Herding Cats: A Sarah's Scribbles Collection (Sarah's Scribbles)

by Sarah Andersen

The delightful third installment of Sarah's Scribbles by Sarah Andersen, winner of three consecutive Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Graphic Novels & Comics.

". . . author Sarah Andersen uses hilarious (and adorable) comics to illustrate the very specific growing pains that occur on your way to becoming a mature, put-together grownup. Andersen’s spot-on illustrations also show how to navigate this newfound adulthood once you arrive, since maturity is equally as hard to maintain as it is to find … "
--The Huffington Post

Sarah valiantly struggles with waking up in the morning, being productive, and dealing with social situations. Sarah's Scribbles is the comic strip that follows her life, finding humor in living as an adulting introvert that is at times weird, awkward, and embarrassing. 

• ISBN10: 1449489788
• ISBN13: 9781449489786
• Publish Date: 27 March 2018 (first published 19 April 2018)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Andrews McMeel Publishing
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 112
• Language: English

Reviews

[writehollydavis]

Sarah speaks to my soul. Ha ha. I devoured this collection and appreciated her artists pep talk at the end. Read this if you want to laugh and feel better.

[remo]

Tercer tomo recopilatorio de Sarah Andersen. Muy divertido. Los temas son los de siempre: la ansiedad social, la procrastinación (muchos chistes sobre procrastinación en este libro), la voz interior que te critica todo lo que haces, la vida con un gato... Es muy entretenido y la pena es que se acaba muy pronto. Como novedad, incluye un pequeño ensayo al final sobre por qué Internet es un pozo sin fondo de miseria humana y destrucción moral, pero aún así los artistas deben salir ahí y publicar. Porque Internet ya no es algo que haces cuando estás en el mundo real, se ha convertido definitivamente en el mundo real.

Cuatro ejemplos de lo último que ha publicado, que no están en el libro (pero que estarán en la cuarta parte cuando la saque, casi seguro).

[llamareads]

My response when I hear a new Sarah’s Scribbles book is coming out:



This is the third of Ms. Andersen’s collections, which are a combination of her web comics, new material for the book, and a short essay illustrated with comics. I’ve read, reviewed and enjoyed the previous collections (Adulthood Is a Myth and Big Mushy Happy Lump) and this is (delightfully) more of the same. You can expect lots of comics about cats, procrastination, Halloween, anxiety, and more! While many of the comics continue to be hilariously relatable, there does seem to be a higher percentage of “more serious” comics, with topics from the 2016 elections to women’s place in society. Ms. Andersen treats them with the same relatability as, oh, taking your bra off less than a minute after you get in the door.



My favorites of her comics are always the ones dealing with mental health. From the bad thoughts spiral, to randomly remembering an embarrassing moment that happened years ago, I’ve always found these particularly relatable, and I enjoy how they’re both respectful and gently humorous. A reoccurring theme is where one thing goes badly and ruins the entire day, from forgetting your headphones to not being able to refold shirts while shopping.



It also felt like there were more “warm hug”-type comics, ones that celebrate friendship and the simple things, from that awesome noise scissors make when cutting wrapping paper to venting to friends. I thought this provided a good foil to all of the “the world is ending!” and more serious comics.



There’s only one essay in this book, and it’s called “Making Stuff in the Modern Era: A Guide for the Young Creative”. As someone who’s neither young nor creative, I wasn’t expecting to get much out of this, but it is still applicable to pretty much anyone. In her typical fashion, it’s about ignoring the haters – both external and internal – and just doing your thing. Taking criticism – whether constructive or not – is something that I think many people, myself included, struggle with.

Overall, if you’ve liked the previous collections, you’re going to like this one! I can’t wait for the next one, either!

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

[Nessa Luna]

I often see these comics appear anywhere on the internet, and they’re always so relatable; this book was amazing and incredibly relatable and I loved seeing all these simple but cute drawings!

[inlibrisveritas]

Herding Cats is my first Sarah Scribbles comic, though I have seen a few of her strips floating around the internet.

I love webcomics especially the ones that touch on things I deal with daily…like cats, procrastination and anxiety around pretty much anything human. I knew that Sarah’s comics dealt with all of those things and I just had to finally try one of her collected volumes, and I wasn’t disappointed.

I find her humor pretty on point with my own life, and so many of these comics seem like they might be pulled from my own. Not to mention her adorable style makes all of it even better.

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It’s definitely one of those books that you find yourself reading in solidarity with the author and muttering, ‘me too’. It touches on things that are not all that funny (like the crippling social anxiety that leaves me wrecked the night after a single innocent conversation) and turns it into something that I can smile about, which to me is perfect.

Sarah also includes a short essay in the back about being creative and continuing your to follow your dreams. I thought it was a nice touch even though I’m not personally artistically inclined.

Overall I think this is a cute collection that’s good for some laughs. I will say that if you follow her artwork a lot online then I’m not sure if it offers anything new here, but you can’t beat the convenience of having them on hand.

[Quirky Cat]

I received a copy of Herding Cats from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

It’s likely that fans of Sarah Anderson will have seen all the comics collected in this book, but don’t let that stop you from picking up a copy. Not only are the comics funny (as always) but many of them have more impacted than anticipated. And as a bonus, supporting an artist you love is always a wonderful thing to do.
I’m a fan of Sarah Anderson; I’m not going to deny it. So much of what she draws just really resonates with me. As a creative who struggles with anxiety myself, I feel like she can put those feelings into words (or images, in her case) better than I could ever hope. Seeing the struggles occurring in somebody I respect…it’s a helpful reminder that we’re all human and we all have our own battles to fight. To see her winning those battles (posting artwork and doing what she loves, despite the anxiety and all the other roadblocks) is inspiring.
I love how despite the silly nature of it all, Sarah still takes a moment to be serious and talk to her fans. I’m sure she’s aware (as indicated by her directness in conversation here) that many of her fans look up to her, and would love to do what she does. Instead of seeing them as a threat or potential competition, she encourages them to keep at it; to continue producing artwork and ignore all the critics out there (and let’s be honest here, we’re all our own worst critics). I have so much respect for her for taking this stance.
I can’t wait to see what volume four will contain (I know I can check out her website as well, but I do enjoy supporting the books when they release). Maybe I’ll luck out and it’ll be another cat themed title!

For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[ktshpd]

Every page I flip I want to say "same!" One of my favorites.