Lifeform by Jenny Slate

Lifeform by Jenny Slate -- 240 pages

From actor, comedian, co-creator of Marcel the Shell, and New York Times bestselling author of Little Weirds, Jenny Slate, a wild, soulful, hilarious collection of genre-bending essays depicting the journey into motherhood as you’ve never seen it before

What happened was this: Jenny Slate was a human mammal who sniffed the air every morning hoping to find another person to love who would love her, and in that period there was a deep dark loneliness that she had to face and befriend, and then we are pleased to report that she did fall in love, and in that period she was like chimes, or a flock of clean breaths, and her spine lying flat was the many-colored planks on the xylophone, but also she was rabid with fear of losing this love, because of past injury. And then what happened was that she became a wild-pregnant-mammal-thing and then she exploded herself by having a whole baby blast through her vagina during a global plague and then she was expected to carry on like everything was normal—but was this normal, and had she or anything ever been normal? Herein lies an account of this journey, told in five phases—Single, True Love, Pregnancy, Baby, and Ongoing—through luminous, laugh-out-loud funny, unclassifiable essays that take the form of letters to a doctor, dreams of a stork, fantasy therapy sessions, gossip between racoons, excerpts from an imaginary olden timey play, obituaries, theories about post-partum hair loss, graduation speeches, and more. No one writes like Jenny Slate.

Unfiltered: No Shame, No Regrets, Just Me. by Lily Collins

 Unfiltered: No Shame, No Regrets, Just Me. by Lily Collins

240 pages

★★★

Star of Emily in Paris, The Mortal Instruments, To the Bone, and Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, Lily Collins deep dives into the struggles from her life in this memoir. A collection of essays, Collins focuses on different aspects of her life, such as her abusive relationships, eating disorders, and family.

This was an interesting short read. I enjoy Collins’ acting and knew about her eating disorders from her role in To the Bone so I wanted to give this memoir a shot. It was published in 2017 so it’s a little out of date, but mostly I can just tell she’s a millennial because she uses the word “quirky” so often. Besides the first chapter, this was a good read.

Have I Told You This Already?: Stories I Don’t Want to Forget to Remember by Lauren Graham

Have I Told You This Already?: Stories I Don’t Want to Forget to Remember by Lauren Graham -- 183 pages

Candid, insightful, and wildly entertaining essays about life, love, and lessons learned as an actress in Hollywood, from the beloved star of Gilmore Girls and New York Times bestselling author of Talking as Fast as I Can.

With her signature sense of humor and down-to-earth storytelling, Lauren Graham opens up about her years working in the entertainment business—from the sublime to the ridiculous—and shares personal stories about everything from family and friendship to the challenges of aging gracefully in Hollywood. In "RIP Barneys New York," she writes about an early job as a salesperson at the legendary department store -- and the time she inadvertently shoplifted; in "Ne Oublie" she warns us about the perils of coming from an extremely forgetful family; and in "Actor-y Factory" she recounts what a day in the life of an actor looks like (unless you’re Brad Pitt). Filled with surprising anecdotes, sage advice, and laugh-out-loud observations, Graham's latest collection of all-new, original essays showcases the winning charm and wit that she's known for.

Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell

Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell

320 pages

★★★★★

The psychology and sociology behind past and current cults are revealed in the power of language by Amanda Montell in this collection of nonfiction essays. The way Montell addresses the fact that many things found “normal” in modern day society use language to control people and can be considered a cult by this standard was extremely interesting. Things such as SoulCycle, MLMs, social media influencers, QAnon, etc. all use language to manipulate the everyday person into following them blindly and wholeheartedly with nothing but the power of words, just as Jonestown, the Manson family, and Scientology have. 

This was eye opening and gripping from start to finish, not using words or ideas that are too technical for the average reader, who are the ones who need to learn this information the most.

The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey

The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey

208 pages

★★★★★

This memoir is a collection of essays that follows Bailey as she falls ill and becomes bedridden and has nothing to do besides watch the daily activities of a snail on her bedside table. She begins to discover more about herself and her own world as she learns more about the snail and its small world.

This book gave me a better appreciation for life and the things we are capable of, as well as more understanding about the science and nature of snails. It also just made me really want a pet snail!

Happy-Go-Lucky by David Sedaris

Happy-Go-Lucky by David Sedaris -- 259 pages

David Sedaris, the “champion storyteller,” (Los Angeles Times) returns with his first new collection of personal essays since the bestselling Calypso.

Back when restaurant menus were still printed on paper, and wearing a mask—or not—was a decision made mostly on Halloween, David Sedaris spent his time doing normal things. As Happy-Go-Lucky opens, he is learning to shoot guns with his sister, visiting muddy flea markets in Serbia, buying gummy worms to feed to ants, and telling his nonagenarian father wheelchair jokes.
 
But then the pandemic hits, and like so many others, he’s stuck in lockdown, unable to tour and read for audiences, the part of his work he loves most. To cope, he walks for miles through a nearly deserted city, smelling only his own breath. He vacuums his apartment twice a day, fails to hoard anything, and contemplates how sex workers and acupuncturists might be getting by during quarantine.
 
As the world gradually settles into a new reality, Sedaris too finds himself changed. His offer to fix a stranger’s teeth rebuffed, he straightens his own, and ventures into the world with new confidence. Newly orphaned, he considers what it means, in his seventh decade, no longer to be someone’s son. And back on the road, he discovers a battle-scarred America: people weary, storefronts empty or festooned with Help Wanted signs, walls painted with graffiti reflecting the contradictory messages of our time: Eat the Rich. Trump 2024. Black Lives Matter.
 
In Happy-Go-Lucky, David Sedaris once again captures what is most unexpected, hilarious, and poignant about these recent upheavals, personal and public, and expresses in precise language both the misanthropy and desire for connection that drive us all. If we must live in interesting times, there is no one better to chronicle them than the incomparable David Sedaris.

The Best of Me by David Sedaris

The Best of Me by David Sedaris -- 387 pages 

For more than twenty-five years, David Sedaris has been carving out a unique literary space, virtually creating his own genre. A Sedaris story may seem confessional, but is also highly attuned to the world outside. It opens our eyes to what is absurd and moving about our daily existence. And it is almost impossible to read without laughing.

 

Now, for the first time collected in one volume, the author brings us his funniest and most memorable work. In these stories, Sedaris shops for rare taxidermy, hitchhikes with a lady quadriplegic, and spits a lozenge into a fellow traveler’s lap. He drowns a mouse in a bucket, struggles to say “give it to me” in five languages, and hand-feeds a carnivorous bird.

 

But if all you expect to find in Sedaris’s work is the deft and sharply observed comedy for which he became renowned, you may be surprised to discover that his words bring more warmth than mockery, more fellow-feeling than derision. Nowhere is this clearer than in his writing about his loved ones. In these pages, Sedaris explores falling in love and staying together, recognizing his own aging not in the mirror but in the faces of his siblings, losing one parent and coming to terms—at long last—with the other.

 

Taken together, the stories in The Best of Me reveal the wonder and delight Sedaris takes in the surprises life brings him. No experience, he sees, is quite as he expected—it’s often harder, more fraught, and certainly weirder—but sometimes it is also much richer and more wonderful.

 

Full of joy, generosity, and the incisive humor that has led David Sedaris to be called “the funniest man alive” (Time Out New York), The Best of Me spans a career spent watching and learning and laughing—quite often at himself—and invites readers deep into the world of one of the most brilliant and original writers of our time.

The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green

The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green -- 293 pages

A deeply moving and mind-expanding collection of personal essays in the first ever work of non-fiction from #1 internationally bestselling author John Green

The Anthropocene is the current geological age, in which human activity has profoundly shaped the planet and its biodiversity. In this remarkable symphony of essays adapted and expanded from his ground-breaking, critically acclaimed podcast, John Green reviews different facets of the human-centered planet - from the QWERTY keyboard and Halley's Comet to Penguins of Madagascar - on a five-star scale.

Complex and rich with detail, the Anthropocene's reviews have been praised as 'observations that double as exercises in memoiristic empathy', with over 10 million lifetime downloads. John Green's gift for storytelling shines throughout this artfully curated collection about the shared human experience; it includes beloved essays along with six all-new pieces exclusive to the book.

Southern Lady Code essays - by Hellen Ellis -203 pages

 

Southern Lady Code essays by Hellen Ellis

More sassy essays from Ellis on marriage, manners, thank-you-notes, etc., and the art of living as a Southern Lady.  Helen's mantra:  "If you don't have something nice to say, say something not so nice in a nice way"

If you are a fan of Ellis's wit, you will love this book, but be aware it is funny but blunt.  

Bring Your Baggage and Don't Pack Light by Helen Ellis

Bring Your Baggage and Don't Pack Light by Helen Ellis - 176 pages

This book is a collection of Essays by Helen.

  Helen is very blunt about what she has to say.  Everything is discussed from mammograms, husbands, kids, plastic surgery, poker, along with many other topics! 

A reunion with lifelong friends to a theater full of women and a psychic will have you crying, laughing out loud, and  sometime asking yourself... "Did she really just say that" while you chuckle to yourself.  

I would say this book is for middle aged women that are not afraid of some in-your-face topics.

The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green

The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green, 304p. 

"The Anthropocene is the current geologic age, in which humans have profoundly reshaped the planet and its biodiversity. In this remarkable symphony of essays adapted and expanded from his groundbreaking podcast, bestselling author John Green reviews different facets of the human-centered planet on a five-star scale—from the QWERTY keyboard and sunsets to Canada geese and Penguins of Madagascar.
Funny, complex, and rich with detail, the reviews chart the contradictions of contemporary humanity. As a species, we are both far too powerful and not nearly powerful enough, a paradox that came into sharp focus as we faced a global pandemic that both separated us and bound us together.
John Green’s gift for storytelling shines throughout this masterful collection. The Anthropocene Reviewed is a open-hearted exploration of the paths we forge and an unironic celebration of falling in love with the world."--Goodreads blurb

I've been a John Green fan for years (well, a fan of the Green Brothers in general. DFTBA!), and was familiar with John's podcast, which morphed into this book. With his characteristic calm insight, he makes a reader think of the times we are living in through a lens of love, anxiety, and human connection (or lack thereof). I give this book 5 out of 5 stars (a sentence you will only get if you've read this book, or listened to the Anthropocene Reviewed podcast).
 

The White Album: Essays by Joan Didion

The White Album: Essays by Joan Didion -- 224 pages

First published in 1979, The White Album records indelibly the upheavals and aftermaths of the 1960s. Examining key events, figures, and trends of the era—including Charles Manson, the Black Panthers, and the shopping mall—through the lens of her own spiritual confusion, Joan Didion helped to define mass culture as we now understand it. Written with a commanding sureness of tone and linguistic precision, The White Album is a central text of American reportage and a classic of American autobiography.

Little Weirds by Jenny Slate

Little Weirds by Jenny Slate -- 304 pages

Hello and welcome to my book. Inside you will find:

× The smell of honeysuckle
× Heartbreak
× A French-kissing rabbit
× A haunted house
× Death
× A vagina singing sad old songs
× Young geraniums in an ancient castle
× Birth
× A dog who appears in dreams as a spiritual guide
× Divorce
× Electromagnetic energy fields
× Emotional horniness
× The ghost of a sea captain
× And more

I hope you enjoy these little weirds.

Love,
Jenny Slate 

No Time to Spare by Ursula K. Le Guin

No Time to Spare: Thinking About What Matters by Ursula K. Le Guin with an Introduction by Karen Joy Fowler --- 215 pages

I have been a fan of Ursula K. Le Guin since I discovered science fiction and fantasy in my teens.  Once I had the opportunity to hear her speak, and read aloud from one her books, in a packed auditorium at a library conference. I discovered that the magic of her language was only exceeded by hearing that magic made by her own voice.

What I love about this book is how I can hear the echo of the cadences of that voice in the written words on the page. A collection of blog posts written over five years, by a woman with a keen eye, a keen wit, wielding the fateful lighting of her terrible swift pen. Long may her truth march on!

Click HERE to read the review in Publishers Weekly.

Click HERE to read the review in Kirkus Reviews.

Click HERE to read the review in the Los Angles Times.

The Geek Feminist Revolution - Kameron Hurley

The Geek Feminist Revolution - Kameron Hurley - 272 pages

This book is a collection of essays and blog posts by the author about a wide variety of topics, most of which carry a common theme of inclusivity, feminism, and geekdom.  Specifically, she discusses the representation of women, various sexual orientations, races, and economic statuses in the realm of gaming, sci-fi/fantasy, and fandoms.

This collection is a clarion call to awareness and responsibility for members of all communities, not just the geeks.  Because she is so stylistically strident, I had to pace myself more than I usually would as I was reading my way through this book for a couple of reasons; first, after reading two or three chapters, the essay presentation started to feel formulaic and that lessened the impact of her otherwise pointed observations, but also just because there's a lot to absorb here.  At times, it also seemed a little like an advertisement for her other fictional works and herself (near the end of the book is an entire chapter about how it feels for her to be "the man," or the accomplished author that's made it, and her tone of humility seemed too strained to be convincing to me), but she also gets very personal about events in her personal life that brought her to this most recent presentation of how she feels about the modern feminist movement.  And that is kind of the overall point here: marginalized persons moving to de-marginalize themselves by ripping the veil of complicity off of the words and attitudes we exhibit as a society every day.  This book is going to open your metaphorical peepers, whether you agree with every point or not.

Demigods and Monsters: Your Favorite Authors on Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series

Demigods and Monsters edited by Rick Riordan - 242 pages

This book contains essays by children's and teen authors from around the world on various aspects of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.  Obviously some essays were better than others.  Some were very interesting to read.  Others were incredibly boring.  One of the most interesting parts to read was Riordan's introduction where he states that he did not put any symbolism or greater hidden meaning into the books.  Which was then followed by the essays all about hidden meaning and symbolism.

Ceremonies: Prose & Poetry, by Essex Hemphill

 Ceremonies: Prose & Poetry, by Essex Hemphill, 200 pages

Since it is Black History month, I am trying to read a few works by black authors.  Essex Hemphill is a gay black poet who wrote essays, too, usually about the unique experience of being a gay, black man.  His poems were powerful (and sexually explicit, so consider yourself warned), as were his essays.  I had not read any of his essays, but they were very provocative- one addresses the schism in the gay community between white and black men; another addresses what he argues are the exploitative photographs of Robert Mapplethorpe (who is usually considered unassailable); and another discusses one of my favorite documentaries- Paris is Burning, about the gay ball scene in New York City.  I thought this was a refreshing read from a point of view I rarely see.  

Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris

Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris - 288 pages

This is not his best work.  Don't get me wrong, there are some hilarious and poignant moments throughout but the it's not a consistently good book.  The chapters written in a different voice supposedly for forensic debaters are an especially bizarre touch.  Sedaris' trademark self-deprecating humor and ever present ability to find meaning in the mundane carried me through the less than stellar portions.  As always there is strong language and adult situations...

Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls, by David Sedaris

Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls, by David Sedaris 275 pages

This collection of largely autobiographical essays was an excellent audiobook.  The short stories make car trips breeze by, and I'm sure more than one fellow driver in traffic wondered what was making me laugh so hysterically.  Sedaris discusses everything- from searching for a stuffed owl and finding a taxidermied human arm, to his first colonoscopy; the election of 2008 when Sedaris was living in France to why he feels uneasy about eating Chinese food.  All of which were alot funnier than they sound, and often thought-provoking.

Don't Get Too Comfortable: the indignities of coach class, the torments of low thread count, the never-ending quest for artisinal olive oil, and other first world problems by David Rakoff

Don't Get Too Comfortable: the indignities of coach class, the torments of low thread count, the never-ending quest for artisinal olive oil, and other first world problems by David Rakoff - 240 pages

I must admit I only read this book because we are having a contest for reading the longest title this month.  This collection of essays by newspaper and magazine writer Rakoff spans across continents and years.  Overall there is a lot of snark and the observations are pretty funny.  If you like David Sedaris, then David Rakoff is a writer to definitely try.