The Comfort Book by Matt Haig (Adult Nonfiction Book Review)

The Comfort Book
by Matt Haig 
Published by Penguin Life
on July 6, 2021
Genre: Adult, Nonfiction, Memoir, Self-help
Length: 272 pages

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | BookDepository

Synopsis:
A small book for anyone in search of hope, looking for a path to a more meaningful life, or in need of encouragement. 

Years ago, Matt Haig began writing notes to his future self. These notes were meant as gifts; offerings of hope to help himself through anything from the darkest periods of his life to a not-so-great day. As time went on, he added new thoughts and stories and he turned them into The Comfort Book so that everyone could draw on this well of reassurance and encouragement. Each of its short meditations gives a new perspective on life and all of its highs and lows--small islands of hope for anyone looking for a more fulfilling, more uplifting way through life. Incorporating a diverse array of sources from across the world, history, science, and his own experiences, Haig offers warmth and reassurance, reminding us to slow down and appreciate the beauty of unpredictability of existence. 


My Thoughts:

Matt Haig shares uplifting experiences, insightful sentiments, unique interpretations, quotes, and more in this comforting book of hope.

In times of great chaos, it's voices like Matt's that help lift us out of whatever funk or pit of despair we may be in, or even just give us a new perspective or reminder of better days
. As an author who once 'hit rock bottom', Haig is rather down-to-earth and understanding and that fully comes across in his newest nonfiction. He shares stories from his childhood, life lessons that helped him on his journey, instagram-style poetry, and more.

I've followed this author on social media for some years now and have always enjoyed his mental health content. I've also really enjoyed most of the books I've read by him and definitely recommend this if you've enjoyed his books in the past. 
You can find examples of what is included in this book on Matt's instagram! 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Lazy Day Lit | Bookstagram (@lazydaylit)

Follow

Gone to the Woods: Surviving A Lost Childhood by Gary Paulson (Middle Grade Memoir Review)

 

Gone to the Woods:

Surviving A Lost Childhood

by Gary Paulson

Published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux

on January 12, 2021

Genre: Middle Grade, Nonfiction, Memoir

Length: 368 pages

Ages: 8 - 12 years

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | BookDepository

Synopsis:
A middle-grade memoir, giving readers a new perspective on the origins of Gary Paulsen's famed survival stories.

His name is synonymous with high-stakes wilderness survival stories. Now, author Gary Paulsen portrays a series of life-altering moments from his turbulent childhood as his own survival story. If not for his summer escape from a shockingly neglectful Chicago upbringing to a North Woods homestead at age five, there would never have been a Hatchet. Without the encouragement of the librarian who handed him his very first book at age thirteen, he may never have become a reader. And without his desperate teenage enlistment in the Army, he would not have discovered his true calling as a storyteller. 

My Thoughts:

Gary Paulsen narrates his own childhood in this fascinating memoir that reads like a novel for middle-grade readers.

Five-year-old Gary Paulsen is sent alone by train to live with relatives in the mountains where he learns to fish and forage mushrooms and appreciate the simple wonders of the world. It is a dream life athat would be short lived but the skills he learned in the wilderness help him to survive a neglected childhood with his mother in the Philippines, and later, enlistment in the army.

Gary lived a childhood that most could only imagine or read about in books, having to grow up fending for himself, with the woods and the local library as his only safe spaces and finding his love of stories a little late in life but at just the right time to have his own stories to tell. 

Hatchet was one of my favorite stories as a kid, next to Jean Craighead George's 'My Side of the Mountain', and it made a big impact on my childhood and helped shape my adult life so I jumped as soon as I saw this memoir. I've read a few more of his stories since Hatchet and loved seeing and making connections between the stories he has written and the story of his childhood. 

I definitely recommend it if you enjoy memoirs and have read any of Paulsen's middle-grade novels, or just love the wilderness or a good survival story! 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Lazy Day Lit | Bookstagram (@lazydaylit)

Follow

I Was Their American Dream by Malaka Ghabir (Graphic Memoir)

 

I Was Their American Dream
A Graphic Novel
by Malaka Gharib
Published by Clarkson Potter Publishers
on April 30, 2019
Genre: Young Adult, Graphic Novel, Memoir
Length: 160 pages

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | BookDepository

Synopsis:
One part Mari Andrew, one part Marjane Satrapi, I Was Their American Dream: A Graphic Memoir is a triumphant tale of self-discovery, a celebration of a family's rich heritage, and a love letter to American immigrant freedom. Malaka Gharib's illustrations come alive with teenage antics and earnest questions about identity and culture, while providing thoughtful insight into the lives of modern immigrants and the generation of millennial children they raised. 


My Thoughts:

Malaka Gharib gives an insightful look into her life growing up as an Egyptian-Filipino-American in California with parents that had differing backgrounds, religions, and dreams for their lives. Malaka juggles her parents' differing religions (her mother is Catholic and her father is Muslim) as well as her cultural heritage (Filipino and Egyptian) but also the American 'dream' and culture that she grew up with as a first-generation American. 

Malaka tells her coming-of-age story in a bold red, white, and blue color scheme that really ties in with the title of the book as well as the content. The illustrations are a little juvenile, or unproportionate, and the artist in me isn't always thrilled with this style but I do love that the style is consistent. There's also a lot of neat extras that remind me of zines, and this author/illustrator mentions in this memoir that she created zines in her youth and is the founder of The Runcible Spoon food zine, so I expect that is why they included such neat formatting for a comic/graphic novel-style memoir. 

I can't find any age recommendations for this online but personally think it is fine for young readers. There's no inflammatory language or mentions of sex or drugs (maybe a little rock-and-roll). 

Follow

Persepolis: The Story Of A Childhood by Marjane Satrapi (Graphic Memoir Book Review)

Persepolis:
The Story of A Childhood
(Persepolis #1 of 2)

Written and illustrated by Marjane Satrapi
Published by Pantheon
on June 1st 2004 
(first published in 2000)
Genre: Graphic Novel, Memoir
Length: 153 pages

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | BookDepository

Literary Awards:
Harvey Awards for Best US Edition of Foreign Material (2004)
ALA Alex Award (2004)

Synopsis:
Wise, funny, and heartbreaking, Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi's memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. In powerful black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah's regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. The intelligent and outspoken only child of committed Marxists and the great-granddaughter of one of Iran's last emperors, Marjane bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country.

My Thoughts:
This graphic memoir of Marjane Satrapi's early years, from age six to sixteen, focuses on the Islamic Revolution in her home country of Iran and her life in it.  Raised by outspoken parents, Marjane rebels against the regime early on, choosing to wear and listen to whatever she likes. As her country continues to change, with forced coverings for females and less tolerance of anything influenced by the West, Marjane finds herself rebelling more and more, to a point that her parents are quite worried!

This eye-opening autobiography gives us real-life memories of a child growing up during a pivotal time in Iranian history. Marjane is an open-minded, educated young girl with parents that taught her to think for herself and allowed her plenty of freedom at a young age. As a teenager, she has an openly rebellious streak that puts her in trouble's way more than once.

I went into this with a little bit of prior knowledge of Iran, having focused on expanding my knowledge of the Middle-East a few years ago after realizing how little I knew about the geography (or much else besides) there. While I've read plenty about the history and wars, I haven't read a lot about the youth or how they felt or reacted to these changes in history. I'm glad to have finally read this one and will try to get my hands on part 2 as soon as possible!

Setting:
Tehran, Iran

Follow

Born A Crime: Stories From A South African Childhood by Trevor Noah (Adult Nonfiction Book Review)

Born A Crime:
Stories From A South African Childhood
by Trevor Noah

Published by Doubleday Canada
on November 15, 2016
Genre: Adult, Nonfiction, Memoir
Length: 285 pages

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | BookDepository

Literary Awards:
NAACP Image Award for Debut Author and for Biography / Autobiography (2017)
Thurber Prize for American Humor (2017)
Evergreen Teen Book Award Nominee (2019)
Lincoln Award Nominee (2019)

Synopsis:
The compelling, inspiring, and comically sublime New York Times bestseller about one man's coming-of-age, set during the twilight of apartheid and the tumultuous days of freedom that followed.

 Trevor Noah's unlikely path from apartheid South Africa to the desk of The Daily Show began with a criminal act: his birth. Born A Crime is the story of a mischievous young boy who grows into a restless young man as he struggles to find himself in a world where he was never supposed to exist. It is also the story of that young man's relationship with his fearless, rebellious, and fervently religious mother--his teammate, a woman determined to save her son from the cycle of poverty, violence, and abuse that would ultimately threaten her own life.

The eighteen personal essays collected here are by turns hilarious, dramatic, and deeply affecting. His stories weave together to form a moving and searingly funny portrait of a boy making his way through a damaged world in a dangerous time, armed only with a keen sense of humor and a mother's unconventional, unconditional love.

My Thoughts:
Born during apartheid in South Africa to a black mother and a white father, Trevor Noah's existence was considered a crime. He spent his childhood hidden away from the world and his growing years searching for his place in a divided country. In this humorous coming-of-age story, Noah describes the laws and social norms of apartheid and how he found his place in it.

I almost never watch cable but I've seen The Daily Show a few times and enjoyed Noah's sense of humor. That really shined through the first part of this book as he describes his childhood, his mother's religion and parenting techniques, and how the world treated him as a boy set apart. His mother's religious stories were a hoot but I also enjoyed how much of a powerhouse she was and how she absolutely did her own thing even though it was sometimes illegal. The end of the story has a good lesson in domestic violence.

I enjoyed how Noah picked apart the differences in races during apartheid and how he never quite fit in with one or the other and how differently he was treated because of it but still found his place despite that.  I thought that a lot of his story was quite relatable, perhaps because of our similar age group, or perhaps because I grew up in a small rural town with high racial tension and feel desensitized to its' existence, but nothing in this book really stood out as overly different except maybe the gang-related transportation system. Even the pirated music money hustle was way too familiar.

Also, I noted that other than his humor showing through his writing, there is very little in this book that shares his actual comedy career or what led him to it. I guess I was expecting a little more of what led him to that career but it didn't seem to come up.

Setting:
Johannesburg, South Africa

Follow

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King (Nonfiction Book Review)

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

by Stephen King 
Published by Scribner 
on October 3, 2000
Genre: Adult, Nonfiction, Memoir
Length: 288 pages

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | BookDepository

Literary Awards:

Bram Stoker Award for Best Non-fiction (2000)
Locust Award for Best Non-fiction (2001)
Puddly Award for Writing (2001)

Synopsis:
"If you don't have the time to read, you don't have the time or the tools to write."

In 1999, Stephen King began to write about his craft--and his life. By midyear, a widely reported accident jeopardized the survival of both. And in his months of recovery, the link between writing and living became more crucial than ever.

Rarely has a book on writing been so clear, so useful, and so revealing. On Writing begins with a mesmerizing account of King's childhood and his uncannily early focus on writing to tell a story. A series of vivid memories from adolescence, college, and the struggling years that led up to his first novel, Carrie, will afford readers a fresh and often very funny perspective on the formation of a writer. King next turns to the basic tools of his trade--how to sharpen and multiply them through use, and how the writer must always have them close at hand. He takes the reader through crucial aspects of the writer's art and life, offering practical and inspiring advice on everything from plot to character development to work habits and rejection.

Serialized in the New Yorker to vivid acclaim, On Writing culminates with a profoundly moving account of how King's overwhelming need to write spurred him toward recovery, and brought him back to his life. 

My Thoughts:

This book is recommended among writers and King fans alike as one of the best. With a little push from a few friends, I finally picked it up, took my time with it, and found that I agree.

"Books are a uniquely portable magic."

I feel the need to be honest and give a disclaimer that I am not the biggest King fan. A fan, sure, and a growing one, but I don't really consider him one of my favorites yet. I say 'yet' because he has a lot of books and I feel like I need to have read and enjoyed most of them to consider him a favorite and right now I'm still at about fifty-fifty love/hate.

You don't need to be a fan of King's books to get something out of this, though. This is the most recommended and talked about book on writing I've ever come across and with the author's success, it's hard not to see why. I've read a few in my time but none were so helpful or concise.

"Writing isn't about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid, or making friends. In the end, it's about enriching the lives of those who will read your work, and enriching your own life, as well. It's about getting up, getting well, and getting over. Getting happy, okay? Getting happy."

On Writing is both a memoir and a how-to.

We start out getting to know a little about King's childhood, but mostly only if it has to do with writing. It's a pretty straight forward story about how he got started, where he got his ideas for some of his earliest books, and how he persisted and made his big break.

I found the memoir portion to be surprisingly relatable and it really helped put my own lifelong writing hobby into a new perspective for me.

The middle of the book focuses on important writing rules, hints, and tips for writing. From grammar to character development, there's a little bit of everything you might need to know or be reminded about before you delve back into your own writing.

I don't use those little flag tags often but ended up putting quite a few into my copy of this book so I can come back to them later. I also think that this is one book I will hold onto and reread eventually.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Lazy Day Lit (@lazydaylit) on Aug 30, 2019 at 6:26am PDT

Follow

Superheroes Are Everywhere by Kamala Harris & Mechal Renee Roe (Picture Book Review)

Superheroes Are Everywhere

by Kamala Harris

Illustrated by Mechal Renee Roe
Published by Philomel Books
on January 8, 2019
Genre: Children's Nonfiction, Biography

Length: 40 pages

Ages: 3 - 7 years

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | BookDepository

Synopsis:

From Senator Kamala Harris comes a picture book memoir with an empowering message: Superheroes are all around us--and if we try, we can all be heroes too. 

Before Kamala Harris became a district attorney and a United States senator, she was a little girl who loved superheroes.  And when she looked around, she was amazed to find them everywhere! In her family, among her friends, even down the street--there were superheroes wherever she looked. And those superheroes showed her that all you need to do to be a superhero is to be the best that you can be. 

In this empowering and joyful picture-book memoir that speaks directly to the kids, Kamala Harris takes readers through her life and shows them that the power to make the world a better place is inside all of us. And with fun and engaging art by Mechal Renee Roe, as well as a guide to being a superhero at the end, this book is sure to have kids taking up the superhero mantle (cape and mask optional).

Our Thoughts:  

Part memoir, part picture book, Superheroes are Everywhere takes us through Kamala Harris' childhood and all the superheroes she has found in her everyday life; parents, siblings, friends, teachers, and more. 

What makes a superhero?
Bravery? Kindness? Helpfulness?

This wonderful picture book urges kids to be the very best they can be by standing up for what is right, being kind, and making a difference. 

The end pages feature family snapshots with explanations and a timeline is also included.  

Follow

SHOUT by Laurie Halse Anderson (Nonfiction Book Review)

SHOUT

by Laurie Halse Anderson

Published by Viking Books

on March 12, 2019

Genre: Young Adult, Nonfiction, Memoir, Poetry

Length: 296 pages

Ages: 14 - 17

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | BookDepository

Synopsis:

A searing poetic memoir and call to action from the bestselling and award-winning author of Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson!

Bestselling author Laurie Halse Anderson is known for the unflinching way she writes about, and advocates for, survivors of sexual assault. Now, inspired by her fans and enraged by how little in our culture has changed since her groundbreaking novel Speak was first published twenty years ago, she has written a poetry memoir that is as vulnerable as it is rallying, as timely as it is timeless. In free verse, Anderson shares reflections, rants, and calls to action woven between deeply personal stories from her life that she's never written about before. Searing and soul-searching, this important memoir is a denouncement of our society's failures and a love letter to all the people with the courage to say #metoo and #timesup, whether aloud, online, or only in their hearts. Shout speaks truth to power in a loud, clear voice--and once you hear it, it is impossible to ignore. 

My Thoughts:

Laurie Halse Anderson, the author of Speak, writes a poetic memoir of her life, and the things that made her come out and write Melinda's story. 

I picked this up kind of randomly at the library without knowing what it was about except that it was from the author of Speak, which I read about five years before, and that it was a memoir, which I've been reading a lot more of lately. It's a small book and also freestyle poetry, which I see from time to time but never bother to read, so I thought I'd give it a try for once. It turned out to be one of those books I didn't know I needed to read. I didn't think I'd relate but the topic was still important and relevant enough to read and I ended up realizing that I relate more than I'd like to. This is the kind of book that any female, and some males too, will relate to in some way no matter what. 

SHOUT was kind of hard-hitting and is a real life filled with real issues. This is every U.S. teen who struggled with poverty, broken homes, neglect, and abuse. This is every kid that stumbled along through school, failing at fitting in or making friends. This is every young girl or boy who's ever been assaulted or raped. This is a sea of voices who can't speak out, won't speak out, or have yet to speak out, and this author is speaking out for us by telling us her truth. Bless her. 

This was a really hard read. It's like reading someone's darkest truths. The ones that most people keep locked up and never speak of again. So much about this book was relatable for me, in so many ways. This felt like my childhood, my teen years, my life as a woman. The things that we don't talk about because we will be judged and blamed and shamed for them. She puts them all out there and lets us know that these things are not our fault. 

A must read. All the stars and more. 
CW for rape, assault, PTSD, substance abuse.