Tiny Beautiful Things

From Goodreads:

Life can be hard: your lover cheats on you; you lose a family member; you can’t pay the bills—and it can be great: you’ve had the hottest sex of your life; you get that plum job; you muster the courage to write your novel. Sugar—the once-anonymous online columnist at The Rumpus, now revealed as Cheryl Strayed, author of the bestselling memoir Wild—is the person thousands turn to for advice. 

Tiny Beautiful Things brings the best of Dear Sugar in one place and includes never-before-published columns and a new introduction by Steve Almond.  Rich with humor, insight, compassion—and absolute honesty—this book is a balm for everything life throws our way.

For the record-- I don't really  review books.  I don't feel qualified, BUT I do love to talk about them and like to feel part of the book blogging world.

 

From Me:

I loved Strayed's book, Wild, but I'm not into self-help books or advice books, so I don't know what drew me to this one---except that during Non-Fiction November, everyone was raving about it.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

I listened to the audio version which was narrated by Cheryl Strayed,  herself----- this can be either really good or really bad.  In this case I thought it was really good.  I liked hearing the sound of her voice and since she wrote the book, she knew the right inflections, cadence and pauses, etc.   (when I first started listening, I thought she sounded choppy and it was bugging me.  Then I noticed I had the speed turned up to 1.5x and once I turned it to regular speed it made a world of difference)

This was more than just an advice column book, it was more like a mini-memoir, and I adore (for the most part) memoirs.   I thought she had so many good things to ponder in her 'advice'.   She really was compassionate, but honest. I like her life stories.

 

 Sometimes the language is a bit much.  Do we have to use that 'F' word so often?    I am not opposed to that word, I just think it's overused sometimes. AND that makes me seem old, I know.

The other thing that bugged me---and this is just a personal thing---is her use of pet names like Sweet Pea and Honey Bun.  I don't want someone I don't know calling me a nickname like that. SEE--I told you it was just personal. (I hate more than anything when a waitress calls me Honey!)  Strayed used those terms a lot and I had to get over it.  But now I notice that those pet names are on the tip of my tongue and I know I am going to end up calling someone Sweet Pea soon!

 

So, besides the "F" word and Pet Nicknames,  I really liked the book.  I liked how she can see issues from a different side.

She made me think about things.

3.85 stars!