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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
I would have given this 3.5 if it was option.
I love Dawn's fiction. LOVE LOVE LOVE. So of course I picked this up, thinking it would be as enjoyable as her past works. And whilst I love the style of Dawn's writing — it's easy to read, witty and kind of like chatting with a friend — there was something that irked me throughout. The not so subtle name dropping and advice that's sometimes blinded by privilege grates after a while.
That said, it was an enjoyable read and a nice little 'souvenir' of how the world changed in 2020.
I love Dawn's fiction. LOVE LOVE LOVE. So of course I picked this up, thinking it would be as enjoyable as her past works. And whilst I love the style of Dawn's writing — it's easy to read, witty and kind of like chatting with a friend — there was something that irked me throughout. The not so subtle name dropping and advice that's sometimes blinded by privilege grates after a while.
That said, it was an enjoyable read and a nice little 'souvenir' of how the world changed in 2020.
I wasn't sure if I was still a little too close to the previous lockdown (and now, seemingly, too close to the potential of another one) to be reading a book detailing someone else's lockdown experience, but there was a great deal of comfort in seeing how someone else had managed / not managed. Dawn's book is desperately honest and raw, and it isn't just about the horrors (and joys) of lockdown, but also her journey with grief over the suicide of her friend Caroline.
Because it's written in a very intimate way, it's very easy to read, and I found I raced through a bit more, and a bit more, until quite late at night. It's very much in blog-style writing, so accessible and day to day. It chops and changes a bit, so sometimes letters, sometimes a sort of mini column/essay, and even the odd recipe. I guess that sort of reflected what life was like, muddling from one thing to another within the same 4 walls day in day out.
I did find the copious drug talk difficult - it's hard not to be judge-y, and I didn't want to be, but of course the experience over there seems very different to how things are here in the UK. There's a lot of drugs and alcohol throughout the book (and I can completely understand why having finished almost all my *large* gin collection during lockdown myself) but I found myself feeling worried about her, for her deep need for alcohol, and I felt surprised that none of her friends have yet asked if she's okay with the drink & the drugs, and maybe needs to slow up a bit.
All the bits with the kids made me smile, and I think it's always reassuring to read about a mum who also feels inadequate at times and like they're getting everything wrong. I wish my littlest was younger and I could paint him all over.
Thanks to Netgalley for my copy.
Because it's written in a very intimate way, it's very easy to read, and I found I raced through a bit more, and a bit more, until quite late at night. It's very much in blog-style writing, so accessible and day to day. It chops and changes a bit, so sometimes letters, sometimes a sort of mini column/essay, and even the odd recipe. I guess that sort of reflected what life was like, muddling from one thing to another within the same 4 walls day in day out.
I did find the copious drug talk difficult - it's hard not to be judge-y, and I didn't want to be, but of course the experience over there seems very different to how things are here in the UK. There's a lot of drugs and alcohol throughout the book (and I can completely understand why having finished almost all my *large* gin collection during lockdown myself) but I found myself feeling worried about her, for her deep need for alcohol, and I felt surprised that none of her friends have yet asked if she's okay with the drink & the drugs, and maybe needs to slow up a bit.
All the bits with the kids made me smile, and I think it's always reassuring to read about a mum who also feels inadequate at times and like they're getting everything wrong. I wish my littlest was younger and I could paint him all over.
Thanks to Netgalley for my copy.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
A book about nothing... it was painfull to read about such empty, superficial thoughts. Not a good thing for feminism when a woman can only write about her hair and alcohol in the middle of an epidemic and an introspective period.
I guess it's fine if you like O Porter and know this is a blog in print? I read it on the strength of her 'what I'd tell my boys' entry which is the high point. But then I have never heard of O Porter and only know who Caroline Flack is because she died. And much of this is a grief memoir and lots of self indulgent stuff about stuff. Not my cup of tea, soz.
I love Dawn O’Porter, I remember being so excited when she first released Paper Aeroplanes like 8 years ago. I love her and Chris O’Dowd as a celebrity couple.
Life in Pieces is Dawn’s diary entries during lockdown as a memoir. I loved it. I’m not really keen on fiction books set during covid, I mean, I’m looking for an escape when I read fiction. But this, this was different. I enjoyed reading this, covid and all! It was just do damn relatable. Not all of it for me personally, but there were definite points where I was like, yes!!
It made me laugh, it made me well up, it made me look back on my time during lockdown, like that real proper first hell of a lockdown. I’m glad we’re slowly moving forward, but part of me wishes I’d kept a diary of my lockdown now too!
Loved it!
Life in Pieces is Dawn’s diary entries during lockdown as a memoir. I loved it. I’m not really keen on fiction books set during covid, I mean, I’m looking for an escape when I read fiction. But this, this was different. I enjoyed reading this, covid and all! It was just do damn relatable. Not all of it for me personally, but there were definite points where I was like, yes!!
It made me laugh, it made me well up, it made me look back on my time during lockdown, like that real proper first hell of a lockdown. I’m glad we’re slowly moving forward, but part of me wishes I’d kept a diary of my lockdown now too!
Loved it!
Hmmm. I loved So Lucky by Dawn O’Porter but I am sad to say that i did not enjoy this book.
I accept Dawn is trying to be funny about life in lockdown but I just didn't find her musings funny at all.
Maybe it is just too close to actual events and that if read in a couple of years time the humour will engage the reader because life has moved on and it will be fun to remember what happened by way of Dawn's diary entries and anecdotal meanderings.
However for me, the humour felt manufactured and there was so much repetition and contradiction that I found it hard to read this with any real pleasure.
There are an awful lot of references to Caroline Flack and whilst her untimely death was so very sad, the way in which it is constantly referred to in this book is somewhat distasteful. But maybe it just isn't for me because I do not watch TV or follow celebrity lives.
The book just screams ME, ME, ME as I read and I couldn't find a way to connect meaningfully with the self obsessed entries.
I am sure however that I will be in the minority with my views and I genuinely wish the author well with the book. The title is catchy, the cover appealing and there will be many true O'Porter fans who simply lap this up.
I accept Dawn is trying to be funny about life in lockdown but I just didn't find her musings funny at all.
Maybe it is just too close to actual events and that if read in a couple of years time the humour will engage the reader because life has moved on and it will be fun to remember what happened by way of Dawn's diary entries and anecdotal meanderings.
However for me, the humour felt manufactured and there was so much repetition and contradiction that I found it hard to read this with any real pleasure.
There are an awful lot of references to Caroline Flack and whilst her untimely death was so very sad, the way in which it is constantly referred to in this book is somewhat distasteful. But maybe it just isn't for me because I do not watch TV or follow celebrity lives.
The book just screams ME, ME, ME as I read and I couldn't find a way to connect meaningfully with the self obsessed entries.
I am sure however that I will be in the minority with my views and I genuinely wish the author well with the book. The title is catchy, the cover appealing and there will be many true O'Porter fans who simply lap this up.
This review is difficult to write, because I absolutely love Dawn O’Porter’s books. I really enjoyed The Cows and So Lucky, and Paper Aeroplanes is on my Kindle TBR list. So when I came across this one, I thought it would be a great read, perhaps an emotional yet also humorous exploration of life in lockdown about community and the new normal as we adapt to the changes Covid-19 forced upon the world.
However, I didn’t get that. Not at all. To quote Dawn’s much-used phrase throughout this book: WHAT IS HAPPENING?
Life in Pieces is a diary, a selection of what appear to be blog posts documented at the start of the initial lockdown. Masks, social distancing, Zoom calls, parenting, drinking (so much drinking!) are all touched upon in this book; things that most of us have had to experience at some point. It’s relatable in some small ways, but that’s about it.
In fact it’s a bit repetitive. As I don’t know Dawn personally (and I only know of her mainly as an author), reading this was like flicking through the journal of a random woman going about her day, clearing up after her kids and pets, detailing what she’s cooked for dinner, and her opinions on random things, including crystals and copious amounts of alcohol and where she gets her weed gummies, that are mentioned numerous times through this book.
However, there are some emotional chapters that focus on grief (following the death of O’Porter’s close friend Caroline Flack) which were quite devastating and, sadly for me, relatable having lost someone recently.
That said, I would MUCH rather have read the lockdown diaries of my friends who are parents, as they would have been deeper and much funnier. Only they’d never get theirs published, because they’re not celebrities.
Life in Pieces offers a relatively humorous look at lockdown life, but (for me personally) it only skimmed the surface. There was no exploration of aspects that circle Covid and lockdown, which could have given this book more substance. Instead it contains merely self-indulgent daily ramblings that make Covid seem like a minor inconvenience (aside from the Caroline chapters). It was almost as though the author was trying just a tad too hard to be funny and relatable, but it just fell flat and way out of touch.
I seem to be in the minority here though, but even though I adore Dawn O’Porter’s writing, I really did not enjoy this one.
However, I didn’t get that. Not at all. To quote Dawn’s much-used phrase throughout this book: WHAT IS HAPPENING?
Life in Pieces is a diary, a selection of what appear to be blog posts documented at the start of the initial lockdown. Masks, social distancing, Zoom calls, parenting, drinking (so much drinking!) are all touched upon in this book; things that most of us have had to experience at some point. It’s relatable in some small ways, but that’s about it.
In fact it’s a bit repetitive. As I don’t know Dawn personally (and I only know of her mainly as an author), reading this was like flicking through the journal of a random woman going about her day, clearing up after her kids and pets, detailing what she’s cooked for dinner, and her opinions on random things, including crystals and copious amounts of alcohol and where she gets her weed gummies, that are mentioned numerous times through this book.
However, there are some emotional chapters that focus on grief (following the death of O’Porter’s close friend Caroline Flack) which were quite devastating and, sadly for me, relatable having lost someone recently.
That said, I would MUCH rather have read the lockdown diaries of my friends who are parents, as they would have been deeper and much funnier. Only they’d never get theirs published, because they’re not celebrities.
Life in Pieces offers a relatively humorous look at lockdown life, but (for me personally) it only skimmed the surface. There was no exploration of aspects that circle Covid and lockdown, which could have given this book more substance. Instead it contains merely self-indulgent daily ramblings that make Covid seem like a minor inconvenience (aside from the Caroline chapters). It was almost as though the author was trying just a tad too hard to be funny and relatable, but it just fell flat and way out of touch.
I seem to be in the minority here though, but even though I adore Dawn O’Porter’s writing, I really did not enjoy this one.
4* rating as this audiobook read by Dawn made me both laugh and feel sad for her experiences and our collective experiences over lockdown.
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced