Hyperbole and a Half

Local author Allie Brosh uses MS Paint and her inspired prose to create hilarious and poignant stories and essays. Whether she's discussing her dogs, depression, hot sauce, or her childhood, Brosh is insightful and darkly comic. Half original material, half reprinted from her very popular website. Recommended By Mary Jo S., Powells.com

This book made me never want to get a dog — because there are so many stories of the author's terrible (albeit hilarious) dogs. My favorite part of this comic are the parts where the author makes poignant observations about depression while still giving the reader a reason to chuckle. This book comforted and mortified me in equal measure, which takes great skill from an author. When you read this, prepare to laugh and feel a little better about struggling with being a functioning adult.  Recommended By Junix S., Powells.com

Named one of the Funniest Sites on the Web by PC World and winner of the 2011 Bloggies Awards for Most Humorous Weblog and Best Writing, the creator of the immensely popular "Hyperbole and a Half" blog presents an illustrated collection of her hilarious stories with fifty percent new content.

In a four-color, illustrated collection of stories and essays, Allie Brosh's debut Hyperbole and a Half chronicles the many "learning experiences" Brosh has endured as a result of her own character flaws, and the horrible experiences that other people have had to endure because she was such a terrible child.

"Brosh is a connoisseur of the human condition. In her typical self-deprecating and dramatic manner (hence the hyperbole reference), she tells personal stories that name things we can all relate to, including fear, love, depression and hope. Perhaps the most endearing thing about her writing is that she approaches her subject matter from a vulnerable, childlike place, complete with Paintbrush caricatures that have arguably already earned iconic status....Part graphic novel, part confessional, overall delightful." Kirkus Reviews

"Here's a rough analogy: David Sedaris sets out to write a graphic memoir, but decides to use the MS Paint application on his computer rather than hire an artist....[Brosh's] naïve art plays brilliantly against dark comic themes." Michael Humphrey, True/Slant

"Once I started reading Hyperbole and a Half, I found myself unable to stop — except to laugh uproariously." Cory Doctorow, BoingBoing.com

#1 New York Times Bestseller
"Funny and smart as hell" (Bill Gates), Allie Brosh's Hyperbole and a Half showcases her unique voice, leaping wit, and her ability to capture complex emotions with deceptively simple illustrations.
FROM THE PUBLISHER:
Every time Allie Brosh posts something new on her hugely popular blog Hyperbole and a Half the internet rejoices.
This full-color, beautifully illustrated edition features more than fifty percent new content, with ten never-before-seen essays and one wholly revised and expanded piece as well as classics from the website like, "The God of Cake," "Dogs Don't Understand Basic Concepts Like Moving," and her astonishing, "Adventures in Depression," and "Depression Part Two," which have been hailed as some of the most insightful meditations on the disease ever written.
Brosh's debut marks the launch of a major new American humorist who will surely make even the biggest scrooge or snob laugh. We dare you not to.
FROM THE AUTHOR:
This is a book I wrote. Because I wrote it, I had to figure out what to put on the back cover to explain what it is. I tried to write a long, third-person summary that would imply how great the book is and also sound vaguely authoritative--like maybe someone who isn't me wrote it--but I soon discovered that I'm not sneaky enough to pull it off convincingly. So I decided to just make a list of things that are in the book:
Pictures
Words
Stories about things that happened to me
Stories about things that happened to other people because of me
Eight billion dollars*
Stories about dogs
The secret to eternal happiness*
*These are lies. Perhaps I have underestimated my sneakiness

This is a book I wrote. Because I wrote it, I had to figure out what to put on the back cover to explain what it is. I tried to write a long, third-person summary that would imply how great the book is and also sound vaguely authoritative — like maybe someone who isn't me wrote it — but I soon discovered that I'm not sneaky enough to pull it off convincingly.

So I decided to just make a list of things that are in the book:

Pictures
Words
Stories about things that happened to me
Stories about things that happened to other people because of me
Eight billion dollars*
Stories about dogs
The secret to eternal happiness*

*These are lies. Perhaps I have underestimated my sneakiness!

Allie Brosh has enjoyed writing ever since her mom tricked her into writing a story to distract her from her immediate goal of wrapping the cat in duct-tape. She started her award-winning blog in 2009. Brosh lives in Bend, Oregon, with her fiancé Duncan, her two dogs, and six pet rats. Visit HyperboleAndAHalf.blogspot.com.