Little Victories

by Jason Gay

[Beth C.]

I've never read Jason Gay's columns, but I was curious about a book that promoted "imperfect living". It's so disheartening sometimes to see the proliferation of books that promise perfection...and to know that the reason they are promoted constantly is because there are far too many people out there who believe they can actually attain that perfection. So even the title was refreshing!

Gay writes like he's chatting over coffee with a friend - it's casual, entertaining, and occasionally almost mind-reading. The topics are varied ("travel and snack packs", "your phone is not you", and "nobody's cool, especially me" are just a few of the sections in the book), have at least an element of humor to them (though to be honest, few were "laugh out loud funny" to me), and all have a truth to them that help show we all have perfectly imperfect lives - and we should be thankful for them, rather than striving for impossible perfection.

This book would be an excellent gift for just about anyone - particularly as a stocking-stuffer. It's small, it's interesting, it can be read in small chunks or all the way through at once, and it's message is such that anyone can benefit and/or appreciate it. As a gift, it doesn't get much better than that.