Microthrills: True Stories from a Life of Small Highs

by Wendy Spero

Book Overview

Raised in Manhattan by her overprotective sex-therapist mother (who wore nine inches of shoulder pads"), Wendy Spero has always sought excitement in microthrills, the small, strange highs that give her life meaning?from finding a strip tease video of her grandmother to selling knives door-to-door. As a little girl, Spero passed the time sniffing fruit-scented markers and breaking up arguments between her imaginary friends. As an adult, in her first...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0452288436
• ISBN13: 9780452288430
• Release Date: July 2007
• Publisher: Plume Books
• Length: 238 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.2" x 7.7"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

A Macro Delight

I found this book clever, touching, and witty. It is a wonderful story of growing up in NYC, but it really could take place almost anywhere stateside. A great read! Norma Davidoff

A window into a different life

There are thousands of 'slice of life' books which range from traumatic to absurd. The life of Wendy as portrayed in Microthrills seems far more relatable than many of these. Amos claims she actually toned down her OCD for the book. Still, with as crazy as she seems, there are aspects of her neurosis that anyone can relate to. We're all a little neurotic after all. On top of being extremely interesting, this book is also extremely funny. Many times during my read I laughed as if I had been there at that moment and experienced what she had experienced, feeling the joy she felt at experiencing something unique and strange. After finishing her book I had a general feeling that I needed to be more observant in life. Wendy shows us that no life is ordinary if you look at it through the right kind of eyes. Situations which we might perceive as painful or awkward can be seen as novel and humorous. We're surrounded by absurdity. Recognizing the absurd makes life that much more interesting. I enjoyed the whole book, cover to cover. Unlike albums where there are only a few songs you REALLY like, I felt every chapter of this book was worth reading.

side-splitting, honest and sweet

This book is hilariously funny, honest and I enjoyed every second of it. Wendy Spero has a really unique ability to view some of life's truly bizarre events with joy and humor and reading this book, you couldn't help but share in it. She's also so gut-wrenchingly, heart-stoppingly funny that I laughed until I cried and then some. Read this book!

Microthrills gives Macro-laughs

Wendy Spero not only has an amazing ability to capture the hilarity of everyday life, but she has the grace to acknowledge those around her who transform her insular world into a place of wonder and delight. I will give this book to all of my friends with the hope that they walk away with the same sense of adventure and love of life that "Microthrills" encompasses.