This book didn't mesh as well with my humor as I thought it would. It fits a very niche area.

If you fall in this area you will like it though!

If you like useless advice and absurd humor, you will enjoy Lord Birthday's How to Appear Normal at Social Events and Other Essential Wisdom. Who is Lord Birthday? And what compelled him to come up with this wacky lists? I have no idea.



About this book, I don't know what to say. There are topics. There are lists. When there is advice, you probably don't want to follow it. Or you could follow the advice, but it's probably not advice you need. Like: Don't carry two shotguns under your arms while jogging. Or: Don't bring a salad dotted with smoke bombs to a potluck supper. But if you read the lists, you'll probably laugh.



You should buy this book. But guess what? You can also read Lord Birthday's comics here: https://www.gocomics.com/dumbwich-castle/ But don't come crying to me if you don't enjoy it.













Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

'How to Appear Normal at Social Events: And Other Essential Wisdom' by Lord Birthday is a book full of advice to use in social situations....if you are completely maladjusted.

The book is a series of lists of "advice." The one for the title includes things like '1. Wear a hat. Do not wear a helmet. No helmets' along with other stranger bits of wisdom. There is also advice on how to avoid common kissing mistakes, or get yourself out of painful conversations.

I kept wavering between thinking this book was kind of funny and thinking this book was annoying like being stuck in a car with a 6-year old who is making up nonsense rhymes annoying. The good news is that I don't think it's meant to be read in one sitting like I did. Buy it for someone you really like or really don't like. I can't decide.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

Goodreads Synopsis:
Behold the wisdom of Lord Birthday: a tiny mustachioed king who is as insightful as he is ridiculous. His bite-sized illustrations capture the inherent comedy of being human, and his guidance appeals to anyone who is striving against the odds, believing in both the absurdity and necessity of hope.

How to Appear Normal at Social Events is an oddly cheering book of illustrated lists. Largely based on Lord Birthday's popular Instagram account, the book offers excessively absurd, occasionally wise advice on topics ranging from finding your life's purpose to defending yourself against forest clowns. (Hint: Set an oatmeal trap.)

My Review:
From the title alone, this book seems oddly specific. How to Appear Normal at Social Events. Isn't that something everyone feels like they need sometimes? I wasn't one hundred percent sure what I was getting into, but I was still intrigued. What I found inside this book is pure gold.

In the style that reminds me of memes, this book is essentially just a funny list of things. Full of things like "Talk do people, do not gather mice and raise up a choir unto the lord." and "Have a drink. Do not disrobe. Robe = stays on.", this book is hilarious and I loved every part of it, and those two quotes are just from the first page if you can imagine how the rest of the book is.

Though it has no characters and no set story, it sucks you in and makes you laugh, like a lot. I absolutely loved it and would like to eventually get a copy for my bookshelf. Definitely check it out if you get the chance.

Here's a link to the book on Amazon, and another link to the authors twitter!

https://www.amazon.ca/How-Appear-Normal-Social-Events/dp/1449487963/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1520467705&sr=8-1&keywords=how+to+appear+normal+at+social+events

https://twitter.com/lordbirthday?lang=en

Thanks for reading! Check out this review and more at my blog.
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This illustrated book comes with varied life situations and how to deal with them. Full of sarcasm, do not do's and funny illustrations, the book is fun to read and very entertaining. It totally appeals to people who do not particularly enjoy social interactions. A handy book for the introverts and ambiverts!

I really enjoyed this book, very funny in places and a really easy read!

Best parsed into little chunks - very funny and wryly drawn. I think if you like Toast Of London or The I.T. Crowd you'd like this.

I'm sure there is an audience out there for this book, but unfortunately it is not me. I just did not find any of it funny.

This unbiased review is based upon a complimentary copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I thought that this sounded like fun. The cover and title were intriguing and so I was given a chance to read it. It made me laugh a few times but sadly, mostly I found the humour to be bizarre for the sake of being bizarre and silly without reason. It will please some but most will likely find this repetitive and awkward. A letdown.

I don't understand this book at all. Why is this a thing? I normally love books by Andrews McMeel, but this one seems like someone wrote on a dare. I really don't have anything to say about this book. It was weird.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Author: Lord Birthday
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Publication Date: 2018

This book is polarizing. Either you love him or you don't. I enjoy this type of humor and thought it was a funny ready but mostly targeted for fans of the author.

(This book was a little different, and I can see why it is being fired, so i will write something in defence of the humour that this book is the brand ambassador of. )
All the books that are essentially comic compilations are funny, ticklish and a safe company for the days you want to read something but also don't.
This one is different. This is too 2018. This book is the cringe-pop equivalent of literature. It is the The Office equivalent of humour. It only comes with an acquired taste and it is also not everyone's cup of tea. It becomes predictable, at times monotonous. But it is the humour that functions on the same rules as a pun: it has to be so bad it is good. The author takes a dig at many things, and the best approach to read this book, if it is to be enjoyed, is in lighter doses. The approach it takes is simple: there's a question, the answer is not going to be straightforward, or an answer at all, but a very wannabe joke. The joke is not where you should look for a laugh, instead, look for a laugh in the attempt, and in the cringe that it evokes.

Lord Birthday is the tiny mustachioed-king who is here to help us live our lives. Well, sort of. In the new book of Lord Birthday cartoons, How to Appear Normal at Social Events, readers get a chance to view some illustrated advice. Whether this advice is actually helpful or wise is entirely up to the reader. 

My personal favorite was a diagram entitled "Do You Have Anxiety." While meant as a joke, some of the behaviors have actually occurred among myself and my less social friends. There are also gems such as "8 Ways to Escape a Painful Conversation" and "Romantic Nicknames You Can Call Your Lover."  If you don't take things too seriously, this book is laugh out loud funny. Just don't go looking too deeply for meaning in this one.



Lord Birthday's How to Appear Normal at Social Events is available March 6, 2018 from Andrews McMeel Publishing.

Let it be known and I think it is significant that this is my first read of 2018.

This is a light, funny read with humorous pictures to accompany. If you're looking for something profound, look elsewhere. But if you're looking for a quick, easy, sarcastic read, this would be a good choice.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I can't recommend this book because I didn't finish reading it. The long lists make it very tedious to read and they aren't really funny. The best pages were the ones with pictures and little text. Some people might find it amusing but I didn't finish reading it and so this isn't a review, just an explanation for the publisher. I have only given it one star because Netgalley is set up so that you have to give a star rating.

Did not catch my fancy but I'm sure it's for a very specific audience.

While I was not a fan, I imagine there are people who would appreciate the style of humor in this book. It could be a good gift for someone in your life with a unique personality and sense of humor. Not one I would read or share with most of those in my life.

Unfunny, in a quite loathsome way. It's no wonder all the other reviews are negative.

I was very disappointed of this book. It was not funny at all, and at some times it was rather depressing. I would not recommend this book for anyone.

This was terrible. The drawings weren’t bad, but good lord the written content was terrible. I couldn’t even finish it. I like a good graphic novel, but this is not one for me.