Do you really need me to tell you that this book drops today? You shouldn't. It's arguably the biggest book release of the year, and quite famously, resulted in one of the biggest book advances on record. It's crass to talk about money, but it bothered me enormously when so many people made a stink about it; why does anyone begrudge a talented young woman for her successes? This seems to be a recurring theme for Dunham, who so many people hate for really unfair or arbitrary reasons. Her publisher gave her a huge advance because she is a proven, critically-acclaimed writer, a very hard worker, and worth every damn cent of it.

Moving on, excerpts and previews from this collection of essays have been circulating for a few weeks now, along with plenty of positive reviews. There is now a well-formed genre of smart, funny women writing memoir/essay collections (more on that tomorrow), and this will certainly take its place in that pantheon. Particular kudos to Dunham, however, for earning the coveted text-only cover; this might have something to do with the constant public debate over Dunham's physical appearance, but I choose to take it as a sign that famous women won't always have to splash their faces on their covers. I've enjoyed Dunham's contributions to the New Yorker for quite awhile now, and I'm a devotee of Girls, frustrating as it can be at times, so I'm really looking forward to digging in to this. If you live in a major city, look up her book touring schedule, because she's doing really major events at huge venues with other funny, talented women, and they look awesome. I was so disappointed that she was making so few stops in the Midwest.