Friday, December 4, 2015

Friday Linkups: Furiously Happy















It's Friday linkup time!  I'm linking up with the Book Blogger Hop hosted by Coffee Addicted Writer, Book Beginnings of Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader, and the Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice.

This Week's Book Blogger Hop Question:
Which character in a book do you most likely see yourself?  If none, who would you think would be your bff in real life?

My Answer:
This has definitely changed over the years.  These days I definitely find myself identifying more with mother type characters.  I really identified with Ellison Russell in Guaranteed to Bleed by Julie Mulhern and Stella Rothchild from Nora Roberts' Blue Dahilia most recently.  They're both tough get it done mothers with a sense of humor.  So I'm not sure if I'm actually like them but I do know I'd definitely like to be like them.

This week's book is one I'm super excited about!  I adored Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson and I absolutely love her blog so I was thrilled when I was able to get a copy of her newest book Furiously Happy from the library.  I'm about halfway through and so far I'm really enjoying it though maybe not quite as much as the last book.  Hopefully the review will be up Monday!

The Beginning:
This is where I was going to put a simple Mary Oliver quote but instead I decided to replace it with the idea I had for the cover of this book because I'm pretty sure it'll never get accepted and I don't want it to go to waste.  The great thing about this cover is that when you're holding the book up to read it, it will look like the bottom of your face has been replaced with an ecstatic raccoon smile.  That way you look friendly and also terrifying to anyone passing by, which is nice because then people won't bother you while you're reading.

My Thoughts:
So if you can't tell this is a memoir-y type book and this one so far has been written in essay type chapters some of which are really moving discussions of her struggles with mental illness and others are off the wall zaniness about renting kangaroos and ethically taxidermied animals and sometimes it's a bit of both.

The 56:
He sent back a single line that has never left me:
"Pretend you're good at it"

My Thoughts:
I love this little bit of advice and it's one I've put into play though I've never phrased it quite so simply yet so thoroughly.

So what do you think?  Keep reading?  Who do you identify with in books?

21 comments:

  1. Glad you are enjoying Furiously Happy. I really liked it. I think I liked Let's Pretend This Never Happened the same or maybe slightly better. I really loved listening to both though. That cover always gets me though!!

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  2. Ellison Russell is one of my new favorites... great answer!!

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  3. The cover makes me smile. :)

    Stormi

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  4. I love the title and that racoon smile !!

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  5. I have been curious about this one, from the title and cover, to what I've learned about the author...a friend of mine knows her.

    I love that 56. It reminds me of one of my slogans: fake it 'til you make it.

    Thanks for sharing...and for visiting my blog.

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  6. That advice could be put to good use in so many ways. Great share!

    Here's my 56 - http://fuonlyknew.com/2015/12/04/the-friday-56-87-shadows/

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  7. HI,
    I would keep reading, sounds interesting.
    Have a great day!

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  8. I've never heard of Ms. Lawson's blog, but I have seen her titles around without bothering to check out what they were about. Interesting that you are enjoying her works so much. I'll give her blog a peek to see her style and consider her books further. Thanks!

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  9. So true what your preference would be.

    Nice answer.

    Happy Hopping!!

    Elizabeth
    Silver's Reviews
    My Blog Hop Answer

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  10. Definitely keep reading! I do love that quote, it's a good one.

    Happy reading!

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  11. I love the cover of Furiously Happy and keep meaning to put it in my library list. I so love our library.... I don't think I could get as many books as I wanted if I couldn't borrow them.

    But, as for your book I think I would keep reading!

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  12. I wanna read this book bad. Love the snippets and that cover is hilarious! Makes me smile every time I see it.
    Happy weekend!

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  13. I liked your 56, I did mine for the first time this week, love the Raccoon!!

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  14. Furiously Happy has a fun cover! I don't recognize the characters you mentioned, but I'm sure they are great choices! I wish I would have had more definite characters that I could relate to. Hope you have a great week!

    New follower via Bloglovin and e-mail!

    Kristine @ The Writer's Inkwell

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  15. What a "happy" cover ;)

    Our BB

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  16. I have just finished Furiously Happy. A great book. Her blog is also fantastic. Thanks for sharing, made me smile.

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  17. Hi Katherine,

    This probably isn't one for me, however I have to vote the cover art the best of the year I have seen and I really like that '56' quote - A few words can definitely say so much !

    Thanks for sharing and I hope that your weekend is going well :)

    Yvonne

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  18. I adore Jenny Lawson. I can't wait to listen to Furiously Happy. I really enjoyed her Let's Pretend This Never Happened.

    I think I identify with more characters who are mothers these days too. And older characters. None specifically come to mind, I am afraid.

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