Actin' Up with Books: gifts

Showing posts with label gifts. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 26, 2021

Mini-Reviews: THE NEUROTIC NOTEBOOK, A TURTLE'S GUIDE TO INTROVERSION, and HAPPILY EVER AFTER & EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN

A collection of mini-reviews, quick thoughts, and books worth mentioning. Check them out!

THE NEUROTIC NOTEBOOK by Lena Friedrich

Publication Date: January 5, 2021

Pages: 208

Source: Netgalley | Publisher

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Synopsis (link to Goodreads)

My Thoughts

THE NEUROTIC NOTEBOOK is a fun, pun-y gift book. . The familiar composition style cover immediate draws you to it and gives you the special place where you want to write all the words. Each page has a clever play on words, fonts, or punctuation, and it offers an interesting and entertaining use of language. This notebook is the perfect gift for just the "write" person.

A TURTLE'S GUIDE TO INTROVERSION by Ton Mak

Publication Date: February 9, 2021

Pages: 120

Source: Netgalley | Publisher

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Synopsis (link to Goodreads)

My Thoughts

"I enjoy long slow walks . . .

away from social situations."

A TURTLE'S GUIDE TO INTROVERSION is a great reminder that we can allow space for calmness - we even can embrace it. Each page affirmed the validity of doing things at your own pace.

"Confidence doesn't always roar."

I enjoyed the cute pictures and one turtle's thoughts on enjoying their own company.

HAPPILY EVER AFTER & EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN by Debbie Tung

Publication Date: June 2, 2020

Pages: 160

Source: Netgalley | Publisher

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Synopsis (link to Goodreads)

My Thoughts

Apparently I like comics about couples. HAPPILY EVER AFTER & EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN is a collection of comics of a young couple beginning their life together.

It includes cute depictions of ordinary life, every day happenings, and the little annoyances that happen between couples who are making their way.

One of my favorite comics is of the couple getting ready for the day and they unintentionally get dressed in very similar clothes. My husband and I did this all of the time, and it's not uncommon for several couples I know. My grandparents did it too!

I love seeing the humor of it all.

Disclaimer: I requested these e-ARCs from Netgalley for review consideration. I was not compensated in any way other than the e-ARCs provided. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

Wednesday, May 2, 2018

NOTES FROM A PUBLIC TYPEWRITER - Review and Giveaway

NOTES FROM A PUBLIC TYPEWRITER
by Michael Gustafson and Oliver Uberti
Publication Date: March 27, 2018
Published by Grand Central Publishing
Pages: 160
Source: Publisher

DESCRIPTION

In the spirit of Post Secret and Other People's Love Letters, a collection of confessional, hilarious, heartbreaking notes written anonymously on a public typewriter.

When Michael Gustafson and his wife Hilary opened Literati Bookstore three years ago in Ann Arbor, Michigan, they put out a typewriter for anyone to use. They had no idea what to expect. Every day, people of all ages sit down at the public typewriter. Children perch atop grandparents, both sets of hands, young and old, hovering above the metal keys: Dear Gramma, I LOVE YOU.... Others walk in alone on Friday nights and type confessionals: I will find someone someday. And some just leave funny asides for the next person who sits down: I dislike people, misanthropes, irony, and ellipses ... and lists too.

Now in NOTES FROM A PUBLIC TYPEWRITER Michael and acclaimed author and illustrator Oliver have combined these notes with essays and photos, resulting in a beautiful, four color gift book. It's a love letter to independent bookstores and a warm, loving portrait of a community that brings to life the magic of these beautiful, funny, inspiring, and sometimes even heartbreaking messages.

MY THOUGHTS

"Ink lasts."

There's a certain kind of magic contained a bookstore and the owners of Literati Bookstore in Ann Arbor, Michigan added another tool to create that magic - a typewriter. Visitors to the store were free to share their words - both profound and silly. The owner collected many of the typings and present them in this book.

NOTES FROM A PUBLIC TYPEWRITER is a touching tribute to visitors, to readers, to all of us that have something to say - our confessions, our secrets, our admissions, and just the random thoughts that we need to get out.
The book is filled with photographs and actual quotes from the writers arranged in collections with titles like Impressions, Catharsis, On Mystery, and Lost & Found.

From Catharsis

"The most poignant notes are found on rainy Saturday nights. Notes on sobriety. Notes on divorce. Notes on loneliness. I don't judge; I replenish the paper." (page 119)

A Favorite Note

"Maybe one day we will write

enough books and read enough words

to understand each other.

I hope."

(page 69)

What I love most about this book is that it reminds us that we're not alone. Our words matter.
NOTES FROM A PUBLIC TYPEWRITER lovely book to gift to a friend or even, give it to yourself.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michael Gustafson is the co-owner of Literati Bookstore, an independent bookstore in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He lives in Ann Arbor with his wife and Literati Bookstore co-owner, Hilary.

Oliver Uberti is an award-winning graphic designer and was Senior Design Editor at National Geographic before turning to books. He is the co-author and designer of two books published by Penguin in the UK, London: The Information Capital (2014) and Where the Animals Go (2016). He lives in Los Angeles.

WEBSITE: http://www.oliveruberti.com / http://www.literatibookstore.com/

TWITTER: @oliveruberti / @LiteratiBkstore

FACEBOOK: @LiteratiBookstore

INSTAGRAM: @literatibookstore

ENTER THIS TWITTER GIVEAWAY FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A COPY OF

NOTES FROM A PUBLIC TYPEWRITER

https://twitter.com/ActinUpJoli/status/991459216790577152

RT and Follow by 5/6/18 11:59 p.m. for a chance to win a copy of Notes from a Public Typewriter by Michael Gustafson and Oliver Uberti. US/CAN only. #bookgiveaway #grandcentralpublishing pic.twitter.com/EWP0LFmUHf
— Joli (@ActinUpJoli) May 1, 2018