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alisabressler's review against another edition
5.0
Omg…..this was simply incredible. I find advice columns boring normally but this was beyond engaging and inspiring and although the stories were so niche/specific, she handled each topic so widely and thoughtfully. My fav part was that she found ways to weave in personal anecdotes to each answer, and while some were shocking/extreme things that have happened to her, most were mundane things that have happened to me and many others - yet she found meaning in those and it was so comforting and cool and just wonderful. My new fave writer
julski's review against another edition
4.0
I just LOVE advice columns. After growing up on Dear Abby and Ann Landers, I currently read Ask Amy, Dear Prudence, Farhad Manjoo, Carolyn Hax, Miss Manners, Dan Savage, and probably somebody else I'm forgetting about. Dear Sugar is more like Dan Savage than Dear Abby, but her smart and snarky responses are very entertaining.
http://therumpus.net/sections/blogs/dear-sugar/
Now I'm going to have to read Wild!
http://therumpus.net/sections/blogs/dear-sugar/
Now I'm going to have to read Wild!
sethy's review against another edition
4.5
What a mosaic of a book!?? Being a compilation of an advice column, I had some reservations in the beginning thinking - Dear Sugar seems like a cutesy idea but won’t this be a bit trite? - this thought evaporated real quick.
The advice is SO GOOD and heartfelt and at times gut wrenchingly tender. The one written as a list from the father and its response hit me the most - holy shit it was amazing. The cool thing is that this is also very much a memoir as Strayed explains and gorgeously articulates the moments in her life that inform the advice she give - she’s a stellar storyteller and is flawless at calling back to the themes and motifs she introduces. ( I think that is one of my top writing absolute loves) I also loved how she would hold a mirror to people and take apart the words they used to describe their situation, down to the latin roots.
I wanna take her up on the advice to twenty something: get ten poetry books and read them over five times.
The only detractor is that some of the stories are inevitably stronger than others and I feel the extra stories in the 10th anniversary edition undermined it (just skip it or read it before the finale chapter) - the ending without them is so strong (the titular letter to younger self is AMAZING). I'd say skip the preface and the introduction for that matter too.
Nonetheless, this is the type of book that begs a reread - loved it a lot.
sarubobo29's review against another edition
4.0
Such a pleasure coming back to Tiny Beautiful Things. I read it five years ago and I remember thinking Sugar was a bit harsh. Now I'm grateful to her for telling it like it is. Dear Sugar is no regular agony aunt column - Cheryl Strayed is not a therapist, but an expert memoirist. She comes across as someone who has lived, doesn't think that makes her qualified to give advice, but still gives it a shot, reveals a lot of herself in the process, and you come away feeling loved and understood. ♥️
pumbrino's review against another edition
2.0
The pretentiousness of this woman comes through far too much in her answers, which didn't always seem very helpful. Her "huns" and "sweat peas" also grated on me. A lot of nice writing but sometimes it was too much.
oh_nelliereads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
crandallberry's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to love this book. I found Strayed sarcastic and self-serving in most of the responses. Using terms like “Sweet pea” and “Honey bunch” left a bad taste in my mouth. Maybe if I’d read it as a column and not a book?
librarian235's review against another edition
5.0
My new favorite book! This collection of essays is the sweetest, most profound, beautiful, uplifting, heartbreaking, intense, emotional, clarifying, intelligent, honest and life-changing collection I've ever read. Cheryl Strayed is a brilliant writer, applying her personal life experiences to each and every personal letter addressed to Sugar. I will purchase this book and read it from time to time to remind myself of the "Tiny Beautiful Things" that Sugar provides.