Book Review: #Single

Katie March 30, 2019 0 Comments

As someone who is currently attempting online dating and failing miserably, I had to see that I was not alone. This book is made up of a bunch of bizarre and funny responses from guys who matched on Tinder.  Unfortunately the blog that this book is based from no longer seems to exist which is a shame because I am sure that it would have brought me lots of laughs because if there is one thing that online dating has taught me it is that GUYS ARE WEIRD. So, so, so weird. (And a lot don’t check their typos and end up asking you lots of things about their… duck.)  In fact I may just end up writing my own book (or at least a blog) about my adventures in not-dating.  (Just have to find the free time between this blog (which im failing at updating, im aware), working, traveling, and grad school…)

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review, I was not otherwise compensated. This book was published in November 2018.

About the book

This book is a must read if you match any of the following criteria: You are currently online dating. You have online dated. You will online date in your future. You are a smug couple. You worry your child is a spinster/bachelor for life. You like to laugh. You are a Jewish mother. You like to breathe and live and stuff. Is it a perfect match? Swipe right (okay, click) and add it to your cart.  #single is based on the popular blog TinderTuesday.com with 20,000 weekly visitors.

Book Review: K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches

Katie March 30, 2019 0 Comments

I like reading books about baseball, but there really isn’t too much about the game itself that end up being new or interesting.  However, this book took something I already know something about and expanded on it in a way that was new and exciting.  Each chapter is about a different type of pitch that can be done in the game of baseball.  Throughout each chapter, the author talks to some of the pitchers who excelled at and were known for that pitch as well as some of the hitters who faced them.  This was really interesting and the different types of pitches and what you can do with them is not something I usually think or read about, so I liked that this book gave me some more insight.  The author also did his homework and it was really great to see how many pitchers and hitters he was able to include in each chapter.

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.  This book is scheduled to be released on April 2, 2019 from Doubleday Books.

About the Book

From the New York Times baseball columnist, an enchanting, enthralling history of the national pastime as told through the craft of pitching, based on years of archival research and interviews with more than three hundred people from Hall of Famers to the stars of today

The baseball is an amazing plaything. We can grip it and hold it so many different ways, and even the slightest calibration can turn an ordinary pitch into a weapon to thwart the greatest hitters in the world. Each pitch has its own history, evolving through the decades as the masters pass it down to the next generation. From the earliest days of the game, when Candy Cummings dreamed up the curveball while flinging clamshells on a Brooklyn beach, pitchers have never stopped innovating.

In K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches, Tyler Kepner traces the colorful stories and fascinating folklore behind the ten major pitches. Each chapter highlights a different pitch, from the blazing fastball to the fluttering knuckleball to the slippery spitball. Infusing every page with infectious passion for the game, Kepner brings readers inside the minds of combatants sixty feet, six inches apart.

Filled with priceless insights from many of the best pitchers in baseball history–from Bob Gibson, Steve Carlton, and Nolan Ryan to Greg Maddux, Mariano Rivera, and Clayton Kershaw–K will be the definitive book on pitching and join such works as The Glory of Their Times and Moneyball as a classic of the genre.

Book Review: Oh No

Katie March 30, 2019 0 Comments

Oh No is a collection of comics about being a disappointment or being disappointed.  Every panel ends in the character saying “Oh no” after something happens – or doesn’t happen, as it were.  It made me laugh many times, and the illustrations are just perfect for the subject matter I think. And I could relate to a lot of the comics as well.

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review, I was not otherwise compensated. This book will be released April 2 from Andrew McMeel Publishing.

About the Book

A humorous and poignant comic collection about disappointments big and small based on the popular webcomic, Webcomic Name.

Alex Norris’ viral webcomic Webcomic Name, has captured the internet’s heart. The disappointed blob and its resigned “oh no” has become a recognizable slogan, tapping into the current internet zeitgeist of self-conscious pessimism to hilarious and heartbreaking effect.

Now in this alternately funny and gloomy collection, oh no brings together all the series’ greatest hits as well as dozens of never-before-seen comics. With exciting material for established fans and newcomers alike, oh no will have something for everyone. Because, after all, we are all the disappointed blob; the disappointed blob is us.

Book Review: We’re Not Sixteen Anymore

Katie March 29, 2019 0 Comments

We’re Not Sixteen anymore is a book about what happens when a 60ish widow starts using dating apps/sites to try and start dating again.  I was curious to see if there are the same problems with trying to date at 60 as trying to date in your mid-30s.  Becky certainly ended up going on a lot more dates than I have, but a lot of the struggles and problems she had with the guys were the same.  We actually each had an incident at the Cheesecake Factory – though I will say that hers turned out a lot better than mine. (She ended up with her guy – mine walked away at the sight of me never to be heard from again.)

There are also some funny pieces in the book because Becky is 60ish and computer illiterate which puts her in some interesting situations that made me laugh.

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review, I was not otherwise compensated. This book was published in June 2016.

About the Book

This book published in 2016 but its popularity continues and this time of year seems to bring out the online dating ads more than ever.

You’ve seen those ads on television, in newspapers, and (naturally) on computer popups. The models are cute, handsome, young, or at least looking good for their age. But what REALLY happens when a computer semi-illiterate 60ish widow is prodded into this very 21st century form of dating—when the last time she dated was when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon? Getting back into dating makes her feel young. Actual dating makes her realize she is NOT sixteen anymore.  What started out as entries on her Facebook page have expanded into detailed accounts of dating foibles and feats. Anyone who has embraced the concept of online dating, no matter at what age, will find her adventures laugh-out-loud funny and charming.

Book Review: Know Yourself

Katie March 29, 2019 0 Comments

Know Yourself is a book of questions.  Each page poses a question for yourself – like what is your favorite room in the house? What do you think about before you go to sleep?  I tried to see which questions I was able to come up with answer for right away, which one I had to think about, and which answer I wasn’t very happy with to try and figure out more about myself and maybe what bad habits I have and should attempt to change.  (And I probably should have kept track of how many answers had something to do with Hanson.  Geez. LOL)

I did find I got stuck for a long time on “What were the three best things that happened today?” and maybe I should start one of those journals writing 1 good thing that happened each day to try and focus more on the positive and what I did do than the negative or what I still have to do.

I really enjoyed this book and how it made me think about things about myself.

“Life is not about finding the right answers; it’s about asking the right questions” – Unknown

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review, I was not otherwise compensated.  This book will be released April 2, 2019 from Workman Publishing Company.

About the Book

Incisive questions can inspire self-reflection, spark ideas, and, best of all, reveal surprising truths. From Flow, the champions of meditating on life’s simple pleasures, here’s a book of 165 creative questions, some sweet, some silly, some unexpectedly provocative, that will open the mind to deeper self-knowledge. There are no “right” answers—the point is simply to stay curious and stay open to learning about oneself or a friend, partner, or roommate.

There are questions to prompt memories: How many homes have you lived in? To fuel a fantasy life: Which historical event do you wish you could have seen with your own eyes? To tap into your sense of adventure: What’s the wildest thing you’ve ever done? To remind you to live in the present: What were the three best things that happened today? To celebrate your strength: When have you stood up for yourself?

A signature Flow book in its mindful theme and charming, colorful aesthetic with vibrant patterns and hand-lettering, Know Yourself is a pleasure to browse through and share.

Book Review: The Ultimate History of The ’80s Teen Movie

Katie March 12, 2019 0 Comments

I was not a teen until the late ’90s and I’m also not a huge movie watcher, but with Fandom Running Club starting a “Cult Classic” medal series, well maybe I should see what the 80s had to offer so I can try and guess on some of the clues to come. (The first one is “Dont You 4K About Me” – The Breakfast Club – which is an 80s movie I have seen!)

The book starts in… 1978? With talk about John Travolta.  It compares some of the story lines from the 80s with how they would not fly in a movie today.  The book is quite long and touches on a TON of movies… most of which of course I had never seen (but have heard of, at least!)  And a lot of details on them.  It is a history, after all.

I was hoping for a check list of sorts of all the movies in the back of the book so I could see what I had seen and what I haven’t, but let’s be honest, my number would probably be able to be counted on one hand.

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review, I was not otherwise compensated. This book is being released March 19, 2019 by Diversion Books.

About the Book

A trip back to the era of troubled teens and awesome soundtracks; of Reagan, rap, and Ridgemont High; of MTV, VHS, and “Axel F”; of outsiders, lost boys, and dead poets; of Bill and Ted, Brooke Shields, and the Brat Pack; of three Porky’s flicks, two Coreys, and one summer when “Baby” refused to be put in a corner.

The Ultimate History of the ’80s Teen Movie goes behind the scenes of a genre where cult hits mingled with studio blockbusters, where giants like Spielberg and Coppola rubbed shoulders with baby-faced first-timers, and where future superstars Sean, Demi, and Tom all got their big break. Music, comedy, and politics all play a part in the surprisingly complex history of the ’80s teen movie. And while the films might have been aimed primarily at adolescents, the best tackle universal issues and remain relevant to all ages.

From a late ’70s Hollywood influx to an early ’90s indie scene that gave youth cinema a timely reboot, film expert James King highlights the personal struggles, the social changes, and the boardroom shake-ups that produced an iconic time in movie history.