Hyperbole and a Half, by Allie Brosh

I debated whether or not to write a post about this book, since it's more of a compilation of illustrated stories written by Allie about her life, about half of which can be seen on her website, http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com (it's where the below meme is from, though the original text is changed to my personal mantra). I really shouldn't review it the same way I do other novels, but then again, I'm always up for a challenge. :)

Book: Hyperbole and a Half, written and illustrated by Allie Brosh

It's Like: There isn't much  you can compare it to, really. It is so very strange and weird and wonderful, you know only Brosh could have written it.

Summary: Uh oh, my usual outline for posts is failing me... I can't summarize a book that has no overall plot! I think I'll just copy what it says on the back of the book because it is a great introduction to Brosh's writing style:

"This is a book I wrote. Because I wrote it, I had to figure out what to put on the back cover to explain what it is. I tried to write a long, third-person summary that would imply how great the book is and also sound vaguely authoritative--like maybe someone who isn't me wrote it--but I soon discovered that I'm not sneaky enough to pull it off convincingly.

"So I decided to just make a list of things that are in the book:

• Pictures.
• Words.
• Stories about things that happened to me.
• Stories about things that happened to other people because of me.
• Eight billion dollars.*
• Stories about dogs.
• The secret to eternal happiness*

*These are lies. Perhaps I have underestimated my sneakiness!"

Notes:

• I think Allie is really amusing and very creative in the way she tells stories. The new stories in the book are interesting and on par, quality-wise, with those that can be found on her blog. There are some stories from her blog that I would have preferred being in the book, however. I think it's because she was focused on making more of a memoir than a collection of blog posts, but here are some of my favorite posts that didn't make the cut: Spiders are Scary, The Alot is Better than You at Everything, and How a Fish Almost Destroyed my Childhood.
• I read a fair number of blogs and a trait I have noticed with a log of bloggers is that they suffer from anxiety and a fear that their readers will not appreciate what they create. Of course, the large majority of readers love everything that the bloggers make and the bloggers know that their fear is irrational, but it does not prevent them from sometimes going months without posting anything new. Allie is one of these bloggers. She's spent a lot of time working though depression and anxiety while working on this book and I know all of her longtime readers, like myself, are very proud of her.
• Along those lines, I noticed a number of her stories were focused on how Allie interacts with the world and how she has dealt with depression and insecurity. I would consider it darker humor than what I'm used to from her and it therefore made me slightly... uncomfortable I guess? I thought these stories were really interesting and amusing at times, but I don't think I enjoyed them as much as someone who could relate to Allie's situation.

Recommendation: I believe I might have scared off some potential readers with the notes that I wrote; I wasn't exactly uplifting... My suggestion is to read her blog, especially the "Best Of" stories that can be seen on the right side of the page and get to know Allie Brosh a little before reading her book. Its easier to understand Allie's stories and how she portrays herself once you have taken the time to learn how awesome she is. :)