It's a Hardback Life

Yet another book I’ve read based on a blog.

I first learned about Allie Brosh’s work from a friend who shared the Alot with me- Brosh’s furry brown creature that embodies her frustration with grammatical errors.

The Alot brought me to Hyperbole and a Half (the blog), which is absolutely wonderful. The internet has since created memes based on Brosh’s work, the most famous of which likely derives from this:

What is the most astonishing to me is the amount of pathos Brosh can inject into her MS Paint artwork while combining it with humor and very deep, sometimes humiliating honesty.

The book, titled after the blog, is a combination of work previously published on her blog and new pieces. Brosh manages to talk about a range of experiences, from stealing cake and caring for mentally deficient canines, to fighting debilitating depression without losing her twin powers of insight and absurdity. She can make you laugh and cry almost simultaneously. And she'll make you think twice about adopting a dog without being fully prepared for the consequences.

I love Brosh’s blog, and thus I love her book. While I wish it had more original material, I still love revisiting her earlier stories and hope she has more in her to share.