Synopses & Reviews
From the author of the sensational bestseller I Was Told There'd Be Cake comes a new book of personal essays brimming with all the charm and wit that have earned Sloane Crosley widespread acclaim, award nominations, and an ever-growing cadre of loyal fans. In Cake readers were introduced to the foibles of Crosley's life in New York City-always teetering between the glamour of Manhattan parties, the indignity of entry-level work, and the special joy of suburban nostalgia-and to a literary voice that mixed Dorothy Parker with David Sedaris and became something all its own.
Crosley still lives and works in New York City, but she's no longer the newcomer for whom a trip beyond the Upper West Side is a big adventure. She can pack up her sensibility and takes us with her to Paris, to Portugal (having picked it by spinning a globe and putting down her finger, and finally falling in with a group of Portuguese clowns), and even to Alaska, where the "bear bells" on her fellow bridesmaids' ponytails seemed silly until a grizzly cub dramatically intrudes. Meanwhile, back in New York, where new apartments beckon and taxi rides go awry, her sense of the city has become more layered, her relationships with friends and family more complicated.
As always, Crosley's voice is fueled by the perfect witticism, buoyant optimism, flair for drama, and easy charm in the face of minor suffering or potential drudgery. But in How Did You Get This Number it has also become increasingly sophisticated, quicker and sharper to the point, more complex and lasting in the emotions it explores. And yet, Crosley remains the unfailingly hilarious young Everywoman, healthily equipped with intelligence and poise to fend off any potential mundanity in maturity.
Review
"Not your typical education book (for starters, it's funny)...Cummings remains inquisitive, thoughtful, and a little unsure of herself in a refreshingly humble way--precisely the qualities a parent should look for in a teacher."
—TIME Magazine
"Hilarious"
—People magazine
"The Year of Learning Dangerously recounts Quinn Cummings's hilarious crusade to find the best educational path for her daughter. Reading her outrageously entertaining observations not only makes me want to homeschool my (nonexistent) children, but it also makes me want to be Quinn's best friend. A must-read."—Jen Lancaster, author of Bitter Is the New Black and Jeneration X
Review
“A hilarious, friendly companion to charm and entertain parents and educators, whether they homeschool or not. Honest and direct, Cummings is willing to tell all of her experiences: not just the happy sunshine moments, but the brutal realities of educating and raising children.”—Lydia Netzer, author of Shine Shine Shine
Review
"If you think homeschooling is crazy, this book might just change your mind. If, after you've read it, you think Quinn Cummings is crazy, you might be correct. Lucky for us, she's the kind of crazy that manages to be insightful and hilarious all at once."—Alice Bradley, co-author of Let's Panic About Babies!
Review
"In The Year of Learning Dangerously, Quinn Cummings dares to go where few parents have gone before. Her adventures in homeschooling are fascinating, loving and most of all hilarious. This book is a great gift to parents and the people that wonder what make them tick. I loved it."—Julie Klam, New York Times bestselling author of You Had Me at Woof
Review
"A worthy successor to Crosley's well-received debut,
I Was Told There'd Be Cake...Most of the book is funny, some of it even laugh-out-loud, but her literary gifts go well beyond easy laughs. The humor flows naturally and subtly from characters and situations, as if these were real-life short stories. 'An Abbreviated Catalog of Tongues,' which initially seems to be a perfunctory pet essay, yet turns revelatory in a number of directions, addressing everything from sibling relationships to her parents' religion...Perhaps the finest essay is the final one, 'Off the Back of a Truck,' a clever, challenging piece from which the book takes its title. Initially about wanting what you can't afford, it transforms into an exploration of receiving what you want that you can't afford, through means that you're only partially willing to admit are pretty shady. Ultimately, though, it becomes a meditation on a romance that forces Crosley to come to terms with a truth she'd suspected and the lie she was living. It's the least humorous of the collection, but the most unflinchingly true. Confirmation of the promise shown in the author's bestselling debut."
-Kirkus, starred review "In her first collection of essays, I Was Told There'd Be Cake, Crosley revealed herself as the kind of writer with whom readers could be friends. You could exchange travel stories or compare descriptions of the odor of a NYC taxicab, and you could probably make her laugh, too. In Crosley's new book, she maintains her humor but inflects it wit ha sense of melancholy. In the manner of David Sedaris and Sarah Vowell, Crosley tells us about European vacation disasters, the inexhaustible nuances of life in New York, and playing the role of bridesmaid...in Alaska. Here even more personal and reflective than in her prior writing, Crosley saves the best for last with the beautifully layered 'Off the Back of a Truck,' which also contains the inspiration for the books title...Her ability to be at once so familiar and still surprise us is really showcased here. Smart, clever, and frank, Crosley's stories are as intimate, and embarrassingly eccentric, as the thoughts we keep to ourselves."
-Booklist, starred review "How sure footed and observant Sloane Crosley is. How perfectly, relentlessly funny. If you needed a bib while reading I Was Told There'd Be Cake, you might consider diapers for How Did You Get This Number."
-David Sedaris
Review
“Not your typical education book (for starters, it's funny)...Cummings remains inquisitive, thoughtful, and a little unsure of herself in a refreshingly humble way--precisely the qualities a parent should look for in a teacher."
—TIME
"Hilarious"
—PEOPLE
"Light and witty...I can vouch for much of what this endearingly self-deprecating writer has to say."
—Meghan Cox Gurdon, The Wall Street Journal
"The Year of Learning Dangerously recounts Quinn Cummings's hilarious crusade to find the best educational path for her daughter. Reading her outrageously entertaining observations not only makes me want to homeschool my (nonexistent) children, but it also makes me want to be Quinn's best friend. A must-read."
—Jen Lancaster, author of Bitter Is the New Black and Jeneration X
“A hilarious, friendly companion to charm and entertain parents and educators, whether they homeschool or not. Honest and direct, Cummings is willing to tell all of her experiences: not just the happy sunshine moments, but the brutal realities of educating and raising children.” —Lydia Netzer, author of Shine Shine Shine
"If you think homeschooling is crazy, this book might just change your mind. If, after you've read it, you think Quinn Cummings is crazy, you might be correct. Lucky for us, she's the kind of crazy that manages to be insightful and hilarious all at once."
—Alice Bradley, co-author of Let's Panic About Babies!
"In The Year of Learning Dangerously, Quinn Cummings dares to go where few parents have gone before. Her adventures in homeschooling are fascinating, loving and most of all hilarious. This book is a great gift to parents and the people that wonder what make them tick. I loved it."
—Julie Klam, New York Times bestselling author of You Had Me at Woof
Review
"Wonderful and entertaining." --
USA Today "Undeniably funny... Crosley's work speaks volumes to her generation." -- San Francisco Chronicle
"Charming... Crosley has an original spark... [She] is like a tap dancer, lighthearted and showmanlike... capable of surprising you with the reserves of emotion and keen social observation that motivate the performance." -- The New York Times Book Review
"Crosley writes with such buoyancy. But [she]... shows a depth that's every bit as enjoyable as the full-on belly laughs." -- Entertainment Weekly
Synopsis
Think homeschooling is only for a handful of eccentrics on either end of the political spectrum? Think again. Today in America, two million primary- and secondary-school students are homeschooled. Growing at a rate of 10 percent annually, homeschooling represents the most dramatic change in American education since the invention of the mimeographand the story has only just begun.
In The Year of Learning Dangerously, popular blogger, author, and former child actor Quinn Cummings recounts her familys decision to wade into the unfamiliar waters of homeschoolingdespite a chronic lack of discipline, some major gaps in academic knowledge, and a serious case of math aversion. (That description refers to Quinn.)
Trying out the latest trends, attending key conferences (incognito, of course), and recounting the highlights and lowlights along the way, Quinn takes her daughters education into her own hands, for better and for worse. Part memoir, part social commentary, and part how-not-to guide, The Year of Learning Dangerously will make you laugh and make you think. And it may or may not have a quiz at the end. OK, there isnt a quiz. Probably.
Synopsis
The hilarious New York Times bestseller from the author of I Was Told There'd Be Cake. Sloane Crosley, the brilliantly funny "fountain of observations" (Boston Globe), now takes readers from a bear-infested wedding in Alaska to a run-in with clowns in Portugal in a new collection of essays about the messiest and most unexpected dilemmas life has to offer.
Synopsis
A year of homeschooling. What could possibly go wrong? In this honest and wry memoir, popular blogger, author, and former child actor Quinn Cummings recounts her familys decision to wade into the unfamiliar waters of homeschooling the fastest-growing educational trend of our time -- despite a chronic lack of discipline, some major gaps in academic knowledge, and a serious case of math aversion. (And thats just Quinn.)
Quinns fearless quest includes some self-homeschooling reading up on education reform, debating the need for socialization,” and infiltrating conferences filled with Radical Unschoolers as well as Christian fundamentalists (and even chaperoning a homeschool prom). Part personal narrative, part social commentary, and part how-not-to guide, The Year of Learning Dangerously will make you laugh and make you think. And there may or may not be a quiz at the end. OK, theres no quiz. Probably.
Synopsis
The hilarious New York Times bestselling literary essay collection from Sloane Crosley, the author of I Was Told There'd Be Cake.
Sloane Crosley, the brilliantly funny "fountain of observations" (Boston Globe), now takes readers from a bear-infested wedding in Alaska to a run-in with clowns in Portugal in a new collection of essays about the messiest and most unexpected dilemmas life has to offer.
"How sure-footed and observant Sloane Crosley is. How perfectly, relentlessly funny." -- David Sedaris
About the Author
Quinn Cummings is an Oscar-nominated actress (
The Goodbye Girl, Family), and the critically acclaimed author of the memoir Notes from the Underwire. She writes the popular blog The QC Report, and her work has appeared in
Good Housekeeping, Los Angeles Magazine, and
Newsweek. She lives in Los Angeles with her partner and daughter.