Are you there, vodka? It's time for a good laugh

Chelsea Handler is an up and coming comedienne. I first saw her on The Chelsea Handler Show, a weekly show on the E! Network, and her dry, self-deprecating style of humor hooked me in. She now has a nightly (I think) show on E! called Chelsea Lately, which incorporates sketches from her old show, interviews with "celebrities" and an opening riff on current events in pop culture. When I watch her show, I always think some of the ridiculous things she says are just geared for laughs, but now that I've read her second book, Are you there, vodka? It's me, Chelsea, I'm not so sure.

Are you there, vodka? is basically a collection of memories from Chelsea's life, told as if it was part of her stand-up act. The only theme that ties these stories together is that they center around Chelsea. Starting with getting grounded for convincing her third grade class that she was starring as Goldie Hawn's daughter in the sequel to Private Benjamin, and winding up with a trip to Costa Rica with her Dad whom she fondly refers to as "8itch Tits," her book is full of laughs.

Assuming there is minimal embellishment in her stories, Handler has truly been entrepreneurial her whole life. The summer she was twelve, she took advantage of early puberty and convinced parents that she was sixteen, so she could make money babysitting. As a result she spent an evening babysitting a six year old and his sugar-addicted brother, who happened to be two years older than her, and the reader is treated to a play by play of the night.

Each chapter tells a different story which not only had me laughing at the absurdity of the situations she was in, but also at how some of the things she has done are not as uncommon as you would think. Her story "Re-gifted" reminded me of an embarrassing experience my husband recently had when he re-gifted something without first taking it out of the box first, which made it very clear that it was not an original gift.

With the slang and "adult material" in these retellings, I can best compare this collection of stories to an R-rated collection of Seinfeld episodes. There's no plot to them, but very funny things happen in what start off as typical days or events. By "adult material," I must warn that this book would not be good for anyone who is sensitive about having red hair or about reading material that contains sex, masturbation, alcohol, mild drug use, and foul language. Consider yourself warned.

The only drawback for me in reading this book was that I don't really know how much to believe. The book jacket says that she has pulled these stories from her past and the library's database has this under 'biography-humor,' but some of the stories have aspects that struck me as too 'out there' to be true. Of the ones I could tell without ruining the surprises in the stories, her boyfriend's semi-love affair with a dog sticks out as an example. At least, for the sake of the human race, I hope that is mostly riffed-on material.

At 264 pages written in a conversational tone, this book is a quick read full of laughs. I wouldn't call it "laugh out loud" funny, but if someone is open to crass, self-deprecating humor and hasn't heard of Chelsea Handler, this book will make them want to watch the E! channel instead of the nightly news.