent you from having the kind of sex where you feel you must keep your sneakers on in case you want to run away during the act, then every misstep of mine was worthwhile. I'm already predicting my future shame at thinking I had anything to offer you, but also my future glory in having stopped you from trying an expensive juice cleanse or thinking that it was your fault when the person you are dating suddenly backs away, intimidated by the clarity of your personal mission here on Earth. No, I am not a sexpert, a psychologist, or a dietician. I am not a mother of three or the owner of a successful hosiery franchise. But I am a girl with a keen interest in having it all, and what follows are hopeful dispatches from the frontlines of that struggle."

©2014 Lena Dunham (P)2014 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic reviews

Advance praise for Not That Kind of Girl:
"It's not Lena Dunham's candour that makes me gasp. Rather, it's her writing--which is full of surprises where you least expect them. This is a fine, subversive book." (David Sedaris)
"Always funny, sometimes wrenching, these essays are a testament to the creative wonder that is Lena Dunham." (Judy Blume)
"Dunham's writing is just as smart, honest, sophisticated, dangerous, and charming as her work on Girls. Its essential quality is a kind of joyful super-awareness: of herself, the world, the human. Reading her makes you glad to be in the world, and glad that she's in it with you." (George Saunders)
"Very few women have become famous for being who they actually are, nuanced and imperfect. When honesty happens, it's usually couched in self-ridicule or self-help. Dunham doesn't apologise like that--she simply tells her story as if it might be interesting. The result is shocking and radical because it is utterly familiar. Not That Kind of Girl is hilarious, artful, and staggeringly intimate; I read it shivering with recognition." (Miranda July)

What listeners say about Not That Kind of Girl

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Such a disappointment.

I'm a fan of Dunham and of Girls and I expected so much more from this book. Like another reviewer I was disappointed to find no discussion of her creative process, no reflections on writing in general, just simply nothing about the thing most people respect her for - which is her work! What this book is is the confessional journal of a nausiatingly privileged twenty-something's mental pathologies and to be honest, it felt like having coffee with that friend who just bangs on and on about their first world problems and doesn't filter a single thought that comes out of their mouth.

As other reviewers have stated, the lowest point is a section in which she reads an old food diary, listing everything she ate along with each item's caloric value. When she encounters an item for which she is uncertain of the caloric value, she does an exaggerated upward inflection that had me on the edge of throwing my computer out the window. This list goes on for an excruciatingly leisurely fifteen minutes in this audiobook. FIFTEEN MINUTES. She doesn't even attempt to justify or explain the list's presence in the book, or even to analyse it, which perhaps could have drawn something interesting from it. She just sticks it in like a kid who forgot to bring anything for Show And Tell. The childish egomania of the thing was bewildering.

The number one bane of feminist creatives is that we are so rarely asked about our work, our thoughts, our minds – instead we are asked about fashion and dieting, boyfriends and sex etc etc. I just cannot fathom why Dunham, who is a skilled writer and an outspoken feminist, chose to use the opportunity of writing her own book to fill it with the sort of banal nonsense that any Glamour Magazine interview would have asked her. What a waste of time.

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19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Grim

If this book wasn’t for you, who do you think might enjoy it more?

Peeping Toms? Sex starved?

What was most disappointing about Lena Dunham’s story?

Very disappointing. All over the place biography with very little depth unless you are interested in someone who has very little self-respect's sex life.And it's American.

What didn’t you like about Lena Dunham’s performance?

Her; "I'm a rebel- just for the sake of it, shallowness."

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Not That Kind of Girl?

It would need to be put in some sort of logical order and need some interesting content or perspectives injected into it.

Any additional comments?

Avoid if you have any brain cells that need exercise.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Awful, self indulgent, self obsessed drivel

I have really ambivalent feelings towards Lena. She is clearly blessed with a great writing talent but this is just a rehash of the only thing she seems capable of writing about. Herself. I

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Boring

Just a boring life story, nothing out of the ordinary, interesting or funny.. Feels like it was written by someone proving to themselves that they can write.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

disappointed

I wasn't really enjoying it. I was expecting someting totaly different. Too boring, stuff she learned were a but crap- I didn't learn anything useful from her.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Very disappointing. Just didn't fit together well

Parts were interesting but rest just boring and made no sense. With better editing and structure could have been good. She has plenty to talk about but let down by waffling and poor structure.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Reasonably entertaining....

I love Lena Dunham but I found this a little too self-indulgent and frothy. Didn't lend itself well to the audiobook format being non-linear and containing various lists etc. I think I would have preferred this one as an actual book.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

SCARY

What disappointed you about Not That Kind of Girl?

I couldn't listen to it long.

What could Lena Dunham have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Write an interesting book.

What didn’t you like about Lena Dunham’s performance?

No, not interesting. I think it's worrying. Thoughts of a not healthy person glorified with this book.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Reaction? Disgust, pity, worry about girls, young adults reading this.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Obviously listen if you are a fan of Girls

Would you listen to Not That Kind of Girl again? Why?

Maybe. I love Lena, so am intrigued by anything she has to say, but was a little disappointed by the lack of excitement in the story, but I love love her and did really enjoy it, an easy listen.

Would you be willing to try another book from Lena Dunham? Why or why not?

Yes I hope her next book is more juicy. The scene where she reads out her calories was too long, although I got her point.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

Where she explains how she first made it.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Story has no point but well read

The beginning was good but during the second half I felt as if I was just listening to a friend complain the whole time and tell me half interesting stories. The chronology jumps around and there are no pauses between chapters so you don’t know where you are. It’s very well read and the first half was good!

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1 person found this helpful