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poetic_bella's review
3.0
It was a good book. It probably would have had more of an impact on me if I hadn’t seen some of her podcast and smart black and funny. I listened to it on audible. I feel like a lot of the content was repetitive from her shows. But still a good book
jfizzle1229's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
thehomiemona's review against another edition
i am definitely biased...i purchased this book because i am a big fan of her podcast, which is what this book is based on. i love how it was structured just like the podcast! her podcast and the book felt like a conversation, rather than a story. those type of books are my favorite.
greenikat89's review against another edition
2.0
A friend recommended this book to me so I went into it not knowing who the author is or what she does. I think perhaps if I did know (and like) her then I would have liked the book more.
It's a part memoir and part self-help/self-motivation advice book broken up into small doses (like the title says). To me it felt really choppy and not that well-connected together. Perhaps if I had read it a little at a time instead of reading the whole thing at once. For me personally because of the work I do in support, education, diversity and inclusion, and identity work I didn't find a lot of what she had to say new.
There are parts in this book that are for black and brown folks and parts where she's directly talking to white people. As a black person, I found some of her language ("all black people know" or "we all do this as black folks") really alienating and made me feel less black and not part of the "in" group because I didn't grow up the same. An example would be the black national anthem which I literally didn't know until this book. So it would have been nice to acknowledge that many black people know X if you were surrounded by blackness/etc/whatever so it wasn't all-encompassing statements.
Additionally, I think she makes two comments about women and states women, trans women, non-binary people in the beginning of her book and then never really does anything with it. Her examples are and advice and suggestions are still almost exclusively geared towards and for straight/cis people. Such as during sex (when mentioning men and penises) or in dating. There might be a throwaway line about or partners but her language is gendered. It's one thing to talk about her own experiences and then giving advice for others. There's a difference between saying something like: consent is sexy, make sure to talk to your boyfriend/future boyfriend about it and: consent is sexy, make sure to talk to your partner(s)/future partner(s) about it.
I will say this book is aesthetically pleasing (yellow on yellow was hard to read). And I think it's fun to have little doodles and her sketches in the book. I am always a fan of creativity in books.
It's a part memoir and part self-help/self-motivation advice book broken up into small doses (like the title says). To me it felt really choppy and not that well-connected together. Perhaps if I had read it a little at a time instead of reading the whole thing at once. For me personally because of the work I do in support, education, diversity and inclusion, and identity work I didn't find a lot of what she had to say new.
There are parts in this book that are for black and brown folks and parts where she's directly talking to white people. As a black person, I found some of her language ("all black people know" or "we all do this as black folks") really alienating and made me feel less black and not part of the "in" group because I didn't grow up the same. An example would be the black national anthem which I literally didn't know until this book. So it would have been nice to acknowledge that many black people know X if you were surrounded by blackness/etc/whatever so it wasn't all-encompassing statements.
Additionally, I think she makes two comments about women and states women, trans women, non-binary people in the beginning of her book and then never really does anything with it. Her examples are and advice and suggestions are still almost exclusively geared towards and for straight/cis people. Such as during sex (when mentioning men and penises) or in dating. There might be a throwaway line about or partners but her language is gendered. It's one thing to talk about her own experiences and then giving advice for others. There's a difference between saying something like: consent is sexy, make sure to talk to your boyfriend/future boyfriend about it and: consent is sexy, make sure to talk to your partner(s)/future partner(s) about it.
I will say this book is aesthetically pleasing (yellow on yellow was hard to read). And I think it's fun to have little doodles and her sketches in the book. I am always a fan of creativity in books.
a_ab's review against another edition
4.0
Since I live in a self-imposed media void, I had never heard of Amanda Seales before picking up this book, so I was worried that I would be missing some context here. Perhaps I was, but it didn't feel like I was missing anything.
This is a collection of observations and attitudes essays, and it fully stands on its own with quite a lot of insight and truth to offer. The author writes with incisive and unapologetic voice, and covers a wide range of topics from personal relationships to systemic social injustices. I really enjoyed this book.
This is a collection of observations and attitudes essays, and it fully stands on its own with quite a lot of insight and truth to offer. The author writes with incisive and unapologetic voice, and covers a wide range of topics from personal relationships to systemic social injustices. I really enjoyed this book.
ksamaine95's review against another edition
challenging
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
brittanyt's review against another edition
5.0
Amanda Seales is someone I have followed on my Instagram account for awhile. I love her unapologetic authenticity and her ability to provide a proper set down to those who greatly deserve it!
When I saw that her book was available on audio I had a one click moment and then chanted “PLEASE let her narrate this book”. (This doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t like it if she didn’t narrate, but I knew it would be that much more epic if she did!) Guess what? She does and it is SO good. As I started listening to this book, I realized I was going to have to buy a hard copy too. (I was reaching for a post it note every two minutes to write down statements that resonated with me.). This book addresses serious topics, but still manages to be so funny. Please take the time to check out this book!
When I saw that her book was available on audio I had a one click moment and then chanted “PLEASE let her narrate this book”. (This doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t like it if she didn’t narrate, but I knew it would be that much more epic if she did!) Guess what? She does and it is SO good. As I started listening to this book, I realized I was going to have to buy a hard copy too. (I was reaching for a post it note every two minutes to write down statements that resonated with me.). This book addresses serious topics, but still manages to be so funny. Please take the time to check out this book!
jjhina's review against another edition
5.0
Smart, funny, and to the point. This book is eye opening and I found myself shaking my head in agreement throughout the read. Highly recommend.
kburns2004's review against another edition
4.0
I am a big fan of her podcast and really enjoyed this book. Very similar tone to the podcast.
a_novel_ty's review
3.0
I'm a very recent fan of Amanda Seales. She popped up on my radar after the very viral video of her gathering Caitlyn Jenner and declaring—not only for herself but I felt like, for all black women across the diaspora—that she was 'passionate, not hostile'. PLEASE say it louder for the people in the back. I followed her on the socials, became a "dabbling" fan of her podcast of the same name "Small Doses". Gaffawed at her real and oh so relatable comedy special "I BE KNOWIN", and even had the night of my life at her live comedic style game show, "Smart Funny and Black." So it was a no brainer for me to decide I was going to read this book when she announced its release because I appreciate not only her voice, but her point of view.
I do, however, have a weird relationship with non-fiction books, in that it's hard for me to stay focused enough on them for an extended period of time, to get through them. Regardless of how much I'm enjoying them. So I waited until Small Doses was released in audiobook format, which was an A1 call on my part because I do not think I would have enjoyed this at all otherwise.
This was just not what I was expecting...and it may not be fair for me to project my expectations on the overall rating of this book, but it is what it is. I went into this book expecting to get to know more about Amanda. I wanted to hear stories about her career, her journey and path to success, childhood, teenage and young adult traumas and/or wins that helped shaped who she is today. I expected her story with of course Small Doses of wisdom, insights, advice, and lessons learned sprinkled in to round out the overall story. And in a sense, we got that, but it was more of an insight into Amanda's view on different topics, the state of the culture and world we live in, thoughts on relationships, friendships, career, etc. All good things...but things that you can get on a weekly basis just by listening to her podcast for free.
Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate that this book is a concentrated, focused and streamlined version of her Podcast and there were certainly some Gems Dropped as noted by a segment found throughout this book and in the aforementioned podcast. But again...I can get that every week in an hour-long format or even on a more regular basis from her insta posts/stories.
All in all, my biggest gripe with this book is that I was expecting to get to know more about Amanda Seales, instead of listening to what was essentially an 8 hour long, Small Doses podcast. I laughed a little, was intrigued, and even enlightened by a particular Dropped Gem regarding relationships. And for anyone looking for a different perspective and opinion on the world we live in, this would be a great book and an easy recommendation. It just was not what I was looking for or expecting when I picked this up. And if that's on me, I'll take it. Regardless, my rating and feelings stand.
I do, however, have a weird relationship with non-fiction books, in that it's hard for me to stay focused enough on them for an extended period of time, to get through them. Regardless of how much I'm enjoying them. So I waited until Small Doses was released in audiobook format, which was an A1 call on my part because I do not think I would have enjoyed this at all otherwise.
This was just not what I was expecting...and it may not be fair for me to project my expectations on the overall rating of this book, but it is what it is. I went into this book expecting to get to know more about Amanda. I wanted to hear stories about her career, her journey and path to success, childhood, teenage and young adult traumas and/or wins that helped shaped who she is today. I expected her story with of course Small Doses of wisdom, insights, advice, and lessons learned sprinkled in to round out the overall story. And in a sense, we got that, but it was more of an insight into Amanda's view on different topics, the state of the culture and world we live in, thoughts on relationships, friendships, career, etc. All good things...but things that you can get on a weekly basis just by listening to her podcast for free.
Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate that this book is a concentrated, focused and streamlined version of her Podcast and there were certainly some Gems Dropped as noted by a segment found throughout this book and in the aforementioned podcast. But again...I can get that every week in an hour-long format or even on a more regular basis from her insta posts/stories.
All in all, my biggest gripe with this book is that I was expecting to get to know more about Amanda Seales, instead of listening to what was essentially an 8 hour long, Small Doses podcast. I laughed a little, was intrigued, and even enlightened by a particular Dropped Gem regarding relationships. And for anyone looking for a different perspective and opinion on the world we live in, this would be a great book and an easy recommendation. It just was not what I was looking for or expecting when I picked this up. And if that's on me, I'll take it. Regardless, my rating and feelings stand.