Dear Diary [Hardcover]

Lesley Arfin (Author), Chloe Sevigny (Introduction)

Book Description

Release date: June 1, 2007

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 the days we all discovered sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll, one thing becomes abundantly clear: Boys are totally immature.

"Here's your chance to have all the benefits of a tortured adolescence without the shitty childhood. Congradulations!"
—Sarah Silverman

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Lesley Arfin was born in Long Island, New York, in 1978. After a few botched attemps at academia she settled on writing, or, more specifically, writing a regular "Dear Diary" column for Vice Magazine beginning in 2002. The column was an instant success, giving Vice a much needed "chick angle," and launching Arfin's writing carreer. She has since gone on to write for a variety of other magazines including Jane, Nylon, and i-D. Dear Diary is her first book.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: VICE Books (June 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576873838
• ISBN-13: 978-1576873830
• Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 0.9 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #788,594 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars I'm on the fence here.... August 7, 2007

By Stephanie Cake

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

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.

15 of 16 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

Format: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.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars If You're Not 16, Don't Bother March 25, 2008

By Lori Eisenkraft

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

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.

there is nothing useful or helpful here, the writing is weak, undeveloped, and juvenile; the author seems very proud of herself for what she was involved in--and what info there is of that is very sketchy...even as i was reading this 5-minute story, i found myself wondering why this book was published at all.