An uplifting reminder that simple acknowledgments really can make all the difference.
Tremonti Reiter finds inspiration in gratitude in this self-help guide.
In the midst of her partner Austin’s grueling NFL schedule in 2021, the author found herself adrift—not just physically, as they bounced from city to city, but also mentally and spiritually. After sending a thankful missive to Austin’s agent and receiving a positive one back, the author remembered how much she enjoyed sending handwritten notes. This simple act spurred her to embark on a yearlong project of writing one note per day to express gratefulness and positivity in a world that increasingly relies on digital communication. Tremonti Reiter shares her note-writing journey in Part I of the book; in Part II, she advises readers on cultivating their own note-writing practice. Whether the message is for humans or nonhumans (she writes one note to her temporary home state of Florida, for example), Tremonti Reiter offers a variety of tips, from how to get started to ways in which one can maximize a note’s emotional impact (such as including details that will be particularly meaningful to its specific recipient). In today’s tumultuous world, the author’s relentless optimism proves quite refreshing: “When there are a million other things you could be doing, take the time to write a note…Write the note, be the blessing, start the ripple effect of love.” While some of the material occasionally veers into saccharine-sweet territory—the “scent-sational suggestion” to spritz perfume or cologne on a note may not turn out well for recipients allergic to strong smells—the majority of the book acts as a welcome and much-needed challenge to be kind, both to oneself and to others. The fundamental idea expressed in Tremonti Reiter’s book—that tiny, human-centered gestures positively affect both the giver and receiver—shines through as the author provides practical steps for making a change.
An uplifting reminder that simple acknowledgments really can make all the difference.Pub Date: April 28, 2026
ISBN: 9798896360544
Page Count: 192
Publisher: She Writes Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 4, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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
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