Book Challenge: 2/12
Jan. 12th, 2016 08:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
foxinthestarsWell, my plan of what to read next was upended as the two "books chosen by others" came in, and it turns out my second fill in the book reading challenge is the "book recommended by your local librarian or bookseller." I didn't personally ask for a recommendation here, but my (effectively-)local librarian organized a Millennials (19-39) book discussion about it, so I took that as a rec. Even scored a free copy out of the deal, sweet!
The book: "Hyperbole and a Half" by Allie Brosh
I had decided at the start not to count comics, and this one's kind of an edge case (comic memoir? heavily illustrated? defies your petty classifications?), but I'm going to count it.
Now, I went into this never having actually visited the original blog, but I'd gotten enough hints of it at second hand to have a decent idea what to expect --- about the mental health related parts at least. I didn't realize there would be so much dogs. And I knew that it was where ALL THE THINGS was from, but I didn't know it was where the Alot was from.
So yeah, this was my first full Hyperbole and a Half experience, and it is hilarious and relatable. Like, often it's the kind of humor that emerges from an unflinching look into the depths and renders that look endurable. In the discussion group we talked about things like finding the universal in the specific, and how the social media age has led to so many things being shared that never were before --- it's hard to imagine a book like this being published even ten years ago --- and how that new openness has its challenges and dangers, but also great advantages as people stop suffering in silence and find out they're not alone in the things they're going through.
The discussion was a good time, too. I kept looking at the library's "Millennials" programs and wanting to go but never getting around to it (being that it's in the city, which is essentially my hometown at this point although I live sixty miles away from it because I don't have my shit together; I can only make the drive so much). This time, though, they hooked me in with the free book and I'm glad I went, will have to try to make it to more of those...
So, challenge progress:
-A book published this year (2016)
-A book you can finish in a day
-A book you've been meaning to read
-A book recommended by your local librarian or bookseller
-A book you should have read in school
-A book chosen for you by your spouse, partner, sibling, child, or BFF
-A book published before you were born
-A book that was banned at some point
-A book you previously abandoned
-A book you own but have never read
-A book that intimidates you
-A book you've already read at least once
At the risk of making the gods laugh, next I plan to tackle the "book chosen for you by a loved one." My mom found the challenge appealing, too, and she and I exchanged picking books for each other (technically it doesn't list "parent" as an option, but I think just reading it as "a loved one" is within the spirit, and Mom and I relate to each as equals where books are concerned).
The book: "Hyperbole and a Half" by Allie Brosh
I had decided at the start not to count comics, and this one's kind of an edge case (comic memoir? heavily illustrated? defies your petty classifications?), but I'm going to count it.
Now, I went into this never having actually visited the original blog, but I'd gotten enough hints of it at second hand to have a decent idea what to expect --- about the mental health related parts at least. I didn't realize there would be so much dogs. And I knew that it was where ALL THE THINGS was from, but I didn't know it was where the Alot was from.
So yeah, this was my first full Hyperbole and a Half experience, and it is hilarious and relatable. Like, often it's the kind of humor that emerges from an unflinching look into the depths and renders that look endurable. In the discussion group we talked about things like finding the universal in the specific, and how the social media age has led to so many things being shared that never were before --- it's hard to imagine a book like this being published even ten years ago --- and how that new openness has its challenges and dangers, but also great advantages as people stop suffering in silence and find out they're not alone in the things they're going through.
The discussion was a good time, too. I kept looking at the library's "Millennials" programs and wanting to go but never getting around to it (being that it's in the city, which is essentially my hometown at this point although I live sixty miles away from it because I don't have my shit together; I can only make the drive so much). This time, though, they hooked me in with the free book and I'm glad I went, will have to try to make it to more of those...
So, challenge progress:
-A book published this year (2016)
-A book you've been meaning to read
-A book you should have read in school
-A book chosen for you by your spouse, partner, sibling, child, or BFF
-A book published before you were born
-A book that was banned at some point
-A book you previously abandoned
-A book you own but have never read
-A book that intimidates you
-A book you've already read at least once
At the risk of making the gods laugh, next I plan to tackle the "book chosen for you by a loved one." My mom found the challenge appealing, too, and she and I exchanged picking books for each other (technically it doesn't list "parent" as an option, but I think just reading it as "a loved one" is within the spirit, and Mom and I relate to each as equals where books are concerned).
