A review by servemethesky
How Did You Get This Number by Sloane Crosley
3.0
After my love affair with [b:I Was Told There'd Be Cake|2195289|I Was Told There'd Be Cake|Sloane Crosley|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255587590s/2195289.jpg|2201026], which led me to believe I would name my firstborn Sloane, her second book fell flat for me.
I loved every second of [b:I Was Told There'd Be Cake|2195289|I Was Told There'd Be Cake|Sloane Crosley|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255587590s/2195289.jpg|2201026]. Consequently, I raced through [b:How Did You Get This Number|7091863|How Did You Get This Number|Sloane Crosley|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1275621968s/7091863.jpg|7348202], desperately hoping to find that unnameable factor I so loved. I never did- not in any of her 9 essays.
Though her style is fun and engaging, this time it often felt self-indulgent and whiny. Your middle school friend was mean? Your pet sting ray died because he devoured a gold necklace you dropped in his tank? You lied in confession in Notre Dame and feel badly? For some reason, I don't care.
I also found Sloane to be remarkably shallow here. In "Take a Stab at It," she talks about fulcrum moments: those moments when your whole life swings into focus, rendering everything clear and new. A cool concept. Turns out Sloane's fulcrum moment was seeing a pretty table in a prospective apartment.
My mind briefly caught on her musings on vacation coming from the verb "vacating." I had never thought of it that way. Unfortunately, Sloane doesn't dwell on this idea.
Her essay "It's Always Home You Miss" captures the people of New York
City excellently, but it didn't make me like them. Likewise, her portrait of Alaska in "Light Pollution" is smart, but doesn't make me like Sloane.
While other reviewers hyped up "Off the Back of a Truck" as one of the best pieces, I was disappointed in this essay. Again, Sloane comes across as self-absorbed. Best quote of the book was here, though: "My heart shuffled past my spine, out my back, and melted into the carpet."
As such a huge fan of her first collection, I really wanted to like her second. Though I can't put my finger on it, something was definitely missing.
The one thing I will take away from having read this is her concept of the best day and worst day of our lives. I haven't had either of mine yet, and that is promising.
I loved every second of [b:I Was Told There'd Be Cake|2195289|I Was Told There'd Be Cake|Sloane Crosley|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255587590s/2195289.jpg|2201026]. Consequently, I raced through [b:How Did You Get This Number|7091863|How Did You Get This Number|Sloane Crosley|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1275621968s/7091863.jpg|7348202], desperately hoping to find that unnameable factor I so loved. I never did- not in any of her 9 essays.
Though her style is fun and engaging, this time it often felt self-indulgent and whiny. Your middle school friend was mean? Your pet sting ray died because he devoured a gold necklace you dropped in his tank? You lied in confession in Notre Dame and feel badly? For some reason, I don't care.
I also found Sloane to be remarkably shallow here. In "Take a Stab at It," she talks about fulcrum moments: those moments when your whole life swings into focus, rendering everything clear and new. A cool concept. Turns out Sloane's fulcrum moment was seeing a pretty table in a prospective apartment.
My mind briefly caught on her musings on vacation coming from the verb "vacating." I had never thought of it that way. Unfortunately, Sloane doesn't dwell on this idea.
Her essay "It's Always Home You Miss" captures the people of New York
City excellently, but it didn't make me like them. Likewise, her portrait of Alaska in "Light Pollution" is smart, but doesn't make me like Sloane.
While other reviewers hyped up "Off the Back of a Truck" as one of the best pieces, I was disappointed in this essay. Again, Sloane comes across as self-absorbed. Best quote of the book was here, though: "My heart shuffled past my spine, out my back, and melted into the carpet."
As such a huge fan of her first collection, I really wanted to like her second. Though I can't put my finger on it, something was definitely missing.
The one thing I will take away from having read this is her concept of the best day and worst day of our lives. I haven't had either of mine yet, and that is promising.