Mini Reviews: Hyperbole and a Half & Grammar Girl's 101 Misused Words

Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened by: Allie Brosh (2013)
371 pages
Genre: Adult/Comic
Publisher: Touchstone
Source: The Library
Purchase: Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository | Amazon

Goodreads Summary: This is a book I wrote. Because I wrote it, I had to figure out what to put on the back cover to explain what it is. I tried to write a long, third-person summary that would imply how great the book is and also sound vaguely authoritative--like maybe someone who isn’t me wrote it--but I soon discovered that I’m not sneaky enough to pull it off convincingly. So I decided to just make a list of things that are in the book:
Pictures
Words
Stories about things that happened to me
Stories about things that happened to other people because of me
Eight billion dollars*
Stories about dogs
The secret to eternal happiness*
*These are lies. Perhaps I have underestimated my sneakiness!

My Mini Review: I never really read Brosh's internet comics before but I kept hearing how funny this book was so I decided to snag a copy from the library. It turns out that everyone was right, this book is hilarious. I laughed out loud too many times to count. Not only is it hilarious, but this book even manages to take some real life issues and tell the truth about them in a way that makes you feel not so alone, such as when she talks about feeling like you aren't living up to being an adult. (I feel that way at times.) Brosh also touches on some more difficult not so humorous topics like depression, and does an excellent job at bringing this topic to light the right way. With that being said, the best part of Hyperbole and a Half is the dog stories. If you like dogs or have ever had a dog or currently have a dog then I guarantee that you will laugh at Brosh's dog stories. No joke. Out of all of the stories, about 18, only one of them did nothing for me. That's pretty darn good. Therefore, anyone and everyone should read this book. It will make you laugh at least once, but probably way more than that.

Grammar Girl's 101 Misused Words You'll Never Confuse Again by: Mignon Fogarty (2011)
128 pages
Genre: Adult/Grammar/Non-Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Source: The Library
Purchase: Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository | Amazon

Goodreads Summary: Millions of people around the world communicate better thanks to Mignon Fogarty, aka Grammar Girl, whose top-rated weekly grammar podcast has been downloaded more than 30 million times. After realizing her fans were asking the same questions over and over, Mignon decided to focus her attention on those words that continuously confound the masses. In Grammar Girl's 101 Misused Words You'll Never Confuse Again, you'll learn:
When you should use affect and when effect is right
Whether you should you say purposely or purposefully
The difference between hilarious and hysterical
Packed with clear explanations, fun quotations showing the word used in context, and the quick and dirty memory tricks Mignon is known for, this friendly reference guide ends the confusion once and for all and helps you speak and write with confidence.

My Mini Review: I'm glad I picked up Fogarty's 101 Misused Words. Although I already knew a good chunk of the words in this book, there were still some that surprised me. When I didn't realize I was using a word wrong I felt pretty dumb, until I realized that I'm obviously not the only one misusing the word if it is in this book. Grammar Girl's 101 Misused Words would be a great easy-to-read reference book for any type of writer, and it would definitely be a great book to give as a gift to those word nerds out there. I also want to give Fogarty praise for the fun examples she uses when explaining the real meaning of a word. She uses a variety of examples from famous old quotes, quotes from Harry Potter, and even from television shows like Modern Family. Overall, this book was informational and fun to read. I will be reading more of Fogarty's books.