Embrace Your Weird: Face Your Fears and Unleash Creativity by Felicia Day

Embrace Your Weird is a non-fiction and self help manifesto encouraging creativity and told in Felicia Day’s unmistakably humorous way.

I say “unmistakable” for any of her myriad fans who have watched her ground-breaking web series, “The Guild,” or read another of her books like You’re Never Weird on the Internet. Her tone and sense of humor remains the same.

And if you haven’t had the chance to enjoy any of Day’s other creations, I encourage you to give them a try. They’re light-hearted and fun.

“Aside from (over)sharing a lot of my opinions, I have filled this book with exercises designed to uncover the joy of creativity. To help people beat back the fear that keeps them from trying new things.” pg xi

On almost every other page, Day encourages readers to stop a moment and draw a picture, fill out a list, or write empowering messages over and over so that they’ll sink in. The act of reading this book is nearly a creative act in and of itself. (Sadly, I couldn’t do this because I was reading a library book. Suggestion for future readers: buy yourself a copy.)

“No, I don’t think creativity is a cure-all. But I do believe it could be a cure-most.” pg 29

Besides reminding readers that we have unique voices and viewpoints that the world needs to hear, Day loosely structures the rest of the book off of life viewed as a game. She asks us to remember our “hero-self,” identify “enemies” and “allies” of our creativity, and to view the steps we take towards creation as “quests.”

Day also shares moments in her life when she’s completed or failed attempting various pieces of this philosophy in her own life.

“I constantly hand my heart over to strangers to batter however they wish, and I wonder why I’m constantly wounded all the time, and this makes me reluctant to create. Good way to operate? NOT REALLY!” pg 143

As I said, the whole book has a definite Felicia Day vibe. And it’s fun!

“Playfulness is the root of all creation. All invention. All discovery. There is no reason NOT to feel joyous when we make things.” pg 206

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She wasn’t afraid to tackle all sorts of hang-ups people might have in their creative process. Day nailed my biggest issue: finishing projects once they’re started.

“But we will never get anywhere if we don’t focus on one thing at a time. And then see that thing through before moving on!” pg 239

Message received. Now to put it into action…

Recommended for anyone looking to start or jump start their creativity. This book is an excellent place to begin. Thanks for reading!

World Made by Hand by James Howard Kunstler

“It was chilling to reflect on how well the world used to work and how much we’d lost.” pg 12, ebook.

In World Made by Hand, civilization has fallen to pieces. There is no consistent electricity. The town of Union Grove has running water, but only because of a water system that relied more on elevation than anything else.

Worse, the justice system has fallen apart. There is little to no medical care facilities or supplies available. Television stations have ceased to broadcast. The radio sometimes broadcasts religious programming in the moments the electricity flickers on and then off.

“It’s not all bad now,” I said. “We’ve lost our world.” “Only the part that the machines lived in.” Jane Ann patted my thigh, but said no more and got up to leave.” pg 25, ebook

A slow-paced dystopian novel that savors the end of life as we know it might not have been the best book for me to read right now. In the midst of a global pandemic and unfounded fears that life may never go back to the way it was, this wasn’t as much an escape as an additional cork-popper to my ever-present anxiety.

The characters lack depth, but I found myself caring for them because they seemed so real.

They want food, shelter and safety for their loved ones, even though all of those things have become difficult to find.

“By the time he passed away, it was obvious there would be no return to ‘normality.’ The economy wouldn’t be coming back. Globalism was over. The politicians and generals were failing to pull together at the center.” pg 29, ebook.

There are very few moments of action in here. I can see the slow pace being frustrating to some readers.

“The afternoon weather resolved into an uncomfortable drizzle, driven by hot winds out of the south. I had an old ripstop nylon poncho from my collegiate camping days, but it had lost its waterproofing.” pg 126, ebook

But, to play the devil’s advocate, perhaps that would be the way the world would actually end. To quote T.S. Eliot: “Not with a bang, but with a whimper.”

Recommended for readers who enjoy dystopians like Station Eleven and who are brave enough to read this kind of thing with the current state of things.

JOMO: Celebrate the Joy of Missing Out! by Jessica Misener

JOMO or “the joy of missing out” lists “350 plus ways to make staying in more fun than going out.” Unfortunately, a large number of these suggestions included books to read or programs to watch. In my mind, all of those fit into one of two categories, reading or watching television.

“Because skipping a night on the town doesn’t mean you’re missing out on life – you’re just missing out on someone else’s idea of what your life should look like.” pg 7

That being said, there were a few solid suggestions in this book for alleviating boredom. I particularly liked “shower with the lights off” pg 24, “listen to autonomous sensory meridian response videos” pg 47, and “do The New York Times’s 36 questions” pg 127.

The rest of these seemed repetitive, as I mentioned, or uninteresting.

Perhaps this book would have been more enjoyable in the pre-COVID world, when I hadn’t been quarantining at home for months, disappointed with the state of the world and feeling stymied. Maybe I could have gotten into “make a homemade pizza” or “rearrange your furniture.” But things have moved beyond expecting the completion of simplistic tasks to hold the answers to life’s problems, at least for me.

“Host a fondue party,” that appears on the cover of this book, seems like something that happened in another world. Will we ever get back there?

Thanks for reading!

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

Before We Were Yours is a historical fiction based on the real and heart-breaking scandal of child kidnappings and paid adoptions from the Tennessee Children’s Home Society.

Children were treated like a type of rare commodity. Sadly, abuse and even death awaited some of the unfortunates who passed through the society. Some of the children taken in had families, but the society acted as if they did not.

As a student of forgotten history, I didn’t want to believe that such things could have happened in the United States and, relatively, recently. But, it’s true.

“The Foss children and the Arcadia were formed from the dust of imagination and the muddy waters of the Mississippi River. Though Rill and her siblings exist only in these pages, their experiences mirror those reported by children who were taken from their families from the 1920s through 1950.” pg 295, ebook

Lisa Wingate tells the story in two different timelines – one in 1939 and the other in the modern day. The earlier story line is by far the most compelling.

Readers meet Rill Foss, one of five children belonging to an itinerant family who live on the Mississippi River in their house boat. Her story begins the night her mother, Queenie, is having trouble delivering a new baby.

When Rill’s father, Briny, takes Queenie to the local hospital for help, something terrible happens to the children they leave behind.

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Meanwhile in the modern day, Avery Stafford has moved home to help her father, a senator, during his re-election campaign. There are also concerns about her father’s health as well as her upcoming nuptials to organize.

But then she stumbles upon an elderly woman who has a picture that closely resembles Avery’s own grandmother. Could there be a connection between the two?

“Grief and a change of location can often be more than the mind and body can handle.” pg 43, ebook

Of the two stories, the earlier one is far more interesting. Rill is such a strong and indefatigable heroine in her struggle to keep her siblings together. I was enthralled by each chapter narrating her life.

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The Avery portion of the story, on the other hand, was just so predictable. If Before We Were Yours had just been the modern story, this book would hardly have earned a mention from me, let alone netting the Goodreads Choice Award for historical fiction from 2017.

“Life is not unlike cinema. Each scene has its own music, and the music is created for the scene, woven to it in ways we do not understand.” pg 278

Recommended for readers who enjoy historical fiction as well as book clubs.

In the future, I may pen a History Guy episode about the Tennessee Children’s Home Society. It seems to me that the fate of these poor children, now grown and many departed from this life, is history that deserves to be remembered.

Slutever: Dispatches from a Sexually Autonomous Woman in a Post-Shame World by Karley Sciortino

“Without question, if I weren’t a slutty as I am, my life thus far would have been far less interesting. … But my sluttiness has also been the cause of many existential bathroom-mirror moments.” pg 8, ebook

Karley Sciortino, sex blogger and author, has led a self-described colorful life. It certainly comes through in this tell-all memoir.

Through her experiences, Sciortino has proudly embraced her sexuality and her place in society as a woman who knows what she wants in the bedroom, and takes it. This hasn’t been a simple path.

Part of her struggles are society’s views and programming about “slutty” women.

“It’s a no-brainer that we’re influenced by the people and stories that make up the culture around us. And it’s difficult to cite an example, either real or fictional, of a happy, healthy, promiscuous person – let alone a woman.” pg 8, ebook

The rest of her difficulties seem to stem from a lack of self knowledge or awareness. Sciortino isn’t afraid to tackle any and all issues head on in her own unique way.

“…my goal isn’t to be good or normal or accepted. My goal is to be free. (And maybe also to troll society a bit in the process, for good measure.)” pg 12, ebook

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It took me a couple chapters to get into this memoir. Sciortino’s writing style is frank to the point it sometimes feels abrasive, but it maintains an honest delivery throughout.

“My biggest revelation of the saga was that group sex is amazing for when you’re drunk, because you can just take a time-out whenever you’re bored or tired and someone else will literally take over for you. Genius.” pg 24, ebook

The early part of the book is fixated on sexual experiences and experimentation. As she delves deeper into her underlying motivations and psychology, Sciortino begins to get to the heart of matters. That’s when I felt this book became worth the read.

She had me asking myself some difficult questions: Why is sexuality such a complex issue? Why should people, in the privacy of their own homes and with proper consent, care what others think?

Why are there different standards for men and women?

And why is sexuality, which can play such a large part of the happiness in our lives, so difficult to talk about? (For some, not Sciortino, obviously.)

Recommended for mature readers who don’t mind a nearly stream-of-consciousness style of writing as well as a thick skin to push through Sciortino’s delivery to get to the meaning behind the words – because there is meaning to be found.

Thanks for reading!

The Dragon Behind the Glass: A True Story of Power, Obsession, and the World’s Most Coveted Fish by Emily Voigt

The Dragon Behind the Glass documents journalist Emily Voigt‘s descent down the rabbit hole of fish collecting, money, power, and scientific exploration in some of the most remote locations in the world.

“A pair of whiskers juts from its lower lip, and two gauzy pectoral fins extend from its sides, suggesting a dragon in flight. This resemblance has led to the belief that the fish brings prosperity and good fortune, acting as a protective talisman to ward off evil and harm.”

(Fish pictured below is not an arowana.)

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Though it starts off with a major hook, Voigt takes the reader to a crime scene where a pet store owner appears to have been killed for his shelf of rare fish, the book begins to meander after that and never gets back to the compelling pace of the opening.

That is not to say there aren’t some fascinating history and fish-related trivia tidbits. In fact, the majority of the book consists of that.

“… the keeping of pets reflects our hunger for status symbols, for what the philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre called the ‘carnal, clinging, humble, organic, milky taste of the creature,’ which underlies all luxury goods. The modern pet shop first appeared in American cities in the 1890s; and with it began the mass importation of exotic animals from Asia and South America.” pg 21, ebook.

Voigt explores the history of aquariums, pet-crazes throughout history, and the ascendance of the arowana as the pet fish of choice in the East. Complicating matters, the arowana has become incredibly rare in the wild, partially due to its desirability among collectors, but also because of the destruction of its native habitat.

“The most highly coveted – or at least the traditional favorite – is the legendary Super Red, native to a single remote lake system in the heart of Borneo. … As late as 2008, researchers with Conservation International reported that rural Cambodians were still eating greens, even as wild populations plummeted due to over-harvesting for the aquarium trade.” pg 30, ebook

Like other rare and precious commodities, the interest and money surrounding the arowana has led to some shady dealings. I wasn’t too surprised by the alleged criminal activity Voigt describes among collectors. But I was flabbergasted by the fierce competition among some scientists in the rush to catalog and name the increasingly rare fish.

Perhaps that’s naive of me. Scholars jockey for prestige as much as anyone else. I suppose I’ve never stopped to think about it.

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I was also surprised by how many species are out there that science has not studied yet.

“When I first set out to report on the Asian arowana, I figured I would start by finding the researcher studying the species in the wild- only to realize no such person exists. The popular illusion that modern science has the entire living world covered, that there is an expert analyzing every crevice, is far from true.” pg 205, ebook

Recommended for readers who are interested in a detailed study of fish, travel and history. It’s a slow-paced adventure, and not for everyone, but there are some treasures to be found if you stick with it.

Thanks for reading!

Pogue’s Basics: Life: Essential Tips and Shortcuts (That No One Bothers to Tell You) for Simplifying Your Day by David Pogue

David Pogue and his team tested every suggestion in this book to verify that each works the way it is supposed to.

The result is a gem.

“… the morsels in this book describe features hidden right under our noses, features that lots of people don’t know about. As well as ‘Everyone’s been using it wrong’ insights. Plus tips that are clever, unexpected, and useful.” pgs 5-6

I knew some of the tips in these pages, but certainly not all of them.

When I’m done with this book, I’m going to gift it to my pre-teen, who thinks she knows everything but obviously doesn’t. I think she’ll find this incredibly handy in a few years.

“A pot of water doesn’t boil over if you lay a wooden spoon across the top of the pot.” pg 81

Who knew? I didn’t. That’s one of the tips I’ve already used to make my life easier.

I’ve also utilized the tip for how to get ketchup out of the bottom of the bottle. And no, it’s not leaving it upside down and leaning against something for two hours though that does work. It is a much more immediate solution.

Some of the technology tips may be outdated, only because this book was printed in 2015. But I haven’t tested them all yet, so don’t hold me to it. It’s one small section in a stellar lineup of life “basics” that cover topics including the car, travel, food, clothes, your body, animals, house and home, and more.

Highly recommended for anybody who’s looking to make their lives a little bit simpler. Let’s be honest then, that’s everybody.

Thanks for reading!

The Seep by Chana Porter

Warning: minor spoilers ahead that are listed in the book’s description on Goodreads. Do not read this review if you don’t want to know anything about the book’s plot before beginning it.

“They would soon realize that The Seep had already infiltrated their city’s water supply. They were already compromised, already bodily hosts to their new alien friends. It was through that connection they could hear one another’s thoughts, feel the same emotions, overlaid with the all-consuming adage that Everything Will Be All Right, No Matter What.” pg 10, ebook

The Seep by Chana Porter asks many questions like: what would humanity and society look like if thoughts could actually create reality, if physical material was permeated with the spiritual, if enlightenment was only a sip or two of alien-filled water away?

How would people live, work and raise their children? What would relationships look like? And how would it feel to adults who grew up with a whole other version of reality only to spend the last half of their lives in a world, that to them, feels turned upside-down?

Would they embrace it, fight against it or choose another as-yet unknown path?

Trina, a trans-woman from the time before alien technology, when humanity changed genders with surgery and hormone therapy, is in a happy and fulfilling marriage with her wife, Deeba, until the day when Deeba decides she wants to become a child and live her life again. She asks Trina to be her mother in this second life, still sharing her reality but in an entirely different way than as a lover. This desire is something that is within the realm of the possible now thanks to the alien invasion called, “The Seep”.

Trina does not take this revelation well.

“It felt akin to coming home one day to find that your wife had become a hawk, with dusty talons and a great golden eye. Your hawk-wife can’t live with you anymore. She wants to live in the sky and eat smaller birds, not drink coffee and read the newspaper in bed with you.” pg 26, ebook

The majority of this book reveals how Trina adjusts to her new reality.

“The main message I have for you today is that we don’t yet know what to call ourselves, as both human beings and symbionts of The Seep.” pg 46, ebook

I think this book does a good job, like other science fiction novels, of holding up a mirror to reality and saying, what if. It also makes a great metaphor for how older generations might feel out of touch with the generations who come after them.

Prior to the alien invasion, Trina was on the leading edge of society in both her self actualization and lifestyle. After, she feels abandoned in a landscape that no longer makes sense and unloved by the people in her life she valued the most.

There’s a palpable sense of isolation and ever-increasing paranoia in this story. If the aliens exist on a level of conscious thought, they know what you want before you even voice it. It’s disturbing, but with technology increasing the pace of life and guessing consumers’ wants and needs before they even know, how far off the mark are we from that sort of interaction, really.

Highly recommended for readers who enjoy short science fiction that makes you think.

Making Sense of Nonsense: The Logical Bridge Between Science & Spirituality by Raymond Moody

“A little nonsense now and then, is relished by the wisest men.” ― Anonymous

Raymond Moody, renown researcher of near death experiences (NDEs), has spent decades codifying and categorizing nonsense, proving it has a structure. Through his endeavors, Moody hopes nonsense, spoken by those who experience NDEs or upon their death beds, may be analyzed in order to provide another avenue of exploration into humanity’s experience after death.

It may sound like a load of nonsense, but I promise it is anything but. 🙂

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“Nonsense itself affects people positively, but the word ‘nonsense’ affects people negatively. That is, people like nonsense itself, but they dislike the word ‘nonsense.’ … they associate the word ‘nonsense’ with one common negative effect of involuntary nonsense: specifically, errors.” pg 13

It is not the accuracy of the utterance that researchers are examining, instead, it is the structure of the language itself.

In a class on this topic, Moody says his students learned to identify and write seventy different types of nonsense. (Who knew there were so many!) Once you know the forms, you’ll be able to do the same.

Why is this useful if you’re not a NDE researcher? Not only is nonsense regularly utilized in poetry, plays, television shows and other forms of entertainment, Moody shows examples of nonsense in religious texts, alchemical writings, advertising and more.

“My sense of nonsense has been an indispensable asset during my career as a medical doctor and psychiatrist, for it often helps me make sense of someone’s unique inner experience.” pg 105

And he’s right. Since finishing this book, I’ve become aware of how often nonsense is bandied about in both daily conversations I have with friends and family as well as in the Netflix shows I watch.

It’s not only used for communication and art. Moody claims nonsense goes a step further, providing a link to other mystical states of mind.

“Talking nonsense to people makes them experience a curious, hard-to-describe alternate state of consciousness. In sum, nonsense is an alternate state of language that can induce an alternate state of consciousness.” pg 125

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So, babble away, my friends. If anybody says anything negative about it, tell them you’re conducting a science experiment and you won’t just be talking nonsense. 🙂

“It takes a heap of sense to write good nonsense.” ― Mark Twain

Thanks for reading!

The Help Desk Book Blog

Sharing reviews and deep thoughts about life.

Embrace Your Weird: Face Your Fears and Unleash Creativity by Felicia Day

World Made by Hand by James Howard Kunstler

JOMO: Celebrate the Joy of Missing Out! by Jessica Misener

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

Slutever: Dispatches from a Sexually Autonomous Woman in a Post-Shame World by Karley Sciortino

The Dragon Behind the Glass: A True Story of Power, Obsession, and the World’s Most Coveted Fish by Emily Voigt

Pogue’s Basics: Life: Essential Tips and Shortcuts (That No One Bothers to Tell You) for Simplifying Your Day by David Pogue

The Seep by Chana Porter

Making Sense of Nonsense: The Logical Bridge Between Science & Spirituality by Raymond Moody

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