Hyperbole and a Half

Title: Hyperbole and a Half
Author: Allie Brosh
Pages: 369 (paperback)
Published: October 29th 2013
Published by: Touchstone

In a four-color, illustrated collection of stories and essays, Allie Brosh’s debut Hyperbole and a Half chronicles the many “learning experiences” Brosh has endured as a result of her own character flaws, and the horrible experiences that other people have had to endure because she was such a terrible child. Possibly the worst child. For example, one time she ate an entire cake just to spite her mother.

Brosh’s website receives millions of unique visitors a month and hundreds of thousands of visitors a day. This amalgamation of new material and reader favorites from Brosh's blog includes stories about her rambunctious childhood; the highs and mostly lows of owning a smart, neurotic dog and a mentally challenged one; and moving, honest, and darkly comic essays tackling her struggles with depression and anxiety, among other anecdotes from Brosh's life. Artful, poignant, and uproarious, Brosh’s self-reflections have already captured the hearts of countless readers and her book is one that fans and newcomers alike will treasure.

So just take a moment to scroll down this page a little bit. On the left, you'll find a list of blogs I read. Most of them belong to authors I love, but there is one that stands out as truly different. It's called Hyperbole and a Half and it is truly and honestly the most hilarious blog I have ever read. And quite possibly on the entire internet in general. Go and have a look at it. There are a plethora of posts to read. Spaghatta Nadle and its follow-ups are particular favourites of mine. Why? I have no idea. They just are.

This is the book of the blog, by the rib-achingly funny Allie Brosh, chronicling some of the many mis-adventures of her life, a tutorial for dogs and an amusing/heartbreaking account of her experience with depression. This full title is in fact Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened, which sums up everything it contains pretty well.

Some of the stories in this book are new, and some have been taken from the blog. I thoroughly enjoyed all of them and look forward to many re-reads in the future. Even the one's I read before often had me laughing out load. Actually laughing out loud. Not like when you're like 'lol' and it maybe made you smirk a little bit.

Read this book. And the blog. Because they're amazing, and pretty much speak for themselves on this front. Seriously, what are you still doing here? Go!

Days Gone Bye

Title: Days Gone Bye
Series: The Walking Dead #1
Authors: Robert Kirkman
Illustrator: Toby Moore
Pages: 144 (paperback)
Published: September 26th 2006
Published by: Image Comics

An epidemic of apocalyptic proportions has swept the globe, causing the dead to rise and feed on the living. In a matter of months, society has crumbled: There is no government, no grocery stores, no mail delivery, no cable TV. Rick Grimes finds himself one of the few survivors in this terrifying future. A couple months ago he was a small town cop who had never fired a shot and only ever saw one dead body. Separated from his family, he must now sort through all the death and confusion to try and find his wife and son. In a world ruled by the dead, we are forced to finally begin living.

Rick Grimes is a good-guy police officer with a wife and son. It's just an ordinary day for him. Until he gets shot. Then wakes up an indeterminate amount of time later alone in an empty hospital. Then finds out that he's living right in the middle of the zombie apocalypse. So, you know, not a great few days. He sets off to try and find out what happened to his wife, Lori, and son, Carl, but soon finds himself in a whole mess of trouble.

I really enjoy the TV adaptation, so I figured I'd venture into the heretofore unexplored genre of comic books graphic novels to see how it all started. One thing I was not expecting was how short it was; it took me less than an hour to read the whole thing, which I suppose shouldn't have been as surprising as it was. While there are some extended conversations, most of the action and story is visual.

And I did enjoy it. It was a little confusing to see how much had changed when they were making the show, but I could also see all the similarities and even picked up on a couple of shots which must have been taken straight from the illustrations.

The story was good; there was always something going on, whether it be personal conflicts or zombie attacks. Really the story is more about the former than the later, and the zombie-apocalypse is just the backdrop for all the drama! There were even a couple of funny moments, for me, often due to the "uhh"s and "gak"s of the zombies. And the ending definitely came as a surprise. I mean, I knew (well, guessed) it would happen eventually, but wasn't expecting it this soon!

I'll probably carry on with the series at some point, because I want to see the story develop in its original form and I've heard (and seen thus far) that a lot has been changed. Plus one of my favourite characters from the show, Daryl, hasn't appeared yet. Apparently one of my favourite characters is an invention of the television series, so I'm not intrigued to see who else they've invented, or left out. More changes than I'd expected going on here.

So I'm semi-converted to graphic novels...I'm not hooked, but I think this was a good introduction. And I'll definitely be open to others written by authors of books I've enjoyed - I know both Neil Gaiman and Joe Hill have their own series out there.

Dawn of the Bunny Suicides

Title: Dawn of the Bunny Suicides
Series: Books of the Bunny Suicides #3
Author: Andy Riley
Pages: 160 (paperback)
Published: December 3rd 2010
Published by: Hodder & Staughton

From the author of the cult bestsellers THE BOOK OF BUNNY SUICIDES and RETURN OF THE BUNNY SUICIDES comes another unmissable collection of rabbit-related self destruction...

The bunnies are back - and there's only one thing on their minds. In this new collection, follow the continuing adventures of the fluffy little rabbits who just don't want to live any more...

So, I know this isn't a real book really, but the book I was planning on reviewing this week I haven't actually quite finished - The Count of Monte Cristo, 1228 pages down, 36 to go! - so I'm cheating a little bit. Plus, this is a great book in it's own way! It's funny and inventive, and a little sad a times. The bunnies are pretty darn cute, and you can't help feel sorry for them.

While you laugh at some of the ways they think up of killing themselves off, of course.

There are many pop culture references in there too, with Harry Potter, Indiana Jones and James Bond all making appearances as accidental accomplices in the sometimes potentially quite messy deaths.

Even my grandparents found it funny! They were rather confused when I showed it to them, not really understanding why anyone would want a book about rabbits committing suicide, but they too were soon laughing at many of the cartoons.

A nice, quick, incredibly entertaining read collection of cartoons for your perusal!