Join Amazon Prime and ship Two-Day for free and Overnight for $3.99. Already a member? Sign in.

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
67 used & new from $0.38

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Dear Diary
 
See larger image
 
Tell the Publisher!
I’d like to read this book on Kindle

Don’t have a Kindle? Get yours here.
 
  

Dear Diary (Hardcover)

by Lesley Arfin (Author), Chloe Sevigny (Introduction)
3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)

List Price: $20.00
Price: $15.00 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $5.00 (25%)
  Special Offers Available
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Only 3 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

Want it delivered Tuesday, July 14? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
36 new from $6.00 31 used from $0.38
Also Available in: List Price: Our Price: Other Offers:
Paperback (1st Trade Pbk. Ed) $14.00 $11.20 40 used & new from $4.92

Special Offers and Product Promotions

  • Purchase this entertainment book and get 12 issues to either Rolling Stone, Men's Journal or Us Weekly for $2.95 each. That's less than $0.25 an issue. Here's how (restrictions apply)

Frequently Bought Together

Dear Diary + Skinema + The Vice Guide to Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll
Price For All Three: $36.73

Show availability and shipping details

  • This item: Dear Diary by Lesley Arfin

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • Skinema by Chris Nieratko

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • The Vice Guide to Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll by Suroosh Alvi

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details


Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

No One Belongs Here More Than You: Stories

No One Belongs Here More Than You: Stories

by Miranda July
3.8 out of 5 stars (58)  $10.98
The Vice Guide to Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll

The Vice Guide to Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll

by Suroosh Alvi
4.1 out of 5 stars (10)  $11.53
Eeeee Eee Eeee

Eeeee Eee Eeee

by Tao Lin
4.5 out of 5 stars (28)  $10.17
Vice Dos and Don'ts: 10 Years of VICE Magazine's Street Fashion Critiques

Vice Dos and Don'ts: 10 Years of VICE Magazine's Street Fashion Critiques

by Suroosh Alvi
4.9 out of 5 stars (11)  $12.21
Bed

Bed

by Tao Lin
4.8 out of 5 stars (9)  $10.17
Explore similar items

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Here's your chance to have all the benefits of a tortured adolescence without the shirty childhood. Congratulations!" -- Sarah Silverman

Product Description
"OMG, this the best concept for a book ever...Dear Diary is totally going to be the next Ask Alice, and if you don’t already own it, get it now." -JANE Magazine

"Here’s your chance to have all the benefits of a tortured adolescence without the shitty childhood. Congratulations!" --Sarah Silverman

TRUE STORIES!

"I hate my life" is teen speak for "Things are going pretty good." When Lesley wrote about Sheryl Rosenthal (it’s funny how you remember everyone’s first and last name like that) making her feel "retarded" back in the 6th grade, the world was a dark, lonely place and she could see no light at the end of the tunnel. When she discovered heroin, things got even worse. Today, with the perspective of only rock bottom can give you, Lesley looks back at the apocalypse that was adolescence and asks, "What the hell was I talking about?" The book is a collection of a girl’s funniest diary entries from 12 to 25 years old. She updates each entry by tracking down the people involved and asking awkward questions like, "Do you remember when I tried to beat you up?" Sometimes old friends apologize. Sometimes they become new enemies. No matter who she talks to about he days we all discovered sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll, one thing become abundantly clear: Boys are totally immature.

See all Editorial Reviews


Product Details

  • Hardcover: 231 pages
  • Publisher: Vice Books (June 7, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1576873838
  • ISBN-13: 978-1576873830
  • Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5.3 x 1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #398,187 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?


Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
Check the boxes next to the tags you consider relevant or enter your own tags in the field below.
(6)
(3)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
Help others find this product — tag it for Amazon search
No one has tagged this product for Amazon search yet. Why not be the first to suggest a search for which it should appear?

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

 

Customer Reviews

23 Reviews
5 star:
 (9)
4 star:
 (4)
3 star:
 (3)
2 star:
 (3)
1 star:
 (4)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.5 out of 5 stars (23 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars I'm on the fence here...., August 7, 2007
By Stephanie Cake (Baltimore, Hon!) - See all my reviews
I can't say I hated Dear Diary but I'm not a total convert like all the other reviewers here.

There are definitely some sections - particularly her middle and high school entries - where I felt like "OMG, that's EXACTLY how I was feeling at that age." And her updated commentary on some of those passages is really spot on and, in some cases, very funny. I also thought her description of her first time in rehab had some bittersweet, and in one case, hilarious, moments.

But on the other hand, as another reviewer mentions, I have a really hard time with her claim that she published the book to let girls know they aren't alone in what they might be going through. Nothing in her "update" commentary is particularly dissuading about drug use... or even tormenting your friends, for that matter. She seems to have taken thinly veiled delight in the fact that, although her middle school friends tormented and ousted her, they were also tormented and ousted by each other.

While she is a decent writer, and the entries aren't quite as boring as one reviewer would have you believe, I was ultimately left with the feeling that I really don't like or care about Leslie that much. She may be sober now and she may have gone through the school of hard knocks like a real champ but she still comes across like an immature, spoiled upper middle class Gen-Xer. Ironically, she pretty much admits this.
Comment Comment (1) | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Unlikable misfire -- don't waste your time, November 1, 2008
By Kenneth Simon (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Dear Diary (Paperback)
When I first picked up Dear Diary from a stack of vacation reading, I thought it was going to be a funny read. The idea/gimmick is that the author goes through the diary she kept through her teen years, comments on the entries, and tries to track down the people she knew at the time to get their perspective on things.

Once I got a better look at the book, I realized that it was not just for laughs or nostalgia: the author descended into heroin addiction during her teen years, and she uses the diary entries to track her journey into drug use.

The book was a disappointment. The author tries to juxtapose her adult self with her teen self, but she actually comes off as as self-absorbed adult who thinks she's much more interesting than she is. When she tracks down childhood friends (and enemies), she doesn't get much out of them -- nothing you can't experience firsthand by finding your old classmates online and asking them what they remember about you.

It's hard to form a solid criticism of Dear Diary, because there's not enough substance there to critique. It tries to be funny, deep, even a cautionary tale, but it really doesn't hit the mark on any of these things. I was left feeling glad that Arfin got her drug addiction under control, but not so glad that I'd spent time reading her book.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Both good and bad, December 25, 2007
By L. Patton (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I enjoyed reading this book and it does have its very honest, brave and hilarious moments. But I didn't feel like I could identify with a lot of the book and I agree with another reviewer-- nothing about this book particularly strikes me as, "These were my mistakes; don't make them too." I found the style of writing to be refreshingly conversational, but sometimes a little self-centered or self-righteous. Still, I enjoyed reading this book and will probably read it again in a few years.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Girlfriend's Guide to Drug Use
I found this book appalling. Like another reviewer I picked this up thinking it would be a good beach book. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Merri Oakley

2.0 out of 5 stars Not enough
I couldn't relate to this book at all. I mean, I know it's not meant to make everyone go "Omg, that was totally me!" but it was just too far gone. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Cristina Vistian

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but disappointed
The concept of this book - seek out the adult versions of the people that you wrote about in your adolescent diary, some of which hurt you, and confront them about the... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Christine Henske

3.0 out of 5 stars Eh.....
I had high expectations when I bought this book and they weren't met. I was expecting a book that ended in an epiphany or was written a little better, I guess. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Alex Perkins

1.0 out of 5 stars If You're Not 16, Don't Bother
author is shallow and full of herself...basically, she's the person who just wants to go on and on and on because she likes hearing herself speak. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Lori Eisenkraft

4.0 out of 5 stars Insightful, and Funny book
The writer talks as if you're having a cigarette outside of a mall rather than in a confessional. Comfortable but with a little distance,(for purposes only in protecting herself)... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Amanda

5.0 out of 5 stars awesome
if you were ever a teenage grrl in the burbs and hated it u must read this. or, if u ever went to hampshire college and were a neurotic, drug-addled sex addict u must read this... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Beth A. Carey

5.0 out of 5 stars Sadly familiar
This book really surprised me. Even though the cover of it's really ugly (and I like my books beautiful), I felt somewhat close to Lesley while reading this book because I... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Ellie J. Richardson

1.0 out of 5 stars mmmmmmmmm
Couldn't really get into this book. Read a few chapters and sold it back to amazon
Published 22 months ago by Rebekah Ortiz

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for a teenager who is thinking about doing drugs
This book will surely keep any curious teen away from actually doing drugs if they read this book.
Published 23 months ago by Heather Collier

Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
New! See all customer communities, and bookmark your communities to keep track of them.
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


   


Product Information from the Amapedia Community

Beta (What's this?)


So You'd Like to...


Look for Similar Items by Category


Transform Your Bathroom for Less

Home Improvement Value Center
Save up to 50% on sinks, faucets, showerheads, and toilet seats in the Home Improvement Value Center. Make your bathroom transformation a reality today.

Shop the Value Center

 

Best Books of 2008

Best of 2008
Find our top 100 editors' picks as well as customers' favorites in dozens of categories in our Best Books of 2008 Store.
 

Buy Three Books, Get a Fourth Free

4-for-3 Books
Order any four eligible books under $10 and get the lowest-price book free in our 4-for-3 Books Store. See more details.
 
Shop for In-Sink-Erators
Instant Hot Water at Your FingertipsUpdate the functionality of your sink with a unique In-Sink-Erator hot water dispenser.
 

 

Feedback

If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.
 Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
Is there any other feedback you would like to provide?

Your comments can help make our site better for everyone.


Where's My Stuff?

Shipping & Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.

Continue shopping: Top Sellers

Conditions of Use | Privacy Notice © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates