The Complete Persepolis ~ Marjane Satrapi

Persepolis is the story of Satrapi's unforgettable childhood and coming of age within a large and loving family in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution; of the contradictions between private life and public life in a country plagued by political upheaval; of her high school years in Vienna facing the trials of adolescence far from her family; of her homecoming--both sweet and terrible; and, finally, of her self-imposed exile from her beloved homeland. It is the chronicle of a girlhood and adolescence at once outrageous and familiar, a young life entwined with the history of her country yet filled with the universal trials and joys of growing up.

Edgy, searingly observant, and candid, often heartbreaking but threaded throughout with raw humor and hard-earned wisdom--Persepolis is a stunning work from one of the most highly regarded, singularly talented graphic artists at work today.

I do not read many graphic novels, let alone memoirs in the form of a graphic novel; however, I made the exception for The Complete Persepolis. Although the book was originally published in the early 2000s, I had not heard anything about it until last year. Last year, I noticed some of my favorite booktubers mentioning that they had either read it and enjoyed it or had wanted to read it.

I read the entire novel in two days. It really was eye-opening. In school, we never really learned about any war that didn't pertain to the United States in a huge way (i.e. the World Wars or the Revolutionary War or the Civil War or the Vietnam War).  Therefore, I knew very little about the Iranian Revolution, which Marjane lived through. The book starts when she is very young and follows her throughout her early adulthood. It gives a unique look into a family whose views were vastly different from their country's, who were unafraid yet careful in how they rebelled, etc.

The artistic style of the illustrations reminds me a lot of a simple cartoon in a newspaper, but it worked really well for this story. There was no color which allowed for your imagination to take over, but still, have a guide of what was really happening. Although the main theme of the book revolved around the Iranian Revolution, you also witness Marjane deal with personal conflicts that have little to do with the Revolution yet everything to do with the Revolution because it is her life; such as, her relationships, friendships, identity struggles, grief, etc.

Pages: 341                                                                                                                               Rate: 5/5

Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness ~ Susannah Cahalan

An award-winning memoir and instant New York Timesbestseller that goes far beyond its riveting medical mystery, Brain on Fire is the powerful account of one woman’s struggle to recapture her identity.

When twenty-four-year-old Susannah Cahalan woke up alone in a hospital room, strapped to her bed and unable to move or speak, she had no memory of how she’d gotten there. Days earlier, she had been on the threshold of a new, adult life: at the beginning of her first serious relationship and a promising career at a major New York newspaper. Now she was labeled violent, psychotic, a flight risk. What happened?

In a swift and breathtaking narrative, Cahalan tells the astonishing true story of her descent into madness, her family’s inspiring faith in her, and the lifesaving diagnosis that nearly didn’t happen.

Book Review:

I listened to this as an audiobook and am so glad that I did. It was such a riveting story that you would think was fiction but this is a memoir. Cahalan experienced the psychosis full of loss of memory, mass amounts of confusion and paranoia, and mood swings while everyone believed she was going crazy and that she would never be the same again. She almost ruined her career. If it were not for her family, for her significant other, for her friends, and for the doctors who took a chance on her, she may never have been diagnosed properly. 

Cahalan knew that she wasn't crazy, although she felt like it. Thankfully her parents fought for her and she finally, after being hospitalized and losing her vocabulary and memories, was diagnosed by a doctor who had the experience to see what her other doctors didn't. It is truly amazing how one person can change your life. No other doctor was able to properly diagnose Cahalan, they were all ready to deem her psychotic and in fact it had nothing to do with psychosis. 

It was interesting to hear some of her memories and learn about her experience from that but also from her talking with family and examining her medical records as she does not remember much of what happened to her during her "month of madness."

Pages: 250                                                                                                                                           Rate: 5/5

Favorite Quote:

“Sometimes, Just when we need them, life wraps metaphors up in little bows for us. When you think all is lost, the things you need the most return unexpectedly.”  

Promise Me, Dad ~ Joe Biden

Photo Rights: Hitha On The Go

In November 2014, thirteen members of the Biden family gathered on Nantucket for Thanksgiving, a tradition they had been celebrating for the past forty years; it was the one constant in what had become a hectic, scrutinized, and overscheduled life. The Thanksgiving holiday was a much-needed respite, a time to connect, a time to reflect on what the year had brought, and what the future might hold. But this year felt different from all those that had come before. Joe and Jill Biden's eldest son, Beau, had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor fifteen months earlier, and his survival was uncertain. "Promise me, Dad," Beau had told his father. "Give me your word that no matter what happens, you’re going to be all right." Joe Biden gave him his word.

Promise Me, Dad chronicles the year that followed, which would be the most momentous and challenging in Joe Biden’s extraordinary life and career. Vice President Biden traveled more than a hundred thousand miles that year, across the world, dealing with crises in Ukraine, Central America, and Iraq. When a call came from New York, or Capitol Hill, or Kyiv, or Baghdad—“Joe, I need your help”—he responded. For twelve months, while Beau fought for and then lost his life, the vice president balanced the twin imperatives of living up to his responsibilities to his country and his responsibilities to his family. And never far away was the insistent and urgent question of whether he should seek the presidency in 2016.

The year brought real triumph and accomplishment, and wrenching pain. But even in the worst times, Biden was able to lean on the strength of his long, deep bonds with his family, on his faith, and on his deepening friendship with the man in the Oval Office, Barack Obama.

Writing with poignancy and immediacy, Joe Biden allows readers to feel the urgency of each moment, to experience the days when he felt unable to move forward as well as the days when he felt like he could not afford to stop.

This is a book written not just by the vice president, but by a father, grandfather, friend, and husband. Promise Me, Dad is a story of how family and friendships sustain us and how hope, purpose, and action can guide us through the pain of personal loss into the light of a new future.

Book Review:

I have been loving listening to audiobooks over the past couple of years. I go through different phases. Sometimes, they are all I want to listen to. I basically ignore music, podcasts, everything. However, the current phase that I am going through has been listening to memoirs by politicians. As you know, I listened to Hillary Clinton's newest memoir not that long ago, I have a review up on the blog for that as well. Therefore, when Joe Biden's newest one was on my recommendations page on audible, I decided to listen to it right away. 

If you want a memoir that is outlining Biden's political ideology and giving lots of details about why he made the political decisions that he did, and so on... this is not the book for you. Obviously, his political ideology comes up, but it is not the main focus of this memoir.  This story chronicles the year his son Beau dies from a rare brain cancer. This was the same year that Biden had to make a decision to or not to run for President 2016. Not only was he still doing his job as Vice President, dealing with the issues in the Ukraine and Iraq, etc; but he was also watching his son die, his grandchildren witness their father's demise, his children be the rocks for his son, and dealing with his own feelings because of that situation.

The story is heart-wrenching and inspiring at the same time. This man remained dedicated to his family but also even more committed to his country throughout the worst time of his life. He compartmentalized in the most extraordinary way possible. It's a talent, a necessary component of the life he leads, but a talent nonetheless. Needless to say, he inspired me. He made me believe in him as a person and as a politician in a way that I have never believed in another public figure before. He promised his son that he would be okay and although he will never be the same man he was when Beau was alive, he will be okay, possibly even better. 

Towards the end of the book, we learn why he chose not to run for President. We all knew some of the story from his announcement to not run, but he words it here in a way that he couldn't have at the time. He knew that he was unable to give his undivided attention to being President and all of the tasks that would come with that, he was still grieving. Although he remained a dedicated Vice President throughout the tragedy, he knew that he was unable to be President at this time. He gives me hope as he says these things, however. I believe that he will do amazing things for our country, as President one day or not. He still believes that our country has hope and that as a people we can do all of the things we need to in order to change the world. If he chooses to run for President in 2020, he has my vote. 

Favorite Quote:

"If the problem is fear than the answer is knowledge."

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis ~ J.D. Vance

From a former marine and Yale Law School graduate, a powerful account of growing up in a poor Rust Belt town that offers a broader, probing look at the struggles of America’s white working class

Hillbilly Elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisis—that of white working-class Americans. The decline of this group, a demographic of our country that has been slowly disintegrating over forty years, has been reported on with growing frequency and alarm, but has never before been written about as searingly from the inside. J. D. Vance tells the true story of what a social, regional, and class decline feels like when you were born with it hung around your neck.

The Vance family story begins hopefully in postwar America. J. D.’s grandparents were “dirt poor and in love,” and moved north from Kentucky’s Appalachia region to Ohio in the hopes of escaping the dreadful poverty around them. They raised a middle-class family, and eventually their grandchild (the author) would graduate from Yale Law School, a conventional marker of their success in achieving generational upward mobility.

But as the family saga of Hillbilly Elegy plays out, we learn that this is only the short, superficial version. Vance’s grandparents, aunt, uncle, sister, and, most of all, his mother, struggled profoundly with the demands of their new middle-class life, and were never able to fully escape the legacy of abuse, alcoholism, poverty, and trauma so characteristic of their part of America. Vance piercingly shows how he himself still carries around the demons of their chaotic family history.

Book Review:

I was recommended this book by one of my high school teachers and mentors months ago but it never peeked my interest until I was looking for audiobooks to listen to over the course of two 5 hour bus rides one weekend. I found that Vance spoke to the truth that I lived as well. I grew up in a lower middle class family that fits the class of Hillbillies that he describes, but where I come from we call them Rednecks. He had a harder upbringing than I did. His father was only in the picture sporadically, his mother was addicted to drugs and the wrong type of men. His sister was his only constant for the majority of his life and most people, including himself, didn't believe that he would make it very far in life. Somehow, he defeated those odds and became a marine, went to Yale Law School, became a prominent lawyer, had a family of his own. 

I've had to overcome my own list of obstacles and his story of self-discovery, self-sabotage, and determination to grow depicts my story as well. He knows that he wouldn't have made it without his determination and work-ethic instilled in him by the Hillbilly culture but also knows that he wouldn't have made it without the various people who took an interest in him. I read this book at a time where I needed to feel like I wasn't alone in my story and this did that for me. 

Pages: 272                                                                                                                             Rate: 4/5

Favorite Quote:

“Today people look at me, at my job and my Ivy League credentials, and assume that I’m some sort of genius, that only a truly extraordinary person could have made it to where I am today. With all due respect to those people, I think that theory is a load of bullshit. Whatever” 

Note to Self ~ Connor Franta

In his New York Times bestselling memoir, A Work in Progress, Connor Franta shared his journey from small-town Midwestern boy to full-fledged Internet sensation. Exploring his past with humor and astounding insight, Connor reminded his fans of why they first fell in love with him on YouTube—and revealed to newcomers how he relates to his millions of dedicated followers.

Now, two years later, Connor is ready to bring to light a side of himself he’s rarely shown on or off camera. In this diary-like look at his life since A Work In Progress, Connor talks about his battles with clinical depression, social anxiety, self-love, and acceptance; his desire to maintain an authentic self in a world that values shares and likes over true connections; his struggles with love and loss; and his renewed efforts to be in the moment—with others and himself.

Told through short essays, letters to his past and future selves, poetry, and original photography, Note to Self is a raw, in-the-moment look at the fascinating interior life of a young creator turning inward in order to move forward.

Book Review:

Connor Franta has done it again! He let us, the readers (mainly the FrantaFam), into his life. He doesn't go into the specifics of many of the situations that he discusses, such as his broken heart and 2 year relationship; but, he does vividly describe his feelings through gorgeous poetry, essays, and photography. I felt closer to him, as a fan and as a human. 

I really loved his first memoir, A Work in Progress, and I had a good feeling about this one. He went a different route with his writing style than the first one but I think that it really paid off. His first memoir focused on telling us the details of the stories that made him who he is. It almost felt like a bunch of college application essays with some really cool photography. This new memoir was taking experiences from the past few years and without giving many details, explaining his innermost feelings and thoughts through poetry, essays, and gorgeous photography. It felt like a tumblr page in best possible way. 

His work inspired me to start reading more modern, contemporary, free verse poetry again, which is my favorite type of poetry. I truly credit him with pulling me out of my most recent reading slump.

Pages: 320                                                                                                                             Rate: 5/5

Yes, Please ~ Amy Poehler

Do you want to get to know the woman we first came to love on Comedy Central's Upright Citizens Brigade? Do you want to spend some time with the lady who made you howl with laughter on Saturday Night Live, and in movies like Baby Mama, Blades of Glory, and They Came Together? Do you find yourself daydreaming about hanging out with the actor behind the brilliant Leslie Knope on Parks and Recreation? Did you wish you were in the audience at the last two Golden Globes ceremonies, so you could bask in the hilarity of Amy's one-liners?

If your answer to these questions is "Yes Please!" then you are in luck. In her first book, one of our most beloved funny folk delivers a smart, pointed, and ultimately inspirational read. Full of the comedic skill that makes us all love Amy, Yes Please is a rich and varied collection of stories, lists, poetry (Plastic Surgery Haiku, to be specific), photographs, mantras and advice. With chapters like "Treat Your Career Like a Bad Boyfriend," "Plain Girl Versus the Demon" and "The Robots Will Kill Us All" Yes Please will make you think as much as it will make you laugh. Honest, personal, real, and righteous, Yes Please is full of words to live by.

Book Review:

So, for those of you who do not know, I have been trying, for about a year now, to get into listening to audiobooks. I have tried multiple different genres, readers, authors, concepts, etcetera, but was never able to find what I liked. Recently, I tried giving audiobooks another shot by listening to comedian Amy Poehler's audiobook. I figured that if I was going to like any audiobook it  would be by a comedian and most likely a memoir. I've discovered, whilst reading memoirs, that I don't have to absorb every word that is written and I don't have to comprehend every little detail either. Whereas with other books, I do. And when I listen, there are many times where I catch myself zoning out. Therefore, I can't listen to any books where I need to pay attention to everything.  

Amy Poehler is hilarious, hands down! I'm not one to watch much stand-up comedy or any form of comedy for that matter, but any time that I do, it's Amy Poehler and other Saturday Night Live comedians. I loved that it was read by Amy Poehler because I think that it made it so much funnier and passionate. I kind of liked how there wasn't a necessary flow related to time. She didn't start by retelling the details of her birth and end with the last major event in her life. She kind of jumped around with different parts of her life that impacted the subject matter that she was talking about. I was especially fond of how she didn't hide the hard stuff from her readers either. She made a point to tell us all of the truth and not just the pretty, gift-wrapped aspects of her life.  

I found it so funny when other people's commentary was put in, Seth Myers, her mom and dad, etcetera. It seemed like I was sitting with them, having a cup of coffee, and listening to them tell me stories about before I knew them. It was incredible! 

Time: 7 hours 33 minutes                                                                                              Rate: 5/5

Favorite Quote:

“Saying “yes” doesn’t mean I don’t know how to say no, and saying “please” doesn’t mean I am waiting for permission.”  - People are always telling me that I do not know how to say "no," and if I am being honest, I've said it myself too. But I have come to the realization that I do know how, but for me, I would prefer to say "yes." It is so much easier. And saying "please" is just me being polite not me being submissive!

June 2016 Wrap Up

This was one of those months where I started a lot of books but only finished a couple.

I Am Malala - memoir

The Women's Murder Club series book 15 - mystery, crime, thriller

Both of these were exactly what I expected them to be, which was insanely wonderful to read.

El Deafo ~ Cece Bell

Going to school and making new friends can be tough. But going to school and making new friends while wearing a bulky hearing aid strapped to your chest? That requires superpowers! In this funny, poignant graphic novel memoir, author/illustrator Cece Bell chronicles her hearing loss at a young age and her subsequent experiences with the Phonic Ear, a very powerful—and very awkward—hearing aid. The Phonic Ear gives Cece the ability to hear—sometimes things she shouldn’t—but also isolates her from her classmates. She really just wants to fit in and find a true friend, someone who appreciates her as she is. After some trouble, she is finally able to harness the power of the Phonic Ear and become “El Deafo, Listener for All.” And more importantly, declare a place for herself in the world and find the friend she’s longed for.

Book Review:

I have been really into memoirs lately and I have also been trying to expand my horizons a little bit. Therefore, when I happened across this graphic memoir, a memoir in the style of a graphic novel, I was very intrigued,  but when I learned that it was the life of a deaf girl, I was definitely going to read it. I have been trying to teach myself ASL (American Sign Language) for years now and from that I have grown an immense connection to the Deaf Culture. 

Cece's character is trying to deal with growing up with a hearing aid since she lost the majority of her hearing due to illness as a small child. For her, this hearing aid is huge, bulky, and extremely conspicuous. She is trying to deal with making friends and feeling so different from everyone else at the same time. Now, I think that every kid goes through that, I know that I did, but due to Cece's deafness, she feels even more introverted than many other kids who experience that feeling. 

I also really loved how adorable the graphics were. 

American Wife: Love, War, Faith, and Renewal ~ Taya Kyle with Jim DeFelice

The widow of "American Sniper" Chris Kyle shares their private story: an unforgettable testament to the power of love and faith in the face of war and unimaginable loss - and a moving tribute to a man whose true heroism ran even deeper than the legend.

In early 2013, Taya Kyle and her husband, Chris, were the happiest they ever had been. Their decade-long marriage had survived years of war that took Chris, a U.S. Navy Seal, away from Taya and their two children for agonizingly long stretches while he put his life on the line in many major battles of the Iraq War. After struggling to readjust to life out of the military, Chris had found new purpose in redirecting his lifelong dedication to service toward supporting veterans and their families. Their love had deepened, and their family was whole, finally.

Then, the unthinkable. On February 2, 2013, Chris and his friend Chad Littlefield were killed while attempting to help a troubled vet. The life Chris and Taya fought so hard to build was shattered. In an instant, Taya became a single parents of two. A widow. A young woman facing the rest of her life without the man she loved.

Chris and Taya's remarkable story has captivated millions through Clint Eastwood's blockbuster Academy Award-winning film American Sniper, starring Bradley Cooper as Chris and Sienna Miller as Taya, and because of Chris's bestselling memoir, in which Taya contributed passages that formed the book's emotional core. Taya writes in never-before-told detail about the hours,, days, and months after Chris's shocking death when grief threatened to overwhelm her. 

And yet throughout, friendship, family, and deepening faith were lifelines that sustained her and the kids when the sorrow became too much. Two years after er husband's tragic death, Taya has found renewed meaning and connection to Chris by advancing their shared mission of "serving those who serve others,"particularly military and first-responder families. She and the children are now embracing a new future, one that honors the past but also looks forward with hope, gratitude, and joy. 

American Wife is one of the most remarkable memoirs of the year - a universal chronicle of love and heartbreak, service and sacrifice, faith and purpose that will inspire every reader.

Book Review:

I read American Sniper last year, before I started this blog, and it tore me to shreds. I have many people in my family that have served. I have friends or kids that I have known my entire life who are serving or currently in the process of enlisting. Though I may not be their spouse or child, I care for all of them and fear what can happen. I know many of the emotions that Taya describes in this memoir and reading Chris's memoir, I now have a new found knowledge of what those I care about may go through, even though none of them are SEALs.

I cried when I read Chris's words in American Sniper; I cried when I watched the movie adaption with Bradley Cooper, and I once again cried as I read Taya's pain. I think what hit me the most is hearing Taya talk about how her daughter, Angel, dealt with her father's death. I am a very big daddy's girl and I don't know what I would do without my father.  In all honesty, I don't think that I would ever be able to talk about him the way Angel does. She hears him. She feels him. And she keeps on going. I think that if I were to have that sort of connection with my deceased father, I wouldn't be able to move on. Then again, maybe it would help me move on. I don't know. 

I really feel for all of those who have had to move on without Chris. He seems like the type of person that I would want to spend every minute of my life with and it kills me that Taya can't. He was such a strong and patriotic person. He seemed very humble and loving. I wish that I could have met him. 

Taya's strength is inspiring. She raised her children through the toughest moments of her life. She finished Chris's project and continues to pay tribute to him.  She told the good and the bad of their marriage. Everything about her words, were heartbreaking, fulfilling, and strengthening. 

Pages: 329                                                                                Rate: 5/5

Favorite Quote:

“Sometime after Chris died, one of his friends said something offhanded about us having to leave our house. I was shocked, and demanded to know why.

“Because a ghost lives there,” he said.

He was speaking metaphorically about all of our memories. But that was exactly why I did not want to leave. I still felt Chris very strongly there, and I didn’t want to lose that.

By the fall of 2014, I realized that I feel Chris strongly everywhere I go. He’s so much a part of me that I can’t lose him. Physical places may suggest memories, but that’s all they do: suggest. The experiences are already deeply embedded in my brain and soul.”   

I have lost a lot of people in my life and I have felt like I would never be able to move from my bed again. I have known that lost. But because I have known that loss, I have also known the beautiful feel that Taya describes above. Feeling a deceased loved one's presence is sometimes the only way that I have been able to get out of bed and move forward. I highly recommend that you read this memoir, not because their lives are interesting, but because their strength and the way she describes her thought process is truly knowledgeable. You may just learn something about yourself. 

The Amazing Book Is Not On Fire ~ Dan Howell and Phil Lester

In your hands is a book created by two awkward guys who share their lives on the Internet.

We are Dan and Phil, and we invite you on a behind-the-scenes journey into our world!

In here you will discover:

+ Stories from Phil's teenage diary and all the reasons why Dan's a fail

+ Advice on how to make YouTube videos

+ How to draw the perfect cat whiskers

+ Which of our dining room chairs represents you emotionally

+ The story of the time we met One Direction and what really happened in Vegas...

This is THE AMAZING BOOK IS NOT ON FIRE

(Even if you never read this, it's a cool-looking coaster, right?)

Book Review:

I finished this book a few days ago but have been unable to write a review because I couldn't even put my thoughts into coherent sentences due to the amazing voice of the two authors, Dan Howell and Phil Lester. I have watched their YouTube videos for a few years now and I feel like their voices and attitudes transferred in such a spot on way in this book! I really loved that it was a continuous dialogue between the two of them, just like a "Phil is not on fire" video. 

Now, besides the voice of the book, I loved so much more!! For example, the construction of this book is great!!! Yes, I do know how nerdy that just sounded! Do not judge me! But really though, the pages are beautifully structured with amazing backgrounds, photographs, and the color is impeccable. I love it when I can get a book like this and just think, "it's an adult picture book!" Maybe I am so appreciative of this construction because I watched their behind the scenes video from making it, and I saw all of the hard work that they put into it, but in all honesty, it truly is amazing!

I also really enjoyed the fun elements that they put into it, like the chair quiz or the Going Deep With Dan and Phil sections. I have to admit though, my favorite page was the Existential Crisis page of Dan's. Being as it is senior year for me, I am having about 100 existential crisis a day!!!! Seriously, I need help!!

Pages: 224                                                                               Rate: 5/5

Book Discussion:

There will be no discussion for this book because writing a discussion for any type of memoir is so hard for me. 

Favorite Quote:

"The Existential Crisis Hallway. Why do we exist? What is existence? What is the point of anything? Why? Does my life really matter outside of myself? Death is inevitable. We are all alone. The privilege of freedom is overwhelming. Ignorance is bliss. Consciousness is merely a biological process. Time extends before and after my life. Purposes are distractions and vice versa. What's forr lunch? Infinity is incomprehensible. Help."

ARC: Hemingway in Love: his own story - A.E. Hotchner

THIS IS NOT IN STORES UNTIL OCTOBER 2015! THE PUBLISHER SENT ME AN ADVANCED READERS COPY. MY DISCUSSION OF THE BOOK WILL BE POSTED ONCE IT IS IN STORES!

Ernest Hemingway always held a few of his best stories back; kept them off the page as writer's insurance against a dry-up of ideas. But after surviving two back-to-back plane crashes, he resolved to share his most meaningful tale with his best friend, A.E. Hotchner. Over the course of almost a decade, Hemingway narrated the full story of his formative years, but the details were sensitive, apt to hurt the feelings of Ernest's wide, Mary, and arouse controversy among the involved parties who were still alive at the time. For half a century, Hotchner was obliged to keep these conversations to himself. Now, he tells the story as Hemingway told it to him. Hemingway in Love is the poignant and frank account of a legend living with his mistakes. It takes you from the Key West to the bohemian world of 1920s Paris, and from Cold War Cuba to bullfights in Spain. It places you across the table from Hemingway himself as he recalls days spent drinking with Fitzgerald and sparring with Gertrude Stein; as he reflects on the affair that destroyed his first marriage. This is the story of how Hemingway lost his great love, and the life he pursued after - one of sweeping adventure and quiet regret. 

Book Review:

A.E. Hotchner was lucky enough to be best friends with the literary legend that is Ernest Hemingway. He was able to ask the man himself some of the toughest and most sincere questions. Through all of the joy that they had together, which is wonderfully portrayed throughout the memoir, come the pains that come with all lives but especially those that end in the tragedy that is suicide. 

We learn more about Hemingway's struggle with depression and anxiety through Hotchner's point of view of seeing his best friend lose his sanity and himself. We learn of how Hemingway ruined his first marriage and lost the love of his life. Then we follow him as he leads a satisfactory life after that with loves that could barely compare to his first love, his first wife, the mother of his first child, Hadley. 

It is beautifully written with sincere emotion. No detail was left undeveloped, unexplained, or unrecognized. It truly is my favorite memoir at the moment. 

Pages: 154                                                                                                          Rate: 5/5

You Deserve A Drink: Boozy Misadventures and Tales of Debauchery ~ Mamie Hart

Mamrie Hart is a drinking star with a YouTube problem. As host of the bady cult hit You Deserve A Drink. Hart has been entertaining viewers with her signature concoction of tasty libations and raunchy puns since 2011. Finally, Hart has compiled her best drinking stories - and worst hangovers - into one hilarious volume. From the spring break where she and her girlfriends avoided tan lines by staying at an all-male gay nudist resort, to the bachelorette party where she accidentally hired a sixty-year-old meth head to teach the group pole dancing, to the time she lit herself on fire during a Flaming Lips concert. Hart accompanies each story with an original cocktail recipe, ensuring that You Deserve A Drink is as useful as it is entertaining. 

Book Review:

I have been really into memoirs of those that I love for about the past year. Now out of all of the memoirs that I have read this year, Mamrie's is the TMI (To Much Information) of all memoirs. I love it so much because it is hilarious and honest with horrible puns that are so horrible they are hilarious. So hilarious that your cheeks hurt from smiling so much and your abs hurt from laughing so hard! 

Now I am 17 so it is not legal for me to dink but believe me when I can I plan on trying out these recipes and playing the drinking game that is the entire book! I don't plan on being a heavy drinker or anything but there are times where you just need to let loose and have some fun that you won't remember the next morning. 

Now, her writing was impeccable. It felt like I was watching her videos. She would cross out words and say something different (more appropriate), had a safe word to have her family stop reading, and had her signature jokes. Ay-Oh! I also loved that she included pictures, even though they were black and white. It really was just an amazing read!

Pages: 274                                                                                               Rate: 5/5

Favorite Quotes:

"I spent my days spread-eagle in front of a fan, with bright pink calamine lotion slathered all over my undercarriage. If you walked into my room, you'd think I was giving birth to a Pepto-Bismol baby."

I couldn't stop laughing when I read this line! It reminded me so much of Camp Takota (which you should watch if you haven't, it's on Netflix).  

In Real Life: My Journey To A Pixelated World ~Joey Graceffa

It's not where you begin that matters.

It's where you end up.

Twenty-thee year old Joey Graceffa has captured the hearts of millions of teens and young adults through his playful, sweet, and inspirational YouTube presence (not to mention his sparkling eyes and perfect hair). Yet, Joey wasn't always comfortable in his skin, and in this candid memoir, he thoughtfully looks back on his journey from pain to pride, self-doubt to self-acceptance.

To his fans, Joey is that best friend who always captures the brighter side of life but also isn't afraid to get real. In the pages of his first book, he opens up about his years of struggling with family and hardships and troubles at school, with cruel bullying and the sting of rejection. He tells of first loves and losses, embarrassing moments and surprising discoveries, loneliness, laughter, and life-changing forks in the road, showing us the incalculable value of finally finding and following your true passion in this world.

Book Review:

I don't watch Joey's videos the second he posts them and I don't watch everyone. I haven't followed him since the beginning of time (well the beginning of YouTube, which face it is the beginning of time), but I watch enough of his videos to know about his autistic brother and alcoholic mother. I don't know much about those situations or what he had to go through because of them, but I knew enough to want to know more. That is why I bought In Real Life. 

In Real Life, gave us an insight into the Joey that we don't see often, his truest and most vulnerable self. We read along as he describes being confused with his sexuality from a young age, being picked on in school for being "feminine," arguing with his older sister, looking up to his step-dad, and fighting to forgive his mom, and protecting his little brother. I feel sympathy for him when he describes being the outcast in high school and alone in college. I'm excited for him when he takes the leap of faith and jumps into his dreams, focusing more on YouTube and moving to LA.

I could hear his voice as I read the book. I could hear the excitement, the pain, and the resentment. That is what I love about reading memoirs of people I have watched on YouTube forever. I just wished that he talked more about how his life is now in the end.

Pages: 240                                                                                                  Rate: 4/5