Let's Be Less Stupid: An Attempt to Maintain My Mental Faculties - Softcover

Marx, Patricia

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1455554960 ISBN 13: 9781455554966

Publisher: Twelve, 2016

Synopsis

Now in paperback: former SNL writer and The New Yorker staffer Patty Marx employs the weapon she wields best--not that weapon; Patty believes in gun control. Instead, she uses her sharp-edged humor to tackle the most difficult facet of aging: the mind's decline. From forgetting her brother-in-law's name while he was wearing a nametag to hanging up the phone to look for her phone, Marx confesses to her failures, and not only to make you feel better about yourself.

In LET'S BE LESS STUPID Patty addresses troubling conundrums, such as: If there are more neural connections in your brain than stars in the Milky Way, why did you put the butter dish in your nightstand drawer? Patty's quest to get smarter includes just about everything: learning Cherokee, popping pills (not the good kind), and listening to--who's the guy who didn't write dum de de dum but the other one?

About this title

About the Author:

Patricia Marx is a writer for The New Yorker, former writer for Saturday Night Live, and the first woman elected to the Harvard Lampoon. Her books include the novel Him Her Him Again The End of Him, the children's book Now Everybody Really Hates Me, and the humor book How To Regain Your Virginity. After writing this book, Patty Marx got so smart she changed her name to Patricia Marx.

Review:

"Much the way the movie 'Inside Out' does with its 11-year-old protagonist, Ms. Marx takes us on a guided tour of the inner workings of her head... you can dip in and out, the way you might take an occasional swig of whiskey (or whatever works) as a pick-me-up...Ms. Marx might not be everyone's cup of tea. But she is mine."―New York Times

"Frothy, funny, and abounding in quizzes, exercises, and questionnaires...A sly, irreverent take on the latest obsessions regarding self-improvement."―Kirkus

"Equal parts sarcasm, silliness and smarts...Throughout, 'Middle-Age Mad Libs' mock brainteasers and ludicrous quizzes are filled with sharp sendups of our cultural obsessions... anyone clever enough to write Let's Be Less Stupid is clearly still firing on all cylinders."―NPR Books

"A short and giddy book ...both the author and her humor are sharper than they initially let on."
―Boston Globe

"Patty Marx's unending wit, comedy, insight, and panic are here on display in her new, exciting, book."―Steve Martin

"This book is hilarious. In gleefully mocking her own feeble brain, Patty Marx reveals herself to be downright brilliant. Predictably, her humor is packed with merriment, fizzy wit and belly laughs, but here's the surprise: she brings truckloads of knowledge to her complex subject and even the occasional flash of wisdom."―John Lithgow

"Patty Marx has plenty of advice to help you keep your mind young- while acknowledging how hopeless the dream of maintaining a young brain really is. So, don't think about it; let your mind go blank; look at the pictures, and laugh out loud."―Bill Nye

"Patty Marx's new book on the mind and its slippages is one more welcome Marxian performance: fascinating truths, offered with wit, and wonderful wit, with truth inside it."―Adam Gopnik

"Does laughing out loud make you smarter? Scientists need to study the brains of people right after they've read anything by Patricia Marx." ―Andy Borowitz

"Patty Marx is one of the funniest, smartest people I know. I am pretty sure I have gotten smarter, or at least less stupid, since reading this book. You will too!"―Roz Chast

About this edition

• Publisher: Twelve
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1455554960
• ISBN 13: 9781455554966
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208