Adulthood Is a Myth (Sarah's Scribbles, #1) - Sarah Andersen

Rating: ★★★★

12/12/16

Is adulthood an exciting new challenge for which you feel fully prepared? 

Ugh. Please go away.

I was writing down some thoughts for two reviews, one of a Mishima book and the other of The Bell Jar, but at the moment, I don’t feel like dedicating so much time to that kind of introspection, since in my case, reviewing a book is almost never writing a simple summary. So I will deal with all those books next year, while focusing on other works which are also existentially complex but from a different perspective.

A very different perspective.

In the spirit of the preceding paragraph, I have a shocking revelation to share. I can never participate in the GR Awards. Scandalous, right? I mean, after the Best Poetry debacle, it’s still nice to be able to cast some votes considering that, in general, the most recently published book I have read might have been in the bookshop for twenty years.

Another delightful fact I can find in this little adventure regarding the Best Books of 2016 that I Adulthood is a Myth. The irony makes me chuckle. In any case, and in my opinion since not everyone shares my peculiar sense of humor, it was a fun read. The most hilarious, ridiculous, absurd and to some extent, pathetic aspects of life are depicted through comedy and simple, adorable drawings. Andersen's keen ability to perceive different feelings and situations pertaining to the issue of being human and to portray them with such humorous simplicity… it is certainly remarkable. I’m completely enamored with her work and Allie Brosh and her Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened now share the podium with lovely Andersen.
almost never pay special attention to: the only book to which I could give my precious and humble vote was

Classics, poetry, extremely dark and heart-rending books that may or may not have a happy ending are not enough. Books brimful of humor, wit, ludicrous yet common situations and reactions and with silly covers that I don't dare to show in public are also a part of me. They mend what other things have broken. They make reality taste like fiction for a while. This year I spent time on situations that, in the end, didn’t deserve my attention and a million chances. I can search for my lost time but will never get it back. Still, despite giving too much and receiving über-nothing at times, I would like to end this year with a smile. Perhaps, what I consider a flaw is precisely why I should be smiling.

This charming book won Best Graphic Novels & Comics. I thought of giving a little speech but, you know.

Besides, giving speeches usually precedes a simple meal or large quantities of food and...

...let’s just not tempt fate. So I wrote this nonsense instead, as I also tell you this: Sarah and I will be back in a few days. For now, I’ll keep reading my books and enjoying one of my valid hobbies.

* Credit: Book cover via Goodreads.

All pictures from Adulthood Is a Myth (Sarah's Scribbles, #1) by Sarah Andersen.

A Modest Proposal - Jonathan Swift

Rating: ★★★★
04/01/16

This review contains sensitive material that may be upsetting to some readers.

I shall now therefore humbly propose my own thoughts, which I hope will not be liable to the least objection. I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London, that a young healthy child well nursed is at a year old a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled, and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricassee, or ragout.

A child will make two dishes at an entertainment for friends, and when the family dines alone, the fore or hind quarter will make a reasonable dish, and seasoned with a little pepper or salt will be very good boiled on the fourth day, especially in winter. 

* Photo credit: Jonathan Swift / CC
Population / James Cridland, Flickr via Forbes.
Photo of a baby lobster via IDN Times.

Cuentos Crueles - Saki

Rating: ★★★★
20/12/14

Find yourself a cup of tea,
the teapot is behind you.
Now tell me about
hundreds of things.
- Saki 

Children. The innocence of life. The bittersweet reflection of truth. You might like it or not, but never ignore it. Their honest words will make their way to your soul and will fill it with joy. Or fear. Or shame.

They will always tell you the truth. They are still pure. They haven't learnt how to lie. Yet. But they will, after seeing adults, their role models. But until then, you can trust them.

Saki's children are a fine example of how to criticize the society of his time. Their social conventions and acts of hypocrisy are viciously portrayed, satirized by those little, candid faces that depict purity and honesty. Innocent faces that can also hurt the ego of the strongest and most mature person. Truth is not always pretty. It is avoided, most of the times. So when you see a little kid throwing it to your face, you have many awkward manners to react.

I have said before that Saki's children do not lie. And I stand by that statement. Even after reading “The Open Window” (a short story I already read in Cuentos de Saki, review here). What grown-ups call lying, for a kid is “imagination”. They create fantasy, not lies. There is no malice in their words. They learn that after getting to know the world. Until then, they only know the hunger for creativity. That playful inventiveness we lose at an office. Sometimes, even sooner.

No malice, and yet, this book written in Spanish was named Cuentos Crueles ("Cruel tales"). There is a short story called "The Penance". The children of this story made a brutal decision after witnessing a heartless act perpetrated by their neighbor. They were deeply hurt and they reacted with that situation in mind. However, they gave him the possibility of repentance. And they “un-beast” him.

All these brilliantly unique tales will make you laugh while sensing an awkward feeling of uneasiness. You might relate to some of these adults described by Saki. Or, if you are in luck, to his children. Either way, you just cannot stop reading his stories.

*Notes

-This edition contains illustrations by Irene Singer.

-A quite decent translation by Graciela Pedraza.

** Photo credit: via Flashlarevista.
Book cover via Goodreads.

Avec Maman - Alban Orsini

Rating: ★★
22/06/14

Esto es fácil de reseñar...

Muchos integrantes de varios grupos de lectura comenzaron a preguntar por este libro. No había una sola opinión que no fuera positiva. Y yo, inocente cordero, quise probar. Lo único que logré fue comprobar, una vez más, que voy en contramano. Todo me pareció forzado, desde lo que se vende como "hilarante" hasta lo que se define como "conmovedor".

Me encanta que a tanta gente le haya parecido bueno; para mí fue una lectura más del montón.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid - Jeff Kinney

Rating: ★★★
09/03/14

My weird Sunday read. The day I usually take a break from honest, heartbreaking, disturbing books that make my soul want to sleep forever. I found this Wimpy Kid book by chance, and without even reading the book description, I jumped right in. It's always nice when apparently innocent books with cartoons and everything, actually contain brilliant comedy, wit and a good eye for describing human behavior. In this case, it's not that consistent, but it's... good.

This is a journal (not a diary) written by Greg Heffley, a kid “stuck in middle school with a bunch of morons”. It happened to the best of us. The reasons he gave as to why he's keeping a journal are familiar. First, his mother told him to. Second:

I did the same thing when I was a kid. I had a diary and wrote all my brilliant thoughts in it; it gave me some relief and it was my way of leaving my mark in this world. Someday someone would find it and say “hey, I'm going through the same thing”. Because time knows no difference when it comes to emotions.

We human beings often have that idea of transcendence. We want to leave our mark. Our ego isn't satisfied with just being known by our family and some friends. No. We must be a well-known figure around the world and for many years to come. Leaving money aside, people also want fame. And most of the times, it doesn't even matter the reason; whether it's because of a walk on the moon or a date with some other famous brat, we want to be recognized. And the most ironic and pathetic thing of all, after achieving fame, we hate it. I can't help remembering a beautiful quote relating this matter:

What is the end of Fame? 'tis but to fill

A certain portion of uncertain paper:

Some liken it to climbing up a hill,

Whose summit, like all hills, is lost in vapour:

For this men write, speak, preach, and heroes kill,

And bards burn what they call their "midnight taper,"

To have, when the original is dust,

A name, a wretched picture, and worse bust.

Lord Byron, Don Juan (Stanza 218)

Amazing how a simple image in some comic can say this much. Or maybe I just wanted to really find something. Either way...

The book has its moments. There's gentle irony and annoying sarcasm combined with average comedy skills. Yes, it wasn't a hilarious read. But it is entertaining (though, the Halloween stuff kind of bored me after a couple of pages). It's all about what the author says rather than the way it's written—quite the opposite to what I'm used to. The writing is simple (I think it was meant for kids, so I knew I had to read it) but there's a familiar feeling you can't avoid. Old memories come back to you, for better or for worse. There's a lot of anecdotes in this book that made me think of my own school days. They weren't that good, though. But they were awesome comparing to what we have today. A girl always reading, writing, drawing, listening to weird music and speaking a language not many understood (I loved reading the dictionary and my words were like Dutch for my schoolmates). I think I wouldn't be able to survive today's school (insert "tragic violin sound" here).

Yes, school is another chapter in your life. It's what you do with it what really counts. I know what my cool schoolmates that used to mock everybody's geekiness are doing right now... Which reminds me:

Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

Charles J. Sykes

* Photo credit: Book cover via Goodreads.
Picture from Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again: Essays and Arguments - David Foster Wallace

Rating: ★★★★
01/03/14

Like most unbearably sad things, it seems incredibly elusive and complex in its causes and simple in its effect: on board the Nadir—especially at night, when all the ship’s structured fun and reassurances and gaiety-noise ceased—I felt despair. The word’s overused and banalified now, despair, but it’s a serious word, and I’m using it seriously. For me it denotes a simple admixture—a weird yearning for death combined with a crushing sense of my own smallness and futility that presents as a fear of death. It’s maybe close to what people call dread or angst. But it’s not these things, quite. It’s more like wanting to die in order to escape the unbearable feeling of becoming aware that I’m small and weak and selfish and going without any doubt at all to die. It’s wanting to jump overboard.

I have many quotes to share. Beautifully written, thought-provoking quotes. Clearly (such a cliche, but it's true), it's not the writer's fault, it's me. I really loved a couple of essays (amazing insights, beautiful language) but I simply couldn't connect with the rest of them. Again, I felt like a complete outsider, something that has happened to me before with other foreign writers. I may be gaining a couple of fervent enemies with this, but I really don't see the point in saying that I loved the whole book when I actually didn't.

So, those almost four stars were given according to what I felt while reading those particular essays (standing ovation to "E Unibus Pluram: Television and U.S. Fiction"). They were THAT good.

The Hunting of the Snark - Lewis Carroll

Rating: ★★★★★
11/01/14

Well, I gave TV a chance today. However, I found Titanic, Terminator 3, reality shows and other stuff, so, those aren't real options for me. I have no sitcoms to watch right now. Although, I'm kind of tired of watching the same sitcoms/tv series all the time. There's nothing new now. Once Upon a Time is on, so that's a good background sound. What to do on a Saturday afternoon? Yes. Let's find something out of the ordinary to read. And what did I find? A brilliant, typical Carroll nonsense poem. I loved it. Such a unique and fascinating work, full of wit, mystery and absurdity. A bunch of weird men go to find an even weirder creature called Snark. Among those men, we have a Bellman, a Boots, a Barrister, a Broker, a Beaver, a Butcher who only can kill beavers and even a guy who forgot his name!

He would answer to "Hi!" or to any loud cry,

Such as "Fry me!" or "Fritter my wig!"

To "What-you-may-call-um!" or "What-was-his-name!"

But especially "Thing-um-a-jig!"

Well, I think it's funny, don't judge me. It's also amusing the way the Snark it's described. It seems we may have met a couple of Snarks in our lives.

The third is its slowness in taking a jest.

Should you happen to venture on one,

It will sigh like a thing that is deeply distressed:

And it always looks grave at a pun.

I know I did!

Anyway, after reading this poem (it has beautiful illustrations, too), I started to search for meanings, a classic “What the hell did I just read?” kind of questions. So this journey doesn't end with the last verse.

There are a couple of references from another poem written by Carroll, Jabberwocky, published in his novel Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There, which I read years ago. I re-read it and it made me want to read the whole novel again! And no, there's no shame in that. 'Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again', another Lewis said. I never stopped reading those, anyway.

Work Is Hell - Matt Groening

Rating: ★★★★
28/12/14

Questions: What do I want to be if I grow up? Why would anyone want to hire me? What if I make the wrong career choice? What if I don't like my job? How come I have such bad luck? How can I get rich? Does life have to be this tedious? When is my coffee break? Why me?
Answer: Get back to work.
(Chapter 1)

He is Matt Groening. You may remember him from such television series as The Simpsons and Futurama. He is also the creator of Life in Hell, a comic strip published from 1977 to 2012. There are several books, I own a few now, but I felt the urge to start my reading experience with “Work is Hell”, the second book (1986). After all, that volume was the one that caught my interest in the first place and made me want to find his comics. It has been published many years ago and it is still so contemporary. And it will always be. Some topics do not change. For better or for worse.

I enjoy comics, they are a fantastic tool to deal with certain matters from a funny/funny-ish angle. Since I know that a particular situation can be perceived as sad or tragic, I still need to know how to look at it from a different perspective. Nothing will go away for its own. Tragedy will not go away. Routine will not go away. Loneliness will not go away. But the way you look at them might help you get through the night and perhaps, help you to find the vision and the strength to change something.

Am I giving to much credit to a simple comic strip? Probably. And no.

Work is a vital part of life. Unless you are the privileged son of some celebrity and you can make a living out of that (or you become a fashion designer, second most wanted career for these people), then you will have to work. There are some fortunate people that decide very early what they want to do with their lives and work hard to get what they want. That is as old as Confucius. “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life”. It seems easy. A simple concept that would make you stop existing to start living. Pretty words. And yet, a big part of the planet has to work.

So you will have to excuse me if this picture resonates deeply in the realms of your working soul.

It is simply fascinating. How an innocent-looking cartoon can make its way to the nooks of your heart, leaving a sense of uncertainty or emptiness in it. That is empathy, my friend. You feel what the little anthropomorphic rabbit is feeling. You are wearing his little shoes while contemplating his tedious life. (Hope you are not reading this today, on a melancholic Sunday.)

Life can be beautiful, if you choose wisely. And choosing what you want to do with your life... well, I cannot think of anything more important than that–besides family. For that decision will affect you, who you are, who you are going to be, your social life, your love life, you mental health, etc.

From chapter 2 to 3, Groening described all the types of bosses and employees that you could find along the intricate path towards work. I must admit that "The smiling idea-stealer", "The smiling backstabber", "The scatterbrain", "The babbling fool", "The schemer" and "The insufferable office wiseguy" are persistent characters in the devious universe that an office has. And there is a funny cartoon that perfectly describes what this is all about: "The young hopeful", "The young hopeless" and "The young hateful". We ended being a product of this tricky universe. We try to fight it with all our strength. However, we are most likely to succumb. Unless we do something. What to do? Hmm. How would I know?! I live in a country where if you have a suffocating yet secure job, you must feel gratitude. There is a lot of people that does not even have that. So the only choice is to swallow all your tragic insecurities and anxiety and deal with it. Or quit your job and follow your old dreams with the possibility of being happy for the first time in your life. Or losing your roof and a couple of pounds in the way. A big sea full of contradictions.

Then I found Chapter 9, a brilliant portrayal of the inner thinking of an employee. Groening depicts with some fresh comic skills the whole world that runs wild in the mind of a worker. I mean, you will not find yourself laughing hysterically but you will be amused by his undeniable wit. However, you cannot help feeling that quiet yet overwhelming sensation of anguish. "The longer and more carefully we look at a funny story, the sadder it becomes", Gogol once wrote. You understand the worker. You wish you could help him to find a way out and save him from that Kafkaesque atmosphere of big piles and meaningless numbers.

Anyway, there are many exaggerations in this comic strip. Not all bosses are jerks and not all employees are vicious backstabbers that are glad when you get scolded. But it is a pleasant read that will make you think about your own life. Your work: hell, paradise or something in between.

This rant is about to end. And it all comes down to this:

This is probably my last review of 2014.

A new year is about to begin.

Try to avoid

hell.

* Photo credit: Book cover via Goodreads.
Pictures from Work Is Hell by Matt Groening.

Amphigorey Too - Edward Gorey

Rating: ★★★★★
09/12/13

I really needed a doses of twisted laughs and creepy nonsense. By the end of the year, apparently the whole universe is plotting against me and loads of work are piling up next to my massive to-read pile. One is the fun pile, the other one is the academic/work pile. And people couldn't care less about this, so, when I have time, I'll write a proper review. You know, one that is, actually, about the book and not my personal whatever. Although, I'll probably forget all about it and this is what people are going to read for months.

Anyway, all I can say is that I'm a Gorey fan now!

* Photo credit: Book cover via Goodreads.

I Could Chew on This: And Other Poems by Dogs - Francesco Marciuliano

Rating: ★★★★★

17/11/13

After the awesome book that enlightened me about cats' behavior and intentions, I Could Pee on This: And Other Poems by Cats, I had to read this one.

I had dogs and cats, and I love them equally. I mean, there are some prejudices about dogs being dumber than cats, supported by media everywhere.

But I don't believe that, really...

Anyway, lovely book of poems. It has four chapters that help you to understand your furry friend, a little bit more. There are some insightful points of view here. They have feelings too, you know. For example, if you're about to give them some food, don't stop to do your stuff, feed them first. You already showed them the can/bag of food. THEY KNOW. Don't make them feel this way:

Dance of Joy

This is the dance I do for you, do for you

This is the dance I do for you

As you get my can of food

This is the twirl I do for you, do for you

This is the twirl I do for you

As you open my can of food

This is the leap I do for you, do for you

This is the eight-foot vertical leap

I do for you

As you stop serving my food to answer

the phone

This is me running in a sheer panic,

wild panic

This is me running in desperate,

gasping, blind panic

As you continue to talk on the phone...

… THIS IS ME LOSING MY [censored] MIND

MY [censored] BRAINS, MY [censored] COOL

THIS IS ME WONDERING WHAT THE [censored]

COULD BE SO [censored] IMPORTANT

THAT YOU’RE STILL ON THE [censored] PHONE

This is me realizing I was howling out loud,

really loud

And that perhaps I overreacted

just a little

And so this is me eating the food

you give to me, always give to me

Touching.

There are little gems all over this book:

Where Are You?!?

I was so worried

I was so scared

I thought that I had lost you

And the life that we both shared

I searched through the entire house

From the basement to the attic

The living, dining, and bedrooms

Even the trash cans, because I was frantic

Up and down the staircase

Back and forth across the halls

In and out through every door

Louder and louder were my calls

I had given up every hope

I had given in to despair

I had given the bad news to the pet cat

Who gave me a look before re-licking her hair

But just when all seemed lost, I found you

And it gave my heart a rush

To see you sitting—startled, but alive and well

So if you don’t mind,

I’ll just stay here until you flush

The desperate sense of loss in this poem is overwhelming. You can only imagine this dog's smile when its owner was found.

I Dropped a Ball

I dropped a ball in your lap

It’s time to play

I just put a ball in your lap

So it’s time to play

See that ball I placed in your lap?

That means it’s time to play

You can have your emergency appendectomy

Any other day

But I dropped a ball in your lap

And now it’s time to play

Yes dog, people should know their priorities!

Wingman

I wag my tail

I tilt my head

I give a little wink

I flash my smile

I show my belly

I give a little lick

I do it all

From sit to speak

To attract women far and near

Then you chime in

With something about “fan fiction”

And I realize we’re going to die alone

Lassie

How come

With just a few barks

Everyone can understand

That Lassie is saying

Timmy fell down the well

But with my endless whining and gnawing

You can’t understand

That I am saying

I’d rather the earth swallowed me whole

Than go out in public wearing this raincoat

I loved this book. Happy reading!

* Photo credit: Book cover via Goodreads.
Sign dog and cat via Pinterest
The rest of the photos from I Could Chew on This: And Other Poems by Dogs by Francesco Marciuliano.

I Could Pee on This: And Other Poems by Cats - Francesco Marciuliano

Rating: ★★★★★
23/07/14

Suck on that, Baudelaire. Now this is what I call real, heartfelt poetry. Cats had the need of explaining themselves, of sharing their thoughts and feelings through these amazing poems. Outstanding work, honestly.

One of my favorites was:

WHY ARE YOU SCREAMING?

Why are you screaming?

What did I do wrong?

Why are you crying?

How can I make it right?

Would you like it in a different color?

Would you like it in a different size?

Would you like it in a different room?

I just wanted to show my love

I just wanted to express my thanks

I just wanted to put a dead mouse on your sheets

But now you are screaming

And I don't know how to make you stop

It reminded me of a good anecdote that I have already mentioned: when my cat broke that 80 year-old set of cups. Now, I can picture him looking at me saying “Why are you screaming? What did I do wrong?”.

Oh, wait, this one describes the scene beautifully:

THAT TOP SHELF

I think I can jump to that top shelf

I want to jump to that top shelf

I know I can jump to that top shelf

I am jumping to that top shelf

I missed that top shelf by a good six feet

And now everything is on the floor

And I'm left wondering

Why people even bother buying china

If it breaks so easily

Another one that I liked was “Separation”. It is a touching poem about love and jealousy. When I think of jealousy I think of Othello, but recently, while reading Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov, I found an interesting passage that explained how Othello actually was a trustful man, according to Pushkin. People pushed the idea of deceit on him simply too much. That does not happen with the truly jealous man, who is ready to hide, spy and do shameful things that reach the point of moral degradation. Anyway, it is an interesting point of view, and cats are also capable of these kind of thinking process. Hence, this poem:

SEPARATION

You can have the CDs,

I will take the string

You can have the TV,

I will take this fuzzy thing

You can have the kitchen set,

I will take this crumpled foil

You can have the car,

I will keep this rug I soil

You can have the beach house,

I will take this tissue box

You can have everything,

Ooo I want those dirty socks

You can go to hell, I will see to that

For how dare you come home

smelling of another cat?

There are more of these powerful poems that show us how cats are affected by, say, a move, a leash (“The Leash”, so funny), a castration (“Seriously”, hilarious), a bath, an irritated human look because he almost falls thanks to a cat between the legs (when that is just another way to show affection, unless the cat is really trying to kill you. For more tips, read this one ).

It is not just about family, these talented felines also wrote poems about

work

play

and existence.

It is a charming little book with hilarious poems written by talented kitties. What more do you want? After reading this, you will be able to look at your cat straight in the eyes and say: “I get it. I really do get it... furry face.”

* Credit: Book cover via Goodreads.
All photos from I Could Pee on This: And Other Poems by Cats by Francesco Marciuliano

Why Grizzly Bears Should Wear Underpants - Matthew Inman, The Oatmeal

Rating: ★★★
16/02/14

Sunday. 6.34 p.m.

I have a million books on my currently-reading shelf.

I'm reading a new one.

And, apparently, I don't care.

I chose a Matthew Inman book for my Sunday-funny-light-sometimes-not-so-light read. I need some laughs with my classics, you know. Anyway, it wasn't what I expected. Quite a disappointing start (and it didn't get much better). This is the guy that created a hilarious book called How to Tell If Your Cat Is Plotting to Kill You. So my train of thought was something like this: “Wait, what? What happened? What am I reading? It's not comedy, it's not drama, what is this? Should I keep reading this? Oh, this is going to be a painful read. Oh my god, this isn't funny. If there's no comedy in this, I just look like a ridiculous grown-up woman reading a book with silly pictures. Okay, I know I can't call myself a grown-up but I kind of look like one and that is what people would think if they saw me reading this thing. This is just sad. Gah! Maybe if I fake a smile. … … … Can't. I need cupcakes. Why do I need cupcakes?”

Babbling over. So. The book. Well, after that first comic, it got a bit better. The second one is called “American vs. British accents”; it was funny-ish. Still an improvement. The third one, “What it means when you say literally”, okay, that was funny. And educational. Some people don't know when to use that word but want to use it anyway because they think it makes them sound smart. Well, it doesn't.

Sample:

Other comics I liked: “Cobwebs” (been there, done that), “If my brain were an imaginary friend” (that's one the best), “The crap we put up with getting on and off an airplane” (so true), “How to fix any computer” (well... I use Linux; if I can use it, then it's not that hard, believe me), “This is how I feel about buying apps”, “When to use i.e. in a sentence” (not funny but helpful), the metric system reference and... I don't think I can mention another one. According to the book description, I was going to get "brilliant, irreverent comic hilarity".

I'm still looking.

So, to be honest, there are some good comics in this book. They're about ordinary situations to which everyone can relate to and all that with humor and irony (sometimes, sarcasm). However, other comics are completely forgettable. Unfortunately, there are plenty of those. Some pictures seemed to be there to simply fill a page and nothing more. I wanted to finish those to get to the next page. And so on. And so on. Until I reach to the funny joke that I didn't want to stop reading because I kind of knew that the next one wasn't going to be that good.

I like Inman/The Oatmeal/whatever. I like him. He doesn't know that because he doesn't know I even exist, but I do like him. And I loved “How to tell if your cat...”. Having read that one, I can't give this collection more than three stars.

* Photo credit: Book cover via Goodreads.
Picture from Why Grizzly Bears Should Wear Underpants by Matthew Inman

Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened - Allie Brosh

Rating: ★★★★★
05/01/14

This is kind of how I look right now while writing these humble thoughts.

Do you see that smile? That little face. It's like a child on sugar overdose after eating half a cake on his birthday during vacations at Disneyland. So, I'll try to control myself.

I was smiling since its introduction. After reading all her “Warning signs” I just knew it was going to

be a hilarious book. I didn't know this was such an Internet sensation, that she had a blog and all that. I don't so I'm a bit out of that world, you know, blogs, Twitter, Tumblr, the thing with the paintings, pictures, whatever. I heard about this author a couple of months ago. (Thanks GR Awards for letting me know about this book. I know I couldn't vote because I haven't read a single one of those new books, but I'm trying to keep up. Even though next year I'm guessing it will be the same thing and I'll be reading those new books after the whole event is over.)

I love mixing genres. You can't be all about the serious stuff (well, you could, but you'll be a victim of a massive dullness, and that's fine by me). I love humor and I'm so glad I find books like this one, once in a while. People often think it's easy to write a funny book. Well, it's not. It's not like putting a bunch of stupid words all together. And believe me, I read one of those and that's not how it works. Well, for me, at least. These people seem to be clever, witty, charming. All things I can only imagine, but I'm guessing that's how they are (?) If they're not, don't tell me. Do not kill my illusion.

Anyway, this book has funny anecdotes and hilarious drawings. You can look at this picture with some random sentence next to it, and still can't help a good laugh, no matter how serious that sentence is meant to be.

An overwhelming excitement . (Kind of my reaction when entering an old-looking library.)

A giant asteroid is expected to hit the Earth in a matter of weeks.

From now on, all books must be read using electronic devices and paperbacks are forbidden.

Hmm. OK, bad example. And maybe that only happens to me.

Anyhow, the anecdotes, the jokes, the hilarious observations on life, its weirdness and awesomeness and the awkward drawings... all that makes an amazing combo. After “Warning signs”, I laughed at “The simple dog”. I'm a cat/dog lover, I can't choose. Right now, I have a cat and I'm not frustrated because he won't do what I tell him to do. I know he's not stupid. Moreover, I'm pretty sure his IQ is higher than mine. He won't listen to me because he simply doesn't want to. He knows the sound of my voice, when I'm petting him and when I'm angry because he just threw a glass off the table. So, he chooses when to obey. A free spirit who's not so free when I'm holding his food.

The next chapter is called “Motivation”; I looked it up so I would be able to understand what these pages were all about... And when I familiarized with the term, oh my, how I laughed!

Yep, that usually happens to me with Diet Coke bottles.

By page 40-something, I was laughing my teeth off. My cat was staring at me, seeing his owner laughing at some screen, wondering how to google “how to tell if my owner is retarded” (well, that was the word). However, I couldn't help it.

Fear and shame are the backbone of my self-control. They are my source of inspiration, my insurance against becoming entirely unacceptable. They help me do the right thing. And I am terrified of what I would be without them. Because I suspect that, left to my own devices, I would completely lose control of my life.

Aw. I fell in love with this human being.

I also loved “The God of Cake”, the “Depressions”, especially part II, “This is why I'll never be an adult” (nothing I can relate to; oh no, not me... not me, at all), “Thoughts and feelings” and many other fascinating anecdotes that made my weekend (yes, this was the highest point of my weekend; no, I'm not pathetic!)

If you enjoy good comedy, this is your book. If you don't, well... I'm really sorry. Really.

So, this is it! I loved this book. I loved it

* Photo credit: Book cover via Goodreads.
All pictures by Allie Brosh.