nomadreader

narrated by Mindy Kaling The backstory: I thoroughly enjoyed Mindy Kaling's first memoir, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) , so I was eager to listen to her new memoir too. The basics: Why Not Me?  is a memoir in essay form. My thoughts: I picked up Kaling's first book on a whim while I was pregnant and mostly in the mood for something not depressing to listen to. I loved it and immediately started watching The Mindy Project  (we still watch it.) This time, I had expectations and also fears. Would Why Not Me? be as good (it is.) The two books are obviously similar, but they felt different to me. Why Not Me? feels less like a memoir and more like a collection of essays, many of which are memoir-like. Perhaps what I liked best about this book is how surprising it is. I find Mindy Kaling to be laugh out loud funny. We have similar senses of humor, and this book definitely made me laugh out loud. What surprised me were the moments of deep contempl...

The basics: Texts from Jane Eyre: And Other Conversations with Your Favorite Literary Characters  is a humorous take on classic literature. Ortberg humorously imagines interactions between classic characters through text message. My thoughts: I have not read many classics, but I am moderately familiar with many, many classics. And even with the classics I was not as familiar (ahem, Daisy Miller), it was still easy enough to get the jokes. I found this book best to read in short spurts because I find text speak annoying and intolerable in large doses. Yes, I use complete sentences and proper punctuation in text messages, but I have fallen hard for emojis. And it is funny. It's sometimes silly funny and sometimes smart funny. It stretches from ancient Greece ( Medea ) to modern childhood favorites ( The Baby-Sitters Club  and Sweet Valley High ). Reading it made me feel super smart, because I almost always got the jokes. The verdict: Texts From Jane Eyre  is a fun...

The backstory: I'm a fan of Amy Poehler, but I'm not a fan  of Amy Poehler. I don't watch Parks and Recreation , but I've seen some episodes. I do, however, lover her smart, observational humor. My thoughts:  Yes Please  is a multimedia memoir of sorts. It's part advice, part reflection, part humorous recollections, part traditional memoir, part essays, part commentary on career, marriage, divorce and parenthood, and all parts awesome. Its awesomeness came in unexpected ways, as well as expected ways. It's a very diverse book. There are fabulously funny lines, of course: "Is there a word for when you are young and pretending to have lived and loved a thousand lives? Is there a German word for that? Seems like there should be. Let's say it is Schaufenfrieglasploit ." But there are also fabulously wise lines telling truths that are both simple and profound: "Change is the only constant. Your ability to navigate and tolerate change an...

Spotted on Twitter this most amazing correction from my beloved Ann Patchett to The New York Times: Puppy Love To the Editor: I was grateful to see my book “This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage” mentioned in Paperback Row (Oct. 19). When highlighting a few of the essays in the collection, the review mentions topics ranging from “her stabilizing second marriage to her beloved dog” without benefit of comma, thus giving the impression that Sparky and I are hitched. While my love for my dog is deep, he married a dog named Maggie at Parnassus Books last summer as part of a successful fund-raiser for the Nashville Humane Association. I am married to Karl VanDevender. We are all very happy in our respective unions. ANN PATCHETT NASHVILLE As an affiliate, I receive a small commission when you make a purchase through any of the above links. Thank you for helping to support my book habits that bring more content to this blog!

The backstory: To Rise Again at a Decent Hour , Joshua Ferris's third novel, is on the 2014 Booker Prize longlist. He's also one of The New Yorker's 20 Under 40 . I've previously enjoyed his novel The Unnamed  ( my review .)   The basics: Paul O'Rourke has a thriving dental practice in New York City, an obsession with the Boston Red Sox, and a rather pathetic social and love life. When a website for his dental practice appears, he's perplexed. Soon a Facebook page and Twitter profile emerge as well. Paul isn't behind any of them, and he's troubled someone seems to know so much about him and is misrepresenting him as religious. My thoughts: Paul O'Rourke is an instantly memorable character. He's delightfully (or perhaps annoyingly to some) quirky. He's an alarmingly honest narrator who has no problem talking about himself honestly, and he has strong opinions on everything--from the small to the very big. The two biggest themes in this b...

narrated by Mindy Kaling The basics: Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)  is part memoir, part humor, part observations, and part musings by comedian and writer Mindy Kaling. My thoughts: Going into this book, I had a positive impression of Mindy Kaling, even though I never really watched The Office or The Mindy Project . I didn't know much about her life or background, aside from her more recent success, and I thoroughly enjoyed the snippets and anecdotes as much as the longer narratives in this memoir. I expected this book to be funny, and it is. Kaling has a gift for delivery, and she was the perfect choice to narrate her own memoir. I enjoyed the book so much more because of her narration; it felt more personal. Her delivery helped distinguish between the more humorous and more thoughtful sections, but the most satisfying aspect of this book is that Kaling at times manages to be both humorous and thoughtful. Soon after I finished listening to this...

The basics: As the title indicates, How Not to Calm a Child on a Plane  is a humorous parenting book. It's a collection of essays and anecdotes My thoughts: I tend to shy away from straight advice books about parenting, as I did when we planned our wedding, started trying to get pregnant, got pregnant, and now are approaching parenthood. Advice-filled parenting books will likely find a place in my reading life once I know my child and his particular issues, but until then, I increasingly find myself drawn to humor, essays, and fiction about parenting. How Not to Calm a Child on a Plane  is a delightfully humorous essay collection about Johanna Stein's adventures in parenting. I frequently laughed out loud as I read this book, which made Mr. Nomadreader comment how nice it is to hear me reading a funny book. Apparently my typical reading tastes cause me to gasp and cry rather than laugh. Stein's humor doesn't completely mesh with my own. At times I also found mysel...

The backstory: As a huge fan of Tina Fey's work in television and film (I miss you like crazy, 30 Rock! ), I was eager to see how her memoir/advice/humor book would fare. On the recommendation of Florinda at The 3 R's blog (among others), I opted to listen to the audio version, which Fey narrates herself. The basics: Fey recounts her life and work with humor and a few tips for women. My thoughts: One of the things I loved most about Tina Fey's performance reading this books were the little ways she adapted the text to clearly reference the audio. At times it was less obvious, such as when she referenced the audiobook you are listening to rather than the book you are holding. At other times, though, Fey would clearly deviate from the book to offer audio listeners an aside, particularly when referencing the photographs (which you get as a pdf with the audiobook. Fey is often prone to self-deprecating humor, but in Bossypants  she reserves most of that humor for her chi...