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LOUD WOMAN

GOODBYE, INNER GOOD GIRL!

A generally solid self-help work that aims to teach readers to assert themselves.

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A women’s guide to empowerment and building self-esteem.

In this self-help book, marketing coach Celeste, the author of That First Client (2016) encourages women to assert themselves in their personal and professional lives, and to set and achieve goals that matter deeply to them. In a series of chapters, organized by theme—addressing such concepts as feminism, boundaries, and trust, among others—the author offers insights derived from her own personal and work experiences, and those of her friends. Along the way, she shows how women can improve their lives by valuing their own desires as much as those of others, and by challenging their own fears and preconceptions. Throughout the book, Celeste frequently addresses the reader directly (“As a Loud Woman, it’s time to value your time and boundaries”). The stories tell of life-changing events, such as leaving an abusive relationship, as well as mundane happenings, such as when an Instagram video of Celeste with messy hair and workout clothes became her most popular post. In an essay about why she didn’t participate in the 2017 Women’s March, she addresses her experience as a liberal feminist in a predominantly conservative region near Tampa, Florida, and how women across the political spectrum can and should embrace feminism. She also looks at how her privilege as a White woman contributed to her philosophy of being “Loud,” and how she’s become aware of how White women can amplify Black women’s voices as well as their own. The book ends with a credo that offers a summary of what it means to be “Loud” in the context of the book.

Celeste is a strong writer with an eye for evocative anecdotes, which makes this an engaging read. The stories about her high-risk pregnancy, her satisfaction at getting a medal after running a race, and her surprisingly supportive boss in an early job are especially compelling. The book also does a good job of providing specific advice, as when she provides a bulleted list of questions for readers to ask themselves in preparation for setting and strengthening boundaries in all aspects of their lives. Readers looking for inspiration to start their own businesses, end toxic friendships, or claim an hour each day for themselves will find plenty of examples and encouragement in these pages. The book is weaker in some of its assertions of fact, as when the author claims that “personal branding” was an uncommon term in 2013, when it was actually widespread by then, and when she repeatedly suggests that certain traits are “innate” to women without citing any evidence. The book’s capitalization of terms such as “Loud” and “Divine Gifts” can be grating, although this is a minor annoyance. Overall, the book effectively blends career advice, motivational speeches, personal development plans, a touch of spirituality, and solid storytelling, resulting in a book that will appeal to readers looking for a combination of Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In (2013) and Oprah Winfrey’s What I Know for Sure (2014).

A generally solid self-help work that aims to teach readers to assert themselves.

Pub Date: Sept. 21, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-73-593333-7

Page Count: 320

Publisher: Highlander Press

Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2021

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  • IndieBound Bestseller

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A WEALTH OF PIGEONS

A CARTOON COLLECTION

A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.

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  • IndieBound Bestseller

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

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THE BACKYARD BIRD CHRONICLES

An ebullient nature lover’s paean to birds.

A charming bird journey with the bestselling author.

In his introduction to Tan’s “nature journal,” David Allen Sibley, the acclaimed ornithologist, nails the spirit of this book: a “collection of delightfully quirky, thoughtful, and personal observations of birds in sketches and words.” For years, Tan has looked out on her California backyard “paradise”—oaks, periwinkle vines, birch, Japanese maple, fuchsia shrubs—observing more than 60 species of birds, and she fashions her findings into delightful and approachable journal excerpts, accompanied by her gorgeous color sketches. As the entries—“a record of my life”—move along, the author becomes more adept at identifying and capturing them with words and pencils. Her first entry is September 16, 2017: Shortly after putting up hummingbird feeders, one of the tiny, delicate creatures landed on her hand and fed. “We have a relationship,” she writes. “I am in love.” By August 2018, her backyard “has become a menagerie of fledglings…all learning to fly.” Day by day, she has continued to learn more about the birds, their activities, and how she should relate to them; she also admits mistakes when they occur. In December 2018, she was excited to observe a Townsend’s Warbler—“Omigod! It’s looking at me. Displeased expression.” Battling pesky squirrels, Tan deployed Hot Pepper Suet to keep them away, and she deterred crows by hanging a fake one upside down. The author also declared war on outdoor cats when she learned they kill more than 1 billion birds per year. In May 2019, she notes that she spends $250 per month on beetle larvae. In June 2019, she confesses “spending more hours a day staring at birds than writing. How can I not?” Her last entry, on December 15, 2022, celebrates when an eating bird pauses, “looks and acknowledges I am there.”

An ebullient nature lover’s paean to birds.

Pub Date: April 23, 2024

ISBN: 9780593536131

Page Count: 320

Publisher: Knopf

Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2024

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