An energetic, readable reminder that life is about much more than work and money.
Hilton and Huff present an anecdotal approach to increasing the real value of your life.
The authors commence their debut nonfiction collaboration with some of the stark questions every reader has likely asked at one point or another: “When was the last time you had a once-in-a-lifetime experience? What about just a memorable one? What about something you did for the first time? Was it months ago? Years?” Hilton and Huff provide context for these questions by pointing out that most people have experienced life-long conditioning on the subject of wealth, taught that a large reserve of currency is the bedrock of happiness. The authors seek to overturn this view, urging their readers to imagine their experiences are treasures and to take a “treasure map” approach to life, interrogating each decision with questions like “Does it make you grow?” or “Does it bring you joy?” rather than “Does it make you money?” Hilton and Huff flesh out their precepts with an array of stories relating their own experiences, such as Huff, who was expelled from high school and sank into drug addiction until he sorted out what was truly valuable in his life (“Instead of making excuses, I made plans and set goals”). The text employs clear, approachable prose filled with optimism and enthusiasm. In a series of fast-paced chapters, the authors offer dozens of strategies for increasing the nonmonetary value of every moment (including detoxing from digital overuse). But Hilton and Huff are quick to emphasize the practical right alongside the philosophical—the goal isn’t just to live like you’ll die tomorrow; it’s also about building for a better future. Readers feeling stuck in their routines will embrace this breath of fresh air.
An energetic, readable reminder that life is about much more than work and money.Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2023
ISBN: 9798988837411
Page Count: 316
Publisher: Someday Publishing
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
It’s not Shakespeare, not by a long shot. But at least it’s not James Franco.
A noted actor turns to verse: “Poems are a Saturday in the middle of the week.”
McConaughey, author of the gracefully written memoir Greenlights, has been writing poems since his teens, closing with one “written in an Australian bathtub” that reads just as a poem by an 18-year-old (Rimbaud excepted) should read: “Ignorant minds of the fortunate man / Blind of the fate shaping every land.” McConaughey is fearless in his commitment to the rhyme, no matter how slight the result (“Oops, took a quick peek at the sky before I got my glasses, / now I can’t see shit, sure hope this passes”). And, sad to say, the slight is what is most on display throughout, punctuated by some odd koanlike aperçus: “Eating all we can / at the all-we-can-eat buffet, / gives us a 3.8 education / and a 4.2 GPA.” “Never give up your right to do the next right thing. This is how we find our way home.” “Memory never forgets. Even though we do.” The prayer portion of the program is deeply felt, but it’s just as sentimental; only when he writes of life-changing events—a court appearance to file a restraining order against a stalker, his decision to quit smoking weed—do we catch a glimpse of the effortlessly fluent, effortlessly charming McConaughey as exemplified by the David Wooderson (“alright, alright, alright”) of Dazed and Confused. The rest is mostly a soufflé in verse. McConaughey’s heart is very clearly in the right place, but on the whole the book suggests an old saw: Don’t give up your day job.
It’s not Shakespeare, not by a long shot. But at least it’s not James Franco.Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2025
ISBN: 9781984862105
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.
The veteran actor, comedian, and banjo player teams up with the acclaimed illustrator to create a unique book of cartoons that communicates their personalities.
Martin, also a prolific author, has always been intrigued by the cartoons strewn throughout the pages of the New Yorker. So when he was presented with the opportunity to work with Bliss, who has been a staff cartoonist at the magazine since 1997, he seized the moment. “The idea of a one-panel image with or without a caption mystified me,” he writes. “I felt like, yeah, sometimes I’m funny, but there are these other weird freaks who are actually funny.” Once the duo agreed to work together, they established their creative process, which consisted of working forward and backward: “Forwards was me conceiving of several cartoon images and captions, and Harry would select his favorites; backwards was Harry sending me sketched or fully drawn cartoons for dialogue or banners.” Sometimes, he writes, “the perfect joke occurs two seconds before deadline.” There are several cartoons depicting this method, including a humorous multipanel piece highlighting their first meeting called “They Meet,” in which Martin thinks to himself, “He’ll never be able to translate my delicate and finely honed droll notions.” In the next panel, Bliss thinks, “I’m sure he won’t understand that the comic art form is way more subtle than his blunt-force humor.” The team collaborated for a year and created 150 cartoons featuring an array of topics, “from dogs and cats to outer space and art museums.” A witty creation of a bovine family sitting down to a gourmet meal and one of Dumbo getting his comeuppance highlight the duo’s comedic talent. What also makes this project successful is the team’s keen understanding of human behavior as viewed through their unconventional comedic minds.
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-26289-9
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
PERSPECTIVES
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