Augusten Burroughs - Running With Scissors

Pros: Well written, funny memoir...
Cons: ...about some very disturbing issues.

Recently a friend was talking about Augusten Burroughs and upon finding out that I’d never read any of his memoirs or novels, took it upon herself to right that wrong. The next day, I found his first memoir, Running with Scissors on my ...

Pros: Hilarious, sad, graphic telling of a life you don't have to live.
Cons: Not much self-reflection, a bit voyeuristic.

So I’m a little behind in my “must read” book list. This has been on this list for a year, and I just got around to reading it this week. I should have gotten to it sooner—it was a quick, highly entertaining read that had me laughing out loud several ...

Pros: Well written, funny, definitely unconventional...
Cons: Will disturb some audiences.

So, I finally got around to reading Augusten Burroughs' bestselling memoir, Running With Scissors (2002). Now that I'm finished with it, I'm left thinking it's no wonder the man became a writer. Burroughs, who uses Running With Scissors as ...

Pros: Bravery of the Author to Share
Cons: Offensive Content

Just what precisely can be considered a normal childhood? Isn’t that a lovely question to ponder….
If you are looking for an alarming sampling of an upbringing that goes beyond dysfunctional, verges on surreal, Running with Scissors: A...

Pros: Hilariously foul anecdotes will have you laughing and retching all at once.
Cons: Burroughs' insistence on keeping it light makes it hard to emphathize with characters.

It's not often that I read memoirs.  In our confessional, self-absorbed age, everyone seems to think they have a story to tell, and that everyone else will be delighted and fascinated to hear it.  They are rarely correct.  Too often, people who have,...

Pros: Fondly detailed portrait of a lunatic family.
Cons: Sometimes over-detailed.

When I was in high school, kids were always asking me whether I spit or swallowed. I never got that question until I read "Running With Scissors," a memoir. The author, an Augusten Burroughs, definitely swallows. "Scissors" details Burroughs' ...

Pros: Honest, Hysterical, compelling and gripping!
Cons: None. Incredible read.

This book was recommended to me by my best friend and I borrowed it. I didn't have enough time to read it for a couple months until I became sick for few days. I literally read this book in 1 day. I was on an endless roller coaster, sometimes ...

Pros: Fast paced reading with many strong descriptions. Easy to follow. Exciting, heartfelt, engrossing read.
Cons: The story was too short and ending with a need to read more

I received this book for my birthday, when i got it I was told I had expressed wanting to read it. I really didn't remember, and quite frankly, a little scared to read this odd book. From the time I open the book, I was literally unable to put it down, ...

Pros: Simultaneously disturbing and laugh-out-loud funny. Comparatively, your family will look like a gift from Heaven.
Cons: Now you’ll have to read his other book, Dry.

Simultaneously disturbing and laugh-out-loud funny, it makes one wonder how Burroughs really turned out. Answer: Surprisingly well, considering a narcissistic, psycho, quasi-lesbian mother who likes to eat candle drippings and cigarette but sandwiches ...

Pros: easy read, funny
Cons: touchy issues, not for kids

Augusten Burroughs autobiography, Running With Scissors, is well written, captivating read, that takes the reader from the present to the scene in hand. While reading you forget about the present and are totally engaged in the books events that it is ...

Pros: Great sense of humor, sparkling storytelling
Cons: Too short!

A darkly hysterical and disturbing descent into the hell of Burroughs' childhood, this slim memoir is utterly gripping and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny. Beginning with a glimpse at his highly dysfunctional parents' constant blood-curdling fights, and...

Pros: The book made me a little more open minded.
Cons: You'll want to put it down just because some of it is so shocking.

The true story about a young gay man who grows up in the most dysfunctional homes I have ever even imagined. It starts out alright. It's pretty entertaining in the beginning. At first it appears to be written well and then it takes a turn in the middle and comes to a dead halt. I wasn't even sure if the same person was writing at that point. The rest of the book drags on and on and I almost stopped reading it but I just had to find out what happens in the end. Let me enlighten you...there's a sequel. Let's just say I won't be reading it. I was bored out of my skull.

Pros: Fascinating story of author's experience absolutely marinated in mental illness.....
Cons: Extremely sexually explicit, NOT for the squeamish.

This is a compelling read in that it is a true story; if it were fiction I would think it extremely explicit, to the point of making me squeamish. Contains details of underage homosexual sex, lesbian sex, play with fecal matter, etc. etc. It goes into much details about these topics so if this review makes you uncomfortable, don't read the book!!

It's a miracle that the author is a "normal" (is he?) member of society. Based on his upbringing and childhood I am shocked he make it to adulthood....

Pros: Funny and heartwarming. Easy read.
Cons: Some disturbing parts

I loved this book. There were parts that were quite disturbing however but thank goodness they did not last too long.
It is an easy read and even the disturbing pats weren't too hard to get through. Some parts are heartwarming and hillarious!
I was actually sad when I was finished reading it!
I missed it at the movie sand look forward to release of the DVD!

Pros: detailed, funny, good characters
Cons: none

Extremely well-written book by Burroughs. Dialogue is strong and realistic, humor keeps it light, and I love the odd way that Burroughs can be exceptionally detailed while still retaining a certain vagueness in his writing. This book kept me on the floor, laughing, at least half the time. The characters are very well-developed and consistent, and this book completely redefines the word “crazy”. We all think our parents are a little wacky, but does your mother sit around the house eating cigarette sandwiches? Didn’t think so. The events that occur in Running with Scissors are horrifying, very odd, and laugh-out-loud hilarious. Very imaginative, written with a lot of feeling and also in a sort of confused, eery aire. If you are looking for a funny book but good writing is also a priority, this book will definitely satisfy your needs.