Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She’s “Learned”

Lena Dunham wrote Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She’s “Learned”, but is better known as the creator of HBO’s Girls and Tiny Furniture. Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She’s “Learned” is initially extremely forced casual, self-conscious and tries too hard. One chapter, Sharing Concerns, feels like a writing exercise to see how many times that she can get the reader to reread 5 pages. Dunham seems to be broken in some fundamental way, and she is unable to hide it. “This one time, I thought I was petting my hairless cat, and it was actually my mom’s vagina. Over the covers, of course!” Sorry, not a universal moment, it is only you, and it doesn’t make you quirky, but it does make me wonder what happened to you and how can we make you whole again. After page 78 of the hardcover version, Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She’s “Learned” becomes more enjoyable and everything that you love about Lena Dunham. If you hate Girls, skip this book, but if you like her schtick, you’ll like it, but either way, don’t buy it, borrow it from your library and you’ll enjoy the book more.