On my GoodReads page for this book, the space beneath where my review would go is Jenny Lawson. Y'all, I know my limitations: I cannot top9 April 2025
On my GoodReads page for this book, the space beneath where my review would go is Jenny Lawson. Y'all, I know my limitations: I cannot top Jenny Lawson.
However, I am here, and I have a few thoughts. Thomas came to my attention when his advice column began in the Washington Post, which I was mostly reading for the advice columns. Carolyn Hax is very good at what she does. Miss Manners' column has been impressing me for probably more years than either of us would like to acknowledge. Thomas was a charming addition to this lauded team: he is funny and just so kind. So yes, when I knew there were books, I added my name to the library(s) queues. To my delight, my turn came up pretty quick. But...
...I wasn't feeling it. My reading has gone way the hell down, and honestly, if I am not going to finish a book anyway, I would rather that failure not be something I have high hopes for. So the next person in line got it. Three times. It wasn't until the fourth time my name came up again that I thought I might actually be able to finish it. And I did. And it was a lovely, sad, sweet, funny, and ultimately very cheerful book.
If it seems counterintuitive that a book about depression could be perky, then one just hasn't read enough. Jenny Lawson's books are hilarious. Allie Brosh kills. Because the thing is, people who are going through life without challenges don't know how good they have it. They may suspect, they may be legitimately grateful, but they don't have to carefully construct entertainment to distract from the very messy emotions hiding behind the curtain. Humor is an active choice, I'm saying, so I root for anyone who makes that choice, and I praise anyone who makes it look effortless. A dinner party that included the three people would be a marvelous thing, indeed.
I would very much like to read more books by Thomas: I need more of his warmth and humor in my life. Maybe everyone does.
This was face out on the New shelf and I grabbed it because great cover. There was a book, so, yes, and maybe it was about somePure, dead, brilliant.
This was face out on the New shelf and I grabbed it because great cover. There was a book, so, yes, and maybe it was about some reading disability, whatever.
It has custom endpapers, which at the front are little icons of mostly common things easily understood by most North American kids. Mostly Gears, musical notes, flower, is that a house, lock, clover, branch, fire, if that one is fire, is this a crown? The title word is broken into three syllables, as on the front cover, but also spread onto three rows.
The next spread shows a simple tropical island with an adult woman and child looking to the right, over the ocean, under the sun. The sky is blue and white. There's a fish in the ocean and a teapot. At the far right is a small sail boat with a woman and a child. The scene darkens in swathes from left to right, with stars appearing. The next spread darkens further in bands, the blue oceans becoming grey, a rubber duck and periscope amid the waves, more stars, a crescent moon, and a passenger plane. The grey scene with stars clouds and hills or fog becomes a street with a house and a city skyline in the background, a silly cartoonish bus with symbols on the side at a bus stop, a lumpish greyscale mother and daughter standing to the side of a mother and son in a more realistic style, in full color.
On the next spread we see the girl and her mother from the front, still greyscale but highly stylized like early cartoons, the busdriver, too is grey, with micky mouse gloved hands and a nose more like Goofy, his speech balloon is all gibberish symbols. The boy, Dat, hugs his mother goodbye and introduces himself to the driver, who gets his name wrong.
And so his day goes, Dat in color, the rest in greyscale, the other teachers as old school cartoons who might be dog people, the other kids are strange little monsters, the reader as confused as Dat by everything, including the gibberish word symbols. After a long, puzzling day amid the outsized monsters, there is more color and clarity, and the world begins to make sense to the reader, just as it does to Dat.
The final endpaper spread replaces the black and white icons with letters.
Vo has taken his experience as an animator and created empathy for the stranger as no words have ever done. I am awed.
Jemisin is brilliant at calling out bullshit and being so damn entertaining with the social commentary, or, IWay to subvert the Lovecraftian paradigm!
Jemisin is brilliant at calling out bullshit and being so damn entertaining with the social commentary, or, I suppose, so socially conscious with the entertainment. Twenty four hours after finishing and I'm still doing a little happy dance in my seat. I walk away from this book with all the glee of leaving a blockbuster movie without any of the "oh, wait, that feels really dodgy when you stop to think about it" regrets after.
As I mentioned in a comment, Libby suggested with all the autism books. It isn't about autism, althougj executive function does get some attention. BuAs I mentioned in a comment, Libby suggested with all the autism books. It isn't about autism, althougj executive function does get some attention. But much of the 21st century world gets some attention. Price has brought together a lot of research, paid particular attention to those most at risk, united it with a simple (but not shallow) message. It's about how to navigate life through the urgent issues. How to cope with every damn thing in terminal stage capitalism while respecting our specific needs which may include physical and/or mental health issues, disabilities, or marginalization for appearance, presentation, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, etc.
Everyone is dealing with something. This book is an opportunity to check in with ourselves to see how well our lives are working for us. And if they aren't, some small, pragmatic steps to improve them. To be clear, there aren't any prescriptions and nothing is required. There are a few tips, some ways to evaluate different aspects of our lives, but mostly I feel like the book took a lot of things I kind of knew about and showed me how to put them together to think better. Price must be a brilliant professor, because I have been gently guided to having some particular insights into aspects of my life, which invariably were followed on the next page by that thought I just noted.
I have a lot to think about, and I'm looking forward to it. Sometimes it feels as though everything demands an opinion, preferably outrage, and then a contribution to the fight. Maybe that's just my inbox, though. I need something to think about that isn't the erectile in frustration that shopping for flossers has become.
A book that speaks to adults, not directly to children. The sort of thing to give someone who's become a father for the first time. Robinson's art shoA book that speaks to adults, not directly to children. The sort of thing to give someone who's become a father for the first time. Robinson's art shows lots of different fathers and sons, and captures the commonalities of rearing children in a way that is charming and concrete.
Here's the unexpected thing I really loved about this book, from the author's bio:
Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex, is a mother, wife, feminist, and activist.
Who, besides the authors of books on feminism, actually describes themselves that way? What a refreshing change from the endless quotes of people denying they are feminists, as if it were the worst sort of slur. [The worst are the along the lines of "I'm not a feminist, but I think women are people who deserve equal rights and pay" like what the hell do you think feminist means?]
So, hell yes, Meghan Markle! The UK doesn't deserve you! My nostalgic affection for Queen Elizabeth II doesn't blind me to the fact that the peerage is horrible institution, monarchy has always been a demonstrably bad idea, and if you just want people to smile and cut ribbons you could find a much better value with less criminal and egregious behavior by picking a family at random out of a hat.
When I don't bother to read any other news in the Guardian, I always read Mahdawi who is invariably droll, pithy, and insightful. So a mention of an uWhen I don't bother to read any other news in the Guardian, I always read Mahdawi who is invariably droll, pithy, and insightful. So a mention of an upcoming book and the value of pre-orders was a click, as soon as the US edition was listed. What I didn't do was read the blurb, just started straight in when it arrived. My conviction in Mahdawi's sheer readabelness was rewarded. This is a book making clear, explicit points about how to not suck as a leader. An enjoyable, clever, and informed book with useful depth, a rarity in the field, I highly recommend it. And now I have to go subvert the dominant paradigm....more
This poor book kept being put aside in favor of Halloween Bingo books until finally I'd become a little overwhelmed by grimness. The Final Girl SupporThis poor book kept being put aside in favor of Halloween Bingo books until finally I'd become a little overwhelmed by grimness. The Final Girl Support Group is excellent, but emotionally intensive. A break was necessary to refresh my overwhelmed spirit. So, a little bit of not-horror, not-supernatural, not-murder, not-suspense did the trick. To be fair, there is a strong element of suspense here: there is adventure and dastardly deeds and a bit of mystery as well. But, as with A Duke, the Lady, and a Baby that's none of it the draw. I like the more realistic portrayal of Regency life for people of color, the lingering influence of slavery in the UK, the grim reality of women with no rights. Being romance, all of that is handled with enough remove to not be overwhelming, and the HEA makes all well. Then too, I like the rhythm of Riley's writing; her sentences are unexpected in ways I can't begin to explain or even quite isolate. I'm looking forward to more.
Read for my 365 Kids Book challenge. You can see all the books on their own shelf.
A lovely moment. The picture on the back cover is charming. The illRead for my 365 Kids Book challenge. You can see all the books on their own shelf.
A lovely moment. The picture on the back cover is charming. The illustrations are vibrant and engaging. Possibly a bit too much back matter in the acknowledgements, but I love the Note from Amy Sherald, and the references to real art in the museum. And the photo of Parker on the back cover is just precious.
Read for my 365 Kids Book challenge. You can see all the books on their own shelf.
Now this I really, really like. Here is a thing that can go wrong: Read for my 365 Kids Book challenge. You can see all the books on their own shelf.
Now this I really, really like. Here is a thing that can go wrong: when your little sister screams to get to go along to the birthday party you've been invited to, and you try to tell your mother than little siblings don't get to come along, and she says you have to call and ask, and it is a nightmare that wrecks your social life for years...and then your little sister gets her first invitation to a birthday party and your littlest sister screams to go along....
It's wonderful because Khan explains to the reader what Rubina couldn't explain to her mother. There's a problem, common not just among children of immigrants, where a child understand something about their culture that the parent doesn't. How do you deal? One of the hardest parts about being a kid is that you can't articulate what the problem is, or you can articulate it, and adults don't take your concern seriously, or you can articulate it, and they do take it seriously, but you still are forced to take an action you really don't want to take. Come to think of it, being a child sucks.
Read for my 365 Kids Book challenge. You can see all the books on their own shelf.
During the long time of being closed to the public, my library chanRead for my 365 Kids Book challenge. You can see all the books on their own shelf.
During the long time of being closed to the public, my library changed things up quite a bit, including a major rearranging of the kids books, moving the bilingual/not English language books to a new, more prominent spot. So when I finally got to roam the stacks, this was one of the first things I say, albeit in Spanish. Fortunately there was an English edition as well.
So bright, so full of cute monsters, and a whole lot of Day of the Dead elements. Plus a story about the difficulty some have in knowing how to make friends and finding the courage it takes to do so.
I'm thrilled in general to see so many books by diverse authors or starring diverse characters, and to see them prominently displayed is even better. I'll be looking for more Drago. And now to get it back before the Halloween rush.
Read for my 365 Kids Book challenge. You can see all the books on their own shelf.
Because I do not follow the sports I was previously unaware of MalcRead for my 365 Kids Book challenge. You can see all the books on their own shelf.
Because I do not follow the sports I was previously unaware of Malcolm Mitchell. This is one of those "the cover grabbed my eye" things.
And I am so happy that it did! What a wonderful picture book about representation and the importance of seeing ourselves, and of sharing our invisible struggles with others. I am delighted that Mr. Mitchell shared his story and I hope that kids who need to see themselves will find it, and that those who don't have the same problem will have greater understanding.
Great decision to focus on the aspects of the challenge rather than any diagnosis. Kids who have the same or similar difficulties will have an idea of how to talk about them to adults, which will get them more help sooner.
So, this is me taking back everything bad I ever said about celebrity authors.
Review of the book: perfect. Reverse Pretty Woman is fun, the characters are interesting and different, the personal struggles legit hurdles, hotness,Review of the book: perfect. Reverse Pretty Woman is fun, the characters are interesting and different, the personal struggles legit hurdles, hotness, etc. all good, rich, multifaceted, and I love that the heroine is on the spectrum and doesn't have any friends, because I was asking for it.
Hoang displays marvelous empathy with her characters: she wants them to be loved and she shows how they are loveable, despite social awkwardness, inapHoang displays marvelous empathy with her characters: she wants them to be loved and she shows how they are loveable, despite social awkwardness, inappropriate statements, etc. And Esmeralda is the most worthy Cinderella for a story.
And although arranged marriage is maybe not my favorite trope, the dignity Hoang permits her characters to have is just the best. And now I am sad that there are no more Hoang books for me to read yet.
Because I became distracted and didn't post this almost two months ago.
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Having recently gone on at length about Sherry Thomas and her us31 July 2021
Because I became distracted and didn't post this almost two months ago.
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Having recently gone on at length about Sherry Thomas and her use of long time spans, here is the same sort of thing. The two interwoven bits are only seven months apart, but each section sets off the others beautifully. It's a good way to fit instant attraction as well as something long-term into a short work.
Also, I loved the fashion aspect: that both of these people are thoughtful about fashion but with very different takes. I feel like I usually see fashion in fiction being more about shopping as recreation, or being as a signifier for wealth or stylishness, but kind of generic? There was a lot of thought here.
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