Thanks, Touchstone Books, for this copy of Literally Me by Julie Houts. All thoughts and images are my own.
Synopsis: (as told by the back of the book)
LIVE. LAUGH. LOVE. or EXIST. SMIRK. LURK.
Julie Houts has cultivated a devoted following as `Instagram’s favourite illustrator’ (Vogue) by lampooning the conflicting messages and images women consume and share with the world every day. A collection of darkly comic illustrated essays, Literally Me chronicles the daily exploits of `slightly antisocial heroines’ (Refinery29) in vivid, excruciatingly funny detail, including:
- The beauty routine of a deranged bride who aspires to be `truly without flaws’ on her wedding day
- What happens when Kylie Jenner has an existential crisis and can no longer `step out’
- A journey to Coachella by the Four Horsewomen of the Apocalypse
- The true dating confessions of a fembot
- The terrifying description for Alice Staunch’s book How to be the Perfect Feminist
Literally Me marks the launch of a brilliant new social satirist. Julie’s singular voice and beautiful illustrations reveal the truth about the absurdity of life in the social media age: the line between becoming a total `Girlboss’ and a 21st-century American Psycho is razor-thin.
Morgan’s thoughts:
“I cannot believe this book exists.” This is a direct quote from the text I sent my friend Kelsey on Thursday night as I was marveling at the fact someone gave a female illustrator and writer a few hundred pages in a beautifully printed book to just do her.
Aesthetically speaking, this book is stunning. The illustrations are amazing and the book itself is just beautiful. It would make the perfect gift for any young woman, not just because it is gorgeous but because as soon as you read anything – a caption for an illustration, one of her short stories, etc, you will instantly laugh out loud.
Houts’s satirical writing and illustrations are hilarious and poignant. You could read a few pages at a time, whenever you need a pick-me-up from someone who gets how shitty the world is right now, or sit down and read the entire thing (which is how I did it because I couldn’t stop). Regardless of which manner of reading you choose, make sure you read the diary of the Fiddle Ficus, the tree that lives in the newly opened C É L I N E story. It had me in stitches.
Interested in this book? Click here to buy it on Amazon or pick up a copy at your local bookstore.