Two themes have emerged for my 2017 Cannonball progress: 1) being pleasantly surprised by books written by celebrities (Cravings, Bossypants, Troublemaker), and 2) clearing my 24 page Goodreads to-read list of a bunch of “humor books” I added in 2009 when they were kinda new and I thought they were funny. You know the kind I mean: People of Walmart…as a book! Or something that wasn’t so horrifically exploitative in the first place, but just majorly stops being funny after half a decade and after the bookstores got flooded with these damn blogs turned into books.
This is so far the only book from this genre that has held up fairly well in the grim light of 2017. I was pleasantly surprised to get some genuine laughs out of this weird little book. The author has f*cking had it with penguins and their manipulatively cute appearance and behavior. He won’t stand for it anymore. I feel like there could maybe be a Taylor Swift song about him and penguins. And it’s not just penguins! It’s all manner of cute animals and their adorable bullshit. This is really a field guide to recognizing and deterring these fuzzy little masterminds and keeping your wits about you.
I’m kind of hesitant to recommend any books from this genre because I don’t want to accidentally send any kind of vibes to the universe that it should keep existing. It is done. Like Paris Hilton done. Gangnam Style done. Vampire movies done. It does not need to come back or stay around. Except this book. It can stay.