Finally, a FUNNY Book About Depression courtesy of Jacqueline Novak

Depression is not funny. It's not supposed to be. But maybe by taking a little of the pressure off us depressos (my favorite term coined/stolen from Jacqueline Novak and her book How to Weep in Public) wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. That's where this book comes in. How to Weep in Public reads like half a memoir and half a shared conversation with a friend about being depressed but in the lightest way possible. No self-help material here (thankfully!).

Be prepared to laugh at your depression in all it's many forms. Mostly, just feel okay about it and like someone else is in on it with you. I also have to commend the author because despite the fact that this book is meant to be light-hearted and funny, there is a note in the introduction that includes the number for the National Suicide Prevention hotline. For the times when depression isn't that funny after all.

Blogger Note:  I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for an honest review. This review is entirely based on my opinion.

Neil Patrick Harris Writes His Autobiography (and You Can Too!)

If you were a child of the 80s there is probably one experience that we all have in common, at least from a literary point-of-view and that is the Choose Your Own Adventure series of books. You remember them, they were the first time you ever felt like part of the reading experience. You would read a book from the series and then interact by choosing what happens next in the story (ex. For something good to happen to the main character, turn to page 20. For an unexpected turn of events, turn to page 25). In the time before the Internet, this was revolutionary!

Fast forward to the year 2014. One of the most recognized celebrities has taken the Choose Your Own Adventure formula and introduced it to a whole new generation, while re-introducing it to the far more cynical and grown up children of the 80s. The celebrity is none other than Mr. Doogie Howser himself, Neil Patrick Harris (90s kids would get the aforementioned Doogie reference).

Neil Patrick Harris, Choose Your Own Autobiography

It's beyond appropriate that Harris' autobiography, aptly titled Choose Your Own Autobiography, takes the form of the well-remembered and popular 80s children's book series. Of course at it's core the book is Harris' own take on his life from childhood to present day, but it is so much more than that. It is laugh out loud funny, full of celebrity chatter and tied together in the fondly remembered style that puts the reader in charge. The classiness of Harris pours through, yet he never seems to take himself too seriously. He touches on his childhood when he discovers his love for theater and acting, his coming to terms with his sexuality, how being Doogie Howser was a blessing and a curse, his dabbling with fellow celebrities and his most recent role as Barney on How I Met Your Mother.

This book is really an entertaining read. You will laugh and you will forget you are reading a book instead of sitting down and having a chat over coffee with your friend NPH. Don't pass this one up!

Blogger note: I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review. This review is entirely based on my opinion and contains my honest evaluation.

Wanderlust Abounds in What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding

This book should come with a disclaimer: Have passport handy while reading. Really, this book will give you a major case of wanderlust (or at least it did me!). I read Kristin Newman's memoir What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding and longed to visit all the places she had. I wanted the foreign romances in Argentina, the walkabout in New Zealand, the typical partying you'd expect of Amsterdam and of course Paris on New Year's (tres chic!).

Another disclaimer: this book not only recounts Newman's 30-ish single-girl worldly travels but also her 30-ish single-girl worldly romantic conquests so just a head's up. The details are ALL THERE. Newman perfectly describes these encounters as "sweet, sexy, epic little vacationships" as opposed to relationships, which she avoids like some third-world plague.

So while Newman's friends were married and having babies, she was living the dream (as she saw fit). Which speaks loud and clear about following one's path and not being fearful of new experiences (even if it means going it alone). I found her tale refreshing and empowering for young women. Her message of it's okay to buck the trend and not get married before you are ready! and go have adventures because that is what living is supposed to be about! No regrets! And her whole "do the thing you are supposed to do in the place where you are" is a pretty good rule for travelers of all kinds. Engage with the locals, see the must-see sights, but the real gems are often the hidden ones that you have to go off the beaten path to experience. Immerse yourself in the culture. Become semi-fluent in the language. And maybe, if it feels right, get a little cozy with that Argentinian!

It should be noted that Kristen-adjacent (the traveling version of herself) is a Hollywood sit-com writer who has both the means financially and flexibility job-wise to travel during the off season. This sad, sad realization kept smacking reality into me when I daydreamed a little too hard about leaving my family and job for a little bit of world travel. Big buzz kill moment.

Newman's voice as a comedy writer comes across loud and clear and I couldn't help but imagine the two of us sharing a few bottles of wine as she personally recounted to me these tales of romance and adventure abroad. Very fun, irreverent and girl-friend to girl-friend kind of tone.

To sum up, this book is the EXACT POLAR OPPOSITE of Eat Pray Love, which ironically enough Newman has the insight to see herself and note that while she wasn't a fan of it, she could see all the things that were annoying about that book in her own memoir, noting that she (Newman) had a "tendency to be self-involved and inflict misery on (herself) in the middle of (her) pretty amazing life".

Toss this book into your carry-on on your next sojourn or just bring it with you to the beach and get lost in living vicariously through Newman's experiences.

Blogger note: I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review. This review is entirely based on my opinion and contains my honest evaluation.

photo courtesy of Random House

Reasons My Kid is Crying: The Perfect Book to Kick Back with After anEspecially Trying Day of Parenting

Hey parents, do you frequently visit hilarious parenting blogs? Then chances are good you are familiar with the blog, Reasons My Son is Crying. (No? I'll wait while you go check out the site. Really, you must. It's a gem!)

The blog, and subsequently the book, is the brainchild of Greg Pembroke who decided in the midst of one of his 3-year-old son's tantrums, to start documenting the reasons behind the outbursts. Needless to say hilarity, as well as an instant web-following of parents, ensued.

Reasons My Kid is Crying is dubbed as "Part Diary, Part Therapy, Completely Hilarious" and is everything a time-starved parent looks for in a book: concise, funny and reassuring. It is presented in the same style as the blog: a photo of a toddler sobbing alongside a caption describing what caused the meltdown. My favorites include: "He met Bill Murray", "His Aunt wouldn't let him play with the ax" and "I wouldn't let him crawl into a 400 degree oven". I mean who hasn't been there??!!

This is the kind of book that you sit down on the couch and read with your spouse after you put the kids to bed. It is a solid reminder to parents that everyone's child will occasionally act like this and that the best way to get through it is to laugh (and ok, sometimes take pictures and document your kids' absolutely illogical but nonetheless pricelessly entertaining explanations for their tantrums).

Makes a great gift for a new parent or someone whose child is about to enter the everything-they-told-you-and-more-is-true realm of the terrible twos.

Blogger note: I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review. This review is entirely based on my opinion and contains my honest evaluation.

photo courtesy of: http://crownpublishing.com/