I really enjoyed this book. As the teacher in charge of stocking the senior school library, I like to ensure that the books are diverse and the students are exposed to both excellent fiction and excellent modern non-fiction. I think that this is both a fascinating and well-written book that has much to recommend it and will keep the students interests. It is good to stretch their reading interests by providing them with books about subjects they might never have considered before and this definitely does the job well. It is also good to find books that I know the teaching staff might enjoy as well as the students and I definitely think that this applies in both cases. Absolutely recommend wholeheartedly; a fantastic read.

What a unique memoir! I LOVED that it was such a quick read, but it was also brilliant. The more mature readers in my high school library will go nuts for it, as will the teachers! What an articulate take on married life and raising kids. A work of art!

Thank you to W.W. Norton and Company for providing me with an advance copy of Beth Ann Fennelly's Heating & Cooling: 52 Micro-Memoirs, in exchange for an honest review.

PLOT- Heating & Cooling is Beth Ann Fennelly's collection of short memoirs, ranging from a few sentences to a few pages, each a snippet of Fennelly's life.

LIKE- I absolutely could not stop reading Heating & Cooling. Admittedly, it's a quick, short read (less than an hour), but I could've easily read four times the amount in a single sitting and still have been left wanting more. I love Fennelly's humor, her wry wit, and keen observations. The fact that it's memoir, makes it even more compelling. 

I've written micro-fiction and I've read it in magazines, but this is the first time that I've seen it compiled in a book. It's a great format and one that I will seek out. Anyone out there reading this review have any recommendations for other authors working in micro-fiction that have compiled their writing into a book?

 Each story is strong on its own, but a big part of the magic is the order in which Fennelly has listed her stories. She has not ordered them chronologically with regard to her life events, instead she has ordered them to pack a punch. Much like a album track list, Fennelly has ordered her stories to elicit emotion and create varying tones. The result is excellent pacing, making Heat & Cooling a compulsive page-turner.

DISLIKE- Nothing. I loved Heating & Cooling. Immediately after finishing it, I went on Amazon to purchase a few of Fennelly's poetry books. I needed more of her writing in my life. 

RECOMMEND- Yes! Heating & Cooling is a unique memoir by a very talented writer. I'm so thrilled for this "new-to-me" author discovery.

I loved this collection of stories. Some more than others but generally they were quirky with elements of humour and really well written

A delicious collection of teensy memories, all self-contained, cozy, and succinct. I was hoping some succinct would rub off on me, but it's not meant to be. Sigh. (See? Even the sigh is extra.)

This went way too fast. Seriously, the first time I looked down at my progress on my Kindle, I was at 58%. Slow down! The tidbits were like sugar. Once I started gulping them down, I didn't want to stop. I sort of couldn't stop; they were addicting. After I was done, I went back to find a few samples and damn if I didn't end up rereading half the book.

The author's strength lies in her ability to use few words to pack a punch. Her memoirs—sometimes poignant, sometimes funny--are at most a few pages long. There are a bunch of one-liners, too. Her recollections are poignant or funny or sad or wise or just plain interesting—they grab you. I was lukewarm about a few of them, but most I liked a lot. Most are just old memories that are off-the-beaten path. I would think, what an interesting and unusual thing to remember. And they would spark memories of things that I had hidden deep on my hard drive, hard to pull out. But with a little coaxing, I was able to dredge them up.

She talks about her mother, her marriage, her kids, her friends, her adventures when she was young. Funny interactions with strangers and a repairman. Throw in a few little memories from her Catholic days, too. I'm positive Catholics will relate (I know this because I sent one of her teensy memories to an ex-Catholic friend and she instantly wanted to know the name of the book.) One of my favorite stories involves a $50 bill, a lewd picture, and a couple of books.

Warning:
Penis talk ahead! Skip the next three paragraphs if you want. It’s low on the raunch factor, so don’t worry.

For a brief second, I must talk about a penis. I must tell you this because it bothered me. Probably my only complaint about the book. I just question Fennelly’s point in including this memory. Actually, it's not really a memory, but a fact. One I didn't need to know. Of the very few things she said about her children, she mentioned that her youngest son has a big penis. I did not want to hear this! This was TMI in a weird way, TMI once removed. Inappropriate. How does she know this? It might have been added for shock value, but this memoir doesn’t seem to go in for shock.

I immediately wondered what her son would think when reading mom’s book. And then I think I may have figured it out. I imagine Fennelly asking her son, “What do you want me to say about you in my book?” And maybe he said, “Say I have a big penis.” And they joked about it and maybe he even dared her to include it, and they will be forever laughing. I don't know, I would feel funny saying that my kid had a big penis. This would be especially weird since I only have two daughters.

After I finished the book, I went back and read the Acknowledgments. I couldn't believe this--Fennelly said that her mother told her there were a lot of penises in the book. Totally cracked me up, especially since I will never forget her comment about her kid's penis. Seriously though, I don't remember a slew of penises--I can only remember five, including her kid's. (Which may sound like a lot, come to think of it.) And since she's succinct, she didn't go on and on about them. At all!

Enough about penises. I see I mentioned the word 9 times! This is too many times! I worry I've given the wrong impression. This is not a raunchy book, really it isn't. I just wish I didn’t remember that one little sentence about her son!

Sometimes funny, sometimes serious, but always interesting, this collection of micro-memoirs made me alternately smile, laugh, commiserate, and think. A perfect read for our growing ADD population. Check it out—you won’t be sorry.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.

I come from a long line of modest achievers.

This book is delicious, I mean it. It’s comprised of micro-memoirs, some a few paragraphs, others a sentence. Fennelly has so much to say in condensed form. It seems it would require pages of purging to get to the heart of your life, your stories, but this book is evidence to the contrary. I laughed, I related… whether she was telling stories from the time she and her husband were young and ‘dumb with love’ or writing one long sentence to express how tiring motherhood is using a children’s song, Beth Ann Fennelly has nailed the art of micro-memoir!

I kept reading passages to people, it just tickled my brain over and over. I was sad when it ended, I still wanted more. There are hum drum days and more memorable ones. It’s amazing how a few words can hit your heart or your funny bone. I devoured it, but savored the flavor.

Publication Date: October 10, 2017

W.W. Norton & Company

Fast read, but each chapter draws you in. Anyone can relate to author. Well worth the time to read!

I've been reading Fennelly's micro-memoirs in Oxford American, so I was quite eager to read her collection. The collection is so engaging I read it in a one sitting, plus the entries are quite short. Fennelly's talent at writing poetry shines in these brief memoirs.

Officially my quickest read of the year! The emotion of this one sneaks up on you while you're marvelling at the clear, deceptively simple writing.

Beth Ann Fennelly is a favorite author of mine, and it was nice to see inside her
thoughts and the short length of the stories made this a good read for on-the-go.