Matilda is a unique child. By the time she is three she has taught herself to read by studying newspapers around the house. Every day when her mom leaves for bingo Matilda walks to the library and reads anything in sight. Her parents are neglectful and abusive, but Matilda gets revenge by thinking up clever pranks involving super glue or ghosts and parrots. When she starts school her intelligence is immediately recognized which is how she gets to know Miss Honey, but also how she […]
When I was a baby I urinated into my own mouth
I first witnessed the glory that is James Acaster on an episode of Would I Lie to You where he recounted the, now infamous, cabbage tale. I watched that episode twice. Then I googled the man and watched pretty much everything on YouTube, including obscure clips from before anyone knew who he was. What I’m trying to say is that I was very much the target audience for this book and my review is in no way objective, but based purely on the fact that […]
Aptly Named
Alright, so I want to get two things out before I begin this review in earnest. If you are going to consume this book I highly, highly recommend going with the audiobook. It was recorded in a way that makes it seem more like a radio variety show than an audiobook. Amy makes asides that are not in the text and she also has several “guest stars” she banters with including, but not limited to, Kathleen Turner, Carol Burnett, and Seth Meyers. I’m sure the […]
Listen to the Farkakte Bird, Bubula. He Has a Story to Tell
This is a very sweet book. It really left me with a warm, fuzzy feeling in my heart. I picked it almost at random from the library website because I have been reading a lot of heavy stuff and I wanted something funny to cleanse the palate a bit and, well Yiddish for Pirates sounds funny. It did the trick, but there is a really good, strong story here too. The story is told by a 500-year-old parrot named Aaron. He has lasted this […]
Containing few cannibals and hardly any sex
Travelling is something that always brings out the very worst in me. Simply getting a bus to somewhere unfamiliar in my hometown can set off a frenzy of anxiety that can ruin not only my day but those of everyone I come into contact with, so you can probably imagine the nightmare I can make of travelling to a different country. Add in that I’m also someone who needs frequent medical interventions and it becomes blindingly obvious that the fantasy of living on a desert […]
“In conclusion, women are just awful, and periods prove it.”
I wouldn’t have known about Unmentionable: The Victorian Lady’s Guide to Sex, Marriage and Manners if it hadn’t been for the reviews on this site, so a BIG thank you to all of the Cannonballers whose reviews placed it firmly on my radar, leading to much cackling and interruptions of my footie-watching boyfriend with a ‘Listen to this…’. Tackling all of the daily realities of Victorian ladies – an era that we’re visiting as relatively wealthy, European women so as to ensure things stay on […]