This is the Story of a Happy Marriage, by Ann Patchett

Sometimes marriages fail.  Sometimes books succeed.  Sometimes friends die too young.  Sometimes dogs live longer than you expected (though never long enough).  In this collection of essays, the author explores all these issues, and more.  She discusses things from all stages in her life, and what it is like to write about them.

Oh Ann Patchett.  Can we please be best friends?  I am so wholeheartedly in love with this book; it is, by far, the best book I have read this year (and I have read about 160 or so).  I love the fact that Ann spends so much time talking about her writing, and how it has and continues to effect her life.  In one particular essay, she talks so honestly about what it means to be a writer, and how the writing process is different for everyone; the key is simply to write.  It was so damn inspiring that I stopped in the middle, and started writing.  I am not kidding.  

I love that Ann is so honest about her relationships in her life, even when other people do not "get" them.  One of the most touching essays is one concerning her grandmother, and how, as an adult, Ann helped take care of her.  She also openly discusses her long term dating relationship with her future husband, Karl, and the ups and downs throughout the years.  

The structure of this book is autobiographical; it is simply conducted through a series of essays.  But it honestly felt more like I was sitting down, talking to an old friend.  I found this book so relatable, so moving, so inspiring.  There is no way my review can ever do this book justice, so instead, you should probably just read the book.

I received a review copy courtesy of TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest review.  See the rest of the tour here.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, by Mindy Kaling

Best know as a writer and actress on the acclaimed comedy show "The Office", Mindy Kaling lived a hilarious life well before anyone knew who she was.  In this collection of essays, she talks about being bullied because of her weight, misadventures in New York City, lifelong friendships, and her directives for her own funeral.  All wrapped up in her own signature Mindy style.

I have long been a fan of Mindy Kaling, since her first days on the "The Office".  I think she is tremendously funny, and very multifaceted.  This collection of essays proves that I am right, on both accounts.  I really loved this collection of essays.  Some are light and fluffy, others are serious and heartbreaking.  I love when Mindy opens up about how her hobby is trying new diets, and how she was bullied for her weight when she was younger.  She talks about things in an honest way.  People assume that because she is a comedy writer and actress, all aspects of her life must be recounted with hilarity.  Similarly, I think people assume because she is an Indian woman, that aspect of her being should be present, and prominently featured at all times.  I, on the contrary, love that Mindy shows that there is more to her than just being funny, or Indian, or single, or female, or Ivy League educated.  Because of this, a wide variety of people are able to connect with her writing.

Mindy writes that if this book takes you more than about a day to read, you are doing it wrong.  And I totally agree.  This is a quick, funny read, perfect for taking a break away from heavy novels or academic reading.  I loved the book, and personally hopes she writes another one.

This book is from my personal library.

Below Average Genius, by Michael Buzzelli

Life is full of ridiculous moments.  The type and gravity of these moments range from making up drag queen names to blowing off George Clooney at a restaurant.  Whatever the ridiculous moments are, they are deliciously hilarious.  Read this collection of articles and prepare for some belly laughs.  Each essay is a nugget of humor, yet most are infused with wisdom as well.

I started reading this book yesterday afternoon, while my husband was at work.  By the time I made it to page six, I was laughing, out loud, so much it echoed through our house.  By the time I was finished, my dogs were looking at me like I had two heads, because I was laughing so much.  The book is simply that funny.  What makes this book so amazing, in my opinion, is that the author is so down to earth and relatable.  Many of the stories he tells are about everyday occurrences, to which we all relate.  He spends a bit of time talking about his life in Pittsburgh, a very down to earth, working class city.  However, when he talks about his life in  Los Angeles, a city that screams glamour and pretense, he still has that same down to earth quality.  

When reading many of the anecdotes, I literally could see them play out in my mind, because the author paints such a vivid picture.  See if you can imagine a comic bombing on stage and throwing cookies at the audience without laughing.  But besides the vivid storytelling and unconcealed funniness in the situations themselves, there were also moments of wry, witty, wonderful writing.  Probably my favorite line in the book comes from a story about trivia from the lids of Snapple drinks: "The word facetious contains all the vowels in the English language in the correct order. And sometimes facetiously!".  It is the type of sentence that might fly right by you, but if you stop for a minute to get the joke, it is like someone just reached out and tickled you.  Those little moments of pure genius writing are sprinkled all throughout this book, which is reason enough to read it.

As a read this book (all in one sitting), I was a great many things.  I was smiling, giggling, laughing so hard I was crying.  But most importantly I was happy that I was lucky enough to get to read it.  This book is perfect for anyone who loves to laugh, not only at other people, but at themselves as well.

I received a review copy courtesy of the author in exchange for my honest review.

How Did You Get This Number, by Sloan Crosley

Sloan is back with more essays telling about her life and adventures.  What happens when this city girl goes to Alaska?  Why can she never return to France?  Why did math class result in a doctor's appointment?  The answers to these questions and more can be found in this collection of essays.

Sloan, oh Sloan.  I have such a complex relationship with your work.  I love love pink puffy heart love your first book.  It was witty and honest.  This book, well, this book just tries to hard to be as cool as her older sister.  And fails miserably.

I found the majority of this book really boring.  It is so "New York" that its attempts at sophistication come across as merely pretentiousness.  Some of the stories induced a chuckle or two but nothing near the belly laughs that her first book elicited.  It merely sounds like the whining of a relatively well adjusted girl from a stable family living in New York and trying to be edgy.

I really thought this book fell short of the benchmark and am not entirely sure if I will read more of her work.  Which is absurd to me, given how much I adored her first book.  Her first book inspired me to write.  This book inspired me to write better that her.



This book is from my personal library.

With One Eye Open, by Polly Frost

Polly Frost is a humor writer, and in this collection of essays and short stories, she takes on writers who need to be reblocked, mommy bloggers, fancy dog breeders, people who try to diagnose everyone around them, and people who give monetary gifts to the arts, among many other things.

This book was a nice, breezy, entertaining read.  Polly Frost has silver tongued wit, and it shows brilliantly throughout this collection.  It takes a bit of time for some of the humor of these pieces to sink in, my personal favorite being the designer dog piece.  I see a lot of myself in several of the pieces Polly has written for this book, and if I can not laugh at myself, well what fun is life then really?

As a blogger myself, books like these, which seem to be much like a set of blogs, polished and put together as a collection of humorous essays and stories, give me hope that I may one day actually make that leap into published writing.  I think this is a book that will appeal to many writers, book enthusiasts, bloggers, and particularly women.  It was a quick, entertaining read, and well worth the time it took.

A review copy of this book was provided courtesy of the author and Crazy Book Tours.

I Was Told There'd Be Cake: Essays, by Sloane Crosley

For this post, I am revisiting one of my favorite books of the last couple of years, I Was Told There's Be Cake. This is a collection of essays by Sloane Crosley.

I can not even begin to tell you how much I love this book. Why? Because it makes me want to be a writer. For several years, I tooled around on my myspace page, writing blogs full of snarky humor and sometimes vitriol, much to the pleasure and excitement of my friends. People often told me I should write a book, and I always thought, how successful could a book of ridiculous stories about the life of a girl be? Sloane adeptly answered my question.

I saw so much of myself in Sloane. She hates weddings, I hate weddings, she loves Oregon Trail, I love Oregon Trail, well at least the Facebook version. I even have a friend who had a friend use her kitchen wastebasket as a toilet (if you read the book, you will understand the4 relevance of this statement). But it was more than that....I wanted to be Sloane. She is just that cool.

She has sharp wit, and just enough self deprecating humor to make you feel ok about laughing at her. Because you know that what you are really doing is laughing at yourself.

She has a fantastically engaging web site, where she actually turned some of her essays into fantastic dioramas, which you can see here.

I think reading this book all those months ago planted the seed that landed me here, writing this blog, along with my other two (to be found here and here). Sloane, in all her, well, sloane-ness, inspires me to bare my soul, even if it means being laughed at, or rejected.

I am thrilled to learn that she has a new book coming out this June. That gives all of you plenty of time to read this one, and pre-order her new one. Look for it to be reviewed later this summer.

So, thank you Sloane, for the poinies, and Christmas in July, and Oregon Trail, and the most amusing take on one night stands I have ever read (it's not what you think people, but you have to read the book to find out!).