Review: The Harm in Asking by Sara Barron

Title: The Harm in Asking
Author: Sara Barron
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Three Rivers
Publish Date: March 25, 2014
Source: I received a copy from the PR; however, this did not affect my review.

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "Welcome to the perverse and hilarious mind of Sara Barron. In The Harm in Asking, she boldly addresses the bizarre indignities of everyday life: from invisible pets to mobster roommates, from a hatred of mayonnaise to an unrequited love of k.d. lang, from the ruinous side effect of broccoli to the sheer delight of a male catalogue model. In a voice that is incisive and entirely her own, Barron proves herself the master of the awkward, and she achieves something wonderful and rare: a book that makes you laugh out loud. Simply put: if you read it, you will never be the same.*

*That's not true. You'll probably stay the same. But you'll have laughed a lot. And you'll have learned a fun fact about Jessica Simpson's home spray. See? You didn't even know she had a home spray! The learning has already begun. "

My Two Cents:

To me, the mark of a truly funny book is one that has me either grinning ridiculously or laughing out loud in public places. It takes a special book to make me do either of those things so when "The Harm in Asking" did both for me, I knew that this book was definitely an enjoyable and funny book. I was laughing on the Metro. I could not help myself! I had not heard of Sara Barron before getting my hands on this book but now I know that when I see her name, I'm in for a side-splitting laughter session. According to Goodreads, she wrote another book a couple years back that I definitely want to get my hands on. I have high hopes for it after reading "The Harm in Asking" for sure! If you're looking for laughs and not embarrassed to get caught laughing while reading, this book would be a great pick for you!

Barron definitely tickled my funny bone in this book. The book is broken up into different vignettes and each one was funny. Some were definitely funnier than others and I definitely had my favorites. The stories about Sara's childhood and anything having to do with her family were especially funny! The stories are often clever and often ridiculous.

Barron has a really good way with words. I loved her storytelling style. She definitely is not afraid of having fun or making fun of herself. She also has a real ear for conversations and is able to capture them in such a way that just made me laugh a lot! This was a very entertaining read and I look forward to reading more by Barron.