As someone who sees herself as "a bit much" this was just a delightful collection of poems. I read a few at a time and I'm already thinking about how I want to annotate a physical copy.

If you follow Lyndsay on Instagram you'll like these little ditties and even if you don't there's something for everyone in here. Flip open and read at random or they're organized in four section by emotions and go to one you need that day.

Thank you for putting these words out in the universe. If this is what reading poetry is like these days, then sign me up for some more!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm probably the target audience for this, Lyndsay Rush's debut poetry collection, A Bit Much, but I didn't connect strongly with it. Known on Instagram as @MaryOliversDrunkCousin, Rush has published now a collection of 140 poems, including titles like "Shedonism," "Someone to Eat Chips With," and "Breaking News: Local Woman Gets Out of Bed." Through these poems, Rush tackles themes like questioning whether or not to have children, roasting the patriarchy, and redefining what it means to "age gracefully." There is some relatability and cleverness here, but the style is still "Instagram poetry," characterized by short, impactful phrases that sometimes blur the line between poetry and prose. It doesn't feel like there is a strong tie to any poetic tradition here, which is what I really love in a poetry collection. But if you're just getting into poetry, or looking for something that captures the experience of millennial life in the post-pandemic world, this might be for you.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a temporary digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

I've never felt more seen or spoken directly to than I do reading Lyndsay's "She's a Bit Much" or "It's called Maximalism, Babe" or even just her IG threads - hit 'em with the razzle dazzle 24/7! Her poems are the things I wish to tell my friends and family, about themselves, about me, and about our relationships. I will never get over her and hope we can eat chips together one day! maryoliversdrunkcousin 4ever!

Shelf Awareness PRO: Every page of Lyndsay Rush's debut poetry collection, A Bit Much, sparkles with the same clever energy and sly sense of humor she brings to her popular Instagram account, @maryoliversdrunkcousin. "This is a book about fun and feelings," she writes in the introduction "and, occasionally, potato chips." A Bit Much delivers on that promise--and then some--with poems that invite joy and reflection on every page, delivered with a wink, a nod, and a bit of wordplay sure to delight as much as it will inspire. "Whether we like it or not, some things take time: intricate pastries, building credit, Zoom meetings, balayage/ .../ and remember that, of all the things you should never postpone/ make sure joy is at the top of the list."

Rush notes in the introduction that she had not considered herself a poet until she came to realize that for her, "a poem is simply a joke with an epilogue." This approach makes her work accessible (and funny), with the title of each poem providing the key necessary to unlock deeper meaning. In "Mermaid in America," she muses on the cultural narratives around her knees (the "most troublesome area" of her own body). "Like Trying to Hold a Snowflake" is a reminder to pay attention, "so I can grab the moment/ as it falls/ and make sure/ its magic soaks into/ my skin."

Rush plays with form, too, as much as words. Some poems, like "Wet n Wild Geese (After Mary Oliver)," are loosely inspired by words of other famous poets and imbued with Rush's sense of the world: "You do not have to be good/ at makeup./ You do not have to walk on your knees/ for a hundred miles through a Sephora, repenting." She also experiments with erasure poetry, poems without traditional line breaks, lists as poetry, and more.

A Bit Much is loosely organized by theme (love, revelations, confidence, comfort); across this structure, Rush ruminates on body image, self-care, leaving a dogmatic religion. She encourages a reframe ("It's not a vending machine,/ it's an arcade game/ you always win") and invites presence ("Sounds holy, if you ask me,/ to be sold on life as-is/ to just exist"). Individually, each poem here is packed with wit and wisdom; collectively, A Bit Much is a tribute to finding the fun and the funny in the hard parts of life--and to the ways poetry can facilitate that discovery. --Kerry McHugh, freelance writer

Shelf Talker: This clever collection is as tender as it is wise, inviting readers to find the fun and the funny in the hard parts of life--and discover the many ways poetry can help facilitate that finding.

Thank you to netgalley for the arc of this book of poetry. I simply loved this book of poems - so many of them resonated with me! I found the organization of the book to be done well and I loved the list- type poems. Will recommend to many friends!

I absolutely loved this book of poetry. It was so relatable. Lyndsay Rush uses humor to draw you in, but some of her poems are truly healing to the parts of us that society has tried to stamp down, make smaller. Throughout the book, I laughed, I cried, I adamantly nodded along. I plan to buy a physical copy of this one and return to it again and again to remind myself that I am a bit much, and that is perfectly fine. In fact, it's better than fine. It's magic.

Thank you for the advanced reading of Lyndsay Rush's poetry collection. This book had a lot of heart and captured me with it's witty lines and it's relatable motion of going through adult hood. I would love to read more of her work!

All the extra French fries to the people who finally put Lyndsay’s works into book form! Despite pre-ordering a hard copy on day 1, I have been holding off on reading this ARC, wanting to ration every delightful morsel. Which was silly because these are morsels that will stick. Stick to your bones. Stick to your brains. I can’t wait to keep the hard copy on the coffee table for inspiration as needed.

The wonderful thing about these poems, is that there is something for everyone. More than one, most likely. Even if you don’t fully identify with everything she writes, she manages to capture universal vibes. I’m so, so happy for her that this book exists in the world, and even happier for the rest of us to get to enjoy it.

𝐀 𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐧, 𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠, & 𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟! 𝐈 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝, 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐚𝐫-𝐭𝐨-𝐞𝐚𝐫, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐯𝐢𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐥𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭. 𝑨 𝑩𝒊𝒕 𝑴𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐨𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐈’𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧!

𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝐿𝓎𝓃𝒹𝓈𝒶𝓎 𝑅𝓊𝓈𝒽, 𝒮𝓉. 𝑀𝒶𝓇𝓉𝒾𝓃’𝓈 𝒫𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓈, & 𝒩𝑒𝓉𝒢𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒜𝑅𝒞! 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓅𝒾𝓃𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓌𝓃.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy in exchange for my review. All thoughts are my own.
A Bit Much by Lyndsay Rush comes out on September 17th, 2024.
4.5/5 stars, round up.

I first discovered Lyndsay Rush on Instagram and fell in love with her poetry that is funny and witty while also striking a chord. I had a feeling her collection of poems would be incredible and I was not disappointed. It featured both poems that I was familiar with from IG but also many new ones. I particularly loved how she organized the collection by mood/emotion so you could pick and choose what type of poem you were interested in reading.

If you enjoy contemporary poetry then I highly recommend checking this book out!

I haven’t read a poetry collection in awhile that I seemed to relate too. This one I did. It was obvious a heart was being poured out and many times I thought for sure some of these poems were written for me. I enjoyed this poetry collection so much I finished this book in a day. I didn’t want it to end. This is a must read.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Lyndsay Rush for the eARC for an honest review.

I've always been interested in poetry (in small doses), but have never sat down and read through an entire book of poetry before this one. Each and every poem is relatable, easy to read, but makes you think and feel so much more than I expected. I've been a follower of Lyndsay's instagram for a long time and have always enjoyed her writing, but this book is an amalgamation of her best works. It's something I have now preordered and recommended to friends, family, and anyone who will listen. I read it in order from the beginning to the end, but find myself going back to specific poems to re-read again and again.

Can I give a million out of 5 instead?

As other reviews have said, this is the gateway drug to poetry.

I hadn't even put 2 + 2 together - I had no clue Lyndsay Rush was the hilarious Instagrammer I already knew and loved until I had the book in hand.

I'm a big time highlighter, anything that resonates with me I make sure to highlight.... There's so much bright pink now that you might mistake my copy for a coloring book. I have a feeling you'll see these poems all over social media once this is released to the public.

(Thank you bunches to NetGalley & publisher for E-ARC!)

Wow -- I don't even know where to begin. Perhaps I'll begin at the ending.

I'm a firm believer in reading the Acknowledgements of any book I've finished. But never before have I left those pages in tears! In this short book of poems I felt like I knew Lyndsay and her family. And I sat next to my angelboy dog - Sheppy - while reading about Puffin. To find out that one of my favorite poems of the book, "I Will Remind You of Your Joy" was about him is what really got the waterworks going. A friend of mine wrote a song about my dog once and it just made me feel so connected to you, Lyndsay. In that way being truly and deeply in love with your pet connects you to others who feel the same way. Anyways -- back to the poems.

I could pick out something from each poem and give a blurb on it's impact, but there were a few that really stuck with me. Below are only a few of the ones I bookmarked/screenshot to come back to again and again:
" Be st
Fri ends"
"Promise Ring Pop"
"Cool as a Cucumber"
"Reassurances to Save for Rainy Day"
"I'll Hold It for You"

And those are just a few. They speak to things so unique and personal, but also somewhat universal and reaching. Beautiful.

When this book is released, I can't wait to purchase my own copy! And I'll be buying a stack of copies, and wrapping them up as gifts for the people I love most. I'd like to think I'll have the self-control to wait until some occasions arise to gift them (birthdays, holidays, new house), but I think this book is a demonstration of celebrating it all (waking up, finishing that puzzle, sending that email).

Thank you Lyndsay Rush ( @rushbomb ), St. Martin’s Press ( @stmartinspress ), and NetGalley ( @netgalley ) for allowing me to read A Bit Much: Poems early (comes out September 17, 2024).

First let me say that I am a Lyndsay Rush fan. I follow her and her poetry account, @maryoliversdrunkcousin , on Instagram.

In this collection of poems, Lyndsay manages to make readers both laugh and think. She is so empowering to women and shines the light of self-awareness, growth, and contentment throughout many of her poems.

Lyndsay’s collection of poetry is so good. I read it all in one day and at times felt like the poems were written just for me.

#ABitMuchPoems #NetGalley #LyndsayRush #StMartinPress #StMartinsGriffin

First, I love that the collection is organized by mood! Actually, there’s not much that I DIDN’T love about this collection. I bookmarked 22 poems (!!) to keep tabbed/print as reminders for myself or to share with friends because I very specifically thought “XX would LOVE this poem”. Rush's poetry is funny (“Dreaming Big in a Midwest Accent”), poignant (“Pets Are Remembered at a Secret Christmas Tree in Central Park” 🥺), and relatable (“What in the Live, Laugh, Love Is Going on Here?”)-- sometimes all at once, and all in like 100 words or less. The headline poems (especially the animal-focused ones) are THE BEST, and the Remix poems are 😙 🤌. I'm SO GLAD that I pre-ordered the physical book- it's definitely one I'm going to want to be able to leaf through on the regular.

Read this if… you’re a snarky feminist who’s also sometimes a little bit silly and definitely a bit much.

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this.//
I follow Rush on Instagram and it seemed like a lot of the included poems have been featured there before, so I didn't feel like I was reading much new material. That being said, I do enjoy the way she writes, it's very millennial and very "chronically on the internet", which is my vibe haha. "every little thing she does is magic" was a fave.

As I started to write this review, I was revisiting some of my favorite poems and became enchanted all over again. Lyndsay Rush's collection of poems, A Bit Much, feels like it was written for all of us. A reminder that it is a beautiful thing to be "a bit much", or "so sensitive". These poems made me feel seen, broke my heart (in a good way) and made me laugh.

I will be purchasing the physical copy of this book so that I can relive the magic over and over again!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for this ARC.

This is a delightful read. I can’t recall ever reading such a humorous poetry collection. It’s also filled with wisdom. I kept wanting to text pages to my friend group chat. If you enjoy the author’s Instagram presence @maryoliversdrunkcousin, you’ll definitely enjoy this book.

Cue the confetti… 🎉

If you have loved Lyndsay Rush’s poetry online (@maryoliversdrunkcousin on Instagram) then grabbing her debut published collection is a no-brainer. It’s not out until September, so you’ve got some time to peruse her account and get your preorder in.

Just like you’d expect, Rush’s poetry collection is witty, poignant, and sharp-eyed. I have highlights and bookmarks all over my Kindle copy and I can’t wait for my hardcopy to arrive in the fall. In the collection, you’ll find favorites you know from her account and new ones you haven’t seen before.

I love the way Rush arranged her collection – in three parts by mood. I won’t spoil the funny section titles, but she’s ready for you whether you want to read love letters to life, epiphanies, or fight songs.

Just as the official description says, this is an accessible poetry collection for people who didn’t even know they liked poetry. It’s a gem!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a free review copy of this book.