Book Review of Touch by Courtney Maum

I won an ARC of Touch by Courtney Maum from the publisher. I entered the giveaway for one simple reason: I was enamored of the cover design. Something about how the title was printed vertically, in rainbow-hued smears that looked like the result of fingerpaints and black scrawl that called to mind a hurried grocery list scribbled on a stray Post-It more than it did a publisher's typeface really appealed to me. It felt visceral. It felt human. It felt alive.

As I began reading the story of Sloane, an American ex-pat and professional trend forecaster living in Paris with her longtime boyfriend and oft business collaborator, I realized all of those cover design elements weren't simply employed because of their sensory appeal--they tied into the themes of the book rather profoundly.

Sloane is returning Stateside for a six-month trend forecasting gig at a high-powered tech company mere minutes from the family from which she's become all but estranged since her Dad's death three years ago. As her Parisian boyfriend Roman withdraws from her in favor of temporary fame and neo-sensualism, Sloane realizes what she craves (and, what other humans are sure to crave in this increasingly isolated digital age) is simple: human touch and face-to-face connection. Delivering this message runs directly at odds to her mission at the tech company, where gadgets and sensationalism reign supreme, but fits into her newfound--or newly realized--desire for familial relationships and human closeness.

Touch deals deftly, albeit with some sensationalism of its own, with ultra-relevant issues of the day. Featuring characters who feel tethered to their phones at the expense of relationships and relationships that have suffered the death of effective communication, Maum has written a book which manages to be both engrossing and applicable to her readers' lives. It feels like one part chick lit with all of its attendant tropes and requisite plot points, and one part futuristic dystopian novel with its searingly honest look at technology's role in our lives. Its contrast of touch vs. technology wrapped up in a chick lit package reminded me strongly of another book: My (not so) Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella, of which my review is here. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for intelligent chick lit, or a dystopian look at technology with the classic rom com will-the-or-won't-they plotlines. Touch comes out May 30th.

Glommable Glombox #1: A Review and Unboxing

I'm lucky enough to have won a Glombox from Glommable at Glommable.com, and it just arrived, so I thought I'd do an unboxing post. If you aren't familiar with the website (or the new box), they're both focused on the intersection of books and pop culture, with a mix of high-brow and low-brow, and all that's in between. The box felt like it was curated by Rory Gilmore and Mindy Lahiri. The card enclosed inside the top of the box explained both the website and the rationale for its contents pretty well, although it didn't adequately explain that this isn't actually a subscription box, but is instead a sweepstakes, of which there were 10 winners, but I dug around a little bit for that info. You can see the card nestled inside the box atop the turquoise tissue paper that concealed all of the other contents. I particularly love the humor and snark with which the card was written.

That's a pretty strange decision, and I wonder why Glommable won't be offering a subscription option for these, since I predict there will be a demand for them. Each of the prize boxes' contents was valued at $100 USD. Fortunately for you readers, though, most of these items are available for purchase at your favorite bookstore, so let's get to unpacking!

Once I opened the tissue paper, the first fun little trinket in the box was a card explaining Mabel, Glommable's mascot. Attached was an enamel pin featuring her charmingly strange little likeness, pictured below. You can see how all of the Glombox's contents are nestled atop colorful little blue paper shreds, which would've been charming and fun... except that they were a dark sky blue, and the tissue paper was a teal/turquoise color, so they actually clashed with each other. Also, I think Mabel is cute, but since I have absolutely no use for enamel pins whatsoever, I have no idea what I'm going to do with her. ...suggestions?

Once I moved the top layer of paper shreds aside, I discovered this glossy sheet of silly photobooth-style photos of Anna Kendrick wearing the outfit she wore on the cover of her recently published memoir, Scrappy Little Nobody. Stuck through the one square not featuring a photo of Kendrick is another enamel pin, this one decorated with the words 'scrappy little nobody'. Though I've truly enjoyed some of Kendrick's performances, I have actually already read Scrappy Little Nobody, and I can't say I cared for it much. In fact, I didn't post a review because I disliked it too much to finish the book. That's okay, though. Sometimes, a person who is a solid stage performer has talent or charisma that doesn't translate to the page, and I felt that was the case with Kendrick.

So, of course, the next item was a hardback copy of Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick.

But, this one is autographed. I'm sure that, if I were a bigger fan of the book, or of Kendrick in general, there would've been some *squee*ing happening at this point.

Underneath that, There was a copy of Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh. I love that book! In fact, I love it so much that I already own it.... I've followed the blog forever, and I really enjoy Allie Brosh's honesty about mental illness--the way she writes about her own struggles with Anxiety and Depression is both hilarious and somehow helpful to readers who might be dealing with similar issues. Also, I love that her lack of what traditional art scholars may call "talent" with drawing (aka, the people she draws look like the people I'm able to draw), doesn't hold her back from telling completely entertaining stories about her life. I wish, instead of including two extra items (the enamel pin and the photos) themed on Scrappy Little Nobody, Glommable had chosen to add some Hyperbole and a Half swag... as long as it wasn't yet another enamel pin!

However, I was thrilled to see that the next item was a copy of The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl by Issa Rae, because this is actually on my TBR list! Also, as a diverse book blogger, I'm excited because it means I've got another #ownvoices title by a diverse author on my shelf. Expect a review sometime soon. (I had to put one of the other books back inside the box underneath it because those pesky little paper shreds kept obscuring the cover when I tried to take a picture and the book was sinking into them like a very small child in the ball pit at Chuck E. Cheese.)

The next title I unearthed was You're Never Weird On The Internet (almost) by Felicia Day. I don't have much of a frame of reference for this book--actually, it was the only item in the box that I wasn't familiar with in one way or another)--so I had a pretty neutral reaction when I pulled it out. A memoir with a bonus chapter included and a foreward by Joss Whedon piqued my interest, though, so this one has been added to my TBR to read and review. Have any of you guys read it? What are your thoughts?

Just when I thought I'd reached the bottom of the Glombox, I moved all of the blue paper shreds of doom (TM) aside to discover that there was one last surprise... a Pusheen coloring book!

This was a nice addition to the box because it was the only book-like thing included that had the sole purpose of frivolity, with no serious element at all. But, I found myself wishing that the Glombox curators had included a little Pusheen goody, like maybe a pen, or a sheet of stickers instead of the Kendrick photos or one of those tiresome enamel pins that also have no actual use.

Here's my favorite page from the coloring book:

(I actually saw some memo pads with this design on them on an endcap in the stationery section in B&N, but I couldn't afford them, so I had to drag myself away.) That makes me extra pumped that this coloring book, and this particular design, was included in the box. I'm thinking of framing this page and hanging it in my closet for a little inspiration when I'm getting dressed and I have trouble deciding how fancy to be. Now, here's a question for you: I have a Doctor's appointment tomorrow. Do you guys think the dress code is merely kind of fancy, or actually super fancy? I mean, do I need to be tracking down a unicorn before I show up there tomorrow?

Ultimately, I'm super grateful to have won a Glombox, and it definitely motivated me to check out Glommable.com, which is a website I'd heard about a time or two in passing previously, but wasn't on my radar much before. I have no idea why they aren't offering this as a subscription, unless the sweepstakes is merely a test run before they start a subscription service (which could be a smart way to do things). 

Overall, I enjoyed the contents of the box. They struck a good balance between high culture and low culture/serious and humorous. I would've enjoyed a more cohesive theme, and I would've liked if they stayed away from those seemingly purposeless enamel pins entirely. As someone who loves to send care packages, I was particularly taken with the size and shape of the box (it was a very attractive square-topped box with a lid that tucked into the front and folded upward from a hinged back). I felt the presentation could've been a little better--maybe fancier?--by simply attaching the explanation card to the inside of the box lid, choosing tissue paper and paper shred packing materials that matched or coordinated with each other, and maybe having one other decorative element within the packaging itself. I also would've liked to see a little more diversity amongst the authors whose works were included within the box. Since that is such a selling point, and a hot-button issue in both publishing and pop culture today, it surprises me that the Glommable curators would be so tone-deaf on this point. Still, this is their first crack at the whole Glombox thing, and there's always the next box!

Book Review of The Garden of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman

The Garden of Small Beginnings and I are in a Facebook Relationship, and our status is: It's Complicated. I'm still not sure exactly why I received this ARC in the mail. Did I enter a giveaway and then promptly forget having done so? Was it as a result of being on a list of book bloggers? I have no idea. Thus, it is a tad outside of my comfort zone, reading-wise. See, I enjoy some chick lit.. very selective chick lit. But the chick lit I enjoy is usually British, and runs to the likes of Jane Green and the lesser-known works of Sophie Kinsella, so as I unpacked and examined this book, I wondered if it was even close to my "thing." On the one hand, the cover is visually pleasing, colorful, and really lights up the pleasure buttons in the same parts of my brain that are obsessed with graphic design and typography, and is refreshingly devoid of a cartoonized couple kissing whilst surrounded by doodled hearts and flowers. On the other, I feared it would lean a bit too much toward the Eat, Pray, Love/Under the Tuscan Sun type of book for my taste. But, really: see what I mean about the cover?

Other than the cover, I love the way there are pages sandwiched between the chapters and each page features a sketch of a plant and then growing instructions for said plant, as if that page was pulled straight from a gardening manual. In addition to drawing me into the world of Lilian, a widow who has recently (against her will) become immersed in a community gardening class, rather effectively, these inserts also taught me some interesting and unforgettable facts about agriculture that provided a nice takeaway value, aside from the enjoyment the novel provided. I also really respected the way it would've been easy for Waxman to make Lilian's two young daughters simply cookie-cutter elementary school-aged girls, but instead, these characters are delightfully imbued with such distinctive personalities that I would've been able to tell their dialogue apart without attributions. The level of sarcasm and wit included in the dialogue and infused into the narrative voice really set The Garden of Small Beginnings apart from many other books of this type. In between banter about the gender identity of worms and the genitalia of whales, sappy kissing scenes just don't feel so cliche. And I like how Waxman doesn't simply gloss over Lilian's grief and loss, but truly forces her character to deal with it and illustrates just how bad it got by describing Lilian's resultant mental illness in pointed detail on several occasions.

However, there were weaknesses that particularly bothered me. Some were glaring continuity issues that distracted me from the story. Those charming between-chapter garden inserts felt as if they were written in the protagonist Lilian's voice (which is quite distinctive), but she is a professional illustrator and the book goes out of its way to say that she does not ever write any of the accompanying text for her illustrations (which have mostly appeared in textbooks up until this point), so that doesn't quite gel for me. Also, the instructor at the gardening class makes a point of saying how the participants will rotate from section to section of the community garden each week so that they can get the full range of experiences and learn how to grow all of the various plants... and then, the narrative has the characters show up and work in the same section of the garden on the exact same plants week after week for the entirety of the class. And very early in the book, Waxman makes a big deal of saying that Lilian frequently speaks aloud to her deceased husband--something which puts the reader on guard for exactly that... which, then, never happens in the manuscript. 

On the whole, Waxman's treatment of mental illness is hit-or-miss for me. I appreciated how she made it obvious that dealing with Depression wasn't simply something that could be checked off of a list, but something that required maintenance. But, I wondered if someone who'd had a similar experience and reaction to Lilian's regarding her husband's death might find some of the phrasing in the book offensive. Since that isn't me, however, I can't comment on it one way or the other. The chemistry between Lilian and her new potential love interest is compelling, and, since I actually don't enjoy much romance on the page, I appreciated that it was very subtle and more about communication (verbal and non-verbal, but also mostly non-physical), than it was about the physical aspect. I felt that Waxman's treatment of the dynamic heightened my interest, and I appreciated the subtlety.

All in all, whether or not I'd recommend The Garden of Small Beginnings to you depends completely on who you are and what you're looking for. If you're in it for a gardening-themed book, I'd say jump right in with no reservations. If you like to read about professional illustrators, there might be enough to keep you engaged. If you like witty banter and subtle flirtation, you'll probably love this book. If you are into hot-and-heavy romance novels, I'd give it a pass. But, if plot inconsistencies drive you crazy, this isn't the book for you. 

Book Review of My (not so) Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella

Way back in high school, I discovered British Chick Lit. The first author I found whose works I enjoyed in this category was Jane Green. I don't even recall how I came across Jemima J, but I loved it. A few books later, someone saw me reading a Jane Green novel and said, "If you like her stuff, you should check out Sophie Kinsella." So, I did. And they were right.

I actually haven't read and loved a Sophie Kinsella book in quite a while. I didn't enjoy Finding Audrey, and I feel like the Shopaholic series has gotten completely out of control. In fact, the last Sophie Kinsella book I fell head over heels for was Remember Me. I'm pleased to say that My (not so) Perfect Life reminded me of Remember Me in all the best ways! I was lucky enough to get to read it now because I was given a free ARC from Shelf Awareness. Though I don't feel the cover accurately represents the book as well as it could, I'm quite keen on the verdant green cover.

Katie Brenner is a farmgirl struggling to live within her means in London while working at the lowest rung of a PR graphic design firm and posing as a confident up-and-coming businesswoman. She's talented and eager to learn, yet never truly seen for her abilities or potential by Demeter, her boss. Demeter appears to live a shiny, perfect life, which Katie envies greatly, but Katie (and almost everyone else) is only privy to Demeter's public face. Katie finds a bit of escapism in the form of an Instagram account more filtered than Evian water, where she posts pictures of food she can't afford to eat and places she was too stressed out to enjoy as if they were accurate representations of her London lifestyle. When Katie's dad and stepmom want to turn the family farm into a glamping business, Katie is given a chance to lend her understanding of chic urbanites' vacation desires and keen graphic design skills to the cause, in a much-needed fusion of her city mouse/country mouse personas.

My (not so) Perfect Life deals with issues that will ring true with many readers. In today's age of social media, who doesn't either reframe her own life to seem more idyllic for public consumption, or know somebody who does? Kinsella also writes humorously about basic girls' trendy obsessions with Goop, and buzzwords like "organic," "gluten-free," "authentic," and "artisanal."

This is a must-read for any fan of British Chick Lit! It comes out on February 7th, 2017.