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A review by rainbowbookworm
The Art of Asking; or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Let People Help by Amanda Palmer
5.0
This book had languished in my Goodreads TBR since 2015.
A few weeks ago a friend and I went to see [a:Neil Gaiman|1221698|Neil Gaiman|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1234150163p2/1221698.jpg] speak and he mentioned his wife. As we left the venue, I told my friend that I did not know who Gaiman was married to. She proceeded to give me an impressive introduction to Palmer and her work.
Fast forward to last week when I suddenly remembered the book and decided to start reading it. It was an almost prescient decision as it was an acquaintance's birthday and the book offered a quote that was perfect to mark the occasion.
I put the book aside and picked it back up last night and would not have put it down, but there was a police chase that culminated two houses down--between the lights, the sirens, and the constant questioning of whether we were hearing gunshots or fireworks meant I couldn't concentrate.
Palmer was asked to write the book because of a Ted Talk she had given--a Ted Talk I've yet to listen to. In the book she recounts how her growth and her success as an artist is due to how openly she shared her life with her fans and how, as a result, they were willing to help her (also her friends and even her acquaintances) out when she needed it. Palmer also writes about how hard it was to ask her rich husband for help until one day it wasn't. She also talks openly about how she balked at having what would look to the world as a conventional/patriarchal/maybe-even-heteronormative marriage.
It's hard to convey everything Palmer tackles in the book, but she is a gifted writer in her own right; her story will draw you in and like many before you, you may even fall a bit in love with Palmer along the way.
A few weeks ago a friend and I went to see [a:Neil Gaiman|1221698|Neil Gaiman|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1234150163p2/1221698.jpg] speak and he mentioned his wife. As we left the venue, I told my friend that I did not know who Gaiman was married to. She proceeded to give me an impressive introduction to Palmer and her work.
Fast forward to last week when I suddenly remembered the book and decided to start reading it. It was an almost prescient decision as it was an acquaintance's birthday and the book offered a quote that was perfect to mark the occasion.
I put the book aside and picked it back up last night and would not have put it down, but there was a police chase that culminated two houses down--between the lights, the sirens, and the constant questioning of whether we were hearing gunshots or fireworks meant I couldn't concentrate.
Palmer was asked to write the book because of a Ted Talk she had given--a Ted Talk I've yet to listen to. In the book she recounts how her growth and her success as an artist is due to how openly she shared her life with her fans and how, as a result, they were willing to help her (also her friends and even her acquaintances) out when she needed it. Palmer also writes about how hard it was to ask her rich husband for help until one day it wasn't. She also talks openly about how she balked at having what would look to the world as a conventional/patriarchal/maybe-even-heteronormative marriage.
It's hard to convey everything Palmer tackles in the book, but she is a gifted writer in her own right; her story will draw you in and like many before you, you may even fall a bit in love with Palmer along the way.