I've Tried Being Nice by Ann Leary
Nonfiction - Essays
Narrated by Ann Leary
2024
Finished on April 22, 2025
Rating: 3.5/5
Publisher's Blurb:
New York Times bestselling author Ann Leary offers a literary feast of humor and wisdom told from the perspective of a recovering people pleaser.
Having arrived at a certain age (her prime), Ann Leary casts a wry backward glance at a life spent trying—and often failing—to be nice. With wit and surprising candor, Leary recounts the bedlam of home bat invasions, an obsession with online personality tests, and the mortification of taking ballroom dance lessons with her actor husband. She describes hilarious red-carpet fiascos and other observations from the sidelines of fame, while also touching upon her more poignant struggles with alcoholism, her love for her family, her dogs, and so much more.
Prepare to laugh, cry, cringe and revel in the comically relatable chaos of Ann Leary’s life as revealed in this delightful collection of essays.
It's been a dozen years since I listened to Ann Leary's humorous novel, The Good House. She's not an author who's on my radar, but after reading a couple of glowing reviews for I've Tried Being Nice, I decided to check it out. Leary's essays are relatable, and I enjoyed her anecdotes about numerous moves during childhood, virtual/online friendships, her frustration with neighbors' dogs running through her property, and her family's love of their own dogs (they has rescued or purchased dozens of dogs), to name just a few.
I've Tried Being Nice is the sort of book to be read in fits & spurts. Leary's a witty writer, but her audio narration of this collection of essays did not work for me. Her halting delivery (is this her normal speaking pattern or was she pausing for emphasis?) after every third or fourth word became an annoyance the longer I listened. I love memoirs and essays, but I wish I had gone with the print edition. Too bad she didn't get Mary Beth Hurt (narrator of her novel, The Good House) to read for her.
Recommend in print.
Think I enjoyed this one more than you did, but would have LOVED it if Mary Beth Hurt had been the narrator. I may revisit The Good House on audio one day.
ReplyDeleteJoAnn, I remember how much you enjoyed this book. I really think I would have enjoyed it a little more had I read the print copy. It was still entertaining, just not quite as good as I had hoped for.
DeleteI love the title. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Les. Might look for it...but in print!
ReplyDeleteDeb, the essay that goes with the title is quite good. Take a look at JoAnn's review, too. She gave it a higher rating than I did. https://lakesidemusing.blogspot.com/2025/01/the-sunday-salon-manatees.html
DeleteOh dear, a bad narrator (and the author herself!) can really wreck a book.
ReplyDeleteHelen, she wasn't the best, and I did find her annoying on & off, but she didn't completely ruin the book. I finished it and enjoyed a lot of the essays. Definitely one to read in print.
DeleteOh too bad. I think I liked audio version, or wasn't bothered by it as much. But each of us has their own annoyances of audio narrators. She has some similarities to my interests (?): dogs, writing, tennis, alcohol (back then) ... some humor, so it worked for me. It was entertaining enough and kept me going. Some parts were funny. Glad you tried it.
ReplyDeleteSusan, overall, I enjoyed the book. Lots of relateable essays. It would have easily been a 4 star rating but I bumped it down a halfpoint due to the narration. I'm not sorry I read it.
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