Little Weirds | 
pickWhat a whimsical and curious collection. In this aptly titled book, Slate writes weirdly unique short stories that hold more depth than you'd think, even in the sillier ones. Part memoir, part essay, part comedic act, this book has a little of everything. I found myself thinking about some of them even after I put the book down.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Currently going through a move. Hopefully this will be the last time I have to move hours away.
My current read is Little Weirds. I bought this years ago and I‘m sad I‘ve put it off. I‘m following along with the audio and it‘s just making me love Jenny Slate even more than I did. I wasn‘t expecting to use a highlighter with this one but I already know I‘m keeping it and there are just so many relatable quotes.
pickThe title is wholly appropriate. This collection of essays is poetic and profound, both in style and topic. Stand- up comedian, actress, and voice actress Jenny Slate is exceedingly quirky, and her way of wording things here amplifies that.
*Added bonus: At times while listening, my mind would begin picturing these words coming from Gidget, from the Secret Life of Pets, whom Slate voiced. It was quite a delightful juxtaposition.
As far as I‘m concerned, the fact that humans aren‘t allowed to hibernate is a travesty. That I paid money to willingly leave my house in mid-December is a testimony to how much I love this woman. Excited to get a little weird with Jenny Slate!
Saw this meme the other day and I keep remembering it and quietly giggling.
pickJenny Slate's writing is fresh and original, and I loved this book of essays. "I Died: Listening" was my favorite. And the cover art ?
Picked this book up on a whim the other day and am loving it
“When I imagine my ingredients, I imagine that my muscles are made of plums, that my heart is a giant ruby with a light bulb in it, that my blood is goldenrod yellow, and the bones inside my body are made from lions‘ bones and shells, and that my brain is made of steak and silk and Hawaiian Punch.”
so-soStrange, but interesting. I liked this. I thought the writing was really cool and the author did something very unique. A bit hard to follow, but an interesting book, nonetheless.
First quarter of #booked2021 complete! I tried to stick to Winter prompts only but got off the beaten track for 1 🙃 Clockwise from top left:
1. Set in Australia
2. Authors first name starts with A, B, or C
3. NF Science by a Woman
4. Translated into English
5. Baked Goods on Cover
6. #Covidheroes: Dr or Nurse MC
Thanks as always to our lovely hosts for the reading inspo!!
pickI love Jenny Slate, so have been looking forward to this one! It took a few chapters to get into the style of writing, but I really did love this book. The last 5 or 6 chapters were especially beautiful. Just incredible.
pickLittle weirds, indeed. Funny, heartbreaking, hopeful, inspiring, real. It made me feel less weird. Or rather, made me feel ok and less alone in my weirdness.. and sadness, frustrations, yearnings, and triumphs (no matter how small). It reminded me to be earnest and honest, that it‘s ok and to let myself feel, to celebrate myself, and that all of these strange things aren‘t bad things. I felt a lot of this book‘s energy and its confusion. feb2021
so-soI didn‘t love it, but I didn‘t hate it. I mainly just didn‘t get a lot of it? 🤷🏼♀️ There were essays that really spoke to me and I loved the ones about her relationship with her house and her dog, but some were just a little weird (*insert groan here* 😂) where I couldn‘t get invested or understand what she was trying to convey. Jenny Slate is very talented, though, and I won‘t hesitate to pick up anything else she writes to give it a chance.
Okay, this book is weird and I have no clue what I‘m actually reading, but I just straight up cackled at this part for a few minutes, so I‘m in. 😂 Also, I keep reading some parts in my head as if she was her character from Parks & Rec... which is probably making the weird even weirder. 🤷🏼♀️ #NewYearWhoDis @monalyisha
“I am the croissant that felt its own heat and curves and wished to become a woman, and I am that woman from the wish. Let me be your morning treat with your coffee. Disregard the fear that I am too rich to be an ordinary meal. Allow my antique decadence into your morning into your mouth. Pair me with jam. Treasure me for my layers and layers of fragility and richness. Name me after a shape that the moon makes.” This book is zany and open hearted.
so-soAlot weird!! I always found Slate funny in her acting. This book was very strange. It went back and forth from weird to coherent. I almost bailed.
so-soIt's weird, as promised. Sometimes a little bit funny; mostly just weird.
Finished this driving to Toronto so my youngest can attend an in class lab tomorrow at Ryerson. We went to Uniqlo so he could buy himself a jacket. Little Weirds is a lot of things! Sometimes it‘s laugh out loud funny, sometimes it‘s totally educational ( reminding me about the Code of Hammurabi) sometimes it makes me think “hey, I‘m not so weird after all!” and sometimes it‘s bat shit crazy! It‘s great to listen to
I wore my new sweatshirt on my #audiowalk today ( this book is really full of a lot of WEIRD) 🤣
pickI honestly picked this audiobook up because (1) I needed an audiobook for a reading challenge & wanted a shorter one and (2) the title appealed to me.
This book isn't for everyone. It is weird. And beautiful. And rambling. And honest. And imaginative. And a bit much. More poetry than essay.
Jenny has a distinctive voice. I couldn't place it & then realized she voiced Gidget in The Secret Lives of Pets. Then I couldn't stop picturing Gidget.
Hello and welcome to Little Weirds. Inside you will find:
× The smell of honeysuckle
× Heartbreak
× A French-kissing rabbit
× A haunted house
× Death
× Young in an ancient castle
× Birth
× A dog who appears in dreams as a spiritual guide
× Divorce
× Electromagnetic energy fields
× The ghost of a sea captain
× And more
I hope you enjoy these little weirds.
I finished these ten books in July. Out of my TBR plan for the month, I finished nine books and didn't finish The Deep, The Falling in Love Montage, Pride & Prejudice, and The Unwritten. I added in Little Weirds mid-month. I'm torn between Disappearing Earth, In the Dream House, and Into the Drowning Deep for my favorite. ❤
pickIt is rare that I listen to an audiobook at less than 1.5x speed, but I listened to this at 1x, because Slate is so dynamic and takes us to so many places in such a short time, often using metaphors and dreams and poetic language to do so. I have loved her for years, so I may be biased, but Slate is especially vulnerable and bravely human here, and I think this is a brilliant, beautiful little book by a brilliant, beautiful person. 🦕
"As the image of myself becomes sharper in my brain and more precious, I feel less afraid that someone else will erase me by denying me love." ❤
pickThis was surprisingly delightful, relatable, and vulnerable.
Fave poems: “I Died: Listening”, “Restaurant”, and “The Code of Hammurabi”.
“Many different scenarios present themselves at a really good party. Somebody kisses somebody. Somebody falls. Cake is eaten. Cake is thrown. The lights go out and somebody screams, ‘My jewels!‘ You meet your husband for the first time. Somebody gets kicked out. There are snowballs and cannonballs. There are fragments that come together as a whole.”
This list of party scenarios made me ache for the days when parties were safe and available. 💙
so-soI think I‘m accepting that I‘m not a fan of stream of consciousness. The essay on Hammurabi and the patriarchy was brilliant, but most of these were just semi-annoying ramblings. 2.5⭐️ #audiobook
DAD UPDATE 😁 He has a test tomorrow to see if he can get from the bed to the shower and then take one. Mom and I aren‘t sure he‘s there yet, but good vibes Tuesday morning US time would be appreciated!! We have our 🤞🏻🤞🏻💖
pickThis quick audiobook had a lot of absurd and funny stories. But to my surprise, it contains a good deal of uplifting, encouraging, empowering moments I didn‘t expect. I liked it much more than I expected to. I might even listen to it again.
pickYes. I love it. Not everyone will, and that‘s okay.
The perfect antidote for these crazy times. Quirky, funny, tender, and calming. I usually listen to audiobooks on 1.5x speed but I‘ve slowed down this one and find it very relaxing.
pickNature makes art
And I am a creator & I make things, the elemental companionship of light & air make it so beautiful on these leaves
Everything is always remaking itself & so are you...
I‘d rather live with a tender heart because that is the key to feeling the heart of all other hearts..
Your heart is a planet .. I can see that you are from the sky
Such a lovely listen 🎧 highly recommend for #finishinaday ❤️🌍💫💫💫💫💫
The super-ego is reiterative, it repeats the most boring pointy hurtful things
If you met it at a party, if it were a person, you would think that the person was not only mean & insane but not as smart as they think they are
You wouldn‘t listen
Every time I go out into the world & get my heart busted up
I go back to the old ghostly house in Milton again, hoping to become myself again. One more chance Just one more chance to share my heart successfully enough that if I become a ghost , there at least might be another ghost beside me & I have it‘s heart & it has mine .
We had the world together
I believe that this can happen to me
Pic from thehappypear Insta
This book is so lovely
pickThis book was a wonderful, unexpected surprise for me! Slate‘s essays are caustic, endearing, insightful, and at times laugh-out-loud funny. She is a fresh voice that offers a slightly twisted take on the world around her. Because the book is a series of observational essays it‘s a relatively quick read. As I said, an unexpected, but lovely, surprise.
My gods are inside of me, first and foremost. And the mother of all of them is the wild one.
I am a geranium that is holy and wild, but I want to sleep in a neat little pot.
(Note: My sweetie, Laurie MacFayden, took this photo. I grew the geranium.)
pickDefinitely weird. This would have been exactly the kind of book I'd have fully identified with about 10 years ago.
On the whole, Little Weirds does stay true to its name. The similes were...intense. But I love hearing Slate narrate her own work which is probably why I found it worked so well as an #audiobook
Flu B has hit this household 😷🤧
My husband is the only one who has yet to succumb and he's playing nursemaid (which is rather bad at 😆)
I've been in bed with the littlest most of the day which gives us extra reading & snuggling time.
I was listening to this book while I had a fever which made it even weirder if possible...? lol
