Fowl Language

If you are a parent, or about to become a parent, or want to know what may be going through your own parents' heads, this is the book for you!

It was a hoot sitting on the deck with my husband who picked up the book first. He laughed out loud several times! And just as when we watch the ABC program, The Middle, he exclaimed several times, "This is too true!"

Fowl Language is so easy to relate to! Neither of us was familiar with the online cartoon world of Fowl Language, but I can assure you, the situations are real, as are the reactions! If you want a quick, fun read about the trials and tribulations--and the humorous parts too!--of parenting, you must read this book!

My thanks to the publisher from whom I received a free copy of the book in exchange for this honest review!

From the Publisher . . .

The popular parenting webcomic featured on HuffPost, Buzzfeed, and Upworthy is now a book! The perfect gift for baby showers and for those already in the throes of parenting, Fowl Language: Welcome to Parenting is here to let you know that you're not alone. Parenting is hard and often gross. Laughing about it helps. If you liked Toddlers Are A**holes, you'll love Fowl Language!

Parenting can be a magical journey full of bliss and wonder . . . if you're on the right meds. For the rest of us, it's another thing altogether. Fowl Language Comics takes an unvarnished look at the tedium and aggravation of parenting, while never forgetting that the reason we put up with those little jerks is that we love them so damn much. By poking fun at the daily struggles parents face, these cartoons help all of us feel less alone in our continual struggle to stay sane.

Brian Gordon, creator of Fowl Language Comics, has two small children of his own and knows well the trials and tribulations that go along with raising them. With more than eighteen years of experience in humorous illustration, writing, and cartooning, Brian's visual point of view is memorable, authentic, and instantly recognizable. From Brian: "They say 'write what you know.' Well, I don’t know much, but I do know what it’s like to be the father of two brilliant, beautiful, bat-shit-crazy kids."

Launched in July 2013, the relatable humor of Fowl Language broke out on HuffPost Parents, Pop Sugar Moms, Bored Panda, Awkward Family Photos, and countless other humor and parenting blogs. Thanks to more than 200,000 fans on social media, including Facebook, Tumblr, and Instagram, it continues to grow in popularity at a rapid pace.

About the Author . . .

"A million years ago, Brian Gordon spent his time staying out late, hitting the clubs and eating at fancy restaurants.

And then suddenly ... CHILDREN. While he loved being a dad more than anything else, he also noticed that at times, parenting can be a total crap-fest.

In the summer of 2013, Brian began drawing Fowl Language as a fun (and often profane) way to vent his frustrations. After getting laid off from his job as a greeting card artist, he decided to pursue the comic full-time. His work quickly became an Internet viral sensation, and is shared regularly by millions of people all over the world."

Tagging Along With Bill Through Britain

Bill Bryson’s Notes from a Small Island is a fun romp around Britain through the eyes of an American ex-pat. If you enjoy PBS travel programs and/or British comedies, or frequently find yourself watching BBC America from your satellite provider but haven’t read this book, you jolly well better hoof off to the nearest book store or library and procure a copy for heaven’s sake!

Bryson lived in England for a number of years, having married a British nurse. One day after 20 years or so of being a part of the British landscape, Bryson and his family decided to move back to the United States. Notes from a Small Island is a memoir of the seven-week “farewell” trek through England, Wales, and Scotland Bryson made before departing. If you have read A Walk in the Woods (recently made into a film starring Robert Redford), then you know that Bryson is a walker. It is a habit he perfected during his years in Britain. Much of the journey he takes readers on is a walkabout through the countryside.

“I picked a mercifully level footpath and followed it for two miles through woods and fields along the crest of a secluded hanging Valley to rejoin the coast path at a lonely and dramatic eminence called Houns-tout Cliff. The view once again was stunning: whale-back hills and radiant white cliffs, dotted with small coves and hidden beaches washed by a blue and infinite sea. I could see all the way to Lulworth, my destination for the day, some ten miles and many daunting whale-back to the west.”

In addition to rich descriptions of the landscape, villages, and people Bryson encounters on his journey, there is also a good smattering of the irreverent humor one expects while reading anything by this author. I had many good laughs aloud (much to the consternation of my husband seated at the opposite end of the couch trying to make his way through the latest George R. R. Martin epic, A Dance With Dragons) as I joined Bryson’s farewell tour.

As an example, Bryson begins chapter 20 with: “I took a train to Liverpool. They were having a festival of litter when I arrived. Citizens had taken time off from their busy activities to add ice cream wrappers, empty cigarette boxes, and plastic carrier bags to the otherwise bland and neglected landscape. They fluttered gaily in the bushes and brought color and texture to pavements and gutters. And to think that elsewhere we stick these objects in trashbags.”

His tale of the sign he found where a grumpy landowner did not want anyone turning around in their driveway, or the elderly train enthusiast he encountered on the train to Llandudno in Wales were a hoot! I can easily imagine that travelling with Bryson would make for a fun time. And indeed, it has each and every moment I have spent reading his books. The book should come with a warning that you may get some funny looks from people around you when you break into laughter in public. That being said, I would encourage you to read it--especially with a pint in hand and a marathon of British documentaries playing in the background.

From the Publisher . . .

Before New York Times bestselling author Bill Bryson wrote The Road to Little Dribbling, he took this delightfully irreverent jaunt around the unparalleled floating nation of Great Britain, which has produced zebra crossings, Shakespeare, Twiggie Winkie’s Farm, and places with names like Farleigh Wallop and Titsey.

About the Author . . .

Bill Bryson was born in Des Moines, Iowa. For twenty years he lived in England, where he worked for the Times and the Independent, and wrote for most major British and American publications. His books include travel memoirs (Neither Here Nor There; The Lost Continent; Notes from a Small Island) and books on language (The Mother Tongue; Made in America). His account of his attempts to walk the Appalachian Trail, A Walk in the Woods, was a huge New York Times bestseller. He lives in Hanover, New Hampshire, with his wife and his four children.

After A While

Do you secretly watch reality television shows about hoarders or people with bizarre eating habits so that you can feel better about your own living space or eating habits? Have you ever attended a support group and thought to yourself, "Well, I may have this problem, but at least I'm not as bad as THAT person!"? If so, Gwendolyn Knapp's memoir, After a While You Just Get Used To It is the book for you!

Less Cousin Eddy (from the Vacation series of films) and more the feeling of TMI (too much information), I didn't find Knapp's memoir as "hilarious" and "side-splitting" as many other readers seem to have found it. It left me feeling a bit squeamish at times for being witness to a little too much "family clutter".

Knapp's writing style is crisp; her vocabulary is earthy and raw. It will punch you in the gut in a few places. But it does grab you and take you along for the ride. I did find myself smiling in a few places even though, in the end, much of the intended humor fell flat for me.

Thanks to Shelf Awareness for the free copy I received in exchange for this review.

From the Publisher . . .

A dive bar palm reader who calls herself the Disco Queen Taiwan; a slumlord with a penis-of-the-day LISTSERV; and Betty, the middle-aged Tales of the Cocktail volunteer who soils her pants on a party bus and is dealt with in the worst possible way. These are just a few of the unforgettable characters who populate Gwendolyn Knapp’s hilarious and heartbreaking—yet ultimately uplifting—memoir debut, After a While You Just Get Used to It.

Growing up in a dying breed of eccentric Florida crackers, Knapp thought she had it rough—what with her pack rat mother, Margie; her aunt Susie, who has fewer teeth than prison stays; and Margie’s bipolar boyfriend, John. But not long after Knapp moves to New Orleans, Margie packs up her House of Hoarders and follows along. As if Knapp weren’t struggling enough to keep herself afloat, working odd jobs and trying to find love while suffering from irritable bowel syndrome, the thirty-year-old realizes that she’s never going to escape her family’s unendingly dysfunctional drama.

Knapp honed her writing chops and distinctive Southern Gothic–humor style writing short pieces and participating in the renowned reading series Literary Death Match. Now, like bestselling authors Jenny Lawson, Laurie Notaro, and Julie Klausner before her, Knapp bares her sad and twisted life for readers everywhere to enjoy.

About the Author . . .

Gwendolyn Knapp holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of North Carolina. Her fiction has appeared in Crazyhorse and Quarterly West, and her nonfiction has appeared in The Southeast Review, Hayden’s Ferry Review, The Best Creative Nonfiction Vol. 2, and Narrative.ly. She also had a notable essay mention in The Best American Essays 2013. Knapp lives in New Orleans, where her mother also relocated in 2010, along with tons of her junk.