Book Review | Beyond Orange County: A Housewives Guide to Faith and Happiness by Lydia McLaughlin

Beyond Orange County: A Housewives Guide to Faith and Happiness by Lydia McLaughlin
Published by Worthy Publishing on March 31, 2015
Genres: Nonfiction, Religion, Christian
Pages: 208
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Goodreads: ★★★

When Lydia McLaughlin made the controversial choice to walk away from her popular role on The Real Housewives of Orange County, she had two good reasons: faith and family 

In Beyond Orange County, Lydia writes about the strength and grace it takes for each of us to choose a life of purpose. She also shares behind-the-scenes insights from Hollywood, lessons she has learned both on and off the screen, and what her life looks like now that she's following God on His next adventure for her. Most importantly, she inspires us to examine our own lives and live out boldly the unique calling God has for each of us.

REVIEW

As someone who was once fully addicted to all things Bravo, I knew I had to request Beyond Orange County as soon as I saw it on NetGalley. I really enjoyed Lydia's "character" on The Real Housewives of Orange County. Her personality is refreshing and uplifting, and even though I'm not a Christian, I was interested to read her book. Now, before I jump into my review I want to mention that this is not a memoir, and it's not a book for someone simply looking for juice on the Housewives. Beyond Orange County, as the title suggests, is a guide to Christian faith aimed at married women. Thus, I recommend it for those wanting to learn more about Christianity, especially women in Bible study. 

Beyond Orange County is a good book if you are looking to become a Christian, or if you are hoping to strengthen your faith. As someone who is not Christian, I still enjoyed learning about Lydia's spiritual journey, and I liked how she included personal stories along the way to illustrate how God fits into her life. Beyond Orange County includes several Bible passages throughout the book, and I found these to be well researched as they fit well into each chapter's theme. I also thought it was great that each chapter concludes with a discussion guide featuring questions that can be used for self reflection or group discussion. It's a practical book to keep on hand if you need some guidance with your Christian faith. 

My main issue with Beyond Orange County, however, was the treatment of women in relation to their husbands. In Chapter 8 entitled "Love, Love, Love," Lydia discusses the love she has with her husband. I was quite disturbed when she recounts the time directly following the birth of her first baby with her husband, Doug. Lydia mentions she did not feel ready to be intimate with her husband again, but her doctor encouraged her to do so because, "You are first and foremost his bride, and then you're a mother." Not only was I shocked that a doctor would tell a patient how to act in her martial relationship, but the fact that Lydia was seen as property to her husband and is there to please him is unacceptable to me. This theme of women being beneath men circulated a few times throughout Beyond Orange County, and was very disappointing to read. 

Moreover, the writing style in Beyond Orange County was a bit weak. I never expect much from celebrity books, but there were several grammatical errors, and some of the sentence structures were quite awkward. I did receive this book from NetGalley, so I'm hopeful some of these issues were edited out in the final edition. I did take the grammatical errors into consideration when rating the book, but they did not weigh too heavily on my three star rating due to this being an eARC.

Overall, I'm glad I had the opportunity to review Beyond Orange County. At just over 200 pages, this is a quick read and I think any reader can get something out of it whether or not she is a Christian. However, I do recommend this for the suggested audience, as it truly is a guidebook for Christian housewives. With Mother's Day coming up soon, this might be the perfect gift! 

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Book Review | I Hate Myselfie by Shane Dawson

I Hate Myselfie by Shane Dawson
Published by Atria/Keywords Press on March 10, 2015
Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Comedy
Pages: 228
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased (I also received an eARC from NetGalley)
Goodreads: ★★★★

The book that more than 12 million YouTube subscribers have been waiting for! Shane Dawson’s memoir features twenty original essays—uncensored yet surprisingly sweet.

From his first vlog back in 2008 to his full-length film directorial debut Not Cool, Shane Dawson has been an open book when it comes to documenting his life. But behind the music video spoofs, TMI love life details, and outrageous commentary on everything the celebrity and Internet world has the nerve to dish out is a guy who grew up in a financially challenged but loving home in Long Beach, California, and who suffered all the teasing and social limitations that arise when you’re a morbidly obese kid with a pretty face, your mom is your best friend, and you can't get a date to save your life.

In I Hate Myselfie, Shane steps away from his larger-than-life Internet persona and takes us deep into the experiences of an eccentric and introverted kid, who by observing the strange world around him developed a talent that would inspire millions of fans. Intelligent, hilarious, heartbreaking, and raw, I Hate Myselfie is a collection of eighteen personal essays about how messy life can get when you’re growing up and how rewarding it can feel when the clean-up is (pretty much) done.

REVIEW

I've been a Shane Dawson viewer for a few years now, and was excited to hear that he was releasing a book. I Hate Myselfie is a unique memoir containing short essays that document events throughout Shane's childhood. It is a very quick read, and I ended up flying through it on the day I purchased it. Shane was holding a book event at Barnes & Noble Union Square, so I jumped at the opportunity to meet him in person and get a signed copy. You can read more about my experience at this event very soon (I'll link it here once my post is live!). 

When it comes to rating and reviewing I Hate Myselfie, I'll admit it's not an easy task. First and foremost, I'm a biased reviewer because I've watched Shane's videos for so long that I understand his comedy style. The average person picking this book up off the shelf might be offended by the crude language and anything-but-policially correct stories. I decided to base my four star rating on the fact that this book will mainly be read by Shane's fans, who I imagine will relate to my reading experience.

The first thing I really enjoyed about I Hate Myselfie is the writing style. Shane's written voice is just like his spoken one, and that made the essays feel extremely genuine. It felt like Shane was writing letters to me, and not like he was writing a book for the public. The essay format was a great choice, as it allowed readers to hear about many different events in Shane's life, and permitted him to jump around in time without the book feeling choppy. I especially liked the sections of dialogue within each essay. They made the stories flow very easily, and added a personal touch. While this writing style might feel very colloquial to some, it was a logical choice for this genre, and helped make Shane even more accessible to his fans. 

I also thought it was great that the book included fan art. Each essay's title page had an illustration by one of Shane's viewers that corresponded with that particular essay. Readers even got to know each artist a bit through a short bio on the back of each illustration, and many of those bios included social media information for the artist. While this may be a small part of I Hate Myselfie, it was such a nice touch to include Shane's audience in the book. I liked the feeling of community these illustrations brought. 

One critique I do have of I Hate Myselfie actually has nothing to do with the writing or content of the book itself. I was a bit disappointed with the quality of the book binding. By this I mean that the publisher chose to release the book in paperback that is not the best quality. I purchased the book brand new at Barnes & Noble, and the edges were damaged and the spine was coming apart as I read it (quite carefully) for the first time. In addition, the title and cover pages are very plain, and I was surprised at the lack of design on the book itself. In fact, I Hate Myselfie feels almost more like an unfinished ARC (advanced reader copy) than a finished work. I wish the publisher put more effort into the book's presentation do to Shane more justice. I know this is somewhat of a petty complaint, but when a paperback book of under 300 pages is $16.00, I expect a good quality product. 

Putting that aside, I really did enjoy I Hate Myselfie. I'm not sure that I would recommend the book to those who don't know who Shane is, but if you are even vaguely interested in learning more about him, or if you enjoy comedic memoirs, I say go ahead and pick up a copy. While I didn't necessarily learn anything surprising about Shane in this book, I do feel readers get to know him more on a personal level, and get a good peek inside some very emotional times in his life. I would love to read more essays from Shane in the future should he get the opportunity to publish another book. 

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Book Review | We Should Hang Out Sometime by Josh Sundquist

Nonfiction isn't my go to genre, but when I heard about We Should Hang Out Sometime by Josh Sundquist, I was intrigued. We Should Hang Out Sometime (hereinafter "WSHOS") is a memoir chronicling Josh's love life, or lack thereof. Josh admits to the reader right from the start that at age 25 he had the horrible realization that he's never had a girlfriend. That is, if you discredit the 23-hour relationship he had in middle school. That doesn't really count, right?

WSHOS follows Josh's love interests in chronological order throughout his life. He recounts each crush to his audience, and then he contacts each woman in the present day to explore why their relationship never blossomed. Along the way we encounter some lovely women, some awkward situations, and some downright "this would only happen to Josh" moments.

Prior to hearing about WSHOS I didn't know who Josh was, but when I added the book to my Goodreads, I discovered he is a YouTuber. I watched a couple of his videos before starting the book, which I think was a great idea because I could hear his voice while reading. I expected WSHOS to be extremely lighthearted and funny, but it was quite a bit more serious. While Josh does have a great sense of humor and sarcastic wit, I was surprised at the emotional depth in the book. I didn't just learn about Josh's love life, I learned about his life – the cancer he survived as a child, how he gets around with only one leg, and more (but you'll have to read the book to find out). WSHOS was not exactly the comedy I hoped for, but it was a great coming of age story.

One thing I questioned in the book was the breakdown of chapters. I really enjoyed how each section of WSHOS was captioned with a girl's name, and it was quite fun to see Josh reflect on each relationship with a hypothesis of what went wrong. However, it was unclear to me why those sections had to be broken down even further into smaller chapters. It made the story a bit choppy for me, and a think larger sections would have allowed for a better flow.

In the same way, I worry that Josh writes WSHOS with his fans in mind as the audience. It's great that he includes his signature hand-drawn graphs in the book, but if I hadn't watched his YouTube videos I wouldn't have understood their significance. Similarly, the ending of the book is a bit abrupt. Because I followed up on WSHOS with a healthy does of Josh's videos, I know how his story concludes, but not everyone else will. Thus, I think the epilogue of WSHOS would be stronger with a bit more explanation and finality.

All in all, I gave WSHOS a 3.5 out of 5 stars on Goodreads. It was an enjoyable memoir about a unique life, and I'm glad I got to know Josh better through his work. I highly recommend WSOHS to Josh's fans, and to those who enjoy stories about love and relationships. WSHOS will be released on December 23, and is available for preorder on Amazon HERE. You can also subscribe to Josh's YouTube Channel to learn more about him HERE.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review. I use Amazon Affiliate links so you can find the books I mention easily. All opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information.

Book Review | Skin Rules by Debra Jaliman

Today I have my first review of a nonfiction book for all of you! I recently read Skin Rules: Trade Secrets from a Top New York Dermatologist by Debra Jaliman, M.D., and thought I would go ahead and share my thoughts on this book even though it's a bit different than what I usually discuss on my blog.

As you may have guessed, Skin Rules is all about skincare. The book consists of a series of rules regarding what products to use, what ingredients to look out for, and what treatments are available. I really appreciated how Dr. Jaliman talks not only about specific products, but about products from all budgets. Now I know exactly what to look for the next time I'm at the drugstore, or the next time I'm at Sephora. Whatever your price range is, Dr. Jaliman mentions a product for you.

I learned so much from Skin Rules that I felt a certain "call to arms" when it comes to my skincare. I think I take pretty good care of my skin, but now I've learned even more. In fact, I've already started a few changes in my skincare routine to ensure I'm doing everything I can to take care of myself. The only thing missing from Skin Rules is more guidance on how to take care of combination skin. I would have loved more information on that topic, as I do have combination skin and often have difficulties finding the perfect products to use. Nonetheless, I'm still amazed at how much Dr. Jaliman packed into such a short book.

If you're interested in skincare, I definitely recommend Skin Rules. It is a very fast and easy read, and I know I'll be referring to it quite frequently. I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads, only because it lacked more information on caring for combination skin. You can purchase this book on Amazon HERE.

Let me know in the comments if you like hearing about the nonfiction books I read as well!

I use Amazon Affiliate links so you can find the books I mention easily. All opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information.