What's Sara Reading? Things to Shout at Loud at Parties by Markus Almond

"Things to Shout at Loud at Parties" is not your typical novel. Written in 1 page blurbs and pieces and tiny snippets, Markus Almond's "stories" make for a quick but entertaining read. In fact, as I read more and more, I highlighted more and more (in my Kindle).

So many of his snippets are so honest and real and relate-able. I loved them! Some of them were witty, some were hilariously strange, some were simple, and some seemingly made no sense.

I have included my favorite lines and snippets in this post to give you a taste of his humor and style, one that I really like and appreciate. It's a different way of writing and I like it - it's a breath of fresh air after reading so many traditional fiction pieces.

"And you carried the 12-pack of Stella without asking for help, because I had to take a phone call and honestly couldn't carry the beer and your beauty with one hand"

The cover almost made styling this outfit a challenge! You'd think since it has a simple rainbow design on it, the clothing world would be my oyster, but you'd be wrong! It was a bit difficult to put together an outfit that was colorful enough for this book yet not bordering on the edge of cuckoo.

Then, out of the corner of my eye, hidden in the back of my clothing rack, I spotted this halter swing dress from Vivien of Holloway that I bought so so long ago on sale and just never wore. I'm not sure why I never wore it. It's a halter dress, which isn't very work appropriate without something over it but I think I scored it at the end of summer so that makes me think I never got a chance to wear it before it got chilly.

"Well, I must have fallen in love with you that night because I haven't left your side or hit ignore on my cell phone ever since."

Then I had to modify it a bit (the halter was way too long for my short torso so I shortened it with a few stitches. I also had to expose the boning in the back (again for my short torso) and cut them down - the ends of the boning cut into my bum! Made for some uncomfortable sitting. Darn you, tall gals!!

Now it fits much better and the colors definitely work for this post! The blue, red, orange, green, and yellow scream rainbow to me. I paired it with my bold blue cardigan, belt, and shoes to bring it all together.

"Advice to a young person: Never trust someone who claims to have all the answers."

I also decided, ya know, why not get some snow involved. I mean, it's April! Who doesn't want some snow in April? You're welcome.

"Sometimes, the best thing to do is to get the hell out of the house and shake things up a bit."

In fact, looking at how the outfit turned out, it's quite the party ensemble! I'm ready for you summer BBQS! I'll wear this outfit and will share snippets from Markus Almond's book!

I've clearly got this party season in the bag.

To wrap this up on a final note on the book - if you like straightforward story lines and you prefer your reads to make perfect sense on every page, this compilation might annoy you. It's not supposed to always make sense. They're small blurbs you'd read out loud at a party and appreciate with your friends. You're supposed to appreciate them as they are in their small entirety.

"Love is a library book that you must renew regularly."