I was a huge fan of "The Good House" by Ann Leary and was excited to read this! I found it to be very endearing and relatable. So many warm and funny stories and she really did try to be nice! My favorite part was when she didn't realize that her husband (Dennis Leary) had become famous because she was too busy raising their kids. Ha! She comes across as a really lovely person I'd like to live next door to and have coffee with.

Many thanks to NetGally and S&S Marysue Rucci Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Having arrived at a certain age (her prime), Ann Leary casts a wry backward glance at a life spent trying—and often failing—to be nice. I could relate to so many of Leary’s anecdotes and appreciated her humor and self-awareness. I love essay collections because you can pick them up and put them down whenever you choose, and this one is no exception. For fans of Mary Laura Philpott and Elizabeth Passarella.

Loved this one! Great and fun read. Highly recommend.
Many thanks to the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for my ARC.

Loved this book! Ann Leary is so candid about her life in this season…and yet does an amazing job of holding these stories up out of the deep muck of bitterness that is so common in similar writing. She is spicy but not snarky, direct but not over-the-top mean. Warm and cool at the same time. I found myself wanting to spend more time with her, and hoping she’s got more essays in the works.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book.d

This was different! Fun and very real essays that get you thinking. Can easily read a few pages a day. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for read and review

I love everything Ann Leary writes, but this new collection of essays is my favorite. If you are looking for a hilarious, relatable, and honest read this weekend, I'VE TRIED BEING NICE is just perfect. In this collection of essays, she explores her lifelong efforts to be nice, exploring conflicts with neighbors, raising kids, travel, fame, recovery, empty nesting, travel, and more. The essay on tennis had me in tears I was laughing so hard.

I found this to be funny but also heartfelt and so candid. I will return to these essays again and again. I'VE TRIED BEING NICE is one I recommend picking up ASAP.

Thank you, @netgalley, @annleary, and @msruccibook, for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Many, many thanks to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster, Simon Element, Marysue Rucci Books, for gifting me a copy of this wonderful essay collection by Ann Leary. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 5 stars!

Ann Leary has reached the age where she has decided she's tired of trying to be nice. This book is absolutely perfect and I laughed and cried my way through it. It's looking back on all those big and small things that make up our days - family life, married life, jobs, moving, pets, struggles - and done with humor, honesty, relatability. There were moments where I went from literally laughing out loud to crying. I want to be Ann's friend; she's that real, no matter that both her and her husband are famous. They just feel like the kind of people you need in your life. I'm so glad she shared part of her life with the rest of us. Highly recommended!

I knew virtually nothing about Ann Leary's personal life before reading I'VE TRIED BEING NICE, but having now read essays of her life, I feel like I have the pleasure of a new friend to talk with over a kitchen table about marriage, relationships, managing life and work and house in tough and wonderful times. I loved her writer voice and her perspective on unexpected disasters such as bat invasions, struggles with alcoholism, and living on the sidelines of a famous spouse. Her passion for dogs and loved ones shines through this wonderful collection. I received a copy of this book and these thoughts are my own, unbiased opinions.

First time reading her writing and a good change from the current and also well written essays of a certain tone by writers re divorce in literary east coast circles.
I’ll definitely check out fiction titles and Ann Leary books to movies. The essays on the town car, ballroom dancing, and relaxing into daily life post
children at home were favorites. The author has an uncanny ability to move forward in her life in a self directed way that makes me want some of whatever qualities propel that type of monementum. As with essay collections some topics were skipable so four stars rounded up.

Hilarious, witty, captivating, and entertaining read!
This is definitely a book I will be recommending to many!

Funny, relatable, personable and honest. I don’t normally read biography/essay genres, but the title caught my attention and I’m glad it did.
Looking forward to delving into her already published books to read more from Ann Leary!
Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC!

I loved this book of essays. So many passages made me laugh out loud, tear up, or nod my head in agreement. Ann Leary has the ability to make you think you'd be best friends if only you had the chance to meet. I look forward to whatever she writes next.

Very entertaining collection of essays, examining why women feel the need to be nice. As a woman of a certain age, this hit home while also being funny.

Ann Leary …
….Oh…. I have a major girl crush!!!!
I read a lot….and these essays belongs with the best of the best!!!
ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL!!!!

Ann Leary is a smart - wise - warm - flawed in the best ways - vulnerable in the best of ways - real - incredibly inspiring (has many universal & unique passions)….
….a WONDERFUL woman - author - and inspiring human being!!

All her books are great — and these deeply intimate (personal) engaging essays in:
“I’ve Tried Being Nice” …. have affected me to the core! They are completely relatable.
I’m soooo glad she wrote it and I’ll definitely purchase the Audible format when it’s released too.

I’ve fallen deeper in love with Ann Leary — (I had ‘already’ loved her… in much the same way I love Ann Patchett). Soooo honored and grateful for the gift these ‘Ann’s are!!)

….I laughed & smiled ….
….I got teary (even during my reading breaks when I couldn’t stop thinking about something Ann wrote).
….I felt the nostalgia
….It’s insightful
….It’s helpful, honest, and gave me great inspiration about being the 71 year old woman I am today (married 45 years with two adult daughters)…
— who is grateful yet sometimes very sad about our world today…. a reader who mostly stays home - and blames Covid - (similar to Ann), for becoming a hermit- (yet knowing it probably started before Covid) … but loving/cherishing my internet book friends.

Themes and of topics include stories about being an authentic woman,
about pleasing others, wanting to be loved, trying to be nice, finding courage to honor one’s voice, marriage, growing up, having a famous husband actor, Red Carpet premiere experience, parenting, books, writing, music, art, alcohol, dogs, rescue dogs, EMT, tennis, hearing loss, tinnitus, friends, lifestyle choices, traveling, hobbies, movies, theater, cozy snacking, knitting, Bats, horses, ice skating and ice hockey, banjo lessons, etc. etc.

Smart - funny - (heartwarming stories), personal, truthful, down-to-earth, marvelous!!
A marvelous woman!!!

Deliciously meaningful essays….HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!

A couple of excerpts:
“I was slightly annoyed at myself for not being more direct, but that year everything I’d understood about human civility and manners had been challenged”.

“I’m the type of person who goes from having a silly little notion to a delusional obsession in a split second”.

I REALLY enjoyed this book of essays titled I’ve Tried Being Nice by Ann Leary. I was lucky to get a copy from NetGalley and have to say this exceeded my expectations, The author writes of everyday life with grace and humor, It is laugh out loud funny and I look forward to reading her fiction now too

What a pleasure after enjoying her fiction, to meet the woman behind her words. Generous and honest, Ann Leary provides insight with humor and self deprecation, and gives of herself, warts and all. Particularly nice is her chapter on dogs and her lifelong friends among them.

How exciting to see a new publication from Leary! I found these to be sharp, funny, and candid. Leary doesn't always (okay, often doesn't) come off as likable in this collection. That's not necessarily good or bad, but is an important thing for readers to take note of before jumping in.

Ann Leary’s latest book, I’ve Tried Being Nice, is a memoir deep diving into her self professed people-pleasing personality. Many of us claim to be people-pleasers, so if that’s your enneagram type, you will find this book relatable, funny and candid. You may even find yourself rolling your eyes in agreement with Ms. Leary’s personal quips and idiosyncrasies. It’s an endearing look at a somewhat annoying, somewhat wonderful way of living.

I’m not usually a fan of short stories but I found the topics in Ann’s book to be relatable and enjoyable. I was entertained and chuckled more than a few times.

I've really enjoyed Leary's novels - Essays are a harder thing for me to get into, and these didn't capture me completely.