An upbeat but unevenly executed dating-advice guide.
Berger leads the reader through an alphabetically structured self-help manual about finding a compatible, marriage-minded partner.
This book’s dating advice, based on the author’s own experiences and her years of work as a therapist, may seem old-fashioned at times, but it’s also consistently friendly, with a hopeful tone. It discusses a wide variety of topics, touching on the ineffable chemistry between strangers and how relationships benefit from empathy and humor and can be brought down by secrets. Readers also get Berger’s insights into modern facets of dating with an eye toward marriage, such as online dating apps. Along the way, she’s very encouraging and pragmatic, oscillating between specific tips for specific situations, such who should pay for a first date, and more abstract concepts, such as serendipity, respect, and openness. Also included are exercises designed to help readers contemplate their own priorities, as well as an appendix with further tips and prompts. Berger notes that her likely readership will be single women, and this could be further narrowed to straight, middle-class women with highly traditional expectations. It’s admirable that the author is clearly committed to encouraging and strengthening long-lasting marriages. However, some of her tips come across as simplistic, and she too confidently promises success. The A to Z structure of the book gives the initial impression that the book is comprehensive and ordered; in reality, though, it prevents significant and logical progression from one topic to the next. The overall tone is kindly and wise, but its anecdotes can feel repetitive at times. And although there are some references to popular researchers and authors, as well as notes and a reading list, there seems to be a general lack of evidence-based theories and suggestions.
An upbeat but unevenly executed dating-advice guide.Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-64-742179-3
Page Count: 264
Publisher: She Writes Press
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Top Chef fans might savor this detailed account, but others will find it bland.
The Top Chef host describes her journey to new heights.
For those who don’t know, Kish is a “gay Korean adopted woman, born in Seoul, raised in Michigan” and “a chef, a character, a host, and a cultural communicator—as well as a human being with a beating heart.” Though this book covers every step of her journey, every restaurant job and television role, and also discusses her experience as an adoptee (very positive) and a queer woman (late bloomer), the storytelling is so straightforward, lacking in suspense, character development, or dialogue, that it is basically a long version of its (longish) “About the Author.” Seemingly dramatic situations are not dramatized—when she was eliminated on her first Top Chef run, she assures us that she did the best she could, and drops it. “I can spare you the gory details (bouillabaisse and big personalities were involved).” Later, she cites a belief in protecting the privacy of others to omit the story of her first relationship with a woman. With no character development, neither does the reader get to know those who fall outside the privacy zone, like her best friend, Steph, and her wife, Bianca. When she gets mad, she says things like, “It’s a gross understatement to say I was crushed, beyond frustrated, and furious with the situation.” The fact that “I’ve never been a big reader” does not come as a surprise. It is more surprising when she confesses that “I believe the universe is selective about the moments in which it introduces life-changing prospects.”
Top Chef fans might savor this detailed account, but others will find it bland.Pub Date: April 22, 2025
ISBN: 9780316580915
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
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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